What to do from Valparaiso to Santiago for 8 hours

[tonylander]

I would like some advise as to what tours are available when we disembark in Valparaiso.

We will be arriving early morning on February 3rd and we will need to find something to do until 19:00 in which time we need to be at the airport. I have seen some ideas on tours but more info is needed:

Questions:

1) Does the cruise company usually offer a tour? If so can any one comment on what do they offer, for how long and how much. There will be four of us so considerations would be to take a private tour or the bus. Or do we take the bus to Santiago and then take a day tour, etc.

2) Who would you recomend?

3) Any other suggestions.

 

This will be carnivals first trip around the Horn and I don't see any information that they offer on their site.

[eh2zed]

Hire a private operator to take you to Renaca, Vina del Mar on the coast north of Valparaiso and then visit the wine country with at least one winery stop on the way to the airport. Possibly some time for a quick tour of Santiago. We used www.enaturchile.com There are others.

[dileep]

Hire a private operator to take you to Renaca, Vina del Mar on the coast north of Valparaiso and then visit the wine country with at least one winery stop on the way to the airport. Possibly some time for a quick tour of Santiago. We used www.enaturchile.com There are others.

 

You should have enough time for the above.

Veramonte is a nice winery just of the highway between Valparaiso and Santiago.

[luv2getaway]

We used Christian, the Van Man last month. He was great and I would highly recommend him. We were a party of 4 and he charged us $80 per person. We toured Valparaiso, Vina del Mar, stopped a winery and did a tour of Santiago before being dropped off at the airport. He also brought us to a very unique restaurant for lunch. His e-mail address is christianroymx@hotmail.com.

 

Kathy

[DougH]

Hi You must be sailing on the Star Princess, check out the roll call for this sailing for lots of info. There are a lot of us sailing with you.

 

On the Princess website look at the shore excursions under the Cruise Personalizer for your booking, Princess offers at least 3 full day tours after the cruise that end up at the airport.

Hope to see you aboard in about a week :)

[eh2zed]

You should have enough time for the above.

Veramonte is a nice winery just of the highway between Valparaiso and Santiago.

Dileep, we bought a case of wine at the Veremente winery and still have one left.

[TravelTammy]

Dileep, we bought a case of wine at the Veremente winery and still have one left.

 

We'll be on the Radiance around the Horn in just over a week!

 

How is it you got your wine home? I'm planning on doing a wine tour and am curious. Did you ship it home directly?

[dorijo]

Hi Kathy,

 

Can you tell me how many hours you spent with Christian in Valpo etc

 

What time did he pick you up and drop you at the airport? Did you go to the castle for lunch?

Thank you

[CruisinCindy55]

I would like some advise as to what tours are available when we disembark in Valparaiso.

We will be arriving early morning on February 3rd and we will need to find something to do until 19:00 in which time we need to be at the airport. I have seen some ideas on tours but more info is needed:

Questions:

1) Does the cruise company usually offer a tour? If so can any one comment on what do they offer, for how long and how much. There will be four of us so considerations would be to take a private tour or the bus. Or do we take the bus to Santiago and then take a day tour, etc.

2) Who would you recomend?

3) Any other suggestions.

 

This will be carnivals first trip around the Horn and I don't see any information that they offer on their site.

 

Hi. We'll be disembarking the same ship and have the same questions. I do have a link to the Carnival transfers, but have also written to the 2 places that the people above have suggested. I don't know if you have made arrangements yet or not, but if we and yourself all decide to go with a private company, maybe we can share a ride? Our flight leaves at 10:25pm from SCL and is a Delta flight. I'll post again when the 2 companies respond to my requests. My e-mail address is countrysonshyne-cruise@yahoo.com if you want to e-mail me.

 

Here is a link to the Carnival tours from Valparaiso to the airport. http://www.carnival.com/ShoreExcursionsSearchResults.aspx?region=S&portcode=VAP&portname=Santiago+ The thing that makes me nervous is that it lists 2 airport codes, so not sure if we can use this. (I think they just forgot to change the airport code in one place.) I think you can book these tours on the ship.

 

IF you want to just go straight to the airport, you can call the Carnival toll free number and book the transfer. The cost for that is $60/person and you can book it by calling 7 days before the cruise. Here's a link to that page. http://www.carnival.com/cms/fun/Airport_and_Pier_Transfers/pdf/South_American_Transfers.pdf

[kippahlady]

We just got off the Oceania cruise. At the last minute they offered a choice of 8 or 10 hour excursion. Both turned out to be a 9:30am leaving the terminal in Valpariso and being dropped off at the Santiago airport at 5:45pm-an absolute waste of time and money

 

If your cruise line offers something ask exactly where they will take you for 8 hours. All we saw was a square in Valpariso/ stopped for coffee at a roadside place for 1/2 hour / stopped at a Cathedral in Santiago/ taken to a place to buy lapis/ dropped at a suburban style for 2 hours to find a place for lunch-all fast food places/ then driven around "the good neighborhood" for 1 1/2 hrs.

[lawra09]

We just came back from So America cruise on Infinity. Our flight out of Santiago was at 9:30 pm so we arranged for a private tour with Winetoursvalparaiso. Their e-mail is michael@usbrmundo.com. We were a party of 4 and Michael, who is from England, was there to pick us up at the port with a driver in a large Mercedes van. Plenty of room for us with all our luggage. He took us on a tour of Valparaiso and then lovely countryside tour to wine country. Stopped at 3 vinyards for wine tastings (very generous wine tastings) and tour of vinyard with the last one including complete gourmet lunch overlooking vinyard. Then on to Santiago with tour of that city with some stops and arriving at airport by 7 PM. It was a lovely day - his price was lower than an equivolent tour offered by cruise line which would have been on a large bus with 40 or more people.

[PINEY10]

We did the cruise line excursion from Celebrity. We don't usually do them but it gave us a transfer to the airport, our luggage was taken ahead and kept in a secure area by Celebrity, and it was one of the great highlights of the trip. We did the Casablanca Winery tour but it included a quick tour of Valparaiso and Vina Del Mar and then up to the casablanca winery area. We did a wine tasting at Veramonte and then were taken to Santa Emiliana winery (a sister company to Concha y Toro) and had a great lunch with as much wine as we wanted and local folklore show. Also purchased some great wines there. Harald (our tour guide) let us stay a little longer on the tour since our flights did not leave until after 9 PM (and although I had heard Santiago airport could be a lengthy process to check in, it was painless and not as many crowds as we were led to believe. I am hoping that we hit a slow time at the airport. It was a great tour and we all had a fabulous time!

[agelessgram]

We just came back from So America cruise on Infinity. Our flight out of Santiago was at 9:30 pm so we arranged for a private tour with Winetoursvalparaiso. Their e-mail is michael@usbrmundo.com. We were a party of 4 and Michael, who is from England, was there to pick us up at the port with a driver in a large Mercedes van. Plenty of room for us with all our luggage. He took us on a tour of Valparaiso and then lovely countryside tour to wine country. Stopped at 3 vinyards for wine tastings (very generous wine tastings) and tour of vinyard with the last one including complete gourmet lunch overlooking vinyard. Then on to Santiago with tour of that city with some stops and arriving at airport by 7 PM. It was a lovely day - his price was lower than an equivolent tour offered by cruise line which would have been on a large bus with 40 or more people.

Hi Lawra09 - saw your thread about tour from Valparaiso to Santiago and tried to email Michael but didn't go through. HAs he changed his email??? The tour sounded exactly what I was hoping for. Thanks Sue

[Bobocasey]

Let us know if you get through to Micheal.

[arlenez]

I just sent an email to Michael and it didn't go through either. I would love to contact him if anyone knows how to reach him.

 

Thanks & regards,

Arlene

[arlenez]

Hi:

 

I think I found a new email address for Michael. It is Michael@winetoursvalparaiso.cl. I just sent another email and hope this time it goes through.

 

Regards,

Arlene

[arlenez]

We used Christian, the Van Man last month. He was great and I would highly recommend him. We were a party of 4 and he charged us $80 per person. We toured Valparaiso, Vina del Mar, stopped a winery and did a tour of Santiago before being dropped off at the airport. He also brought us to a very unique restaurant for lunch. His e-mail address is christianroymx@hotmail.com.

 

Kathy

 

Hi Kathy:

 

Did Christian take you to Los Hornitos de Curacavi for lunch?

 

Thanks & regards,

Arlene

[luv2getaway]

Hi Kathy:

 

Did Christian take you to Los Hornitos de Curacavi for lunch?

 

Thanks & regards,

Arlene

 

Hi Arlene,

 

That is the restaurant that Christian took us too. I found it very charming and the local food was very good.

 

Kathy

[arlenez]

Hi Kathy:

 

Did Christian take you to Los Hornitos de Curacavi for lunch?

 

Thanks & regards,

Arlene

 

Thank you.

 

Regards,

Arlene

[davetgail]

We will be on the Star Princess also and were wondering if we had to spend all day at the airport.

 

f

Hi You must be sailing on the Star Princess, check out the roll call for this sailing for lots of info. There are a lot of us sailing with you.

 

On the Princess website look at the shore excursions under the Cruise Personalizer for your booking, Princess offers at least 3 full day tours after the cruise that end up at the airport.

Hope to see you aboard in about a week :)

[Fabian52]

We did the ships tour of the winery, tour of Santiago, went up on the cable car to the top of the mountain to see the city of Santiago below,

went to a winery and tasted some wine, which was included, went for a very nice steak lunch which they specalize with great beef in Santiago and then finally dropped up off at the airport around 5:30 PM. All of our luggage was there waiting for us and it was the easiest time checking into our flight home ever. We did the Norweigan Cruise tour mentioned above so just check out with Carnival and maybe they will offer somemthing like that but I would definitely book something because that is a long time to wait at the airport and they don't offer alot of restaurants because you are in the international terminal by yourselves until you leave for the US. Good luck.

[bradshore13]

The email for winetourvalparaiso is michael@winetoursvalparaiso.cl

 

Hes a great tour guide especially if you like wine. Its a classy tour at a good and fair price for what is included and the price is all inclusive.

 

The added bonus is that he is from London so there are no misunderstandings.

 

Have fun

[bradshore13]

just a note that he can drop you off at the aiport or your hotel