South America Explorer

South America takes in an enormous geographic and cultural diversity. We visited 4 of 13 South American countries, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, and Falkland Islands in a trip combined with visits to Santiago Chile where we spent three nights in a hotel. We then boarded a cruise ship for a 14 day cruise and ended up spending three nights in a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Tour was hosted and arranged by Vanguard Travel. A Program Manager met us at the airport, transported us to hotels, and to the cruise ship. He was available to offer advise as well as optional land excursions while staying in Chile and Argentina.

On the ship we booked optional tours through the cruise line; see separate review of the ship experiences and ports of call.

Highlights were experiencing the spectacular scenery of the Andes Mountains which were often snow covered, the diverse desert plain areas and untouched land to viewing the explosive and seemingly endless avenue of fjords and glaciers as seen close up from a cruise ship.

The real trip highlight was an optional 7-hour long tour to walk among the thousands of penguins in Punta Tumbo Rookery outside of Puerto Madryn, Argentina.

Other tourists were from all over the world with American tourists approximately 400 being the largest number.

Quick Tips:

December in South America is summer time, but with this type of trip you will experience various climates from 75 degrees in Chile, 50 degrees on the cruise ship, and in Buenos Aires, Argentina we experienced a heat wave with temperatures close to 100 degrees. You must prepare yourself when packing and bring small amounts of clothes for various temperatures. Layering is good.

Vantage provides an Answer Book giving vital information such as the approximate climates in each country, currency exchange, passport and visa requirements, tipping and what to pack guidelines, descriptions of ports and countries to be visited, as well as what to expect of your program manager while on tour. A Vantage hospitality desk was available during scheduled hours on board ship and at the hotels.

It is good to be weary of pick pockets in the cities. In the countryside I always felt perfectly safe in Chile. The people are not aggressive and generally friendly.

Best Way To Get Around:

Deluxe accommodations. Our large and comfortable hotel room faced the beautiful snow-capped Andes mountains. What a bright greeting to our day!

Hotel included plenty of amenities; concierge services, Internet, comfortable and luxury bedding with plenty of pillows, gift shop, currency exchange, complementary coffee, ATM/bank, multilingual staff, health club, uniformed security on site, in-room safe, plus all of your usual hotel amenities.

Full buffet breakfast was included with our travel package. Beautiful and inviting hotel lobby featured Tapas specials on certain nights and also had piano music. The hotel is conveniently located near buses and taxis stops.

Within a short walking distance is the upscale Parque Arauco, the largest shopping center in Santiago. Also within walking distance is a huge shopping area carrying everything from cars, outdoor furniture, plants, and a supermarket where you could purchase Chilean wine very inexpensively. Many bottles in the $4 and $5 range.

Concierge very helpful with directions, advising on what amount of money was needed for the bus and very accommodating changing money to smaller denominations.

Santiago is the capital and biggest city in Chile. Not a major sightseeing city and you can get around on foot in the downtown district. The main square, Plaza de Armas, seems to be where everyone congregates. Much of the housing is for college students.

You get a sense of the poverty of the region downtown as it is a bit run down, although lots of building is going on and there seems to be efforts to make improvements. I was just a bit weary of pickpockets in the crowded square area although I had no problem.

Visit the Palacio de la Moneda and see changing of the guard held in front of the palace on alternate days at 10am. Visit the cathedral; a combination of neoclassical and Baroque styles with an ornate tell tower.

One of Chile's few monuments to Salvador Allende with his arms outstretched is in front of the Justice of Ministry. It was adorned with flowers and candles. He committed suicide in La Moneda during the military siege of 1973.

On a positive note is Santiago's subway system. It is clean, safe, very easy to get around and inexpensive.

A day trip approximately 2 1/2 hours outside of Santiago took us to the Chilean countryside on our way to the exclusive ski resort Portillo. On our way we stopped for authentic empanadas and Chilean beer. The empanadas were baked outside in a kiln type oven. This authentic South American treat was really delicious. The empanadas were filled with a beef and onion mixture, hard boiled eggs and olives (beware, the olives had pits)and was very inexpensive.

The road leading to the ski resort was full of switchbacks and a bit of a hairy ride with no railings or fences. As it was summer, the landscape was rather barren although there was snow on top of the mountain. What a great way to experience the Andes Mountains especially if you are a non-skier. We enjoyed a wonderful salmon lunch including a bottle of Chilean wine in the hotel dining room overlooking the beautiful Laguna del Inca. The hotel opens up during the off-season to host bus tour visitors.

The altitude was about 10,000'. Several people experienced dizziness at the high altitude. This classy all inclusive ski resort is home to US, Austrian, and Spanish National Ski Teams and has a world class ski school. It is located near the Argentine border. Ski season is mid-June to early October. www.skiportillo.com. 

Since we visited Portillo in the summertime, it was hard to imagine the stark landscape covered by snow but based on a film shown it appears to be worth a visit if you are a skier.

A visit to San Cristobal is a highlight in Santiago to get a panoramic view of the city. On a clear day you can see all over the city with the Andes Mountains looming in the background. You can access the top of the mountain by car, funicular, or cable car. At the top is the 40' statue of the Virgin, a must see visit for the religious believers. The view is a bit marred by the surrounding electrical towers and wires.