please help with 10 day Chile itinerary with 3 kids!
 

hello!
we have 10 days in Chile (April 3 landing in am- April 12 leaving late pm).
we have 3 kids aged 8, 10 and 11.5 (pretty good travelers)
we like hiking (up to 3-4 hours at a time for kids), animals, horseback riding, nature...
there are a few things i would like to do but not enough time! can you help me narrow this down? also, Easter is on April 5th which will complicate matters...
wish list-
- Atacama
- Valpo
- Araucania and/or Lake Region

can you do both atacama and araucania or Lakes in such a short time? within Araucania/Lakes, where would you suggest?
Is it too cold for Araucania/Lakes?
how easy is it to book internal multi-city trips? (i.e. fly South then directly north then santiago... or vice versa)
suggestions re booking flights? sky vs lan? do on website vs call office in chile (read rates cheaper that way)?
thanks!

Your dates will complicate things. You arrive on Good Friday when most things will be closed. That whole weekend most museums will be closed. Many people take the weekend to travel to other parts of Chile so, if you want internal flights, you would need to book now. There are no direct flights between the south and north and you would have to change plane in Santiago.

You could spend 3 days in San Pedro de Atacama (flying to Calama) and 3 in the lake district (flying to Temuco), leaving the rest for travel days or a buffer before your international flight home. Both those airports are about 1.5 hrs from the destinations of San Pedro and Pucón respectively. The south will definitely be cool and perhaps rainy but can still be enjoyed. San Pedro should be hot during the day but it can get quite cold at night in the desert.

Internal flights in Chile are not cheap. The closer you get to your travel date the more expensive they are. Have a look at the Chilean LAN website at lan.cl as you might be able to book there. In theory it is for residents of Chile but you can sometimes book on it. If you manage it, there is no issue with using the tickets. Otherwise you might need to contact an agent in Chile to buy them for you and there will be a booking charge. You might even consider getting an agent to book the whole trip for you. It will cost more than booking it independently, but you are quite near your dates and you need 5 of everything: seats on planes or long distance buses, beds in hotels etc.