My friends and I are planning a seven (7) trip to Santiago, Chile & Easter Island. We want to extend the trip by four (4) or five (5) days but where?
They love hiking/photographing animals and I love history. We are willing to travel by train or fly but no more than 5 -6 hours. Suggestions are encouraged
You could head down to the very tip of South America, Tierra del Fuego, in Argentina. I would recommend you use the town of Ushuaia (nicknamed the End of the World) as a base to explore the fantastic hiking in the area. Ushuaia is a great town (feels very European/German) with plenty of transportation options, great seafood, and the best beer south of the equator (Beagle Beer)!
If you choose not to do the long flight down to Punta Arenas/Ushuaia and the Southern tip of the continent, then check out Vina del Mar/Valpariso - definitely worth exploring. From there if you want, you can go into Mendoza, Argentina and visit the wine country or go skiing at Portillo depending on the time of the year.
My bad, I just noticed that the plane from Santiago to Ushuaia is about 7 hrs, a little over your range...
I second Valparaíso and Viña, was there in December 2017 and loved it. Valparaíso is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Lots of history—take advantage of the free tours (Tours 4 Tips)—they are terrific (ended up taking 1 in Santiago, 2 in Valparaíso and 1 in Viña Del Mar). Visit Pablo Neruda’s house, walk the beach in Viña and Reñaca, hike the hills of Valparaíso. The food is outstanding and the wine region of Casa Blanca is close enough for an easy day trip. If you find extra time on your trip, go to Pisco Elqui. It’s on the Ruta de las Estrellas, star gazing is outstanding. Plus it’s the home of many Pisco distilleries (you will have many Pisco Sours in Chile). Pisco Elqui is very similar in climate, geography as Arizona. Spent two nights there and it was a highlight (flew from Santiago to La Serena (1 hour) and then a bus (3? hours) to Pisco).
A lot of good suggestions already posted.
You won't find rail travel to very helpful in South America, especially going from one country to the other or down to Terra Del Fuego.
Santiago and Valparaiso will take you 4-5 days to visit. We visited Neruda's home south of Valparaiso and we were underwhelmed.
Hello, if you love nature, I suggest Robinson Crusoe Island. It is located approx. 2 hours flight from Santiago by small prop planes and there are a few flights per week. The island is interesting for the endemic flora (there are lot of ferns and trees that can't be found elsewhere in the world), birds and sea lions. There is also an extensive network of trails throughout the island, of different lenght.
Valpariso and the wineries in Casablanca which is an easy drive, Puerto Varas(fly) in the lakes region with several volcanoes and German cultural influences.
The flight from Santiago to Puerto Montt (PMC) is about 2 hours. In that area you have several outstanding stops that will give you great hiking and nature photography.
I went to Easter Island last November (same trip I was in the places listed above). If you have any questions about that part of your trip, I'm happy to help.
