Personalized trips to Chile
for independent travelers

Riwal did an excellent job planning our Chilean wine & more excursion! He was extremely professional, in spite of us making several changes along the way. He was quick to suggest options during the planning process and continued to check in with us throughout the actual trip to ensure we were enjoying ourselves. We were able to visit wineries from several areas including Maipo Valley and Valperaiso. Each was a unique experience and we kept saying that each one was even better than the prior one! Although we asked to do winery tours every day, towards the end of trip we were a bit "wined out" and asked if he could cancel our last winery and find something else for us to do. In less than a day we were rescheduled for a Chilean cooking class which turned out to be one of our very favorite experiences on the trip. Our guides were fantastic and our driver was great. I would highly recommend kimkim for anyone planning a trip to Chile and would suggest you ask to work with Riwal -you will not be disappointed!

Hotel Reviews

Casa Higueras Hotel

Valparaiso

I cannot say enough good things about this hotel. The staff was amazing from Marco who met us when we arrived, to Dorinda who served us at breakfast (and even going ac way to get me coke light instead of coffee each morning) to Christobal who took care of us at dinner. The location was beautiful, the rooms were spacious and each one was unique, and the people couldn't have been nicer.

Authenticity & Character

Each detail of the hotel was unique and beautiful

Location

At the to of the hill with fantastic views of the city and the ocean.

Staff

Everyone was so friendly and helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Casa Bueras Hotel (ex Lastarria)

Santiago

The hotel and the staff were wonderful. While Lastarria was interesting, we didn't feel as safe walking around there as we did in other places in the city

Authenticity & Character

The outside area terrace and pool area were excellent places to just hang out after a busy day.

Location

The surrounding area was a little less safe feeling than other places in the city.

Staff

Eric was great!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Full Day Quintero Coastal Experience + Visit to Aconcagua Farms

Chile

We started the day at the beach and stopped at a local fish market for some samples of fresh ceviche, clams, and shellfish. The highlight, though was Aconcagua Farms - by far our favorite winery! It's a small winery that also produces sangrias which was an interesting change of pace. Their sustainable and regenerative farming practices were so interesting and the owners were so energetic and likable!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit to the Santa Ema Wineyard - with winetasting

Chile

Sophia led our tour. She was so engaging and you could tell that this family owned business feels like family to the entire staff. It was a great tour and the wines were excellent.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Chilean Food Tour & Picnic with a View of Santiago

Santiago

We always start every new city with a good tour and this one didn't disappoint. In addition to the stops to try various dishes, we got some interesting history from Angel, and then bought food in the market that Jenny put together for a picnic lunch in the hills above the city -- it was perfect!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Colchagua Valley Wine Tour: Explore Montgras & Santa Cruz Vineyards

Santiago

We changed this to a coming class with Responsible Travel Chile and we're so glad we did. The best experience of our trip.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Jenny and Angel are the best!

Transport

Angel picked us up and took us directly there. We wanted to take the metro back, do he made sure to walk us there and that we knew exactly where to go

I gave Angel an almost impossible task, which was to see all the best places in Chile in 30 days. So, he delivered, and then some! To get it all in, we ended up at 32 days, and we covered so many amazing places in this amazing country!

We started our journey in Vina del Mar. This beautiful area is right on the Pacific Ocean, with numerous great choices on where to dine. It was a nice place to recharge after the long flight to Santiago. Our next day was right next door, with a tour of the UNESCO World Heritage Valparaiso. Our guide was Grex, and he led us through this famous city, showing the architecture and street art across this unique colorful town. We tasted local foods, and met many of the famous street artists. Very cool!
Next we did some wine tasting in the Casablanca Valley, and had a cooking class in Santiago with Angel's awesome wife, Jennifer. The food "we" made was wonderful!

Our next leg of our trip was flying to Rapa Nui (Easter Island) for 5 nights. What an incredible place! You just have to see the island to appreciate how special it is. Our guide was Andres, a lifetime resident and island researcher. His knowledge and insight made the tours exciting. We stayed in the in town so we could walk to dinner, and meet the locals, and see the indescribable sunsets. We also scuba dived and saw the local dance show...something I did not expect to enjoy, but really did!

Atacama was next! What a contrast to Rapa Nui! We had another strong tour guide (Marco) who took us to Laguna Cejar (salt lagoon), where we had some amazing pictures of the valley, and floated in the salt waters! The next day we hiked a little known canyon with Andrej. The river was flowing strongly, with lots of small waterfalls. We had to scale the walls in a few spots. It was a blast, and we saw no one the entire hike! We finished one day with a horseback ride during sunset. Our last day we traveled to Puritama Hot Springs, high up in the mountains. It is a series of pools fed by warm spring waters. Really nice!

Next we flew to Balmaceda, got a rental car, and drove to Puerto Rio Tranquilo. This drive was one of our favorites, as the area is a series of gorgeous valleys, mountains, and rivers. It is lightly populated, and 2/3 of the roads are dirt. We stopped a lot. We saw the endangered huemul deer, and 3 condors. The town we stayed in was very small, but had a wonderful restaurant. The highlight here was kayaking to the Marble Caves. The water in these glacial lakes is so clear, and our guide, Victor, was outstanding...we did not even get wet! From here, we drove to Coyhaique, where we took a catamaran to some hot springs on the side of a fjord. Incredible!

We then flew to Puerto Montt, and drove to Huilo Huilo Reserve. Note that these roads were very easy to drive. The few hour drive was beautiful, and the scenery was great. In Huilo Huilo, we stayed in a very unique hotel (it was round, with trees in it and a stream running through it!), with a great restaurant. We hiked a lot here. The rivers were flowing strong, and the numerous waterfalls were amazing. A very relaxing area. We then drove to Puerto Varas next. It is a popular tourist town for both Chilean and international visitors. The lake is the 2nd largest in Chile. From our hotel we could see the amazing volcanos and snow capped mountains. Here we did a challenging and fun hike at the base of a volcano called Desolation Pass. And we ended this leg at the hot springs in Termas del Sol.

We then flew to Punta Arenas. For being so far south, we were surprised by the size of the town, as well as the beautiful architecture downtown. Here, we boarded a catamaran, and headed out to Magdalena Island, where we spent time with penguins! We then took a bus to Puerto Natales, about a 3 hour ride. Here, we had a boat ride to visit Serrano Glacier. Very nice! From here, we drove to Torres del Paine, the iconic view of Patagonia. The hotel was wonderful (Hotel Lago Grey). where we had endless views of the mountains, and sat right on the edge of the glacial lake.

We then flew back to Santiago, where we had a special dinner high up on a rotating restaurant (Giratorio). The next day we drove our rental to Colchagua, where we visited VIK. We had a wonderful 7 course lunch here, which lasted almost 3 hours, with plenty of wine tasting! The next day we visited Vina Santa Cruz, another beautiful winery in this area. Before heading back to Santiago, we visited the lush and beautiful Maipo Valley, where we hiked and rode horses.

Our last day we visited downtown Santiago. This took us to main plaza, as well as walking through the fruit and vegetable markets. We ate and enjoyed the afternoon, and had a final light snack and wine with Jennifer at a hillside with a great view of Santiago. A great way to end a great trip!

A couple of thoughts-
1) We used private tour guides in a number of places. We found them to be very good, and they could focus on us. With so many international visitors, many tours end up repeating things in at least 2, or more, languages. This obviously takes more time.
2) Car rentals were easy, and allows you to stop where you wanted. We found the road infrastructure to be very good.. While roads in some areas were not paved (including Torres Del Paine), they were still maintained.
3) With Angel as our specialist, he could set up just about anything we wanted...and he also set up things we did not know we wanted! He and his staff, especially Gabi, responded to questions and requests immediately. We were very happy with how they set up and guided us through our adventures!

Absolutely loved our guide and driver in Santiago. They were both so friendly and informative and attentive to what we wanted to do. The Atacama desert was beautiful. Recommend staying close to town so can walk to restaurants. The Lake District was our favorite- so green and lovely and Puerto Varas is a lovely town to walk around. There were many days where we had to get up very early for flights or tours so be prepared for that. Having the What's Up group when we were there was terrific- we got reminders for our tours and could ask questions and get timely answers while on the trip. So we never felt we were "alone" in Chile.

Hotel Reviews

Solace Puerto Varas

Puerto Varas

Loved this hotel. Great breakfast, good location, nice size room.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Pueblo de Tierra

San Pedro de Atacama

It was a bit of a far walk into town and did not have a restaurant for dinner - so it would take 20 minutes to walk to a nice restaurant. Room was spacious and nice outdoor sitting areas.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Castillo Rojo

Santiago

Such history in this building-- it was a pleasure to be in it and the neighborhood is terrific.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Puerto Montt & Puerto Varas City Tour

Chile

Not really a tour. We slowly drove around Puerto Varas and driver pointed out a few sites. He seemed surprised that some things, such as the church, were closed for a holiday. He did take us to a market. We walked along the wharf in Puerto Montt. But instead of telling us where to eat in Puerto Montt, he told us to eat at the airport, which was disappointing and not right. None of this seemed like a tour of the two towns, but more like a leisurely drive to the airport.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit the Saltos del Petrohue - Todos Los Santos Lake & Osorno Volcano

Chile

The National Park and all the waterfalls is just beautiful, a lovely little walk. On the mountain we chose to stay at the ski lodge and not take the lift up but it was still a great view.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Chiloe Fauna: Ancud, Caulin & Penguins of Puñihuil

Chile

Chiloe was very interesting and the ferry across the beautiful lake was lovely. Unfortunately it was raining when we went to see the penquins and they were hiding.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit the Tatio Geysers - Morning tour

San Pedro de Atacama

Be prepared to wake up very early for this tour. Guide was terrific and so knowledgeable of the science behind the geysers. And she prepared a great lunch for us. Plenty of opportunity to see flamingos.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Trip- Red Rocks, Lagunas Altiplánicas & Atacama Salt Flats

San Pedro de Atacama

A very full day with an excellent guide. The two meals, set up as a picnic, were just wonderful. Very windy during the walk but worth it. Guide gave us ample photo times. The scenery was just amazing. I mentioned to the guide that I was looking for wild flowers and he kept pointing them out to me. Very, very nice.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Astronomical Tour - Atacama Desert

San Pedro de Atacama

I thought we would be using a higher grade of telescopes. We certainly saw planets, moon, etc., but it was not the incredible viewing I thought it would be.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Wine Tasting, Valparaiso and Viña del Mar- Private Tour

Santiago

The winery was lovely and appreciated the cheese and chocolates with the wine. Valparaiso was pretty in spots but not worth as much time as I thought it would. Loved walking on the beach in Vina del Mar. The lunch restaurant was a very nice spot and the food was good.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Chilean Food Tour & Picnic with a View of Santiago

Santiago

Loved shopping in the market and having the picnic. The park isn't actually that nice but the view is fine. Our guide and driver were terrific in setting up the food and tables and we enjoyed eating and chatting with them.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport