Day 1
Overnight flight to Santiago.
Day 2
Reception at Santiago airport and transfer to your selected hotel in the heart of the city.
Afternoon city tour of Santiago. We will pick you up from your hotel to explore the historic and modern sights of Santiago de Chile. We will start our tour at the Alameda Bernardo O’Higgins, Santiago’s main avenue, visiting La Moneda, the Government Palace, where we will explain to you the historical and actual meaning of this place. We will enjoy a walk through the pedestrian streets of Huerfanos and Ahumada, where the main commercial activity of the city is concentrated. We will then visit the famous Plaza de Armas, the main square of the city, which is surrounded by the Metropolitan Cathedral and other historical buildings such as the City Hall and the Post Office, both dating from colonial times. Next we head to Santa Lucia Hill, the hill upon which the Spanish founded Santiago in 1541. It is a lone steep rock, with many plants and an antique building rising steeply from the city below. From here you can see the Parque Forestal (park) on one side and the Mapocho River on the other. We will cross the river to visit Bellavista, the cultural and artistic neighborhood of Santiago. Return to your hotel.
Note: check-in is normally after 2 pm. Early check-in may be granted subject to availability (not confirmed).
Day 3
Full-day excursion to Vińa del Mar and Valparaiso
Depart for the central coast, traveling through the valleys of Curacaví and Casablanca and the beach area of Reńaca. We will visit the town of Vińa del Mar, known as the Garden City for its pretty parks and flower-lined streets. Visit the Gaming Casino and the coastal road. In the afternoon, continue to the picturesque port of Valparaiso which was built in the 16th century on 43 hills which are reached by narrow, winding streets, staircases and a series of lifts (funiculars), and which has been declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site because of its eclectic architecture and urban development. Return to Santiago.
Day 4
Full-day excursion to Cousińo Macul and Concha y Toro wineries
We will visit two of the oldest and most historic wineries in Chile:
Vińa Cousińo Macul, founded in 1856, is still owned and run by the direct descendents of Matías Cousińo, the founder of the vineyard and owner of the Lota coal mines in the south of Chile. The cellars were built in the French style using “cal y canto,” a mixture of egg white and lime as cement. Time for lunch (not included) before continuing to Vińa Concha y Toro. Founded in 1883 by Don Melchor Concha y Toro, it is today the largest producer of export wines in Chile. It has more than 11,000 barrels of French and American oak oriented to the production of fine wines with a capacity to store 8 million liters of wine in steel holding tanks. The tour takes us to the landscaped gardens of the colonial house and the vineyards. We will also learn about the wine-making process and will visit the modern processing plant and the old cellars. Afternoon, return to Santiago and transfer to your hotel.
Day 5
Full-day guided excursion to the wine route of the Colchagua Valley
Depart from Santiago along the Pan-American Highway toward Colchagua, a fertile valley known for its boutique wineries. The journey takes approximately two hours. Upon arrival at the village of Santa Cruz, we will coordinate the visits and depart for the wineries. Options include: Vińa Casa Silva, Estampa, Jacques & Francois Lurton, Laura Hartwig, Montes, Mont Gras, Viu Manent and Vińa Bisquertt. As different wineries are open on different days, the choice will depend on the day of the tour. A full visit to the wineries with a wine-tasting is included. Following the visits, we will partake of lunch at the Hotel Santa Cruz Plaza or a local restaurant. In the afternoon, it is possible to visit a third winery or the Colchagua Museum, which houses one of the most important private collections of pre-Hispanic art in Chile, as well as an important display of artifacts from the Chilean colonial period. You will visit three wineries or two wineries and one museum (museums are closed on Mondays). Following the last visit, transfer to Hotel Santa Cruz Plaza for the night.
Day 6
Morning of leisure. This afternoon, transfer from your hotel to the international airport in Santa Cruz for your flight home.