Santiago Chile 6 Day Itinerary
Six days in Santiago Chile is enough to run the whole region menu instead of picking one piece of it: a city anchor day, Concha y Toro’s Maipo Valley wine, the Cajon del Maipo canyon up in the Andes, a coastal swing through Valparaiso and Vina del Mar, a second wine day in Casablanca paired with Isla Negra, and a day six that genuinely depends on the calendar. June through September, that means a ski day in the Andes above Santiago; any other month, the resorts are closed and the smarter pick is La Chascona in Bellavista, finishing the three-house Neruda set this trip visits along the coast. Prices run in Chilean pesos (CLP), roughly 925-950 to the US dollar in 2026. Want the city itself rather than the region around it? Our Santiago 6 day itinerary covers centro, the cerros and Bellavista properly instead of treating them as a single anchor day.
Book these before you go:
- Valle Nevado ski day tour : winter only, roughly 19 June to early October 2026, the lift ticket itself is bought separately at the resort
- Casablanca Valley wine tour : cooler-climate whites, a different profile from day two’s Maipo reds
- La Chascona, La Sebastiana and Isla Negra tickets : the official foundation site for all three Neruda houses, no reservation required
- Your Santiago base : Providencia or Las Condes sits closest to the highway out to the wine valleys and the Andes
| Day | Focus | Travel time | Rough daily cost (CLP) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | City anchor: centro, Sky Costanera | Walkable centro, ~15 min to Costanera Center | 25,000-40,000 |
| 2 | Concha y Toro, Maipo Valley wine | ~45-60 min each way to Pirque | 75,000-95,000 |
| 3 | Cajon del Maipo, El Yeso Reservoir | ~90 min each way | 55,000-70,000 |
| 4 | Valparaiso, Vina del Mar, La Sebastiana | ~90 min each way by bus | 45,000-70,000 |
| 5 | Casablanca wine, Isla Negra | ~60-75 min each way | 90,000-120,000 |
| 6 | Ski at Valle Nevado (Jun-Sep) or La Chascona plus Pomaire (other months) | ~1-2h to the resorts, or ~20 min to Bellavista | 90,000-180,000 (ski) / 35,000-55,000 (other months) |
Day 1: A Condensed City Anchor
Keep day one light, this trip’s center of gravity is outward, not downtown. Walk Plaza de Armas and the cathedral in the morning, free, then pass La Moneda’s exterior on Plaza de la Constitucion for the changing of the guard if the schedule lines up (it alternates by month, don’t build your morning around it without checking first). In the afternoon go up Sky Costanera , the observation deck on floors 61 and 62 of the Gran Torre, roughly CLP 18,000-20,000 adult. The view is the actual point of the day: the Andes rim to the east, where the ski resorts and Cajon del Maipo sit, and the coast beyond the valley you’ll reach on day four.
Day 2: Concha y Toro and the Maipo Valley
Concha y Toro in Pirque is the easy, obvious wine stop, a 45-60 minute drive from Santiago, a genuine historic estate with the Casillero del Diablo cellar experience and four tastings on the premium tour, roughly CLP 76,000 with transport from the city or CLP 50,000pp without. Confirm current tour times and inclusions directly at conchaytoro.com before booking through a reseller. Santa Rita’s estate sits close enough to pair as an afternoon add-on if the day allows.
Day 3: Cajon del Maipo and El Yeso Reservoir
Cajon del Maipo runs about 90 minutes up from Santiago into genuine Andes scenery, hot springs along the way, and the turquoise El Yeso reservoir at roughly 2,500 meters, the one point on this whole trip where the altitude is real enough to notice on a short walk (Santiago itself sits at a flat 520 meters, nobody needs altitude tablets for the city). Full-day tours with transport and a picnic run roughly CLP 41,000-70,000pp and typically leave the hotel absurdly early, 5 to 6:30am, to beat both the crowds and the afternoon cloud buildup around the peaks.
Day 4: Valparaiso, Vina del Mar and La Sebastiana
Turbus or Pullman Bus from Terminal Alameda covers the roughly 90 minutes to the coast for USD 8-15 each way, departures every 15-30 minutes through the morning. Spend the day on Valparaiso’s hillside streets and street art, then La Sebastiana , Neruda’s Valparaiso house, roughly CLP 4,500-10,000 depending on the day and current promotion, Tuesday-Sunday, no reservation needed. Vina del Mar’s beaches and casino strip are worth an hour if the schedule allows, but honestly, cramming Valparaiso, Vina, and a house museum into one day from Santiago is a full day, not a relaxed one; an early bus out is what makes it work at all.
Day 5: Casablanca Wine and Isla Negra
Casablanca Valley sits on the road between Santiago and the coast, cooler-climate whites and Pinot Noir, a genuinely different profile from Maipo’s reds on day two, small-group tours running roughly USD 100-130pp for 2-4 wineries and a tasting. Pair it with Isla Negra , the third Neruda house, roughly CLP 11,000, sitting further down the coast near the Casablanca route, a natural stop on the way rather than a separate trip.
Day 6: Ski or La Chascona, the Split the Calendar Decides
This is the one day on the trip that isn’t a preference, it’s a calendar problem. Ski season at Valle Nevado, Farellones, El Colorado, and Portillo runs roughly 19 June to early October in 2026, an hour to two hours up into the Andes; outside that window the lifts are simply closed, no amount of planning changes that. In winter, book a day tour (roughly USD 69-286 depending on lessons and equipment) and buy the lift ticket separately, directly through the resort’s own site, tour prices don’t include it. Any other month, spend the day at La Chascona in Bellavista, roughly CLP 11,000, the third and final house in the Neruda set this trip started in Valparaiso and Isla Negra, then add a second, less touristy Maipo producer or Pomaire, the pottery town about an hour west (public transit there is a genuine hassle, a rental car or tour is worth it for one day).
Should You Ski or Visit La Chascona on Day 6?
Whichever the calendar allows, not whichever sounds better on paper. Ski-from-Santiago is realistic only in the Southern Hemisphere winter, roughly June through September; book anything else for that window and you’re planning around resorts that aren’t open. Outside winter, La Chascona plus a second wine stop or Pomaire is the honest, better-fitting choice, not a consolation prize.
Is Two Wine Days, Maipo and Casablanca, Overkill?
Not on six days, they’re different enough to justify both: Maipo’s reds at Concha y Toro on day two, Casablanca’s cooler-climate whites paired with Isla Negra on day five. On a shorter trip, pick one, our 3 day Santiago Chile itinerary sticks to Maipo and the Andes only.
Is Santiago Chile Safe for a Week-Long Trip?
Chile carries a US State Department Level 2 “exercise increased caution” advisory, and the UK Foreign Office describes muggings as frequent in both Santiago and Valparaiso, increasingly involving weapons. Risk concentrates in the centro, around Plaza de Armas, and Bellavista after dark, none of which this itinerary spends much unstructured time in. Avoid any demonstration you run into, especially Friday evenings near Plaza Italia, and book taxis or rideshare in advance rather than hailing one on the street, especially coming back from the Andes or Bellavista after dark.
Before You Go
This is Santiago de Chile, the capital, not Compostela and not Cuba, and the currency is the Chilean peso, not the Argentine peso next door or the euro. Seasons run reversed from the Northern Hemisphere: January is summer, July is deep winter, which is exactly why day six’s split matters so much on this itinerary. For current advisory wording and general planning, chile.travel is the official tourism board site worth a check before you fly. Want more time for a second regional leg? Our 7 day itinerary adds room for it; want less, our 5 day itinerary drops one wine day instead.