Chile Vacation: How to Discover the Soul of Chile in 7 Days

Last updated on June 12th, 2025 at 10:42 pm

So there I was, drunk on cheap wine at my buddy Jake’s apartment, scrolling through Instagram at like 1 AM when BAM this photo stops me cold. Pink flamingos standing in what looked like a giant mirror in the middle of nowhere. The location tag said “Atacama Desert, Chile.”

I literally turned to Jake and said, “Dude, Chile has flamingos?” He just shrugged and kept playing video games.

That stupid late-night Instagram scroll changed my life. Four months later, I’m on a plane to Santiago with zero expectations and a backpack full of random stuff I thought I’d need. Turns out, that Chile vacation became the trip that made me fall in love with traveling all over again.

Look, I’d been to Europe, done the whole Southeast Asia thing, even hit up a bunch of Caribbean islands. But Chile? Chile was different. It’s like that quiet kid in high school who turns out to be secretly cool as hell once you actually talk to them.

Here’s how to see the real Chile in seven days – and trust me, you’re gonna want to extend that trip.

Why a Chile Vacation Is Nothing Like What You Think

Before I went, I honestly thought Chile was just Argentina’s skinny neighbor. You know, the place you fly over to get somewhere more exciting. Man, was I wrong about that.

Chile is basically what would happen if God decided to show off. It’s this insane strip of land that runs 2,650 miles from north to south but only averages 110 miles wide. That’s like if you took a road trip from Seattle to San Diego, but instead of just changing states, you’re changing entire ecosystems every few hours.

Up north, you’ve got the Atacama Desert – and I’m talking about a place so dry that some spots haven’t seen rain in recorded history. Like, ever. Then you drive south and suddenly you’re in wine country that looks like California had a baby with Italy. Keep going and you hit glaciers that belong in Alaska.

The locals aren’t kidding when they say Chile has every climate on Earth except tropical rainforest. I saw snow-capped mountains from a desert. I drank wine while looking at the Pacific Ocean. I ate fresh seafood in a city that looks like San Francisco’s colorful cousin.

What makes Chile totally different:

You can literally ski and go to the beach on the same day (if you’re crazy enough)
They’ve got the world’s biggest swimming pool – it’s over half a mile long
Easter Island belongs to them (yeah, those giant stone heads)
Their wine comes from vines that are older than most countries
The entire eastern border is the Andes Mountains

But here’s what really got me – every Chilean I met was ridiculously proud of their country. Not in an annoying way, but in this genuine “wait till you see this” way that made me excited to explore more.

Planning This Thing Without Going Broke

When to Go (Seriously, This Matters)

I almost screwed this up completely. My first instinct was to go in July because that’s summer vacation time, right? Wrong. July is winter in Chile, and unless you want to spend your vacation shivering in the desert, pick different dates.

The real deal on timing:

March-May: This is it. Perfect weather everywhere, harvest time in wine country, and way fewer crowds taking the same photos as you
December-February: Hot, expensive, and packed with tourists, but it’s the only time Patagonia doesn’t try to kill you
June-August: Great for skiing if that’s your thing, terrible for everything else I wanted to do
September-November: Pretty good actually, spring weather and wildflowers, but can be hit or miss

I went in April and it was perfect. Warm days, cool nights, and all the wine people were celebrating harvest season. Plus everything was cheaper because high season was over.

Let’s Talk Money (The Stuff Nobody Wants to Discuss)

Alright, real talk time. Chile isn’t backpacker-budget friendly like some other South American countries. It’s more expensive than you think – probably somewhere between Mexico and Europe price-wise.

What I actually spent on my 7-day trip:

Flight from Chicago: $580 roundtrip (got lucky with a sale)
Places to sleep: $75/night on average (decent hotels, nothing fancy)
Food: $45/day (ate at real restaurants, not just fast food)
Tours and activities: $420 total
Getting around: $95 total
Beer, souvenirs, random stuff: $160
Total damage: About $1,650

Could you do it cheaper? Yeah, definitely. Hostels are around $20-30/night, street food is amazing and costs like $4 per meal, and buses are super cheap. But I didn’t want to stress about every dollar.

Could you spend way more? Oh hell yes. Fancy hotels are $400+/night, high-end restaurants will destroy your wallet, and helicopter tours cost more than my rent.

Your Week in Chile (The Good Stuff)

Days 1-2: Santiago – Way Cooler Than Expected

Everyone told me Santiago was just a place to fly through, but those people are idiots. This city sits in this crazy valley surrounded by mountains, and when the air is clear (which happens more than locals will admit), the views are insane.

Day 1 – Getting Your Bearings: First thing, take the cable car up Cerro San Cristóbal. Costs like $3 and the views will mess with your head. The whole city spreads out below you with these massive mountains in the background. I stayed up there for like three hours just taking it all in.

Then walk around La Moneda Presidential Palace. You can actually tour inside for free if you book online ahead of time. The history stuff is pretty cool, but honestly, the architecture is what got me.

For lunch, hit up Mercado Central. Yeah, it’s touristy, but the seafood is incredible and watching the vendors work is better than TV. Get the congrio soup – sounds weird, tastes amazing.

Day 2 – The Real Santiago: Spend the morning in Bellavista. This is where Santiago gets interesting – street art everywhere, weird little cafés, and bars that don’t even open until 10 PM. Pablo Neruda’s house is here too, and even if poetry isn’t your thing, the guy had great taste in weird collections.

Afternoon in Providencia for the fancy stuff and people watching. It’s like if Miami had a baby with a European city.

Santiago tips that actually matter:

Get a metro card immediately – the subway is clean and goes everywhere
Uber works great and is usually cheaper than taxis
Don’t even think about dinner before 7 PM
The tap water tastes fine, don’t waste money on bottles

Day 3: Valparaíso – Like San Francisco Had a Colorful Baby

The bus from Santiago takes about 90 minutes and costs maybe $7. But stepping off that bus is like walking into a different country. Valparaíso climbs up these hills from the ocean, connected by these old-school funiculars that have been running since forever.

This place is pure eye candy. Every single building is painted a different bright color, there’s incredible street art on literally every surface, and the views of the Pacific are ridiculous.

What you can’t miss in Valpo:

Ride the Ascensor Artillería – best views in the city
Get lost wandering Cerro Concepción and Cerro Alegre
Check out another Pablo Neruda house (guy had three houses total)
Eat fish so fresh it was probably swimming that morning
Just walk around with your camera – every corner is Instagram gold

The street art here isn’t just random graffiti. These are massive murals telling stories about Chilean history, politics, and life. I spent half the day just walking around discovering new pieces. Some of these artists are legit famous now.

Days 4-5: Atacama Desert – Welcome to Another Planet

The flight from Santiago to Calama is about $110 and takes two hours. Watching the landscape change from green valleys to red Martian wasteland through the airplane window is trippy as hell.

San Pedro de Atacama is your base camp. Tiny desert town that exists basically just for tourists, but in a good way. Main street is dusty, full of tour companies and gear shops, and everyone’s either heading out on an adventure or coming back from one.

Day 4 – Valley of the Moon: This tour completely messed with my brain. Valle de la Luna looks so much like the moon that NASA literally used it for astronaut training. The rock formations are insane – like nature decided to show off with some sculpture project.

We climbed these massive sand dunes (harder than it looks at altitude), explored salt caves, and watched the sunset turn everything pink and gold. It doesn’t look real. Like, your eyes don’t believe what they’re seeing.

Day 5 – El Tatio Geysers: 4 AM wake-up call. I know, I know, but trust me on this one. El Tatio is the world’s highest geyser field at over 14,000 feet. Watching dozens of geysers shoot steam into the freezing morning air while you’re surrounded by snow-capped volcanoes is… I don’t even have words for it.

The altitude kicked my ass though. I was definitely feeling it – lightheaded, short of breath, had to take breaks just walking around. Chew coca leaves (they sell them everywhere) and drink water constantly.

Atacama real talk:

Bring warm clothes – desert nights are freezing
The altitude is legit – don’t push yourself the first day
Book tours through your hotel – they know who’s good
Your phone camera won’t do the night sky justice

Days 6-7: Wine Country – Finally, Some Relaxation

After all that desert craziness, wine country felt like coming back to civilization. I picked Colchagua Valley, about two hours south of Santiago, and it was perfect for winding down.

Rolling hills covered in grapevines, cozy family wineries, and wine that makes you understand why people get obsessed with this stuff.

Wine country must-dos:

Full day winery hopping with tastings
Lunch paired with wine overlooking the valley
Learn about Carmenère – Chile’s secret weapon grape
Stay overnight at a vineyard (worth every penny)

The wine education blew me away. Turns out Chilean winemakers brought French grapes over in the 1800s, and because Chile is so isolated, their vines never got the diseases that destroyed European vineyards. So Chilean wine is actually closer to original French wine than modern French wine is. Mind blown.

Carmenère is the coolest story. Everyone thought this grape was extinct until they found it growing in Chile in the 1990s. Now it’s their signature wine, and after tasting it where it actually grows, I totally get why they’re obsessed with it.

The Stuff Nobody Tells You

Language reality: Chilean Spanish is nuts. They talk fast, skip syllables, and use slang that confuses even other Spanish speakers. Don’t stress about it. Chileans are super patient with foreigners trying to communicate, and most people in tourist spots speak decent English.

Food culture:

Lunch is the main meal, happens between 1-3 PM
Dinner is late – 8-10 PM is normal
“Once” is their evening snack time around 6 PM
Everyone has a secret empanada recipe
Pisco Sour is the national drink (they fight with Peru about who invented it)

Cultural stuff:

Chileans love their country and want to share it with you
They’re less outgoing than other Latin Americans at first but warm up fast
Being on time actually matters here
They love talking about wine, poets, and mountains

Safety and Practical Stuff

Chile is seriously one of the safest places in South America for tourists. I never felt sketchy anywhere, even walking around Santiago at night (though I stayed in well-lit areas like a smart person).

Actual useful safety tips:

Watch for pickpockets in touristy spots – don’t flash expensive stuff
ATMs everywhere, work with any card
Credit cards work in cities, bring cash for small towns
Keep copies of your passport – some places check ID for random purchases
Emergency numbers: Police 133, Fire 132, Medical 131

Health stuff:

Altitude sickness is real in Atacama – respect it
Sunscreen is your best friend – UV is intense at high altitude
Tap water is totally safe everywhere
No weird shots needed for most people

Time to Book That Ticket

My week in Chile taught me that some places just can’t be explained – you have to experience them. You have to feel that crazy dry air in the Atacama, taste wine made from grapes that exist nowhere else, and watch the sun set behind Santiago’s mountains while the city lights start twinkling below.

Chile doesn’t just give you cool places for photos. It gives you experiences that stick with you. Where else can you wake up on Mars and fall asleep in wine paradise?

The best part about a Chile vacation is how it keeps surprising you. Right when you think you’ve got it figured out, it shows you something completely different. Desert, mountains, ocean, wine, city life – it’s all there waiting for you.

So what’s stopping you? Which part has you most excited – those crazy Atacama sunsets or getting tipsy in wine country? Drop a comment and let me know what questions you have. I love helping people plan adventures like this!