I had a block of 3 weeks and wanted to spend the time in a single country. But I had no flexibility on the time of year – it was November or nothing. My short list was Southern India, Chile and Tasmania. I settled on Chile!
I had 19 days total – it’s not enough time to do everything (there is never enough time to do and see everything) but I am happy with what I was able to squeeze in. And in a perfect world, I could have probably cut my trip by 3-4 days* and still had the same experience. (I built in some extra days at Easter Island and pure travel days to and from Atacama and the “W”).
That is not to say I don’t want to go back and explore some more. I’d like to go back to go rafting. I’d like to do more hiking in Patagonia. My trip had four anchor points: Hiking the W; Atacama; Santiago; and Easter Island. Here is my 19-day itinerary to give you some ideas if planning your own trip.
Day 1: Overnight international flight from the US to Santiago
Day 2: Flight from Santiago to Puerto Natales and afternoon in Puerto Natales
Day 3: Morning in Puerto Natales with afternoon bus ride to Torres de Paine
Day 4-7: Hiking the W and returning to Puerto Natales the afternoon of the last day
Day 5: Afternoon flight from Puerto Natales to Santiago; evening in Santiago
Day 6: Early morning flight to Calama, rented a car to San Pedro de Atacama and started exploring the surrounding area of Atacama.
Day 7-10: Atacama desert; with an afternoon flight back to Santiago on the last day
Day 11-13: Santiago Chile with a day trip to Valparaiso
Day 14-18: Easter Island
Day 19: Departure
Other than spending more time in Patagonia, I didn’t hear or read about anywhere else that really stuck out and made me regret my itinerary.
I will break down each of the four locations in later posts but just wanted to provide an overview first.
How to save some time:
*Days 1-6 could have been tightened up easily. I could have gone to Torres de Paine in the morning and begun hiking that same day or gone to Torres de Paine the afternoon of day 2. Originally my flight back to Santiago was in the morning and I could have flown to Calama the same day, but it was changed by the airlines. If short on time, know you can easily trim this down a little bit. However, it should be noted that I loved Patagonia and want to return to do more hiking and maybe some rafting. I was also pleasantly surprised by Puerto Natales and enjoyed my time there. It didn’t feel wasted.
*I didn’t fall in love with Santiago. I didn’t need two days and I could have easily been happy with one full day there. I did really enjoy our day trip to Valparaiso.
*I am so glad for the extra time on Easter Island but three nights is enough to see the Moai and walk around town.
More to come where I will break down each location and pass on my recommendations.
Life Kinetic Travel Research 