355 - Santiago, Lakes District & Skorpios II Cruise

11-night tour to enjoy Santiago and the Lakes District with cruise!
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Best Season | Shoulder Season | Low Season | Not Available

Enjoy Santiago, Puerto Varas and the incredible Skorpios II Chonos Route

If you want to focalize your trip in the Lakes District, you can take this tour to combine Santiago, the capital city, with a tour in Puerto Varas to visit the lakes district, and enjoy the amazing Skorpios II Cruise, the Chonos Route. In total, it´s a 11-night program, starting in Santiago, one of the most important cities in South America, where you will enjoy the modern architecture, exquisite gastronomy with local dishes, taste wines visiting wineries and vineyards in Colchagua Valley, and visit Viña del Mar and Valparaiso.  Of course, if you´re interested in Pablo Neruda, there are many options to learn more about the poet and visit the famous houses. After Santiago, we will go to Patagonia to start our visit to the Lakes District, a place full of national parks with beautiful landscapes, with blue lakes, green forest and incredible mountains and volcanoes. Puerto Varas is the city from where we will make these visits, and chosee some adventure activities if you want. After that, we will embark in the Skorpios II Cruise, to enjoy the Chonos Route, and navigate channels and fjords of Patagonia, visiting Chiloe Island, San Rafael Glaciers and other interesting points along the journey.

Take a look to our day by day itinerary and note that Skorpios II has fixed departures, so changes could be necessary. But it´s not a problem, we´re here to help you.

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Itinerary

Day 1

SANTIAGO DE CHILE: Arrival to the capital city

Arrival to Santiago Merino Airport, in Santiago de Chile. The Chilean capital has become a good choice for international business travelers, developing a reputation as a calm and clean city with a good quality of life. It`s one of the most important and populated cities in South America. Most government activities take place in Santiago’s downtown area, which is home to La Moneda (the presidential palace), Plaza de Armas, and the Judicial and Executive Branches. There are also many museums and shopping malls.Districts such as Providencia, Bellavista, Las Condes, and Vitacura offer a dazzling array of businesses, shops, and restaurants as well as a bustling nightlife.

Chile's Flag Santiago is also located near many attractions such as the beach house of poet Pablo Neruda, Isla Negra, ski resorts located around 60 km from the city, spots in the Andean foothills like Cajón del Maipo, the port of Valparaíso, which is about an hour from Santiago, and Viña del Mar and other summer resorts on the shores of the Pacific Ocean. Options for enjoying the mountains and sea are always right at your fingertips in Santiago.

After arrival, transfer to your hotel and check in. Free time for to rest, or may be if you`re interested, you can book any of the optional activities below

Our Suggested Hotels

Day 2

SANTIAGO DE CHILE: Enjoying the best of the capital city

After breakfast, in the morning, our guide will be waiting for us for our first visit. We will enjoy a city tour to discover one of the most modern capitals of South America.

Santiago is a cosmopolitan and vibrant capital that perfectly combines tradition and modernity. The tour will allow you to know the origins of the city and emblematic places like the Cathedral, the Post Office, the Plaza de Armas, and the famous Palacio de la Moneda, the house of the Chilean government. You will discover the traditional neighborhoods of the historic center. We visit Santa Lucía hill, called Huelén by the natives, a real urban oasis in the heart of the center. Learn more about the history of Chile and enjoy privileged views of the capital and the mountains surrounding the city. The second part of the tour will take you to the east, to see the financial area of Santiago, and watch modern buildings. Duration is around 4 hours. Return to the hotel and free time.
Please note, there are many optional activities available for the afternoon. Check options below

Day 3

SANTIAGO DE CHILE: Visiting Viña del Mar and Valparaiso

After breakfast, our guide will be waiting for you to start our visit to Viña del Mar and Valparaiso, in the direction to Chile`s coast. We drive through the country’s main wine- producing areas, so we can admire the vineyard-covered landscapes along the way which is fascinating.  We will stop to take some great photos of this important area.  Again in the route we will continue to the coastal road known as the Camino de la Pólvora, arriving at Valparaíso, considered the cultural capital of Chile and full of colors and unique views of the pier and the city over the hill. We will visit the Muelle Prat, a historic dock filled with dozens of colorful boats. From Plaza Sotomayor, the main gateway to Valparaíso from the sea, you’ll immerse yourself in the old quarter, declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage Place.

We will visit the House-Museum of Pablo Neruda, called as La Sebastiana. You’ll then reach Paseo 21 de Mayo, a natural viewpoint at the bottom of the Artillería Hill, where you’ll be able to take in a panoramic view of Valparaíso’s view from the blue sea to the city and the surrounding mountains.

Our next step is the visit to the city of Viña del Mar, whose name in Spanish means “Vineyard of the Sea”. The coastal town is also often called the Garden City, and you’ll soon see why when you visit sights such as the iconic Flower Clock on the side of Castle Hill. Free time for lunch and then, some free time to enjoy the beach, after return to your hotel in Santiago de Chile.

 

Day 4

SANTIAGO: Good bye Santiago!

After breakfast, free time to enjoy the city until your transfer to the airport. If you leave the city in the afternoon or evening, you can choose any of our optional activities you can see below.

Goodbye Santiago!

PUERTO VARAS: Arrival to the Lakes District

Arrival to Puerto Montt Airport or to Puerto Varas pier and transfer to your hotel in Puerto Varas. It`s the starting point for many excellent activities in the lakes district of Chile. Free time to rest. Anyway, if you`re an active person, you can choose any of the optional activities available. Check options below!

Our Suggested Hotels

Day 5

PUERTO VARAS: Visiting Frutillar and Puerto Octay

After breakfast, we will enjoy a full day visit to Frutillar, a city and commune located in southern Chile in the Los Lagos Region. The bay of Frutillar is placed on the banks of Lake Llanquihue, the largest lake entirely within Chile. Frutillar is known as the “City of Music”. The village was founded by Vicente Pérez Rosales in 1856, after a period of clearing up the land and upon the arrival of German settlers from Hamburg in 1852 and other cities of Germany in sailing ships to the ports of Valdivia and Puerto Montt.

Vicente Perez Rosales on a later expedition towards the south of Valdivia changed the course of the incoming colony to Lake Llanquihue. Rosales was searching for more land for the German settlers, south of Valdivia, as many sailing ships were arriving to the port of Valdivia from Germany sent by Bernardo Philippi under the official colonisation program of Southern Chile. This program was granted by President Manuel Bulnes and executed by president of Chile Manuel Montt naming officially Vicente Perez Rosales the head of the German colonisation of Llanquihue, as a continuation of the initial efforts done by Bernard Philippi.

There is an interesting local german museum. Travel back in time as you browse exhibits with your guide and then enjoy free time to wander around the town at your leisure. Return to your hotel in Puerto Varas and free evening. Overnight.

Day 6

PUERTO VARAS: Visiting Chiloe Island

After breakfast, we will start our full-day tour to Chiloe Island. We will take the route to the south for about 130 kilometres to arrive to a small town called Pargua. Once in this city, we take a ferry that will allow us to cross the Chacao Canal and reach the Isla Grande de Chiloe. Chiloé Island is the second largest island in Chile, after the Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, and the fifth largest in South America. We will go to Chacao, one of the oldest villages of the island founded in 1567 which has a typical square where stands a curious and picturesque building of strong color. We will visit the old and interesting church.

The Churches of Chiloé are a unique architectural phenomenon in the Americas, and one of the most prominent styles of Chilota architecture. Unlike classical Spanish colonial architecture, the churches of Chiloé are made entirely in native timber with extensive use of wood shingles. The churches were built from materials to resist Chiloé Archipelago’s humid and rainy oceanic climate. The churches represent the fusion of European Jesuit culture and local native peoples’ skill and traditions: an excellent example of mestizo culture.

The Churches of Chiloé were designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 2000. The University of Chile, Fundación Cultural Iglesias de Chiloé and other institutions have led efforts to preserve these historic structures and to publicize them for their unique qualities

We will go to the city of Ancud, to visit the Plaza de Armas, the Church, the crafts market, the Museum, the Gulf of Quitalmahue, Cerro Huaihuén and Fort San Antonio, historic site located in the uptown built in the late eighteenth century, all in the midst of stories of customs and myths of one of the larger islands of South America. Ancud is the second largest city of Chiloé Archipelago after Castro. It was established in 1768 to function as the capital of the archipelago and held that position until 1982.

Later we will go to Castro, capital of Chiloé Island. Castro is Chile’s third oldest city in continued existence. Rodrigo de Quiroga as the temporary governor of Chile in 1567 launched a campaign led by his son in-law Captain Martín Ruiz de Gamboa to conquer Chiloé Island, establishing the city of Castro there, and pacifying its inhabitants, the Cuncos. From its founding on 12 February 1576 until 1767 Castro was the administrative centre of Chiloé Island. In 1594 Castro had 8.000 inhabitants most of whom were farmers. Up to the mid of the 17th century the town was looted by Dutch pirates several times. In 1767, during the time of the Bourbon Reforms that sought to modernize the Spanish Empire, Chiloé was separated from the General Captaincy of Chile to which it had previously belonged and made a direct subject of the Viceroyalty of Peru.

The town hall and many of the wooden palafitos houses ( typical constructions made wooden pillars on water), were destroyed or damaged by the earthquake and the tsunami of 1960. Only in 1982 did Castro regain its role as capital in Chiloé Archipelago.

We will visit the local Church which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000, handicrafts market and the Mirador del Barrio Gamboa to appreciate the famous “Palafitos”. We finish our tour visiting Dalcahue, famous for its craft fair on Sundays where locals bring from the outer islands of the archipelagos the most varied handicrafts for marketing. During the tour we will have time for lunch in a typical restaurant Chiloé Island. It`s a full day trip. Return to your hotel in Puerto Varas and overnight.

Day 7

PUERTO VARAS: Good bye lakes district!

After breakfst, free time to enjoy  Puerto Varas, until your tranfser to airport or local pier. There are many optional activities you can choose if you leave the city in the afternoon or the evening. Take a look to the list below

Good bye Puerto Varas!

SKORPIOS CRUISE // PUERTO MONTT - Welcome aboard!

SATURDAY
12:00 pm. Weigh anchor from Puerto Montt. Sailing through the archipelago of Llanquihue with sight on the city of Calbuco. Ancud Gulf. 04:30 pm. Arrival in Quemchi on the island of Chiloé. Disembark on small boats towards the picturesque village where you can visit a handicraft market, cafes, the museum of the Chilean author Francisco Coloane and stroll around the beautiful streets. 06:30 pm. Continuing sailing south along the archipelago of Chiloé, crossing the Gulf of Corcovado at midnight. It´s our first day aboard the Skorpios II Cruise. Be ready for the dinner and overnight!

Day 8

SKORPIOS II - Navigate southern channels in Patagonia

SUNDAY
08:00 am. Navegation through the channels of Moraleda and Ferronave. Arrival at the fishing village of Puerto Aguirre at 11:00 am. Disembarking in this village enclosed by the Chonos archipelago. We will walk through the streets, passing a typical Patagonian rainforest arriving at a lookout. 01:30 pm. Navigation through the channels of Ferronave, Pilcomayo and Casma. 04:00 pm. Arrival at Islote Barrientos, where we disembark to smaller boats approaching the rock formations to visit one of the largest bird colonies in Chile, counting Kelp Gulls, Rock shags, Red-legged shags and Imperial shags. These birds are accompanied by South American fur seals. 05:00 pm. Heading south, arriving approximately at 10:00 pm. in Caleta Quesahuen or Punta Leopardos which is 20 nautical miles from the Glacier of San Rafael.
Be ready for the exquisite dinner and overnight.

Day 9

SKORPIOS II - Enjoy the incredible San Rafael Glacier

MONDAY
After breakfast, we will enjoy our third day aboard the Skorpios II Cruise.  Around 07:30 am. we will be crossing the channel of Tempanos to the entrance of the lagoon San Rafael. 09:00 am. The vessel anchors at 2 km. from the glacier. Boat excursions among the multicolored icebergs take place as weather conditions allow so. 02:30 pm. Ship approaches the glacier. 04:00 pm. Setting sails in direction of Quitralco-Fjord.

Free time until dinner and overnight.

Day 10

SKORPIOS II - Quitralco and the hot springs

TUESDAY
In the morning, around 08:00 am, the Skorpios II berth at the pier of Quitralco. After breakfast passengers can enjoy inside and outside hot springs with temperatures of 32º C and 38º C.
If weather there will be boat excursions to the inside of the Fjord in the afternoon and around 05:00 pm we continue sailing towards Chiloé, navigating through the channels of Moraleda and Pérez Norte.
Free time for relax until dinner and overnight

 

Day 11

SKORPIOS II CRUISE - Navigate more channels and islets

WEDNESDAY
Free morning after breakfast. After midnight, the cruise navigate through the channel of Leucayec, crossing the Gulf of Corcovado around 05:30 am. If passengers are lucky they can observe humpbacks or blue whales in this zone. Continue sailing along the east coast of Chiloé, arriving at 11:00 am. at Islote Conejos, in the channel Queilen. Disembarking on small boats visiting the island inhabited by Magellan penguins and birds. 01:00 pm. Sailing through the islands of Lemuy and Chelín. 04:30 pm. Arriving in Dalcahue, we highly recommend visiting the handicraft market, the church and strolling along the promenade. 11:00 pm. Leaving towards Puerto Montt. Farewell party, Captains dinner! It´s a unique moment to enjoy the warm of the captain and his family. Overnight

Day 12

SKORPIOS II - Return to Puerto Montt

THURSDAY
In the morning, and around 08:00 am, we enjoy breakfast on board while docking in Puerto Montt. Disembarking starts around 09:00 am.

Please Note: The program and timetables may vary according to climate conditions or force majeure. Likewise, debarkation and duration will depend on the authorization of the captain, who will evaluate safety and ice conditions in each place. Schedules of the thematic talks and other onboard activities will be announced by our guides on the cruise.

Good bye incredible Skorpios II Cruise!

End of our services. We can personalize your program, by adding or deleting nights, add new destinations, or make any necessary change. Just let us know. Optional activities you can see below each day, are just suggested options. You can add any of these activities to your quotation, or ask for any other available in each destination.

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SAN PEDRO DE ATACAMA EXTENSION

Are you ready to enjoy one of the most fascinating places on earth? You can add a 3-night extension and visit this incredible place in the chilean north!

DAY 1 – San Pedro de Atacama. Welcome!
DAY 2 – Toconao, Highland Lagoons and Atacama Salt Flat!
DAY 3 – Visit Tatyo Geysers and Puritama Hot Springs
DAY 4 – Good bye Atacama Desert!

It`s just a suggested program, we can make any change you need.

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PUERTO NATALES EXTENSION

Enjoy one of the must-see in Patagonia, visiting Puerto Natales. Yes, from there you can visit the unique Torres del Paine National Park and enjoy other glaciers in the area.

DAY 1 – Arrival to Puerto Natales!
DAY 2 – Visiting Torres del Paine National Park
DAY 3 – Enjoy a full day boat navigation to Balmaceda and Serrano Glaciers!
DAY 4 – Good bye Puerto Natales…

It`s just a suggested program, we can add or delete nights, and modify activities. If you`re looking for trekkings or a more active program based in trekkings in Torres del Paine, please ask for our 304 tour: Torres del Paine Basic Program.

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