Chile in Feb any tips?

[iwannaseeyoudance]

Hi there we are hoping to visit Chile in Feb , any advice or tips for hotels itinerary ideas?
Has anyone driven there?
So excited looks like an amazing country

Hi just come back. Feb will be hot so you might not want to do our itinerary which was winter based. Unless you are going for a month, Chile is very long, so it’s difficult to do all of it in one hit!

Generally you fly to Santiago. We stayed at the Luciano K in the Lastarria area. Good hotel and well positioned. The museum of Pre Columbian art is a must see but it’s not a city with great buildings overall.

You can go from Santiago to the wine areas and then our to Valparaiso. Highly recommend Valparaiso. We stayed at the Galos Hotel and Lofts and I liked The Fauna as well. Great food there! Stay in the World Heritage site area.

We also went to The Atacama Desert accessed via San Pedro de Atacama. It will be fiercely hot in Feb. Over 40 degrees we were told so I would avoid. The best sights are also over 14,000 ft so be aware of altitude sickness.

In Feb, your best bet it to go South to Patagonia. I haven’t visited this area in Chile but I recommend you get the Lonely Planet guide and read their recommendations. I expect they will have it nailed. Top place for hiking and the W route is the best apparently. Take to the seas to see another aspect of Patagonia.

I forgot! How could I? We went to Easter Island. Obviously nothing else like it and I would always include it on a trip to Chile. You fly there from Santiago and it’s 5.5 hours. Just an amazing place! Do go.

My friends recommend the Chiloe Islands too.

Thankyou so much for this, had already identified Luciano k as a good hotel so will book that.
I'm interested in Valparaiso I thought it sounded a bit too edgy but perhaps I'll rethink, was think of some time in vina del mar did you go there?
I think Easter islands too expensive for us looking at the fares but maybe some time in the future

We went to Chile 18 months ago and loved it.

I would highly recommend Luis, our driver from Miles and Smiles: milesandsmiles.cl/ He and his New Zealand wife run this local tour agency and he drove us around as we didn't fancy driving. We did the tour of the Pacific coast with him from Santiago to Valparaiso.

Valparaiso is edgy, you're right, and not everyone likes it but we loved it as it had real character. It reminded us slightly of Brighton. Run down seaside town with lots of graffiti, but SO much personality. We stayed in a lovely townhouse hotel there called Hotel Cirilo Amstrong which I would recommend. We did a city tour there using the husand-and-wife team of guides they suggested and it was very interesting.

We stayed here www.ismaelhotel.com/ in Santiago. It was across the road from the Parque Forestale and had fantastic air conditioning! It was also in the Lastarria area which has lots of restaurants and bars. Definitely recommend it.
We stayed here www.casamolino.cl/?gclid=CjwKCAjwzdLrBRBiEiwAEHrAYnVZ-jQ6hqpVly55p1h9L7v4BEBHU35mR7hCaZs8thxeyh-_XHni3xoCgjoQAvD_BwEin in Puerto Varas and it was rather lovely with a fantastic view over the lake to the volcano.
We also went in February and it was scorching in Santiago and quite chilly in Patagonia - take lots of layers!
Can't help you with the driving as I'm too much of a wuss but I don't think it's worse than anywhere else.

We didn’t find Valparaiso particularly edgy. The UNESCO area was full of normal people! The Port area is possibly the area to avoid. Always stay in the UNESCO WH area. The hotels I have suggested are right there and are good value for money. It has some great restaurants and one or two lovely shopping streets. You could walk to the Pablo Neruda house, La Sebastiana, and do a tour of the best wall art. It’s fantastic. Don’t be put off. We thought it was nicer than Santiago. The hotel we stayed in had very helpful staff with excellent recommendations for restaurants and places to visit. There are tours which concentrate on the street art.

No we didn’t go to vina del mar but we could see it from our hotel. It looked high rise so not our thing. I would look at the Culture Trip app to find the 10 best beaches and decide what type of beach you like and what the neighbourhood around it is like.

Thankyou all very much for these replies really helpful and somehow seem to relate better than a guidebook.
I'm going to take a look at all your suggestions and get booking!,,

It will be wonderful! Ask me more if you wish.

I went in March, hiked in Patagonia for 10 days- incredible experience but do get on with booking accommodation because February is high season. Drove 2000 km with a big sturdy jeep without incident. I did not enjoy Chiloe as much as the lakes district ( a bit too developed after the remote areas). Pumalin National Park exceptional . Going back next year to complete the far south section of the Caratera route .

That’s the Carretera Austral route (auto correct error).

Thankyou again for all the information I think we've got a plan now just need to finalise a few things
And yes bubbles I may well be seeking your advise if that's ok