It's my first time in Chile. My husband and I will be staying for a week in december-new year's eve. Our plan is to stay 3 days in Santiago and then travel around, but I still couldn't choose between...

renting a car and going to the central coast (Viña, Valpo and Isla Negra) for 2 days and the other two we would spend in the wine country
or...

taking a plane to temuco and staying in pucón or villarica for 3 days and than come back.

Please help us decide where to go!!!!!!

I think it might be very difficult to book lodging on the coast at this stage. It gets swamped for New Year's Eve. I would try 2 days in Santiago and 4 in Villarica/Pucon.

Huentetu,
I got the last room in Hosteria Candela in Isla Negra recomended by Fodors, do you think the coast is better than Pucón this time of the year? What do you mean by "swamped", is it too crowded to enjoy? I apriciate any other advise you have about the roads and driving through the region this time of the year...
thank you

I don't want to panic and confuse you, but see if you can cancel the Candela in Isla Negra. Not everywhere on the coast is equally desirable. Isla Negra is fine for a day trip most of the year but is not a good place to stay. If you want to stay on the coast, try to find somewhere in Algarrobo, Viña del Mar or Concon.A couple of possibles:
www.mediomundo.cl/pages/hotel/fr_hot_main.html
www.blumenplatz.cl/
You would need a car for Algarrobo or Concon. You can reach Viña by bus from Santiago but do not try to get a seat on the 31st Dec. Hundreds of thousands of people go to the coast to see the fireworks on New Year's Eve. That is what I mean by swamped.

Really? Is it that bad? Our idea was to visit Pablo Neruda's house-museum on the 31st and stay for the rest of the day and night, and then visit other places by the coast by car. Because Valpo and Viña are full already, my idea was to spend the day there and then back to Santiago, maybe on the 29th. What do you think?

There is a string of small places on the coast which are very downmarket in the summer. El Quisco, El Tabo, Cartegena, San Antonio. Isla Negra is fine during most of the year but not really in summer. The road along the coast will be one big traffic jam on the 31st and also the highway between Santiago and the coast. If you are going on any of those roads you need to start very early in the morning. The normal 1.5 hr trip from Santiago to the coast can take 4 hrs or more by the afternoon. If you start early and take the highway to the coast, turn off for Algarrobo and stay there, that would be best. But if you have the reservation and want to stay in Isla Negra, get there by the morning of the 31st.