AIRPORT - SANTIAGO / PRIVATE "CITY TOUR"

Note:Note: This tour will take place in the afternoon, depending on flight arrival time.

Your first day will serve to welcome you to the capital. A van will be waiting for you at the airport and will take you to your hotel, where you’ll check in. Once you’re settled in, you will have some time for lunch, and at 2 pm the City Tour around Santiago will begin. On it, you’ll visit all the attractions: the seat of government, the multicultural Plaza de Armas, the picturesque Mercado Central and La Vega, as well as the San Cristóbal hill and the historic centers such as Lastarria, Bellas Artes, and Central Santiago. After that, you’ll have time to eat (included) at one of the traditional restaurants in the bohemian area of Bellavista. Finally, you’ll be taken back to your accommodation.

Itinerary:

• Pick-up from Santiago airport (am/pm depending on flight time)
• Pick-up from your hotel for the City Tour (approximately 2 pm)
• Private tour around Santiago’s historic center and residential areas
• Visit Mercado Central and La Vega
• Ride on the San Cristóbal hill funicular
• The meal at a local restaurant in Bellavista
• Return to your hotel

Meals:  Breakfast.

Overnight: Eco Boutique Hotel Bidasoa

Hotel

ECO BOUTIQUE HOTEL BIDASOA – SANTIAGO DE CHILE

SANTIAGO - PRIVATE TOUR "VALPARAISO & WINE"

On day 2, you will be picked up from your hotel between 9 and 9:30 am to begin your journey towards the city of Valparaiso. On the way, you’ll stop off at the Casablanca Valley for a wine tasting tour at the organic vineyard Emiliana.

Then, you’ll continue on towards Valparaiso, famous for its port, colorful architecture, and amazing street art, visible from the city’s hills. Once you are there, you will explore the World Heritage Site on foot, visiting the port, the Plaza Sotomayor y Aníbal Pinto, and the hills of Alegre and Concepción. You will also experience local public transport such as the trolebús and elevators; both national monuments. After visiting various streets, viewpoints and churches, you’ll have time to enjoy lunch at a traditional restaurant (not included) on the Artillería or Florida hills. Finally, at around 4 pm, you’ll be taken back to Santiago.

Itinerary:

• Pick-up from your hotel in Santiago (9-9:30 am)
• Visit the organic vineyard Emiliana or similar in the Valle de Casablanca (wine tour included)
• Visit the port of Valparaiso and its famous hills and historic center
• Time for lunch at a local restaurant (not included)
• Return to your hotel in Santiago (around 6 pm)

Meals:  Breakfast.

Overnight: Eco Boutique Hotel Bidasoa

Hotel

ECO BOUTIQUE HOTEL BIDASOA – SANTIAGO DE CHILE

SANTIAGO AIRPORT - CALAMA / SAN PEDRO DE ATACAMA

On day 3, a van will be waiting for you at your hotel ready to head to Santiago airport, where you’ll catch your flight to the city of Calama and begin your adventure in the Atacama Desert. Once you’re in the northern part of the country, you’ll be picked up from the airport by a driver who will take you to the town of San Pedro de Atacama.

During the hour-long crossing of Atacama Desert, you will see wind-sculpted salt structures, hills of changing light/color depending on the time of day, the rising Andes and Domeyko mountain ranges and crisp blue skies. Upon arrival to San Pedro, your driver will leave you at the hotel and the following check-in, you’ll have free time to explore the cultural beauty of this special place and in the evening, enjoy the unique and spectacular night sky.

Itinerary:

• Transfer from your hotel in Santiago to the airport
• Flight from Santiago de Chile (SCL) to Calama (CJC) (not included)
• Transfer Pick-up from Calama airport to your hotel in San Pedro de Atacama
• Check in at your hotel
• Free Afternoon

Meals:  Breakfast.

Overnight:  Hotel Altiplanico – San Pedro de Atacama

Hotel

ALTIPLANICO – SAN PEDRO DE ATACAMA

SAN PEDRO – HIGH PLATEAU LAGOONS & SALT FLAT OF ATACAMA

Please Note: Itinerary may vary according to weather and road conditions, however, we will endeavor to make your guided tour as comfortable and timely as possible.

After breakfast, our journey begins heading towards the Chaxa lagoon, which is in the middle of the Atacama Salar in the National Reserve “Los Flamencos”.  Here you can see the small and big Parina, and Chilean Flamenco whose pink color contrasts with the bright-white of the salt crystals and deep blue color of the water.  Afterward a stop for lunch in Socaire, a humble hillside village famous for their simple homes without windows or terraces.  After lunch, the tour will continue towards the Altiplano lagoons of Miscanti and Miñiques at 4,200m/13,779ft. elevation.  Surrounded by towering volcanoes you can observe a variety of Altiplano birds, flamencos, foxes, vicunas.

Finally, we’ll visit the town of Toconao, an oasis with ideal climatic conditions for the cultivation of native fruits and vegetables, visit the church declared a national monument and shop the local handicraft.

Itinerary:

• Pick-up from your hotel in San Pedro de Atacama (8 am)
• Visit the Chaxa lagoon (Los Flamencos National Reserve)
• Lunch in the town of Socaire
• Visit the high plateau lagoons of Miñiques and Miscanti
• Tour around the town of Toconao
• Return (around 6 pm)

Meals:  Breakfast – Lunch.

Overnight: Hotel Altiplanico – San Pedro de Atacama

Hotel

ALTIPLANICO – SAN PEDRO DE ATACAMA

SAN PEDRO - MOON VALLEY, GEYSERS & MACHUCA VILLAGE

PART 1: TATIO GEYSERS AND MACHUCA VILLAGE.

This day we will visit the famous Tatio Geysers, considered the highest in the world at 4,320m/14,173ft. Please Note: Pick-up at the hotel will be at 4:30 am as the early morning hours afford the best opportunity to view the geysers in full glory and to best appreciate the unique early morning desert light.  Breakfast will be provided on-site to take full advantage of this natural wonder. Optionally, you can take a relaxing bath in a rustic pool of warm water in this completely natural environment. On our return to San Pedro, we will stop in the village of Machuca, where people have bred llamas and collect Llareta (flowering plant, family Apiaceae) for generations.

Itinerary:

• Pick-up from your hotel in San Pedro de Atacama (4:30 am)
• Visit the El Tatio geysers
• Breakfast by the geysers
• Visit the town of Machuca
• Return (around midday)

PART 2: MOON VALLEY.

After lunch, we will travel 13km East to the Moon Valley, a natural sanctuary whose landscape resembles the Moon with a variety of craters and wind-sculptured rock formations. This Valley is of haunting beauty which will make you wonder if you are still on planet Earth. After witnessing one of the most beautiful sunsets on the planet with a tasting cheese & wine, we return to the hotel.

Itinerary:

• Pick-up from your hotel in San Pedro de Atacama  (4 pm)
• Sunset in the Valley of the Moon
• Picnic and wine sampling in the valley at sunset
• Return  (7 pm)

Meals:  Breakfast – Picnic.

Overnight: Hotel Altiplanico Atacama.

Hotel

ALTIPLANICO – SAN PEDRO DE ATACAMA

SAN PEDRO DE ATACAMA - CALAMA / SANTIAGO AIRPORT

Last day in the Atacama plateau. Depending on the flight departure times, you will have time to explore San Pedro including Le Paige Archeological Museum, local church, Inca House (oldest structure in San Pedro), sandboarding or trekking on the surrounding dunes. Four kilometers away is the Pukara fortress which dates from the twelfth century. These are only some of the amazing attractions of San Pedro de Atacama.

At a pre-arranged hour, your driver will pick you up at the hotel and take you to the Calama Airport for the return flight to Santiago.

Meals:  Breakfast.

End of EcoChile Services.