My daughter will be living in Santiago, Chile, for a year, beginning this fall. My wife and I are planning on visiting her over Thanksgiving, but don't have much of an idea, as yet, as to what to do or where to go. After a couple of days in Santiago, we are thinking Patagonia for a few days, but we are in the very preliminary stages of planning, and would welcome any ideas as to where to spend 5 or 6 days.
Patagonia is stunningly beautiful. If you love rugged outdoors, glaciers and craggy mountains, I highly recommend it. We hiked and camped in the Torre del Paine area.
One item to realize is the distances are very far in Patagonia. You will be traveling a long way to get to either Torre del Paine or Pehoe.
But I have another recommendation. We stayed 3-4 days in the Chilean Lake district in Villarica. I can highly recommend the Hosteria de la Colina. The owners are wonderful hosts and can help arrange a wide variety of activities from mountain climbing, hiking, fishing, water fall viewing to just relaxing in a wonderful garden. We had our best time in Chile at this location. You can also take your meals at the B&B which are great. It was lovely to go out exploring all day and come back and not worry about where to eat.
It is also very easy to self-drive in this area. We flew to Puerto Montt and rented a car. The Ruta 5 is part of the Pan American Hwy and is in great condition. It is about a 4 hour drive to Villarica. Along the way, there are other scenic areas to visit in the Lake district. It is closer to fly into Temuco and drive 1 hour to Villarica. Near by is also Pucon which is a great outdoors town. The Lake area is similar to Oregon; Volcanic and green. Weather can be unpredictable. I think it was overcast the whole time we were there which was at Thanksgiving also.
Also Liz visited Chile in 2006. She also stayed at the Hosteria. You can read her Chile adventures and see her great pictures on her Chile blog archives.
Have fun researching. Chile is a great place to visit.
Hi Chris, I second Marta's suggestions. I too went to Puerto Montt, but stayed in Puerto Varas, where you can go biking, hiking, horseback riding... so many activities! You can also take the Cruces del Lago boat ride to Bariloche, Argentina, but we only went to Peulla and back. It was a really scenic boat trip.
For a more cultural feel, check out the island of Chiloe. We did not go, but wish we had. I believe you can drive there from Puerto Montt.
