Chile: From the Atacama Desert to the Patagonian Fjords

15 days
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Group Tour
This memorable Chilean adventure features San Pedro de Atacama, a desert oasis at the center of some of Chile’s most magnificent natural beauty, a three-night cruise along the fjords that border the Southern Ice Field of Chilean Patagonia, and much more.
From$5,295
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Overview

Trip type
Group Tour
Lodging level
Premium - 4 star
Physical level
Moderate
Trip pace
Balanced schedule

Highlights

    • Visit the chaotic maze of narrow alleys, steep staircases, and colorful funiculars that ramble up 17 surrounding cerros (hills).
    • See its unusual charms at play as we wander past old mansions and modern street art
    • Discover the ancient petroglyphs in the nearby mountains and boulders.
    • Visit the Nao Victoria Museum to see a replica of one of Ferdinand Magellan’s ships
    • Enjoy a window into Patagonian ranch life when we visit a working estancia.
    • Hike to Salto Grande, a rushing waterfall set between Lago Nordenskjold and Lago Pehoe
    • Discover the Las Montañas Fjord
    • Visit Bernal Glacier

What's this trip about?

    This memorable Chilean adventure features San Pedro de Atacama, a desert oasis at the center of some of Chile’s most magnificent natural beauty, a three-night cruise along the fjords that border the Southern Ice Field of Chilean Patagonia, and much more.

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Details

Itinerary focusClassic Highlights
Group sizeStandard Group - 25 + people
Age rangeNo age restrictions
Flights and transportAll internal ground transport included
Start CityOperator does not provide
End CityOperator does not provide

Travel Themes

  • Cultural
  • Hiking & Walking
  • National Parks
  • Nature & Wildlife

Destinations

  • South America
  • Chile

Attractions

  • Atacama Desert
  • Glacier National Park
  • Patagonia
  • Punta Arenas
  • Santiago
  • Torres del Paine National Park

Activities

  • Adventure & Adrenaline
  • Culture
  • Nature
  • Short Cruise
  • Wildlife viewing

View Similar Trips

Itinerary

DAY 1
Depart U.S. Depart the U.S. on your overnight flight to Santiago, Chile.

DAY 2
Arrive Santiago, Chile • Walking tour Meals included: D Accommodations: Hotel Cumbres Lastarria or similar

Welcome to Santiago! An OAT representative will greet you at the airport and escort you to our hotel, where you’ll meet your Trip Leader and fellow travelers.

DAY 3
Explore Valparaiso • Home-Hosted Lunch Meals included: B L Accommodations: Hotel Cumbres Lastarria or similar

Today we set out on a full-day tour of Valparaiso, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Chile’s largest seaport.

“Pancho,” as locals call the city, is a ch...

DAY 4
Fly to Calama • Rainbow Valley • Overland to San Pedro Meals included: B D Accommodations: Hotel Cumbres San Pedro de Atacama or similar

This morning, we fly to Calama and transfer to San Pedro de Atacama, an oasis town in Chile’s Norte Grande region—home to the dries...

DAY 5
San Pedro • Visit Toconao • Sunset at Laguna Chaxa Meals included: B L Accommodations: Hotel Cumbres San Pedro de Atacama or similar

Today, we take a walking tour of San Pedro. The compact, terra cotta-hued village serves as a base for northern Chile’s nearby wonders,...

DAY 6
Optional Tatio Geysers tour • Valley of the Moon OPTIONAL TOUR Meals included: B D Accommodations: Hotel Cumbres San Pedro de Atacama or similar

Enjoy free time today with lunch on your own. Or, rise early for an optional excursion to El Tatio, a bubbling geyser field...

DAY 7
Fly to Santiago Meals included: B D Accommodations: Hotel Cumbres Lastarria or similar

This morning, you’re free to make your own discoveries in San Pedro before we transfer to the airport in Calama for our flight to Santiago. Arriving early in the evening, we’ll check into our hotel and meet for dinner at a local restaurant.

DAY 8
Fly to Punta Arenas • Walking tour Meals included: B D Accommodations: Jose Nogueira Hotel or similar

Today we fly to Punta Arenas, an active port overlooking the Strait of Magellan. Punta Arenas rose to prominence in the late 19th century because of its sheep and woo...

DAY 9
Punta Arenas • Ranch visit • Travel to Torres del Paine Meals included: B L D Accommodations: Hotel Lago Grey or similar

Today we enjoy a window into Patagonian ranch life when we visit a working estancia. The area’s sweeping grasslands are ideal for sheep farming, wh...

DAY 10
Explore Torres del Paine Meals included: B L D Accommodations: Hotel Lago Grey or similar

Sprawling 935 square miles, Torres del Paine spans grasslands, beech forests, and glaciers that have carved out fjords and valleys. We’ll explore these unique landscapes in a tri...

DAY 11
Torres del Paine • Puerto Natales • Embark cruise Meals included: B L D Accommodations: MS Skorpios III or similar

This morning, we'll explore Torres del Paine in a final hike, keeping our eyes peeled for fauna such as guanacos (related to the llama and the camel) and...

DAY 12
Cruise glaciers Meals included: B L D Accommodations: MS Skorpios III or similar

Every slip of land we’ve traveled in Chile was once covered by the Patagonian Ice Sheet, which stretched all the way to the Andes. The remaining Southern Patagonian Ice Field still sprawl...

DAY 13
Explore Las Montañas Fjord Meals included: B L D Accommodations: MS Skorpios III or similar

Today we discover the Las Montañas Fjord, which threads between the Cordillera Sarmiento and the Cordillera Riesco mountain ranges. Cordillera Sarmiento includes The White Lady...

DAY 14
Disembark cruise • Punta Arenas • Fly to Santiago Meals included: B Accommodations: Hotel Cumbres Lastarria

We disembark this morning and drive to Punta Arenas, arriving in time for lunch on your own.

This afternoon, we fly to Santiago and settle into our hotel...

DAY 15
Winery visit • Return to U.S. or begin post-trip extension Meals included: B L

We toast our journey today during a visit to Paseo del Vino, a charming boutique winery whose owner established it on a single acre of grapes, as a passion project. He makes just 3,000 bott...

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Dates & Availability

Price From $5,295
Price per day$353
Last Updated: 8/2/2018

Check Current Availability, prices, specials with Overseas Adventure Travel (O.A.T. Tours).

The total tour cost includes the tour price (regular or promotional) and the compulsory local payment. The promotional price is subject to change. Check directly with the operator for the latest price offer. The tour operator requires you to pay only the tour price to purchase your travel. The compulsory local payment will be paid when you join the trip. All prices are based on double, twin or triple share occupancy. Solo passengers will be accommodated in a double, twin or triple room according to availability with a passenger(s) of the same gender. Single supplement only needs to be paid if the passenger does not want to share and requests their own room. Discounts can only be applied at the time of booking and cannot be added at a later date, regardless of any changes made to the original booking.

Prices may vary due to local taxes and trip seasonality. Click "Request Info" to inquire directly with the tour operator for the final trip price.

Overseas Adventure Travel (O.A.T. Tours) Reviews & Ratings

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Policy over practical customer service. zero customer service

Dec 2023

Overseas Adventure Travel (O.A.T. Tours) Company Reviewsby Overseas Adventure Travel (O.A.T. Tours)

don't expect humanity or common sense

This letter is effectively what was communicated no less than 8 times in writing and conversation to OAT representatives up the chain, beginning 19 days before the t...

Overseas Adventure Travel (O.A.T. Tours) Company Reviewsby Overseas Adventure Travel (O.A.T. Tours)

Trip of a Lifetime

Our recent Tanzanian Safari was indeed the trip of a lifetime. Saw the big 5, met the wonderful locals and spent 5 days in the Serengeti. Saw many lions, zebras, gi...

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Feb 2023

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Be careful

Booked for July and gave them $12,000. They talked us into early arrival and then come back to us a two months later saying we can't offer. We have to keep our airli...

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Overseas Adventure Travel (O.A.T. Tours)

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Overseas Adventure Travel offers unique small group adventures worldwide to Americans over 50. By land and sea, we explore on—and off—the beaten path with a resident OAT Trip Leader, immersing ourselves in local cultures, sampling unique modes of transportation, and staying in authentic lodgings that reflect the essence of your destination. Grand Circle Small Ship Cruises serves both our GCT and OAT brands with an award-winning fleet known for exceptional value and high-quality experiences in Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America. Custom-designed according to our travelers’ specifications, our fleet includes 50+ small river and ocean-going ships that we own or privately charter.

Grand Circle Corporation is a global enterprise—comprised of a family of travel companies—committed to changing people’s lives by offering high-impact experiences to our travelers and building local communities through philanthropy, social entrepreneurship, and volunteerism.

Simply by traveling with OAT, you support the work of the nonprofit Grand Circle Foundation, which was created with the mission of changing people’s lives through travel—both those of our travelers, and of the people who welcome us so warmly into their homelands.

Journey with the Leader in Adventure Travel and Watch Your Dreams Take Flight: It is the stuff of dreams: gazelles bowing to lap at a glassy pool in the Serengeti as the vast sky turns purple with night, the tiered splendor of the Himalayas, rising behind a Tibetan monastery. Dreams like these are everyday realities for OAT travelers, thanks to the principles which ground every OAT adventure: value, choice, discovery, and carefully paced itineraries.

Our Value puts your travel dreams within reach: OAT can help you realize your travel dreams for a lot less than you thought possible. Together with our regional offices located throughout the world, we’ve been able to establish long-term relationships with many local vendors and hotels. Buying direct brings down our costs—and allows us to pass the savings on to you. And negotiating directly for hotel space also allows us to secure as many single room allotments as possible for our solo travelers. That way, we can also extend our great value to solo travelers. In fact, we offer the best value for solo travelers, guaranteed.

The Choice is yours: You’ll always have plenty of choices with OAT. We offer you a breadth of awe-inspiring travel destinations—from the peaks of the Andes to the sweeping desert sands of the Sahara to the rugged natural beauty of Iceland. You'll also enjoy more trip extension choices than ever before—like hiking to ancient monasteries in Bhutan or discovering the Moai monolithic rock statues on Easter Island. You have plenty of choices within each adventure, too, including several interesting optional tours. And the free time we’ve woven into our itineraries allows you plenty of opportunities for independent exploration. You can shop, unwind, perhaps linger at a sidewalk café, visit an interesting gallery or museum, or explore a cobbled street that caught your eye earlier in the day. You can do as much or as little as you want on an OAT adventure—the choice is yours.

OAT Difference

Adventure Travel: Adventure travel with OAT is a journey beyond the familiar, one that takes you into the very heart of a destination—to meet people where they work and live.

OAT Advantages: Journey with the leader in adventure travel and watch your dreams take flight, thanks to the principles which ground every OAT adventure: value, choice, discovery, and carefully paced itineraries.

Small Groups, Big Discoveries: When you discover the world in an OAT small group, you’ll journey off the beaten path to the places the big tour groups miss—and enjoy an intimate, discovery-filled adventure filled with personal connections, shared experiences, and treasured memories.

Trip Leaders: No matter where in the world you venture with OAT, you'll have one of our resident, expert Trip Leaders by your side. All are fluent in English and possess the skills, certification, and experience necessary to ensure an enriching adventure.

Airport Transfers: We’ve listened to your feedback, and will now offer international airport transfers to and from your hotel to our travelers who choose to purchase their own airfare on OAT adventures as part of our Personalize Your Trip program, which allows you create the OAT adventure that's right for you.

Personalize your trip: OAT travelers have long expressed the desire to decide exactly where they’re going, how they get there, and when they wish to leave. That’s why we developed a variety of choices that enhance the value of every trip we offer, allowing you to create the adventure that works best for you.

Traveling solo? Enjoy your own room or cabin—at no extra cost: You’re in control of your travel dreams—and we’re making them more affordable than ever: Maybe you prefer the freedom of solo travel—or maybe you and your usual traveling companion can’t agree on a destination. Whatever the reason, you don’t have to put your travel dreams on hold. When it’s time to go it alone, you’ll never pay a Single Supplement to have your own room or cabin with OAT.

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Logistics

Ship & cabin information
MS Skorpios III
The 230-foot MS Skorpios III is a 90-passenger expedition ship uniquely designed for cruising the ice-encrusted waters of the Chilean Fjords. Onboard, our group can relax in two bar lounges and enjoy the views from the panoramic dining room. We’ll enjoy regional cuisine and wines, plus complimentary drinks. Each cabin features twin beds, private bath, safe, and TV.
Travel Insurance
We strongly recommend purchasing travel insurance alongside your travel package to safeguard against unforeseen circumstances such as medical expenses, trip cancellations, and other contingencies. It offers you peace of mind and ensures you are prepared for unexpected events that may occur before or during your journey
Visa requirements
Visa requirements vary depending on your country of origin and your country of destination. It is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with the relevant requirements. For a handy tool that can help you quickly find the requirements, please visit this link .
Age Requirements
No age restrictions
Additional Information
Trip ID
overse-oveadvtrachiatadespatfjo

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