★★★★★ Rated 4.5 out of 5
Snow-capped volcanoes, monkey puzzle forests, penguins and the moai of Rapa Nui, a very long way from home.
Here is when to go, how long to give it, and where to start.
Chile is more than 4,000 km long and, on average, less than 200 km wide, so the Chile you see depends on the part you pick. The best trips choose a region, plan around its season and give it time.
Our Chile guides come from a three week trip in November, our first big empty nester adventure. After two nights in Santiago, we spent the first week on Rapa Nui (Easter Island), then flew south for a road trip through the Chilean Lake District, from Conguillío National Park to the penguins of Chiloé, and finished with two nights among the vineyards of the Casablanca Valley. This page is where our planning for Chile starts, and where yours can too.
In short: the best time to visit Chile depends on where you are going. For the Lake District and the south, the southern spring and summer, from October to March, bring the longest days and the most settled weather. For Rapa Nui (Easter Island), the drier, warmer months run from October to April. We went in November and had sunshine on most days. This page covers when to go, how long to give it and where to start.
We write about the places we have actually been, in the depth we would want if we were planning it ourselves. In Chile, that means the Lake District, Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Santiago and the Casablanca Valley, and we add new places as we travel.
Snow-capped volcanoes, glassy lakes and towns with a German accent, all linked by good roads. We drove from Temuco to Puerto Montt over ten days in November, with most drives between stops under three hours.
Ancient monkey puzzle forests, black lava fields and the double cone of the Llaima Volcano. It was my favourite stop of the whole trip, and kayaking across Lake Conguillío on a still, clear morning was the highlight.
Painted wooden churches, palafitos on stilts and a boat trip out to the islets of Puñihuil, where Magellanic and Humboldt penguins nest side by side in the southern summer. It felt like nowhere else on our trip.
Rapa Nui is part of Chile, but it sits more than 3,500 km out in the Pacific and is Polynesian at heart, so its full set of guides lives on our Polynesia page. It gets a mention here because almost every trip starts with a flight from Santiago. We spent four nights there, and it got under my skin in a way few places have.
Most trips to Chile start here. We spent our first afternoon on a guided walk through bohemian Bellavista, then rode the funicular up San Cristóbal Hill for views across the city to the Andes. It was an easy way to get over the long flight.
Cool climate Sauvignon Blanc country, around 45 minutes’ drive from Santiago. We cycled through the vines at Casas del Bosque, stayed on for lunch and spent our last two nights in Chile in the valley.
New places are added as we travel them. Every part of Chile we write up gets its own card and its own guides on this page. The newsletter at the bottom is the way to hear first when a new one lands.
Chile is in the southern hemisphere, so its seasons are the opposite of ours. Summer runs from December to February and winter from June to August, and because the country is so long, the weather in the desert north has little in common with the lakes and forests of the south.
For the Lake District and the south, go between October and March, with December to February the warmest, driest and busiest. For Rapa Nui (Easter Island), October to April brings more flights and less rain. For a quieter trip, spring and autumn are calmer, with snow still on the volcanoes in spring and autumn colour in the national parks.
We travelled in November, the southern spring, and had sunshine on eight days out of ten in the Lake District. The volcanoes still had snow on their peaks, yellow gorse lit up the valleys and the towns and national parks were quiet, although a few cafés and restaurants had not yet opened for the summer. On Rapa Nui, the first week of November gave us dry, sunny days.
Sep to Nov
Our pick, and when we went. Snow on the volcanoes, yellow gorse in the valleys and quiet roads and national parks. The weather can be patchy, so pack layers, and some seasonal cafés only open once summer begins.
Dec to Feb
The warmest, driest months in the Lake District and the peak season for the lakes, hiking and water sports, so book rooms early. On Rapa Nui, the Tapati festival fills the island’s flights and hotels in high summer.
Mar to May
Fewer crowds, and the forests in the national parks turn orange, yellow and red. The weather is less reliable than in summer, and the days shorten quickly.
Jun to Aug
The coldest season and, in the south, the wettest. Skiing takes over some of the volcano slopes, and on Rapa Nui it is the low season, with fewer flights and the most rain.
November worked well for both halves of our trip. On Rapa Nui, we had clear skies for sunset at Ahu Tahai and sunrise at Ahu Tongariki, and in the Lake District the snow on the volcanoes made every view better. Our Chilean Lake District road trip guide has the route we followed.
The southern spring can be changeable. Cloud hid the Llaima Volcano on our first day in Conguillío, and wind and cloud stopped our hike up the Osorno Volcano halfway, so build a spare day into your plans where you can.
December to February is the high season, when Chilean families head for the lakes and the roads into resort towns such as Pucón get busy. Book rooms and national park passes early if you are going then.
For the Lake District and Chiloé, November or March for quieter roads, or December to February for the warmest weather. For Rapa Nui, October to April. If you want both in one trip, as we did, the southern spring is hard to beat.
Whenever you go, pack layers and a waterproof. The weather in the south changes quickly, and mornings by the volcanoes can be cold even when the afternoons are warm.
Our tip
Buy your national park passes online from CONAF before you go, even if you are on a guided tour. Some parks release them months ahead and others much nearer the time, so check each park on your list and set a reminder if yours is not showing yet. Rapa Nui National Park has its own ticket, which you can also buy online before you fly.
Chile is a long way to go, and the distances inside the country are huge. Santiago to Temuco, the gateway to the Lake District, is a short flight but a long day’s drive, and Rapa Nui is a five and a half hour flight from the capital.
The mistake is trying to see the whole country in one go. On a map, the Atacama Desert, the Lake District and Patagonia look like one trip, but they are thousands of kilometres apart, and each one deserves its own time.
Our trip was three weeks, the longest we are happy to leave our dog with sitters. We flew to Santiago via Madrid, used LATAM for every internal flight and hired a car one way from Temuco to Puerto Montt. Our full guides are below.
The practical things we wish someone had told us.
From the UK, it is a long flight with at least one change. We flew with Iberia via Madrid, using Avios and a Companion Voucher, and Santiago is where almost every international trip to Chile begins.
Chile is so long that internal flights are the way to get around. We flew LATAM from Santiago to Temuco at the start of our road trip and back from Puerto Montt at the end, and LATAM is also the only airline flying to Rapa Nui. For Rapa Nui, you need to complete an online entry form before you fly, and it is checked at a separate desk at Santiago Airport.
We stayed at an airport hotel in Santiago, which suited our late arrival and early flight to Rapa Nui, and took taxis into the city. Our Santiago walking tour has more on our first day.
At the time of writing, British passport holders can visit Chile as tourists without a visa. The rules can change, so check the latest FCDO entry requirements for Chile before you book.
When you arrive, passport control gives you a tourist card from the PDI (Policía de Investigaciones de Chile). Keep it with your passport for your whole trip. Our hotels asked to see it at check-in, the police asked for it at a roadside check on Chiloé, and you hand it back when you leave the country.
In Santiago, you do not need a car. For the Lake District, a hire car gives you the freedom to stop wherever the view demands it, and the main roads are good.
Our Chilean Lake District road trip guide has everything else we learnt about driving in Chile, from one-way car hire to tolls and the dogs that wander into the road.
One of our family lives with a severe nut allergy, so this is something we check for every country. In Chile, packaged food has to list common allergens, including peanuts and tree nuts, on the label. At the time of writing, restaurants do not have to list allergens on their menus the way they do across Europe, so you will need to ask.
In the Lake District, look out for piñones, the nuts of the araucaria tree, which turn up in bread, flour and snacks. Near Conguillío, we were served bread made with araucaria nut flour. Tell restaurants about the allergy when you book, and carry a written card in Spanish. Our allergy translation cards include a Spanish card, and our allergy travel resources have more of what we have learnt.
Chile sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, so earthquakes happen, and several volcanoes in the Lake District are active, including Villarrica above Pucón. You will see evacuation route signs in the towns near them. Check the latest volcano activity before you travel, and read the safety notice in your hotel room when you arrive.
We felt safe throughout our trip, and took the same care we would in any big city, leaving jewellery at home and keeping phones and wallets out of sight. The FCDO advice for Chile warns about pickpocketing, thefts from hire cars and unofficial taxis at Santiago Airport, so book an official taxi inside the terminal.
Take out travel insurance that covers any higher risk activities you have planned, such as a helicopter flight or white water rafting, and check the NHS Fit for Travel advice for Chile before you go.
The things worth sorting before you travel, because places are limited. We book through GetYourGuide where it makes sense.
We booked the Santiago cable car, funicular and San Cristóbal walking tour through GetYourGuide for our first afternoon in Chile, and it was a gentle introduction to the city after the long flight. On Chiloé, we booked a penguin day tour from Castro to Puñihuil and Fort San Antonio, which took us out by boat to the penguin islets and on to Ancud. Our day in Conguillío National Park was with Melitrekan, booked directly with our guide, and the same full-day Conguillío tour from Melipeuco can now be booked through GetYourGuide.
Not for a holiday if you hold a British passport. At the time of writing, UK citizens can visit Chile as tourists for up to 90 days without a visa, and your passport should be valid beyond the date you leave. Keep the PDI tourist card you are given on arrival with your passport, and if you are going to Rapa Nui (Easter Island), complete its online entry form before you fly. Check the FCDO website for the latest rules before you book.
The Chilean peso (CLP). Cards and contactless payments were accepted almost everywhere we went, but carry some cash for tips, taxis, road tolls and small shops. Some places also accept US dollars.
Mainland Chile is between three and five hours behind the UK, depending on the time of year, because Chile changes its clocks in the opposite season to ours. Rapa Nui (Easter Island) is two hours behind the mainland. Chile has moved its clock change dates before, so check the exact difference for your travel dates.
Yes. In restaurants, a suggested tip of 10%, called the propina, is usually shown on the bill, and you will be asked whether you want to include it. Tips are appreciated by guides and drivers too, so carry some small notes in pesos.
We found the Chilean Lake District good value, with hotels, food and internal flights costing less than we are used to at home. Rapa Nui (Easter Island) is a different story. Almost everything has to be shipped or flown in, so hotels, food and tours cost more, and there is a national park ticket to buy too. The long-haul flights are the biggest single cost, which is why we used Avios and a Companion Voucher for ours.
We felt safe throughout our trip, and took the same care we would in any big city. The main things to watch are pickpocketing in busy places, thefts from hire cars, unofficial taxis at Santiago Airport and protests in Santiago, which are best avoided. Chile also has earthquakes and active volcanoes, so read the safety notice in your hotel room and check the latest FCDO advice before you travel.
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A road trip of volcanoes, cloud forest and wildlife, from the Pacific coast to the Caribbean.
