Exploring Boutique Wineries and the Gateway to Patagonia – 9 Days
This sample itinerary will be customized to suit your personal interests and budget.
Day 1 ~ International flights to Santiago, Chile (SCL).
Most international flights from the USA are overnight flights, arriving early morning the next day.
Day 2 ~ Santiago – Santa Cruz
Morning flight arrival to Santiago. Private transfer with English-speaking Guide to your hotel located in the heart of the Colchagua wine valley.
Spend 2 nights in Santa Cruz.
Day 3 ~ Winery Tours & Tastings
With your personal guide, explore boutique wineries in the Colchagua Valley, well known for its excellent grape-growing soil. Along your drive we will pass several small villages and settlements and get a feeling of the traditional way of life in central Chile. On this amazing tour we will have the chance to visit several boutique wineries in the Colchagua Valley.
Return back to town for leisure time to visit the Colchagua museum, located just around the corner from your hotel. This museum boasts the biggest collection of paleontological and archaeological, pre-Columbian and Spanish colonial artifacts in Chile.
Day 4 ~ Puerto Montt – Puerto Varas
Private transfer service from Santa Cruz hotel to the Santiago airport.
Domestic flight to Puerto Montt – GL Tours will make these flight arrangements for you. Flight times, TBA.
Private transfer with English-speaking guide to your hotel located in the charming town of Puerto Varas, overlooking Osorno volcano and the lake.
Spend 4 nights in Puerto Varas overlooking lake LLanquihue. GL Tours works with several hotels in this area, discuss options with our experts to find the best match for you.
Day 5 ~ Kayaking
This exciting day starts as you are transferred around the Llanquihue Lake to the town of Ensenada where you will gear up and then be escorted to Ralun Bay in the Reloncaví Estuary where your kayaking adventure commences. Several national parks and wilderness areas are situated in this vicinity making it the perfect place for an up-close experience with the region. As you navigate the waters you will witness amazing views of the Yates and Hornopiren Volcanos. After some time exploring your surroundings you will make your way to a house in the nearby countryside where you will be met and greeted for a wonderful lunch. Afterwards you will have some time to take a relaxing walk and enjoy the open air. Then, once again board your kayak and continue your journey across the fjord to the town of Cochamo. There next to the lighthouse and old wooden church, in-between the Andes and the Pacific your return transportation will be waiting to escort you back to the hotel.
Day 6 ~ Full-day Petrohue to Peulla
A driver will pick you up at your hotel for this full-day excursion. We will be driving along the shores of Lake Llanquihue and passing through the town of Ensenada before we reach Vicente Perez Rosales National Park (the oldest in Chile) with its magnificent lush evergreen forests. A gravel road leads us to the famous Petrohué Falls where we will stop and take a short walk to admire the series of rapids and waterfalls formed long ago by cooling lava from the volcanoes. Continuing, we will reach Hotel Petrohué on the shores of Lake Todos Los Santos. From Petrohué Pier, the modern catamaran departs to cross Todos los Santos Lake, also called “Emerald Lake” due to its deep green colours. During the navigation you can enjoy the magnificent presence of the Osorno, Puntiagudo and Tronador volcanoes with their different shapes and colours. After 2 hours of navigation we will reach Peulla on the eastern end of the lake. Here we will have time for lunch and to explore the beautiful surroundings of Peulla. You can walk to the waterfall “Cascada de la Novia” through the native Valdivian rainforest. In the late afternoon return by boat to Petrohué and by private vehicle to your hotel.
Day 7 ~ Leisure
Enjoy this day at your leisure. Explore the local town of Puerto Varas (walk the sidewalk into town from your hotel), or perhaps embark upon another adventure excursion. Our local office in Puerto Varas can assist you in making arrangements.
Day 8 ~ Valparaiso – Vina del Mar
Private transfer service from the hotel to the airport in Puerto Montt.
Domestic flight to Santiago — GL Tours will make these flight arrangements for you. Flight details, TBA.
A private driver and guide will meet you at the airport.
Before you depart from Chile, we take you to experience the coast and cultural villages of Valparaíso and Viña del Mar. Depart from the airport with your guide and drive towards the Pacific Ocean, passing the agricultural valleys of Curacavi and Casablanca to reach Valparaiso. The port’s picturesque layout, enhanced by the surrounding hills that seem to dive into the ocean, remind us of once the most important maritime destination in the Pacific coast before the Strait of Panama was opened in 1914. We will visit the downtown area with its new government house, the Plaza Sotomayor, the Plaza Victoria, the cathedral and the harbour area. Afterwards, we will discover the colorful hill neighborhoods. Here, high above the city, there is a fantastic agglomeration of brightly painted houses and a fantastic view over the city. The upper and lower parts of the city are connected with 16 funicular railways constructed around the turn of the century when the city experienced tremendous growth.
Continue travelling north along the coastline to reach the city of Viña del Mar. Its many parks of huge trees and palms gave Viña del Mar the well-deserved name of ‘Garden City’. We will visit the beautiful park Quinta Vergara and its amphitheatre, the beaches and the Casino, built in 1932.
As we make our way back towards Santiago, your guide will stop at a popular local restaurant.
After dinner, your guide will deliver you to the airport in Santiago for your international flight departure.
Overnight flights to your home airport.
Most international flights depart Santiago in the late evening, after 9pm. Overnight flight, returning home the next day.
Day 9 ~ Return home
Flight arrival in USA.