Chilean Adventure: Valparaiso, Santiago and RapaNui (Easter Island)
Chile
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Mar 25 - Mar 31, 2024
From the beginning of planning our time in Santiago with a trip to Easter Island, Angel our travel agent was incredibly responsive. He listened to what we wanted and demonstrated a willingness to adjust mid trip. He responded almost immediately to any questions or concerns.
On first day in Santiago we had a full day private tour organized including seeing Valparaiso, Vina Del Mar and a visit to a vineyard. We were met at the port (at the end of our expedition through the glaciers and fjords of Patagonia) by our driver Eduardo and an English speaking guide, Consuelo Ibarra. Eduardo was a great driver and Consuelo an excellent guide.
We were able to see and understand Valparaiso through her eyes as she lives here and she provided a great overview of everywhere we visited. Quickly learning our interests she was able to fill us in on history, politics, art and so much more. It was an excellent day and Consuelo provided us with excellent guidance for our second day exploring Santiago including great local vegetarian food, art installations, green space, many places not to miss when visiting Santiago.
After two days based in Santiago we flew to Rapa Nui, (Easter Island).
All of our airport transfers were taken care of and the drivers arrived promptly to pick us up or meet our flights. Additionally our hotel which we really liked, LaReve was in a great neighborhood, and very accommodating. As we would return here for one more day in Santiago they were happy to store our luggage.
On Easter Island we were booked for a private full day tour and a half day tour with our guide Alex, who met us at the airport. Alex was great and despite the wild weather, fog, rain, high winds, we managed to see all the sites with remarkably few tourists. Alex knew how to sequence our visits to each site. He was very knowledgeable. He was also quite thoughtful, orienting us to the Island before dropping us at the hotel so we knew where we could head on our own.
Despite the weather we had an excellent visit to this extraordinary remote historic island.
Our last day in Santiago was Easter and one of our scheduled tour visits the Bahai Temple was closed. Angel helped us rearrange the day and we received a prompt refund for the cancelled tours.
It was a great trip and the perfect addition to our exploration of remote southern Chile.
Activity Review
Our guide Consuelo made this tour exceptional. Her deep knowledge of the areas we visited made it very special . The wines we tasted were also excellent. Would have liked more knowledge about the specific wine making processes used here.
Hi Ellen!
Thank you very much for your kind words :)
My team and I are very happy to read this and see those beautiful pictures, they look amazing
Eduardo & Consuelo are some of the best, It's great you get along with them, also Alex in Easter Island, I will send this to them I'm sure they will like it too!
I hope we can help you plan a new trip in the future, it can be Galapagos, Machu Pichu, Iguazu Falls, and many more! Who knows?
I wish you the best Ellen!
Kind Regards,
Angel.