Chile in 3.5 weeks

Hey Travelers,

My wife and I will be entering Chile via the Uyuni Salt Flats around July 20th and then plan on touring Chile for about 3.5 weeks. Should we simply make our way south from there or fly somewhere in the south of the country? What are some places we definitely don't want to miss? (I'm assuming Patagonia would be a stretch).

I certainly don't want to miss Valparaiso and we leave from Chile on August 12th out of Santiago.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

-Chris

Hi Floyder!
I would visit San Pedro (3days) and then I d go to the south and stop in Valparaiso (3days) , Santiago (2days) and then I d buy a flight from Santiago to Punta Arenas (check Skyairline, we found a cheap return flight last year). From there you can spend about 2 weeks in Patagonia and visit Torres del Paine NP (maybe do the W trek), Isla Magdalena, El Calafate (Perito Moreno) etc..
The North is also cool but if you have just 3,5 weeks I would suggest you to focus on the South/Patagonia.

p.s: from San Pedro you can take a direct bus to Santiago/Valparaiso. It s going to take a day :)

Hi Chris -

I have been living in Chile with my family since last July. We recently moved up to Viña Del Mar after being in Puerto Varas for ten months. If you were coming during the summer months I would suggest a trip to the far south (specifically Torres Del Paine national park) but the weather in the south of Chile in July will not be pleasant (LOTS of rain). The volcanic eruption has coated the area around Puerto Varas with lots of ash and they are expecting the volcano to smoke for months. So, I would stay more towards the center/north. I would definitely suggest visiting the Valparaiso/Viña Del Mar/Reñaca areas which are easily reached from Santiago. Since we just got here (to Viña) a week ago I don't have many suggestions on what specifically to see here but if you want to message me closer to your arrival we will have had time to explore :)

Carrie

Oh another thing to note is that if you DO end up going to Torres Del Paine all of the refugios are closed during winter months so you will need to camp.

From San Pedro de Atacama to Santiago and Valparaiso, 10 days will be enough. You could stay in Chile, including the south, for3.5 weeks if you come in summer, a half a year later.
I'd suggest, instead, after finishing the tour of Salar de Uyuni, visit SAn Pedro de Atacama and from there go to Salta and the area around. Frome there proceed to Mendoza, and then across the andes to Santiago and Valparaiso. Since it's winter, the roads might get occasionally closed due to heavy snow fall, so you'd need to check the situation as you go.

Be cautious in Valparaiso if you go up certain hills. I was recently there and neighborhood people warmed me that I looked like a tourist so could be hurt/held up....by bad guys called Lanzas or something similar. Their advise: go back down. This happened near the harbor area. perhaps using public transport may be safer than walking.

Will it be impossible to tour southern chile in mid-late July as a result of the volcano?

Thanks for your response, Carrie.

-Chris

Hi Chris - It would be possible to tour the south (as in Puerto Varas, Puerto Montt) in mid-July although I wouldn't recommend it. You will have rain most days and not be able to see much and unfortunately, the volcano has covered many of the scenic areas like Ensenada with about a foot of ash. You could get lucky and get a few sunny days, we did have a couple in July. If you want to go super far south as in Torres Del Paine, Puerto Natales areas you wouldn't be affected by the volcano. Hope this helps :)

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