Classic Chile

Board an overnight flight from the UK to Santiago.

Note: British Airways currently have a direct flight from London Heathrow to Santiago, but it isn’t daily. Please speak with your travel expert to confirm the dates of operation. There are also flights via Madrid with Iberia, Paris with Air France and LATAM via Sao Paulo. There are also flights via the US.

You will arrive into Santiago in the morning, where you will be met and driven to your hotel in the leafy suburb of Lastarria. 

A private tour of Chile’s capital will show you the historic Santa Lucia Hill with its wonderful facades, fountains and stairways, as well as the famous European architecture that fills the Paris-Londres neighbourhood. You’ll stop for a cup of coffee at one of the notorious “café con piernas”, before setting off to explore some of the city’s most vibrant markets.

Your hotel is a charming restored house down a side road in Lastarria. It’s full of character and has a beautiful terrace and garden area.

Stay: One night at Casa Bueras Boutique Hotel – Bed & breakfast

From Santiago you will board a flight to Punta Arenas, the gateway to Chilean Patagonia.

On arrival you will be met by representatives from Tierra Patagonia and driven five hours towards Torres del Paine National Park. Your hotel is just outside the park, but has beautiful views towards the mountains and is on the shores of the picturesque Lake Sarmiento. A 5* design hotel, Tierra Patagonia is the ideal base for exploring Torres del Paine. The hotel have their own guides and vehicles and offer a wide variety of activities, including hikes, riding, mountain biking and photo safaris. Excursions are in small groups and are chosen on arrival at the hotel. They have an excellent restaurant and bar and all meals and drinks are included in your stay.

Over the next three days you’ll explore the national park and surrounds. The jewel in the Patagonian crown, this is a region defined by its glacial lakes, impossibly blue rivers, granite peaks and rich forests.

You’ll be awe struck by views of the Cuernos del Paine and star-gaze from the comfort of the hotel. Open wooden walkways, kayaking excursions, walks to nearby waterfalls and trekking in Lenga forest will all enhance the sensation of living close to nature.

Stay: Four nights at Tierra Patagonia – including all meals, drinks, shared activities and shared transfers

From Torres del Paine you will be driven back to Punta Arenas, where a night is spent before flying to the Chilean Lake District. 

Punta Arenas is the main city in Chilean Patagonia and is steeped in history. It sits alongside the Straits of Magellan and is a strange mix of wool-boom mansions and port renovations. Nowadays it is one of the country’s main ports and is the main access point to Tierra del Fuego and Torres del Paine. The afternoon can be spent exploring the towns plazas and museums, which include the fascinating maritime museum. 

Stay: One night at La Yegua Loca – Bed & breakfast

Now it’s time to exchange Punta Arenas and the wilds of Patagonia for the more temperate climate of the Chilean Lake District.

A short flight will take you to Puerto Montt, where you will be met by representatives from Tierra Chiloé and transferred from the mainland to Chiloé Island. 

Chiloé is an island archipelago, home to pastoral landscapes and known for its iconic wooden churches built by Jesuit missionaries in the 17th and 18th centuries. The northwest coast, where blue whales gather, also has the three islets Islotes de Puñihuil, Natural Heritage Site, a Magellanic and Humboldt penguin breeding ground.

Your hotel is on the eastern side of the island and has beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean. Like Tierra Patagonia (and Tierra Atacama) activities are included in your stay and are chosen on arrival. With the hotel’s guides you will explore the island by foot, vehicle and horseback. The hotel also have their own boat and you will explore the charming towns, beautiful landscapes and hidden beaches of the island. You’ll visit the stilted homes which are so synonymous with the island as well as the myths which come from the island.

Stay: Three nights at Tierra Chiloé – including all meals, drinks, shared activities and shared transfers

After a week exploring the south of the country, you will fly to Calama, where you will be met and driven to the oasis town of San Pedro de Atacama.

Prepare to be astounded, as you’re surrounded by the harsh but astoundingly photogenic landscapes of the Atacama Desert. Expect shimmering white salt flats, cacti rearing up from the desert and a sprinkling of verdant oases. You can visit active geysers and hike, climb, ride horses or mountain bike in the aptly named Moon Valley.

Stay: Four nights at Tierra Atacama – including all meals, drinks, shared activities and shared transfers

Fly back to Santiago and you’ll be taken by car to the Rosario Valley, just 90 minutes away. Here you’ll be staying at a small but acclaimed organic winery with a wild garden setting. It’s the perfect base for exploring the natural beauty of the valley on foot, horseback or bicycle. Enjoy a tour of the winery and sample a selection of their ultra-premium wines.

Stay: Two nights at La Casona at Matetic Vineyards – Bed & breakfast

This afternoon you’ll be driven back to Santiago airport for your overnight international flight to the UK. Arriving the following morning.