Chile: Wilderness and Wine Group Getaway

Your Patagonia, Chile tour begins in the capital city of Santiago. Upon landing, your private guide gathers your group from the airport for the drive to Hotel Magnolia in the dreamy Bellas Artes barrio. Drop bags and set out for a Santiago city tour, from the heights of neighboring Santa Lucia Hill to the trinket-filled home of poet Pablo Neruda. In the evening, toast salud with pisco sours on the hotel's rooftop lounge.

Fly to the oft-overlooked Aysen region and drive to Patagonia National Park, a former sheep ranch restored to wild grandeur, where the stately Explora lodge in the Chacabuco Valley serves as home base for the next few days. Wake up to graceful guanacos outside your window, tramp across windswept grasslands in search of pumas, and sit on the shores of jewel-like lakes as condors swoop overhead. Roaring fires and hearty meals cap off each day back at the lodge. 

Follow the winding ribbon of the Carretera Austral to the edge of Lago General Carrera. After a restful night in the cozy log cabins at Mallin Colorado Ecolodge, a private boat zooms you across the aquamarine surface to visit the lake’s crown jewel: the Marble Caves. Glide through limestone chambers where swirling stone and shifting light create stained glass illusions. Back at the lodge, gather around a crackling fire, sharing bottles of Chilean wine, as the sun sinks into jagged peaks. 

Fly north from Aysen to the Lakes District, where snowcapped volcanoes scrape the sky and storybook towns cluster along shorelines. Settle into lake-view rooms at the Casa Molino inn and resist the urge to simply lounge on the grassy lawn, because there’s adventure to be had. Hike to the rim of the Osorno Volcano and wander through old-growth woods to the gushing tune of the Petrohue River in Vicente Perez Rosale National Park, before discovering the region’s Germanic heritage in Puerto Varas. 

Climb aboard another plane: the edge of the world is calling. After landing in the frontier town of Puerto Natales, drive to the lakefront Explora Patagonia in the wild heart of Torres del Paine National Park. Finding adventure here is as easy as opening a door; dive into days of gaucho-led horseback rides, bobbing boat rides along the front wall of the Grey Glacier, and following one of the best hikes in Patagonia to the base of the Towers. 

Return to central Chile to wrap up your trip in wine country. Rooms await at the regal, design-driven Clos Apalta Residence, whose sun-filled suites peek out at vineyards from forested hillsides. Swap favorite stories from the trip over wine tastings, learn the ways of Chilean winemaking on vineyard tours, and savor the local bounty at restaurants like Fuegos de Apalta. On the last day, a farewell lunch at Casa Silva sees your group off with an unhurried, indulgent feast before heading to the airport, hearts and bellies full.