Where to Go in Chile: The Best Regions for Your Trip
After exploring The Best Day Trips from Santiago, Chile, it’s time to zoom out. Next, I’ll break down Chile’s major travel regions to help you decide which destinations belong on your itinerary and which ones can wait for your next trip.
Before I started planning my trip to Chile, I quickly realized there was no such thing as a “complete” Chile itinerary. Stretching more than 2,600 miles (4,300 km) from north to south, the country is simply too large and too diverse to experience in a single vacation. Unless you have several weeks to travel, every itinerary becomes a series of choices about what to see now and what to save for next time.
Even before I booked my flights, I knew there simply wasn’t enough time to see everything I wanted. The Atacama Desert, the Lake District, Patagonia, and Easter Island all deserved far more time than I could give them. With just six days, I chose to base myself in Santiago, and I loved everything I experienced, from the city itself to the incredible day trips into the Andes and along the Pacific coast.
But if there’s one thing my first visit to Chile taught me, it’s that I only scratched the surface. Every region offers something completely different, and I left just as excited about the places I didn’t see as the ones I did. If you’re planning your own trip, here’s how I’d think about Chile’s major travel regions and which ones are the best fit for your itinerary.
Santiago & Central Chile
Getting there: This is where most international travelers begin their trip to Chile.
Suggested stay length: 4–7 days
Best for: First-time visitors, cities, wine, coastal scenery, and a well-rounded introduction to Chile.
For most travelers, Santiago is where a first trip to Chile begins. As the country’s capital and largest city, it also serves as the gateway to Chile’s Central Region, making it easy to experience much more than just the city itself. Within a couple of hours, you can be wandering the colorful streets of Valparaíso, relaxing on the beaches of Viña del Mar, tasting wine in the Casablanca Valley, or standing high in the Andes at Cajón del Maipo, Portillo, or Valle Nevado.
What surprised me most about Chile was just how much variety I found without ever changing hotels. I spent six days based in Santiago and never felt like I was running out of things to do. Between exploring the city itself and taking day trips to Valparaíso & Viña del Mar and Cajón del Maipo & Embalse El Yeso, I experienced vibrant neighborhoods, Pacific coast scenery, and dramatic mountain landscapes, all from a single base.
If you’re visiting Chile for the first time, I’d recommend making Santiago the foundation of your itinerary. It offers the best introduction to the country while giving you easy access to many of Central Chile’s highlights. From there, you can pair it with the Atacama Desert, the Lake District, Patagonia, or Easter Island depending on your interests and how much time you have.
The Atacama Desert
Getting there: About 2 hours by nonstop flight to Calama, followed by a 1-hour drive to San Pedro de Atacama.
Suggested stay length: 4–5 days
Best for: Desert landscapes, photography, stargazing, and outdoor adventure.
The Atacama Desert feels like a completely different world from Central Chile. Located in the far north, it’s one of the driest places on Earth, where salt flats, colorful lagoons, steaming geysers, and otherworldly rock formations create landscapes unlike almost anywhere else.
Most visitors base themselves in San Pedro de Atacama, a small desert town that serves as the starting point for excursions to places like Valle de la Luna, the El Tatio Geysers, and the region’s famous flamingo-filled salt flats. The clear skies also make the Atacama one of the world’s premier destinations for stargazing. The Atacama is a year-round destination, though spring and fall generally offer comfortable temperatures without the colder winter nights or occasional summer rains.
The Atacama was one of the regions I had to leave off my first Chile itinerary simply because of time. If I return to Chile in the near future, the Atacama Desert will probably be my first stop. It feels like the perfect complement to Santiago, offering landscapes that couldn’t be more different from the country’s capital.
The Lake District
Getting there: About 1.5 hours by nonstop flight to Puerto Montt, followed by a 20–30 minute drive to Puerto Varas.
Suggested stay length: 4–6 days
Best for: Volcanoes, lakes, scenic drives, and nature.
If Patagonia sounds a little too rugged but you still want incredible scenery, Chile’s Lake District offers a wonderful middle ground. Centered around Puerto Varas, the region is known for its snow-capped volcanoes, crystal-clear lakes, forests, and charming towns with strong German influences.
Many visitors spend their time exploring Llanquihue Lake, visiting Petrohué Falls, hiking in Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park, or taking in views of Osorno Volcano, one of Chile’s most recognizable peaks. The slower pace also makes it an excellent place for road trips and outdoor activities.
Although I haven’t visited yet, this is another region that immediately caught my attention while planning my Chile trip. From everything I’ve researched, the Lake District feels like the kind of place where you slow down, spend more time outdoors, and let the scenery set the pace of the trip.
Patagonia
Getting there: About a 3-hour nonstop flight to Puerto Natales (seasonal) or Punta Arenas.
Suggested stay length: 5–8+ days
Best for: Hiking, glaciers, wildlife, and bucket-list scenery.
For many travelers, Patagonia is the reason they book a trip to Chile in the first place. Stretching across southern Chile and Argentina, the region is home to some of the most spectacular landscapes in the world, from towering granite peaks and turquoise lakes to massive glaciers and windswept steppe.
The Chilean side is anchored by Torres del Paine National Park and Puerto Natales, while nearby Argentine destinations like El Calafate and El Chaltén are often combined into the same itinerary. Hiking is the main attraction, but you don’t have to be an experienced trekker to appreciate Patagonia’s scenery.
Although my Patagonia experience was based on the Argentine side, it completely changed my perspective on Patagonia as a destination. Visiting El Calafate only made me want to return and spend much more time exploring Chilean Patagonia, especially Torres del Paine, which remains one of the biggest destinations on my travel bucket list.
Easter Island (Rapa Nui)
Getting there: About a 5.5-hour nonstop flight.
Suggested stay length: 4–5 days
Best for: History, archaeology, culture, and bucket-list travel.
Located more than 2,000 miles off Chile’s mainland, Easter Island is one of the most remote inhabited islands in the world. Better known by its Indigenous name, Rapa Nui, the island is famous for its nearly 900 moai statues, volcanic landscapes, and rich Polynesian heritage.
Unlike the rest of Chile, visiting Easter Island isn’t about moving from one attraction to the next. Most travelers spend several days exploring archaeological sites, learning about the island’s history and culture, and enjoying its slower pace of life. Renting a car or joining guided tours is the easiest way to reach many of the island’s most significant sites.
Even though it’s technically part of Chile, Easter Island feels like a destination all its own. Because of the time and cost required to get there, I’d recommend treating it as a separate adventure or adding it to a longer Chile itinerary rather than trying to squeeze it into a one-week trip.
Final Thoughts
There isn’t one perfect way to experience Chile. Whether you’re drawn to the colorful streets of Santiago and Valparaíso, the otherworldly landscapes of the Atacama Desert, the volcanoes of the Lake District, the hiking trails of Patagonia, or the ancient history of Easter Island, each region offers something completely different.
My first trip only covered Santiago and Central Chile, but it was enough to convince me that I’ll be back. Instead of trying to see everything in one vacation, I’d recommend choosing the regions that best match your interests and giving yourself enough time to truly enjoy them. Chile isn’t a destination you’ll finish in one trip. It’s a country you’ll keep finding reasons to return to.
Next Up: How I Spent 4 Days in Quito, Ecuador
My South America journey continues in Quito, Ecuador. I’ll share how I spent four days exploring the city’s historic center, riding the TelefériQo, and discovering why Ecuador’s capital became the perfect introduction to the country.
Continue Exploring Chile & Patagonia
- Santiago Was Just the Beginning of My Chile Trip — What my first visit to Chile looked like and why Santiago left me wanting to see much more of the country.
- The Best Day Trips from Santiago, Chile — Explore beyond the capital with some of the easiest places to add while using Santiago as your base.
- El Calafate Was My Introduction to Patagonia—Now I Want More — Cross into Argentine Patagonia for Perito Moreno Glacier and the experience that made me want to see much more of the region.