Valparaiso and Vina del Mar Classic Day Tour from Santiago

Río Tinto: a llama stop on the road to the coast

The road from Santiago to Valparaíso crosses the coastal range and the green Casablanca Valley, and about an hour after leaving the city the tour makes its first stop at Río Tinto. This roadside spot is known for its llamas, the woolly Andean animals that are an unexpected sight so close to the Pacific, and it is a favourite place for photos, a stretch of the legs and breakfast before the busy day ahead.

You have about 25 minutes here to buy coffee and something to eat (breakfast is at your own expense), use the restrooms and browse a few local products and souvenirs. It is a gentle start that sets the pace for the day, and the guide uses the drive to explain the history of the region, the old trade route between the capital and the port, and what to expect on the steep streets of Valparaíso.

Cerro Alegre and Cerro Concepción: Valparaíso's open-air gallery

Valparaíso is built on more than forty hills that rise straight from the harbour, and Cerro Alegre and Cerro Concepción are the most loved of them. Their historic quarter, settled by European merchants in the nineteenth century, is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site declared in 2003, with steep lanes, wooden houses clad in painted corrugated iron, old funicular lifts and terraces with views over the bay.

This is the heart of any Valparaíso street art tour. Every wall, stairway and passage carries murals by local and international artists, and your guide explains the stories and social history behind them while you take photos. A highlight is the Piano Staircase, whose steps are painted like the keys of a piano. Wear comfortable shoes: the hills are steep, cobbled and best explored slowly, with plenty of stops to look back at the sea.

Viewpoints over the port and Plaza Sotomayor

Valparaíso grew into the most important port on the Pacific coast of South America in the nineteenth century, before the Panama Canal changed shipping routes. From the viewpoints on the hills you see the whole amphitheatre of the city: the busy container docks, the naval ships, the fishing boats and the houses stacked in every colour up the slopes. These are some of the best photo spots on the Chilean coast.

Down in the old port district, Plaza Sotomayor is the city's ceremonial square. It is framed by the grand building of the Chilean Navy command, the monument to the naval heroes of 1879 and the historic quay where ships and harbour boats come and go. Many travellers ask whether Valparaíso is worth visiting on a day trip from Santiago; seeing the port from above and then standing in this square answers the question.

Viña del Mar and the Flower Clock

Just north of Valparaíso, Viña del Mar is a completely different city: a planned seaside resort known as the Garden City, with wide avenues, palm-lined promenades, parks, elegant mansions and long sandy beaches. It became the summer escape for families from Santiago in the twentieth century and still fills with visitors from December to March, when the beaches and seafront cafés are at their liveliest.

The tour stops at the Flower Clock, one of the most photographed symbols of Chile, a large working clock whose face is made of living flowers, created in 1962 when the country hosted the football World Cup. You also see the seaside architecture and gardens of the city before lunch. A Viña del Mar day tour from Santiago rarely feels complete without this photo, so have your camera ready.

Lunch, free time and the optional boat trip

After the visits there is about an hour and a half for lunch and free time in Viña del Mar. Your guide recommends local restaurants where you can try Chilean coastal dishes such as fried fish with salad, seafood empanadas, a hearty paila marina seafood soup or pastel de choclo, a baked corn and meat pie; lunch is at your own expense, so you can choose what you like.

If you book the option with a boat trip, you also spend 20 minutes on the water in the bay of Valparaíso, passing the docks and the naval ships for a view of the hills from the sea. Afterwards our air-conditioned vehicle takes you back to Santiago, arriving at Estación Central in the evening after a full day of art, viewpoints and coastal scenery.