Chile for 10 days
 

Hello, my boyfriend and I are thinking about going to Chile for 10 days in early October 2009. We are active (hiking, camping, etc), enjoy wine (but don't know all that much about it!), and enjoy learning about other cultures. We are thinking about spending a day in Santiago, 2-3 days in wine country, 3 days on Easter Island, and possibly go up to Atacama. Is this too crazy? To be honest, I haven't done much research yet, as we are just starting to look into this. I thought I would ask all of you for your initial thoughts to help us frame our research / itinerary. Thanks in advance!

Given your interest in hiking, you should consider Torres de Paine (check the weather), Valparaiso was great (as was the horseriding nearby). San Pedro de Atacama is popular and you might consider a flight down to Punta Arenas if only to say you have been to the end of the world!! Chile is very long and the distances can be huge and you will need to fly, so I would suggest checking flight schedules before getting too far into the planning.

Couple things to consider...flights to Easter Island do not occur every day of the week, so if Rapa Nui is a must-see, plan your trip around that. Its a 4 hour flight to the island.

If you have 10 days, you'll have time for Santiago, Valparaiso (Coastal city about an hour from Santiago), Wine Country, and then time for one more trip. Either Easter Island, Atacama, or Patagonia, all of which require about 4+ days to get to and see (2 days of travel there and back and at least two days to explore)

Early October...it will still be really cold in Patagonia, so Easter Island or Atacama would be better weather-wise.

Hello, thanks for your responses. We are going to skip Atacama and just do Santiago, Valparaiso, Easter Island and the wine country. Are there any wineries that are must dos (or any that are cute to stay at that aren't too exorbitantly priced)? Any recommendations for places to stay in Santiago and Easter Island? We like to stay at quiet-ish places. Don't need a private bathroom. We would like to spend max $100 / day for the two of us, but would like to find a place closer to $50 / day, so we can "splurge" in the wine country and stay someplace really cute. Thanks!

In Santiago, I would recommend staying at the Hotel Foresta. It is cheap, clean and very well located. It is best to call, 562 6396262.

Alternatively there are very good hostels, Hostel Andes, Hostel Bellavista which even provide private bathrooms.

For accomodation check out:
www.hostelworld.com
www.hostelbookers.com

Both are easy to use and offer great value accomodation (not just dorms)