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  • How to Tackle Chile in a Week

    How to Tackle Chile in a Week

    [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]When we jumped on the $200 error fare to Santiago, I’ll be honest, I had NO idea what we were going to do for a week (okay, eight days) in Chile. I assumed we’d have to stick to a bunch of day trips from Santiago (which, upon my research, really wouldn’t have been such a bad trip at all!) and that getting down to Patagonia was going to cost an arm and a leg.

    Luckily, once I put my travel research hat on I realized that wouldn’t have to be the case at all.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”876″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_rounded”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]If you’re not one for action-packed trips and like a more leisurely pace, this itinerary may not be for you, but hopefully anyone reading gets some good tips and ideas out of here anyway![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Day 1: Arrive in Santiago. It probably depends where you are flying from, but we took an 8-hour redeye flight from Mexico City. We’re both lucky enough that we sleep relatively well on planes, and always try to hit the ground running after an overnight flight. We spent the afternoon exploring Santiago – eating, drinking, and taking it all in.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Day 2: Day trip to Valparaiso and Vina del Mar. We were flying out early the next morning so an overnight trip wasn’t an option for us – it made for a pretty long day but I knew we wanted to fit in a trip to the graffitied city. This happened to be on a Sunday, and if that happens to you be forewarned that many restaurants will be closed, but we found a hilltop spot and then enjoyed wandering around the streets and checking out all of the art. We also weren’t sure when we would want to head back to Santiago so did not buy a bus ticket in advance – typically not an issue but at the end of the weekend everyone else was heading back to Santiago as well – we opted to take an Uber home rather than a bus that would have gotten us in after midnight. You live and you learn, right?[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Day 3: Travel to Puerto Natales in Patagonia. Be prepared for a long day. This involved a 3-hour flight south to Punta Arenas (hello, 600-miles from Antartica!) and then another 2 1/2 hour bus ride north to Puerto Natales. We opted to fly their budget airlines, SKY Airlines, which got us there safe and sound, and then Bus Sur for the comfortable bus ride. Tip: You can buy your tickets online beforehand and choose your seats. Once we arrived, we settled into our hotel and then took a taxi over to The Singular Hotel for a relaxing late afternoon bottle of Chilean wine and snacks.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Day 4: Today’s the day! You’re going to spend the entire day exploring Torres del Paine. Obviously, due to our time constraints, we did not have time to do any of the 5-day treks, so we opted for a full-day tour allowing us to check out many amazing sites along the way and go for short walks and hikes as well.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Day 5: After your full day in Torres, followed by another delicious dinner in Puerto Natales (seriously – head over to our blog about Patagonia to check out where we ate!) you’re back on the bus and headed to the airport. While another long day, we were scheduled to arrive back in Santiago around 5pm, giving us a bit of time to relax before dinner. Unfortunately, our flight was delayed for a few hours so we didn’t end up arriving in Santiago until 8pm. Luckily I had made dinner reservations a block from our hotel and they still seated us an hour after our reservation time![/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Day 6: Back at the airport. Yeah, I know! But there are no direct flights from Punta Arenas to Calamia so we were stuck with an overnight in Santiago. There are a couple of flights a day to Calamia but we chose to take the earliest one to maximize our time in San Pedro de Atacama. The flight was much shorter (under 2 hours) but make sure to maximize anytime you have to nap! Once we arrived in Atacama we dropped our stuff, headed to the hot springs, and then Valle de La Luna.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Day 7: Exploring Atacama. We had rented a car which gave us the flexibility to sleep in a little bit later than if we had booked a tour. We spent the day driving around, basically following the tour route that looked the most interesting to us, while avoiding all of the tourists. Want to learn more about what we did? Read more here![/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Day 8: It’s time to start the long journey home. It’s still dark out when we leave our hotel – we’re catching the earlier flight to avoid any potential delays that could force us to miss our flight back home. When we arrive in Santiago we still have about 8 hours to kill so we head to the fish market, the yarn street, the historic center, and pretty much just walk the city until we’re in need of pisco sours, Chilean wine, and snacks to get us through. The sun sets and we are on another redeye back to Mexico City.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Once I started researching Chile I realized there was so much greatness all over the country – while we saw A LOT we barely scratched the surface of mountains, lakes, and wine country to see!

    Where should we go the next time we make it down to Chile?[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

  • Stopping Through Santiago

    Stopping Through Santiago

    [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]I fell in love with Buenos Aires in 2012, but hadn’t been back to South America since. Toby had spent 3 weeks mountaineering in Peru in 2011 – and we knew we were getting due for another trip down south. I had always assumed the next stop would be Rio, maybe somewhere in Colombia, until we scored $200 flights through an Orbitz error fare. We didn’t spend a whole lot of time in Santiago as we wanted to see as much of the country as possible (in a whopping 8 days) but we did manage to sneak in some great meals and sightseeing.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

    Where to Stay

    W Santiago – We used points for most of our trip to Chile, which landed us at the W for the first two nights we were there. The W definitely didn’t disappoint (I’m a sucker for hotel rooms with balconies) and most of the Starwood and Marriott hotels were in the same neighborhood (Las Condes). The neighborhood seemed to have some restaurants but seemed to be more of a business district so we did spend time ubering back and forth to other parts of town, like Bellavista.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”787″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_rounded”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Hotel Loreto – an overnight layover seemed to be our only option between our time in Patagonia and the Atacama desert, so I chose somewhere that would be nice enough to sleep and shower in, and focused more on the neighborhood. We ended up having a 3-hour delay leaving Patagonia so I was even more pleased with my decision to not spend a large sum of money or points for about 6 hours in a room. The room was nice enough (small) and the location was great (and only about a block from the restaurant we had dinner reservations at). I’d recommend this hotel to anyone on a budget – after all, you’re probably spending most of your day out and about![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

    Where to Eat (and Drink)

    Bocanariz – We landed in Santiago a bit before lunch time, so I was more than ready for some food (and wine) once we dropped our bags at the hotel. Bocanariz hit the spot. They had many different wine flights to choose from so we each ordered something different, and snacked on empanadas and their version of patatas bravas. It was also my first introduction to Chile being more expensive than Argentina.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”780″ img_size=”500x” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_rounded”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Restaurant 040 – while I didn’t find many of our meals in Chile very inexpensive, Restaurant 040 was our splurge. We did a 10? 12? course tasting that was absolutely amazing. I mean everything. Was. So. Delicious. And worth every dollar. We booked in advance and were able to go to Room #9 (their speakeasy bar) after dinner. Even if you decide not to splurge for dinner, I recommend trying to check out Room #9 – I believe there is a new password every day, but the drinks and setting are amazing. The restaurant was located in the Bellavista area, so convenient to many other places.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”786″ img_size=”500x” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_rounded”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Sarita Colonia – located a block away from Hotel Loreto in the Bellavista neighborhood, this restaurant was full of quirky, strange things, and delicious food with a Peruvian flair. We ended up getting to our reservation an hour late (thanks to our 3-hour flight delay) but they were still able to sit us. I’ve heard that the roof deck is amazing but we didn’t have a chance to check it out.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”789″ img_size=”500x” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_rounded”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Barrica 94 – this restaurant and wine bar is located in the area named Patio Bellavista. What that is is really a collection of all different types of restaurants (including a steakhouse called Montana that I found myself facing the entire time we were sipping on wine). The idea of the Patio isn’t really my style – I felt like I was in some sort of outdoor restaurant shopping mall, but I can understand why people go there and the wine (and steak) at Barrica 94 didn’t disappoint.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Chipe Libre – Républica Independiente del Pisco – no trip to Chile is complete without taking in at least one (or many) Pisco Sours. I’m sure there are plenty of places to grab a great one, but we found ourselves enjoying our last of the trip at Chipe Libre – conveniently enough right next door to Bocanariz. The decor inside was great and they had a lovely outdoor patio as well. And of course, delicious empanadas to go along with your pisco. If you really want to get into pisco, they offer pisco flights there as well.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”791″ img_size=”500x” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_rounded”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Mercado Central de Santiago – I would NOT recommend going here if you hate fish. While you may find something to eat there that doesn’t come from the sea, the entire market is full of stalls selling all kinds of seafood so the smell is undeniable. We settled on Augusto’s, which seemed to be the largest place there, and enjoyed some King Crab and shrimp. It wasn’t anything to write home about, but the experience was at least worth a walk through.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”790″ img_size=”500x” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_rounded”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

    What to Do

    To be honest, we didn’t DO a whole lot in Santiago. We walked around the city, stopped for food and drinks along the way, and basically used the city as numerous long layovers.

    San Cristobal Hill – while there is probably a good chance you’ll have to wait in line for a bit, I decided it was worth it to take a funicular up to the top for great views of the apparently giant city we were exploring. You can hike to the top as well but it was a rather hot day when we were there so we opted for the lazy (but sort of fun) funicular ride.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”788″ img_size=”500x” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_rounded”][vc_single_image image=”783″ img_size=”500x” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_rounded”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Plaza de Armas – this main square wasn’t too far from San Cristobal or the Mercado Central, and I’m glad I didn’t go well out of my way to see it. There were some pretty buildings but I felt the area was loud, congested, and made me want to run back to the peace of the Atacama desert.

    Buy Yarn! I had heard there was an entire street filled with yarn shops – and this is true. I hadn’t made a definite decision on whether I was going to buy an alpaca yarn, but when we stumbled upon the street leaving Mercado Central I felt like it was meant to be. Unfortunately, it was a lot hard to find Chilean alpaca wool than I would have thought, but I nabbed a few colors and shipped them off to my mom. Photos coming as soon as she finishes knitting me a scarf!

    All in all, I thought Santiago had enough to offer for a couple of nights. I see it more as a city people live in instead of visit (which must be why I know more people who have lived there for a few months or years at a time than visitors) but the proximity to beaches, mountains, and wineries is also amazing (reminds me of a place I might live in).

    Stay tuned to for posts on our day trip to Valparaiso and Vina del Mar and our time in the Atacama Desert.

    Check out our trip to Patagonia here![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]