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Day 1 Fri: Santiago
Welcome by the local guide at
Santiago airport and transfer to
Hotel Galerias.
In the afternoon you will get to
know the Chilean capital by a city
tour. The tour includes visits to the
city's civic center with the neoclassical
La Moneda Palace, the Plaza
de Armas, the exuberantly landscaped
Santa Lucia Hill and a visit
to the traditional handicraft market
Pueblito Los Dominicos. Overnight
at Hotel Galerias.
Day 2 Sat: Santiago -
Tren del Vino - Santa Cruz
After breakfast you will be taken
to San Fernando - 140 km / 87
mi south of Santiago. Where the
wine train called "Tren del Vino"
will be your time machine to carry
you back to the time when the
train was the primary way of
transportation. It was built in the
last century, an old steam engine
which was one of the last models
constructed in Chile in 1913. The
Wine Train will be traveling
through the vineyards of Colchagua
Valley. On board the train
you will enjoy a wine tasting with
great colchaguino appetizers,
accompanied by Chilean folklore,
with popular songs. After 1 ½
hours you arrive at the railway station
in Santa Cruz. Here you will
visit a vineyard of the Colchagua
Valley and during a wine tasting
you have the opportunity to savor
excellent Chilean wines. At the
vineyard you will be informed
about the cultivation, the production
and the art of tasting. Afterwards,
you will have a lunch at
your beautiful colonial style hotel
Santa Cruz Plaza. Later you will
visit the museum Museo de Colchagua
located in front of the hotel.
It is in an old colonial building
and one of South Americas
biggest private museums. The
exposition shows largely a pre-
Columbian art collection of Chile,
Peru and Colombia as well as
archaeological collections. Overnight
in Hotel Plaza Santa Cruz.
(B,L)
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Day 3 Sun: The Colchagua
Wine Valley
Enjoy the famous Colchagua Valley,
home to Chile's new boutique
wineries. Colchagua combines
the best of country traditions, hospitality
and modern winery, setting
new standards in wine production
as well as an example in
local development and integration
through cooperation at all levels.
Today you will visit three different
and unique vineyards. The fertile
soils make it possible to produce
red wine varieties like Cabernet
Sauvignon and Chile's emblematic
Carmenère. Lunch will be
served at an enjoyable restaurant
in the valley. Overnight in Hotel
Plaza Santa Cruz. (B,L)
Day 4 Mon:
Santa Cruz - Talca
Transfer from Santa Cruz to Talca
in the Maule Wine Valley, the
wine growing region with the
largest extension of vineyards
totaling over 46,000 ha /
113.670 a under cultivation.
Most vineyards here produce red
wines like Carménère, Malbec,
Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon.
You will spend the night in the
small and exclusive boutique-style
Vineyard Hotel Casa Donoso,
near the city of Talca. Enjoy the
winery, its excellent wines and
food. (B)
Day 5 Tue: Wine Route in
Valle Maule
You will explore the wine route
and visit two distinguished vineyards.
All vineyards are experts in
the art of producing finest wine
and have a long wine-making tradition
dating back to the times of
the Spanish colonization. Lunch
will be served at the Villa Cultural
Huiquilemo, at 10 km / 6 mi from
Talca. Its building dates back to
1850 and was declared a
National Monument in 1986. In
this museum you can see paintings
and objects of religious art and
typical regional handcrafts. The
beautiful building is exemplary for
the colonial style of architecture.
Overnight at Casa Donoso. (B,L)
Day 6 Wed: Talca - Santiago
A transfer will take you from your
hotel to Santiago Airport or the
city center. (B)
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