This activity consists of briefly visiting 4 or 5 stops in the Andes or on the way there from your hotel in Santiago. As I anticipated, most of the time is spent in transport in a fairly comfortable cargo van carrying up to 15 other tourists, while the driver/guide gets you from place to place and provides commentary. There is also a “picnic” stop which is mostly dry snacks, olives and red wine. It worked for me because I needed to kill most of my last day in Chile after checking out of my hotel and before a return flight home to LA close to midnight. For $50 this tour filled the bill by showing me affluent parts of Santiago I had not seen before while picking up other passengers, and ascending into the bleak heights of the Andes to survey the arid landscapes, which for me resemble the high desert of California and Nevada. One stop looks like nothing so much as a fanciful ghost town in the CA desert. Kills eight or more hours at a good price point; great mileage bang for the back.

The visit to the Cajon del Maipo was the highlight of our trip to Santiago. The guide was wonderful, super polite and helpful, we learned a lot and had a super nice day. Bring warm clothing as it is VERY windy up there in the lagoon, also bring sunglasses and sunscreen, there are almost no clouds or shadows in this region and the sun is very strong! The picnic left a lot to be desired, it was just some cookies and chips, with wine, juice and water. But I confess that even simpler than what is advertised by GetYourGuide it was important to have this moment, because we are out of town for a long time and there is not much place to buy food on the way.

It was not possible to go to the region of Caijon del Maipo because it was closed due to an accident. On the eve of the tour we were contacted and they offered us a tour to Portillo and Lagoa dos Incas.....great surprise! A beautiful walk with a beautiful view. We didn't go skiing but we did see some snow (October). I don't believe it is as beautiful as the closed area but it was worth the trip.