Hello! My husband and I will be visiting Chile for the first time this fall with our children (ages 8 and 6.) We're a fairly adventurous family and love to go hiking/biking/exploring. Our idea of relaxing is getting up early and trying to explore as much of a country as possible. Therefore, we don't want a ton of down time in our itinerary. All that being said, we're trying to finalize our plans and I'm starting to worry that it's too aggressive. The two biggies on our list are to visit Atacama and Easter Island. Our travel guide is advising that the altitude at Atacama is going to be tough and that we need at least two days to acclimate. Anyone have thoughts on this? Is it worth four days of our trip?

Below is a breakdown of our tentative plan. We're somewhat flexible on adding/subtracting days. The latest version of our itinerary cut out the Lakes Region entirely, which also has me wondering if we're now missing out on another "must see" for the sake of Atacama. I've heard Vincente Perez Rosales National Park is really beautiful so am wondering if we should prioritize that instead. If anyone has specific input on things to cut/things to add/must-sees based on the above information I would really appreciate it. We're so excited to explore this amazing country and would love some input from fellow travelers!

Day 1 - Fly to Santiago
Day 2 - 4 Atacama
Day 5 - Travel to Pucon
Day 6 - Villarrica Volcano
Day 7 - Visit with Mapuche
Day 8 - Fly to Punta Arenas
Day 9 - Magdalena & Marta Islands/Puerto Natales
Day 10 - Day excursion (open to ideas?)
Day 11 - Day excursion (open to ideas?)
Day 12 - Fly to Santiago
Day 13 - 16 Easter Island
Day 17 - Depart for home

By Fall I am guessing that you mean northern hemisphere Fall. That would be Spring here: September, October, November. Depending on the month, that is early in the season for Patagonia, though possible, and very early for the lake district. It is more than likely going to be cold and wet. Though climate is now much harder to predict.

You don't really have enough travel time built into your itinerary. Pucón, for instance, is served by the airport at Temuco and then a drive of about 1.5 hours. Not sure there are flights which will connect Temuco and Punta Arenas but do check. There are definitely flights from Puerto Montt, about 5-6 hours by road south of Pucón.

Personally I would add a day to north San Pedro de Atacama (Atacama is the whole desert) served by the airport at Calama, again about 1.5 hrs away. I would also add a to Easter Island.

You should definitely do a day trip to Torres del Paine from Puerto Natales. It would be even better if you could spend at least one night there to avoid the 2.5 hr drive each way.

Again, there is a difference between September and November as far as weather is concerned.