trip - ilivetotravel's travel log

Top 7 Places to See When Visiting in Chile

Having traveled a bit through Chile (though, admittedly, I missed some places I hear are worth exploring like Valdivia), I thought I’d share what I would recommend as a good itinerary for those with time (but not boundless time either). I will either expand on some of the items below in other entries or they have been covered already in entries I already made (true for the Atacama and Patagonia bits).

The Valle de la Luna is one of the key sights in the Atacama Desert

Chile offers a wide range of landscapes due to the fact that it runs a long way in the latitude dimension, therefore, the climates along the country vary significantly. The presence of the Andes clearly has a major effect in the climate as well as provides a great backdrop to many of the places you should see (heck, sometimes it is not just the backdrop but part of what you will explore).

Cueva Milodón, Torres del Paine, Patagonia, Chile, travel, nature, outdoors, view, amazing, vista, mountains, clouds, snow, greem

View near the Cueva del Milodón near Torres del Paine

A trip to Chile typically starts of in Santiago, its capital, though one can enter the country from any of the neighboring countries in places like the Atacama, Pucon, the lake district, or Patagonia.

Valley of the Moon, Atacama, desert, Chile, desierto, San Pedro, landscape, nature

In the Atacama Desert, near the Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon)

Here are my top 7 places to have in your itinerary to explore wonderful Chile (most of the items below have a hyperlink to posts I wrote about each place with plenty of photos!):

Patagonia/Tierra del Fuego including Torres del Paine, fjords, glaciers, etc. (8-10 days). Only reasonable way is to fly down from Santiago, about 4 hours. The flight may be direct or may make a stop in Puerto Montt which means you could also spend a few days in the area around Puerto Montt! I went and booked a series of tours at a local agency in Puerto Arenas once I arrived there – great way to do it as they explained what things there were to see and then they connected the dots for me in terms of transport and tickets. As a solo traveler with only 4-5 days, it was a great way to maximize the visit. The second time, 5 years later, I focused on hiking the ‘W’ circuit of the Torres del Paine, a 5-day endeavor with Puerto Natales being the starting point.
San Pedro de Atacama and nearby sites in the Atacama desert (4-6 days). If you go from Santiago, it is about a 2-hr flight to Calama and then catch a bus ride at the airport (about 1 hr or so to reach San Pedro). The Atacama desert is the driest desert in the world which is mind-blowing as it is so close to the Pacific Ocean. From seeing the salt lakes, the altiplano, the Valley of the Moon, and the geysers to watching the multiple types of flamingos fly by to enjoy what feels like (but really is not) a true frontier town, San Pedro and the vicinity is a spectacular place in this planet. I only spent a 3-day holiday weekend there while working in Santiago and, while we saw the key sights, I was left wanting more time to chill and explore more.
Puerto Montt, the Lake District, and Chiloé (4-7 days). About a two hour flight from Santiago. Endless amount of sights to see: the town of Frutillar, crossing the Andes into Argentina by crossing the lakes, the charming island of Chiloé, etc. Notice the German colonists’ influence in the area. Driving around best but there are other ways to see it.
Pucón and the Villarica area (3-6 days). A long drive from Santiago (about 8 hours), it showcases nature at its best. We went white water rafting down the Trancura and stayed at a lakeside hotel that felt like ‘peace’ personified.
Valparaíso (2 days) A little less than an hour and a half’s drive from Santiago, it is charming and colorful. Explore the various funiculars (“ascensores”) available so people do not have to climb MASSIVE staircases to reach the areas atop the hills of the city. But do be careful: some of the areas of town you get to with them are higher crime areas (we were warned by a local as we went up one of the funiculars!). Some of the funiculars are more storied (some dated from the 1880s!) or peculiar than others so worth researching a little. Add on next-door Viña del Mar and its beaches to the visit but they don’t rank up there in my book in terms of beaches.
Santiago (2-4 days) A city is a city is a city – but I find it worth exploring. It is not Paris but I love this city for its relative ‘calmness,’ its livability (I spent most of a year there with work), and its proximity to the amazing Andes. Good food, and lovely and diverse neighborhoods make it worth the visit. In the right season, ski resorts are really close (Valle Nevado being one of them) and the beach just an hour and a half away. Wineries nearby too… Do I need to say more?
Mendoza (2-3 days minimum) OK, this is Argentina but it is almost in Chile (and seems more Chilean than Argentine in temperament…) and easier to get to from Santiago than from anywhere else! It is a very short flight (less than an hour) from Santiago. If you buy the ticket in Chile it is WAY cheaper than if you buy it abroad…

A typical house in Puerto Natales, the closest town to Torres del Paine: A typical house in Puerto Natales, the closest town to Torres del Paine

Readers, please feel free to add or provide other perspectives. I, by no means, saw EVERYTHING Chile has to offer!

Pin this to your travel board!

Boarding Pass Stories: Constantinople! OK, Istanbul

The destination, the when(s), and the reason(s)

My knack for taking one trip idea and expanding its scope is not a recent event. That’s how I ended last year exploring a country I may have never visited otherwise: Moldova. It pre-dates my travel blogging days by a bit. As I joined a group of friends last-minute on a trip to Egypt (literally, like two weeks before the trip), I wondered what else could I do as I had plenty of vacation time at work. I contacted a former co-worker who had moved back to his hometown of Istanbul and asked him if I could visit and he said yes, of course. I got a free ticket to/from Istanbul with Delta and then bought a separate ticket between Istanbul and Cairo so I had to fly through Istanbul to head to Egypt first and then I would come back and stop in Istanbul from where I would fly through Paris again (as the boarding pass above shows). This was in 1998, eons ago, it feels.

The airline

Air France offered great service as usual in those days for many airlines. I flew business class since I had plenty o’ miles and it was going to be a LONG trip. Class…

What fascinated me about this experience

I returned from Cairo to Istanbul to visit my friend and explore this “epically historic” city for the first time. I wait for my friend and nothing. An hour passes and I begin to get a little antsy (these days, cellphones were not what they are today and I believe you still couldn’t use a U.S. in Europe, had I brought mine along).

So I nervously wondered if my friend confused the day or time of my arrival. I realized I should call him at work and see. Since these were the days you could still find payphones, this would not be a problem. Except I first had to exchange money, hope for coins, figure out how much to pay for the call, etc. I called and it rang and rang. I kept trying and no answer. I was beginning to worry more now. I decided that surely someone was sitting around his desk or office so maybe I just had to keep calling until someone, in exasperation, decided to walk over and answer the darned phone. Someone sure did.

They plugged me through to my friend’s secretary and she told me she had been expecting my call (!) as my friend had unexpectedly and last minute been asked to make a trip abroad. So he left instructions with her to connect me to his girlfriend so she could let me in his apartment, etc. I rang her but in talking to her I realized his apartment was not near the city center which was the area I was going to be exploring and since my friend was not around, no point in staying far out.

I pulled out my travel book and found a hotel, the Pierre Lotti, which had availability and ended up working perfectly due to its proximity to all the places I wanted to see! What was great about this experience was that I explored Istanbul for 5 awesome days, met other travelers with whom I then did more social/less-touristy things, and had a great time! I did meet my friend’s girlfriend for lunch which was neat and which led to me getting lost on the way back to the hotel. But that, my dear reader, will be food for another post!