Sassafrass

Can't believe I feel so inept. We travel all over Europe and feel quite at home. Rarely need help with much. Now I feel lost.
We have friends who moved to Chile a couple of years ago. They really want us to visit. We have thought about taking a cruise out of the US that goes to Chile and makes a lot of stops along the way, then flying home from Santiago. Last year the cruise rates really fell at the last minute, but other things prevented our going. On the other hand, we could fly directly and just spend a week or two - one with them and the other on our own.

I can do a lot of research on my own, but hoping someone here might have best advice for web site for booking airfare: US (Baltimore) to Chile. Are there any US cities that have more round flights at better prices than from Baltimore?

The cruise makes a lot of stops, but in Europe, I think I get more out of "feet on the ground". Would it be the same in SA, or are most ports interesting enough on their own without lots of travel?

Rather than a cruise that stops in several countries, would it be better to visit only Chile or Chile and one other country? Which other country would you visit?

If we do this, it will probably mean putting off our Turkey trip another year. Will SM be worth giving up Turkey for now? Will it be a bigger adventure?

Opinions and advice please. And many thanks.

HappyTrvlr

You can fly direct from Dallas to Santiago on AA..also,look at Miami.

Jeff_Costa_Rica

First of all, don't feel inept. I understand exactly how you feel. I was an old hand at Europe before I ever set foot in South America and I didn't know how to approach it at first either. I think for most Americans, we know Europe. Even if we've never been there, Europe is in our consciousness. We know what's there, what to see.

South America seems more "vague" if you've never been there. Especially Chile ... It's just "way, way down there." It's not in our consciousness, right?

Here's what I love about Chile: It's a prosperous country with a high standard of living, and things function very well. But nobody every goes to Chile and calls it "Americanized." You definitely know you're in a foreign country. America is too far away to have much influence. So you get this very foreign, but very comfortable experience.

The problem with Chile being so far away is that you're not going to find cheap airfares. Santiago is nine hours south of Miami. It's a lot farther away than Europe.

If visiting your friends is a reason you'd go, then I wouldn't opt for the cruise. You'd get to spend only a few hours with them at one of your ports of call. If it were me, I'd want to spend more time with them and take advantage of their expertise.

Sassafrass

Jeff_Costa_Rica,
Thanks for the kind words.
You are so right. I didn't think about why Europe always seemed so comfortable to me. I had a minor in Art history which mostly focused on European art. I've been reading about Greece and Rome my whole life. I am old enough to be of the group that studied Latin in middle school, read all the stories about Greek and Roman Gods, and made models of famous buildings, so when I actually went to Athens and Rome, It was like a homecoming.

If we did the cruise, we were thinking to still spend at least a week with our friends. That way, we could see several more places on the way, and still have time with them. Two OTOHs: I prefer a less superficial experience than most cruises. DH loves cruises just for themselves. I was thinking we could each get a bit of what we want.
Do you love SM? Did you like Chile? Which country would you combine with Chile?

Happy Trvlr, I will look at your suggestions. Thank you.

Jeff_Costa_Rica

Sure. I think that's exactly it. Whether or not America should be so Eurocentric, it is.

I love Chile. I can't say enough good things about it. Remember that it is a very skinny but very long country. From north to south, it's about 3,000 miles. That's the distance between NY and LA. There's a lot of variety there.

If the cruise ends near Santiago and that's where you're friends are, you have the city (a very nice city), the nearby ports of Valparaiso and Viña del Mar, Chile's wine country and the Andes close by.

Argentina is the logical country to combine with Chile if you want a second country to visit. No place in Chile is very far from Argentina. A few hours east of Santiago is Mendoza, Argentina, also a very nice city and the center of Argentina's wine industry.

qwovadis

www.travelzoo.com has some awesome specials to goturkey.com

from $1100 on sale with air from NYC personally I like

Turkey way better than Chile... but Valpo is a nice harbor

town the Sheraton Vina del Mar my fav good deals bidding

priceline.com from $100 betterbidding.com Intercontinental

is nice in Santiago... air is pretty expensive down

www.despegar.com cheapoair.com

Cheapest I have ever done it is to fly to Lima on Spirit.com

than Sky down to Santiago under $100

Cruises are scenic in season find them boring after a few days

personally but beautiful country... also expensive

[email protected] vacationstogo.com good deals on those

Happy Planning!

qwovadis

In SA I prefer www.guanguiltagua.com Ecuador/Galapagos

www.incalandadventures.com Inka Trail

over Chile far more interesting and adventurous for me.

www.boliviabella.com also great try to do some of those

if you decide to go....

Huentetu

If you like cruises and are familiar with them, then that would be a good way to go. They must be a lot more relaxing than flying!
Because of the volume of passengers, you can often get better air fares from New York or Miami on the east coast if you want to fly. You can easily combine a week with your friends and a week somewhere very special: Easter Island, the Atacama desert, and even a quick trip to Patagonia.
Distances in South America are huge. With the time you have, you should really stick to one country.
Note that if you are from the USA you would pay a US$140 each reciprocity fee flying into the international airport at Santiago (paid on arrival), not if arriving by sea. The same is true of Buenos Aires in Argentina. For Bolivia you need a visa, roughly the same price but with some extra requirements, either acquired beforehand or at the point of entry. Brazil requires a visa, acquired in advance of travel.

Debi

Check flying out of Dulles Airport. They have good South American options from alot of different airlines. For Chile, the visa process is simple. You fly there - stand in line, and pay the visa fee and get the visa right there (same in Argentina).

mlgb

Always worth looking into LAN when flying to Chile. If you don't want to visit Patagonia, Peru would be another option since LAN flies nonstop Santiago to Lima and continues on to Cusco.

You can use their South American airpass to get discount legs within SA. Also your AA miles are good on LAN domestic flights, I think.

Jeff_Costa_Rica

You're not paying a visa fee if you fly into Santiago. It's a "reciprocity fee." Chile charges U.S. citizens $140 upon arrival at the airport because that's what a Chilean has to pay to apply for a visa to go to the United States. As Huentetu says, you pay it only if you fly in. If you arrive by sea, you're home free.

Sassafrass

Thank you for all the responses.
We are still thinking and re-thinking the trip. We had originally planned to go to Turkey this year, as we've been planning for the past five years and things always happened that stopped us. Then our friends keep urging us to visit them in Chile, and it seemed a good thing to do while they are still there. However, we are back to Turkey for now, keeping Chile on the list for Spring if possible.
So, for now, you have given me a lot of ideas and ways to get started for a trip to Chile. Thanks again.

Ecotours_Chile

You don't need to take a cruise to get to Chile.
LA has good fares for flying into Santiago de Chile.
Once in Chile, you could rent a vehicle or book for private tours with your friends. if you want to visit another country I think that Argentina is good option and you can do it on the south, visiting San martin de Los Andes, Villa La Angostura and Bariloche, then return to Chile by the Lake Crossing, arriving to Puerto varas. From there you can take a plane to Punta Arenas and visit Torres del Paine National park in Patagonia.
Enjoy Chile!

Sassafrass

The cruise was really for DH, as he likes them, and we could see a bit of some other places. We decided that we don't want bits though, that we would like to experience more time there. So we will wait until early next year, spend a week or so with our friends, and a week or so someplace else.