Not a guide, not an endorsement, not a sponsorship. Just what we had, what worked and what we found on the way.
- Flight: Paris-Santiago direct flight (14 hours) with Air France.
- Car rental: Econorent. Their website is easy to use and we were happy with the service overall. We made a reservation online beforehand which was the right call since around Christmas there was limited availability of SUVs. Another point was requesting a permit to drive in Argentina—not all Chilean car rentals would be offering that option.
- Accomodation: mostly listings on Booking.com. The only places we booked in advance were the first week in Santiago and then Valparaíso (which was the trickiest and least bang-for-your-buck). Pretty much all else we booked one day in advance or on the same day spontaneously since we wanted/needed the flexibility. It worked very well for the most part, though keep in mind it wasn’t peak season yet and we weren’t too picky.
- In Santiago: we stayed in an appartment in Barrio Italia. The district is fairly central/well-connected, walkable and lively.
- Local SIM/mobile data: prepaid SIM bought in Santiago from Entel. Easy, fast, worked fine. They have an app from which you can top up without having to buy vouchers in a store. Although there was a roaming option for Argentina, I have to say it didn’t work that well over there.
- Safety: we were safe by and large (but then again, we went to see volcanoes and that might not be everyone’s idea of “safe”). There are some sketchy places in Santiago. Valparaíso is sketchy all over. Stray/loose dogs are probably the only dangerous fauna you’d encounter. Also, many nature spots are secluded and while often there will be other tourists/locals around, it is easy to end up completely alone.
- Trails: I have a Garmin Forerunner watch with which I recorded most of our hiking. When paired with the AllTrails app, it can replay your route in a 3D topographic map of the area, which is awesome. The app was useful for inspiration/planning of hikes and estimating time/distance. Still, for navigation and driving directions we used Google Maps/OpenStreetMaps as the most reliable and convenient choice. In our case, nothing more advanced was required navigation-wise (well, that and common sense).
- Binoculars: as an apprentice birder, I got my very first pair of binoculars for this trip: Opticron Oregon 4 LE WP 8×25, as per the Cornell Lab All About Birds recommendation. It is a very decent and affordable pocket pair. We used it quite a lot, including to spot wild penguins on Cachagua Island. This was only possible with binoculars as access to the island is wisely forbidden.
- Clothing: we had to pack for both the scorching heat in the north and the rainy coldness in the south. The usual layering of a T-shirt, a fleece jacket, and a light rain jacket worked well for all conditions we encountered. Shoewise, we rotated between sandals, trainers, and hiking boots. Note that doing laundry can be a huge hassle as facilities are scarce and service tends to be inflexible.
- Ferries: relevant for Chiloé Island and/or Patagonia. Check out Naviera Austral early on for routes and fares. You might have to plan around a certain date and time for ferry transfer, and be prepared if it gets cancelled due to weather.
- More tips and recommendations to come!