Mendoza and Santiago de Chile (MSA)

Reception at Mendoza’s airport, from where we travel to the hotel; during the afternoon we take a tour to the city and its surroundings, making contact with a modern city, known for its trees, canals, wide sidewalks and overall cleanliness; this route introduces us to the history and culture of a town funded by settlers over four centuries ago.

As part of the tour we visit places such as La Alameda, Área Fundacional (Plaza Pedro del Castillo), the aquarium, the serpentarium, the main avenues at downtown, Plaza Independencia, Barrio Cívico (the civic district) and Avenida Emilio Civit, leading us to the Parque General San Martín which is one of the most important urban green areas and a great view for the travelers.

• Lodging at Hostal double or single / Meals we provide: none

After taking breakfast at the Hotel we have the rest of the morning free to enjoy the city at leisure.

During the afternoon we take an excursion to the vineyards, where we can observe how the work of the man has transformed the province’s characteristic desert into a major oasis; we can also learn throughout the tour the different irrigation techniques developed by the original settlers eventually evolving into the ones used nowadays. From the city of Mendoza we move to the main winery area (Maipú – Luján) to take guided tours to the cellars, which can be artisan or industrial style, allowing us to compare several elaboration processes of wine production. Furthermore, we will be able to taste samples of each one of the cellars, as a delightful peek into the culture of the wine along with introductions by the experts, fulfilling the expectations of the visitors, who will appreciate why Mendoza is the country’s most important producer and exporter of wine. The day ends with the return to Mendoza.

• Lodging at Hostal double or single / Meals we provide: breakfast

After breakfast we take a regular service at the central bus station from Mendoza to Santiago de Chile, where we will arrive during the afternoon. At Santiago, we will be greeted by agency staff and driven to the hotel to be informed about the scheduled tours and their details.

• Lodging at Hostal double or single / Meals we provide: breakfast

The city tour allows us to take a close look at the city’s very particular mixture of ancient and modern styles. Santiago is nowadays a modern city with over 6 million people, concentrating a large portion of the country’s cultural, economic, industrial and commercial activity. During the tour we will visit the central area, where the oldest buildings and the main institutions are located, as well as the museums and prominent monuments representing much of the history of the city and Chile in general.

• Lodging at Hostal double or single / Meals we provide: breakfast

The journey starts as we leave the hotel and head to Viña del Mar, also called “Garden City” because of the green areas surrounding it. Viña del Mar has 13 beaches and an architectonic mix of residential homes with modern and high buildings. We will make some stops to visit Reñaca beach and Quinta Vergara, a venetian style building extending over 3.000 mts., and today housing the Museum of Fine Arts where every year, at the amphitheater, the Viña del Mar International Song Festival takes place.
Additionally, we will have the chance to appreciate a Moai brought from the Easter Island.

After this visit to the coast we will travel to Valparaíso, proclaimed World Heritage Site by the UNESCO, whose origins date back to 1536.

As part of the visit we will get to the harbors and other remarkable parts of a city located within a natural bay and surrounded by a chain of mountains connected with the ocean on both ends, as an immense coliseum facing to the Pacific. One of the main characteristics of this city is the “vertical life”… elevators travel up and down the mounts becoming a distinctive feature of the city.

• Lodging at Hostal double or single / Meals we provide: breakfast

Breakfast at the hotel and transfer to Santiago de Chile’s bus station, where we take a regular service from Santiago to Mendoza or to Santiago’s international airport.