First: how long each thing takes
Tours split into two groups and that is the whole arithmetic. Full-day ones — snow, Portillo, Valparaíso, Isla Negra — take 10 to 12 hours door to door, leaving at 5 or 6 in the morning. One per day, and there is no energy left for more.
Half-day ones take 4 to 6 hours: the walking city tour, and the Maipo Valley wineries, which run morning and afternoon shifts. Two of these fit in a day, or one plus an evening.
Three days: the essentials
Three full days cover what almost nobody wants to miss: a day of snow in the Andes, a day on the coast — Valparaíso and Viña del Mar — and a winery day, which also leaves half a day free for central Santiago.
It is tight but it works. What it does not leave is slack: if the mountain road closes that day, there is nowhere to move it to.
Five days: without rushing
Five fits all of the above plus a second mountain day — enough for Portillo, which is on a different route and a different trip altogether — and one good evening: the sensory tasting, Concha y Toro after dark, or the pasta class.
Above all it fits the buffer. One spare day is what saves you when the weather turns.
What really shapes the itinerary
Several tours do not run every day, and that weighs more than how many days you have. The Kross brewery runs Saturdays only. The sensory tasting, Tuesdays only. The pasta class, Thursday to Saturday. The snowmobile, Monday to Friday. The Valle Nevado sunset does not run on Saturdays.
In practice: if you land on a Thursday and leave on a Sunday, the calendar has already written half your itinerary. Worth checking before you book the flight, not after.
The most common mistake
Putting the snow on the last day. It is the tour most dependent on weather and the only one the authorities can cancel by closing the road. At the end of the trip, there is nowhere to move it.
The second mistake is stacking three full days in a row. That is three 5am starts with two hours of hairpins each: by the third, half the group sleeps through the drive.
The tours in this guide
Keep reading
Farellones, El Colorado, La Parva or Valle Nevado?
All four sit on the same road, one above the other. Here is the real difference between them.
When is there actually snow in Chile?
The season runs June to September. But altitude matters more than the month, and that changes how you plan the trip.
What a day in the snow in Chile really costs
The tour is one part of the spend. Here is every line item, so none of them surprises you up there.
Is Valparaíso worth it in winter?
Yes, if you are going for the hills and the street art. No, if you are going for the beach. It is a full day, and it helps to know what for.
What documents do I need to enter Chile?
Brazilians need no tourist visa. What does need checking before you leave home is something else.
How much money to bring to Chile, and how to pay
What takes a card, what needs cash, and the costs that appear up the mountain that nobody warns you about.
Is renting a car in Chile worth it?
For the coast and the wineries, yes. For driving up to the ski resorts in winter, no — and not because we sell tours.
What to pack for the Chilean winter
There are 16 degrees between Santiago and Valle Nevado. That, not the forecast, is what decides your suitcase.
Chile with children: which tour works at which age
Five of our tours do not admit under-18s and three more have a minimum age. Better to know now than at the door.
Which neighbourhood to stay in in Santiago?
It depends what kind of trip it is. And on one practical detail: where we can pick you up at five in the morning.
SIM cards, internet and phones in Chile
Three options and all of them work. What is worth knowing is where there is no signal — which is where you will want it.
Is Santiago safe for a tourist?
It is a big capital and behaves like one. What helps is not a yes or a no, but knowing where you are and at what hour.
When is the best time to travel to Chile?
It depends what trip you want. Nine of our 25 tours are winter-only; the other sixteen run all year.