Just got back from Chile, visited Santiago, Patagonia and La Serena. If anyone has any questions, post or email me.

We will be leaving for Chile in 2 weeks-in Santiago and Patagonia and the Lake district. Please recommend some short but spectacular hikes in Patagonia. Thanks Pat

We had a grand time in Patagonia. To really experience the incredible winds on a very short walk (not a hike), walk to Salto Grande. And, if the winds are not too bothersome for you, continue that walk (it now becomes a hike) to a lookout over Lago Nordenskjold. For a &quot;WOW&quot; experience, take the boat from Guarderia Lago Pehoe to Albergue Camping Pehoe. Then hike at least two hours to a fantastic view of Glaciar Frances. Check on return time for the boat.<BR>If you spend a night in Puerto Natales, we suggest an all day, 8-hour cruise on Cuter 21 de Mayo. On that cruise, you will have an opportunity to dock and walk to Serrano Glaciar (make sure to bring a bag lunch).<BR>M&amp;J

Hi, <BR>First, you will excuse my english.<BR>I would like to make that kind of trip.<BR>But is it easy to travel on yourself for the hotels, boats etc?<BR>What did you do and saw in Patagonia.<BR>And how many days I should preview?<BR>Thanking you in advance<BR>Maurice

We booked our Chile trip from the US, booking hotels directly.<BR><BR> The web site for the trip to Serrano glacier on the 21 de Mayo boat is http://www.chileaustral.com/21demayo/english.htm<BR>You can book online (which might be a good idea since the boat was filled the day we boarded). The boat leaves daily from Puerto Natales. As mentioned above, bring lunch.

Hi Maurice. We used a travel agency based in Punta Arenas for our trip.<BR>Their web site is www.ventistur.com/.<BR>We were very pleased with the services. But, having said that, you can certainly arrange everything on your own. For example, at the Punta Arenas airport are three or four car rental places (see our post titled &quot;Just Back From Torres del Paine&quot; about driving conditions and suggestions). You can reserve hosteria room in Torres. We stayed at Hosteria Rio Serrano. This place is new and opened April 2002. We suggest that after your take the glacier cruise (see Ellen's post), spend that night in Puerto Natales and leave early the next day for Torres.<BR>Spend at least two nights in the park.<BR>When we were &quot;researching&quot; our trip, we found that travel agents gave us much better prices from Santiago to Punta Arenas than we could obtain directly from Lan Chile. <BR>Oh---I did not see any ATMs in the park. Undoubtedly they are there, somewhere. Just make sure you have enough pesos. We did wander through Hosteria Grey. The rooms are set in a woods with no real view. Hosteria Pehoe has wonderful views as did our hosteria.<BR>

I can't recall the name of the forest; a couple months ago read an interesting article in Sunday travel section of newspaper about the &quot;monkey puzzle&quot; trees in Chile. Did you see them?<BR>

No trip to Chile is complete without a stop in Pucon and a look at the volcano. The eco le is a wonderful place to stop over if they can accomodate you.

Hello: My husband and I are plannning a trip to Chile this March/03. We would like to spend some time near the ocean. Does anyone have any recommendations for on the beach places to stay. We do not require anything too fancy just the ability to stay near the water. I keep reading that the ocean is cold to swim in no matter what time of year. Would anyone know the temp of the water in March? <BR>Thanks so much - I find this chat forum very useful.<BR> <BR>

how safe do you feel Santiago is for Americans? how does Chile compare with other latin american countries in terms of safety - theft, kidnapping, political stability etc..

Leem,<BR>I went to Chile in 2000 and felt perfectly safe. We (two women) spent 3 days in Santiago walking around as late as midnight and never felt threatened. Nightlife starts after 9pm, so there's alot of people milling about. The neighborhood Bellavista was really fun at night.<BR>No problems the rest of the country as well.<BR>Tina

<BR>Before we embarked on a 14 days South American cruise, we also spent a night in Santiago, Chile recently. The most interesting highlight was climbing up the steep Cristobal Hill (Cerro San Cristobal) to the foot of the the huge crowned white statue of Virgin Mary and a fabulous view of the entire city of Santiago. <BR><BR>Our Travel agent Cintia Stella in Buenos Aires E-mail: [email protected]&nbsp;<BR> or [email protected]<BR>made it possible in making our city tour guide arrangements in Santiago, who was waiting for us at the airport when we arrived. <BR><BR>The next morning we were escorted on the twin cities tours of of Vina del Mar, and Valparaiso on Chile’s Pacific coast before embarking on our cruise late afternoon.<BR><BR>If anyone is planning on going to Santiago and would like additional information or recommendation, please email [email protected].<BR>

Hi Ellen,<BR>I am just back from Eu, but in the best Fodorite traditions already began my long-range planning for our next family vacation in Chile. Could you provide some good recommendations for good books on Chile that you came across (not necessarily the travel guides, but non-fiction/fiction/travelogues) and also good travel guides.<BR>Also, we'll be traveling with the 13year old teen and would love to go to Patagonia: how strenious is the trip?<BR>Thanks in advance for your help,<BR>Katie