Jan 03, 2026
We Are Going to Chile, For Real This Time
I have always dreamed of going to Chile and we had a trip planned in 2010, but the country was hit with a magnitude 8.8 earthquake that devastated much of Santiago and Valparaiso–our main destinations. We cancelled.
Now we have crafted an even more elaborate trip that includes our orignal goals of visiting Santiago and Valparaiso, with the benfit of hiking in Torres del Paine and white water rafting on Rio Petrohué! We haven’t had a trip with this many movements since we went to Türkiye, Georgia, and Armenia in 2023. I am really looking forward to spending time with my sweetie while exploring a new part of the globe! We have traveled to South America five times–Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. It will be so much fun to see a sixth South American country. Chile will be my 55th country and John’s 49th.
A good friend recently asked me how we divide the planning. In general, John loves to research and I love to correspond and organize. So John does research like the pro he is–he reads blog posts, watches trip reports, reads reviews, and gathers ideas. Then I organize them and I make the bookings because I like to email with the locals.
We will be in Santiago for four nights at the front of the trip. We each prioritized the places we want to see. I tend to be more museum forward while John loves the markets. We both like each, so we will have an amazing time visiting. And of course we love to eat! So we have reservations at several restaurants.
| Santiago Activities Trish | ||
| Sky Costanero | https://www.skycostanera.cl/en | Avenida Andres Bello 2425 Entrada por Nivel Planta Baja, Santiago 7510689 |
| National Museum of History | https://www.mnhn.gob.cl | Plaza de Armas 951, Santiago |
| Museo Chileno de Art Precolombino | https://museo.precolombino.cl | Bandera 361 Esquina Compañía, Santiago 8320298 |
| National Museum of Fine Arts | https://www.patrimoniocultural.gob.cl/en/santiago-museums/national-fine-arts-museum | Jose Miguel de la Barra 650 Parque Forestal, Santiago 8320356 Chile |
| MAC Museum of Contemporary Art | https://mac.uchile.cl | Ismael Valdés Vergara 506, Santiago |
| Santiago Activites John | ||
| Cerro San Cristobal | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Cristóbal_Hill | Pio Nono 445, Recoleta Parque Metropolitano de Santiago, Santiago 8320000 Chile |
| La Chascona | https://fundacionneruda.org/en/la-chascona-museum-house/ | Fernando Márquez de La Plata 0192, 7520284 Santiago |
| Mercado Vega la Centro | https://vegacentral.cl | Dávila Baeza 700, Recoleta, Región Metropolitana |
| Factoría Franklin | https://factoria-franklin.cl | Franklin 741, 8361167 Santiago |
| Persa Victor Manuel flea market | https://persavictormanuel.cl/en/ | Víctor Manuel 2220, 8361353 Santiago |
| Museo de la Memoria | https://mmdh.cl | Matucana 501, Santiago |
| Persea Bio Bio | https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g294305-d318142-Reviews-Bio_Bio_Market-Santiago_Santiago_Metropolitan_Region.html | San Isidro 2201-2225, 8361249 |
| Santiago Restaurants | ||
| Fuente Alemana | https://fuentealemana.cl | Av. Pedro de Valdivia 210, 7510248 Providencia, Chile |
| Peumayén Ancestral Food | https://www.peumayenchile.cl | Constitución 136, 7520367 Providencia, Chile |
| Bocanariz | https://bocanariz.cl | José Victorino Lastarria 276, Santiago Chile |
| La Calma | http://lacalma.squarespace.com | Nueva Costanera 3832 local 2, Vitacura, Santiago de Chile. |
| Bar Liguria | https://www.liguria.cl | Av. Providencia 1353, Providencia |
| Ambrosia Bistro | https://linktr.ee/ambrosiabistro.cl | Apoquindo 2730, Torre 1, piso 4 , Las Condes. Mut 4º Piso, Santiago 751012 Chile |
| CORA Bistro | https://www.instagram.com/cora.bistro/?hl=en | Monseñor Félix Cabrera 14, Providencia, Región Metropolitana, Chile |
| Antigua Fuente | https://www.antiguafuente.cl | Av Libertador Bernardo O’Higgins 58 |
| Valparaiso Restaurants | ||
| La Caperucita y el Lobo Valparaiso | https://www.lacaperucitayellobo.cl/nuestra-carta | Ferrari #75, Cerro Florida |
| LA Concepcion | https://www.restaurantlaconcepcion.cl/en/ | Papudo 541 Cerro Concepción |
For our first leg in Santiago we chose Hotel Le Reve which has a cozy boutique feel and is close to a lot of the places we wish to visit. We also are going to do a day trip to Valparaiso, Vina del Mar, and Casablanca for some wine tasting.
Hotel Le Reve
Next we will fly down to Patagonia. I have always really wanted to hike the W there, a route with five days of trekking and stays at camps and refuges. But I have a bad meniscus tear of my right knee and will not be able to complete the journey. Instead we booked a room at Hotel Rio Serrano and rented a car so we can drive into the park for exploring. John is prepared to do some trail running, and I will hike as much as my knee allows.
Hotel Rio Serrano
Next we fly to Lake Country, where we are staying in Puerto Varas on Chile’s second largest lake, Lake Llanquihue. We will also have a car here, so we can drive around for adventuring. We are doing a white water rafting trip on the beautiful tourquoise River Petrohué. We will be staying at Hotel Cabana del Largo.
Hotel Cabana del Largo
Then we return to Santiago for one more night before we fly home, and as we like to do, we chose a fabulous splurge hotel for that last evening. We will stay at The Singular Santiago before catching a flight back to Miami.
The Singular Santiago
I am really looking forward to two meals especially that we have reserved: CORA Bistro and La Calma. I’m sure we will have many, many wonderful meals.
Rellenas con jaiba marmola, jengibre, tomate, ajo, zeste de limón, menta, tomillo, eneldo y vino blanco.
La recolección de productos de mar en su mejor estado, moluscos a veces crustáceos, mariscos, cortes de pescados, algas.
Have you been to Chile? We would love any recommendations and tips!
