City & Desert

(8 Days - Departs Daily on a Private Basis)
Santiago & environs, Atacama Desert

This tour combines Chile's vibrant capital city with a stay in the breathtaking Atacama Desert.

Begin in Santiago, one of our favorite cities in South America with its breathtaking location framed by the Andes mountains. The city offers wonderful museums, colorful colonial architecture, appealing day trips, and delicious food and wine. Tour the city's highlights with your own private guide who will provide an insider's perspective on the city's most recommended attractions, neighborhoods and activities, including La Chascona (Pablo Neruda's house), the Chilean Museum of Pre-Columbian Art, our favorite neighborhoods filled with beautiful colonial architecture and well-preserved residences formerly occupied by Santiago's aristocracy, bustling markets and exclusive shops, and much more. One day, take an excursion to Valparaiso, one of the most unique cities in South America and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Explore the steep, labyrinthine streets of the most interesting and colorful cerros (hills), visit one of Valparaiso's notable museums, and perhaps take one of the many funicular elevators that the city is famous for. If desired, also enjoy wine tasting at a top winery in the Casablanca Valley, one of Chile's leading wine-growing regions.

Continue to the Atacama Desert, located in northern Chile and the driest desert in the world. This area is renowned for its otherworldly rock formations, lunar landscapes, salt flats, geysers, volcanoes and flamingo population. Choose from a number of daily excursions according to your interests, and visit traditional Andean villages, the El Tatio geysers—over 80 geysers and fumaroles steaming over the altiplano, surrounded by volcanoes—and the National Flamingo Reserve, which encompasses seven geographically distinct sectors and holds many of the area's top attractions. Other options include treks in canyons, walking on ancient trails and learning to identify petroglyphs, stargazing, bathing in hot springs, hiking to picturesque remote villages along crop terraces, seeing pre-Columbian fortresses, high altitude mountain and volcano climbing, horseback riding, and biking. Conclude the tour with an overnight stay in Santiago.

Throughout the tour, sightseeing is flexible and tailored to your interests, and accommodation is in top rooms at Chile's leading luxury properties.

Booking Information >

All Artisans of Leisure tours are private and depart daily.

Please Contact Us for more information regarding the above tour, or to begin customizing your own itinerary.

The Artisans of Leisure Style of Travel:

• Private touring with your own personal guides and drivers
• Preferred rooms in the very best luxury hotels
• Firsthand, sophisticated destination knowledge and recommendations from our travel specialists
• Itineraries that are customized according to your interests and schedule
• Artisans of Leisure upgrades and amenities
• A seamless travel experience, including all logistics, skipping lines during touring whenever possible, restaurant and spa reservations, performance tickets, private airport transfers, internal transportation, VIP and fast-track airport assistance in many destinations
• Around-the-clock support in each destination during your trip
• Unique, insider travel experiences and access to the Artisans of Leisure network of experts around the world