Chile

Anybody want to share a private tour to White, Green and Red (Colorada) Lagoons in Bolivia on a day excursion?
I don't want to take the 2-3 day trips to Uyani since I've already booked a hotel in San Pedro de Atacama.
I found so far only 2 companies that offer a fully day excursion, but only in a private tour, averaging approx 500-700 USD (Corque and Cordillera - Bolivian companies operating in San Pedro, I think).
After reading many articles, White & Red lagoons seem not to be misses.
By…

Hoping to trek the W with our 10 year old next January. Has anyone done this with kids? We day hike and take short backpack trips each summer. For example, we did a 2 night backpack trip, 5 miles in with 1500 feet elev gain, then a 5 mike day hike, and then 5 miles out the last day and he did fine. We also day hiked 4 out of 5 consecutive days in Glacier National Park last summer (longest hike 10 miles with 1200 feet elevation gain).

At Torres del Paine we would plan to sleep and eat in…

Hi there,

I'll be going down to Puerto Varas in 2 days and would like to continue by bus (via Argentina) down to Punta Arenas or even better, Puerto Natales and then onwards to Torres del Paine. I'm not sure if any bus company is still doing and finding valid information on the web proves difficult. None of the websides of Tur-Bus, Pullmann, Cruz del Sur etc seem to offer it. Does anyone know if there is a bus company doing it and if so from where to where? Ideal would be direct from Puerto…

Hello there folks, my girlfriend and I are headed to Santiago on 4/8 for about 19 days and we're trying to make the best of our time there while not being too rushed. She really wants to see the northern chile areas near atacama desert and I'm mostly interested in the carretera Austral areas. So, I was wondering what those who've visited these areas recommend. I was thinking we spend the 6-7 days visiting Santiago, Valparaiso and the areas near Atacama, Valle de la luna etc then rent a car in…

Hi,

Just wondering what the availability of camera equipment is like in Punta Arenas? I hear they have a big shopping area but can someone easily buy normal camera equipment there like tripods, memory cards etc? Thanks

I am currently in Argentina and want to buy one (or two) deep-cycle batteries for our vehicle. An Argentinian friend is saying "Buy in Chile, it's half the price there" but I can find no solid information that enables me to compare. My understanding was that Chile is, in general, substantially more expensive than Argentina, but now I'm shocked by prices (of food, for example) in Argentina and don't know what to expect in Chile regarding consumer items.

Any advice, please?

I boarded Tur Bus in Arica Chile for a trip to La Serena Chile. I purchased a Semi Cama fare. The bus ride was horrible. The air conditioning would either be freezing or stop working altogether and it would get extremely hot. The windows do not open. The seats do recline however I couldn't use the leg rest due to my being too tall (6ft.2in). I made the mistake of selecting a seat at the rear of the bus where the bathroom is and I smelled urine all the trip. The bathroom door flung open at…

Hey everyone,
We are looking at spending a few nights in Torres del paine, while in Patagonia this november. We were oringally going to stay at an all inclusive place but have now decided to go to Antartica while we are in that neck of the woods so our budget for patagonia has dramatically decreased!!!
We dont want to camp, but still want somewhere really central- my boyfriend is really into photography so want to be able to capture sunrise/sunset etc. we dont need somewhere flash- we are in our…

Hello folks. I will visit South America during my European summer vacation, which happens to correspond to winter in the southern parts of the continent. I really want to see Torres del Paine while in Chile, which will be in the end of June. Considering it will be winter and quite far south, I have a few questions:

1) What's the weather like? I'm used to a cold climate, even snowstorms and other extreme weather, but I have never camped outside in winter before.
2) How is life in Punta Arenas…

hello,

i am currently in El Calafate heading to P. Natales to take the Navimag ferry to P. Montt.

i see it currently runs North on every Monday and that there is availability for all of March, including next Monday (09/03).

has anyone bought last minute tickets recently?

if so, could you enlighten me with the process i.e. where to go? (Navimag ticket office, i presume), when? (are they open on Sat., when do they start selling last minute?), what kind of dicount can i expect, if any? etc.

i…