SANTIAGO & EASTER ISLAND ADVENTURE

Santiago & Easter Island Tour
Friday, September 24 – Saturday, October 2, 2010
 

Price from:   $2,899 per person, double occupancy, with Air
                        + $499 single supplement

Save $200 per person!
Book & Pay by March 31
Pay only $2,699 double!

 

 Book Early! At this price, our air and hotel will sell out quickly.

Women's Travel Club Advantage:

  • Six magnificent city tours.
  • Three exclusive tours including the ancient Moai rock carvings and stones.
  • Visit Maipo River Valley & Cousino Macul Winery with premium wine tasting.
  • Direct flights on LAN airlines.

Exclusively for Women

  • Round-trip flights from New York (JFK), with additional flight from Santiago to Easter Island. Fuel Surcharges included (valid at time of printing).
  • Hotel accommodations for six nights including daily breakfast, hotel taxes and service charges.
  • Private round-trip transfers in Santiago and Easter Island.
  • Half-day tour of Santiago, including the Pre-Colombian Museum and San Cristobal Hill.
  • Full-day tour to Valparaiso and Viña del Mar with lunch, including visit to Pablo Neruda Museum.
  • Half-day tour to Maipo River Valley and the Cousiño Macul Winery, with a premium wine tasting and guided wine cellar tour.
  • Full-day tour of Easter Island with box lunch. Highlights to include the spectacular Moai rock carvings and stone “Ahus.”
  • Half-day tour to Ahu Vinapu, Rano Kau and Orongo ceremonial village.
  • Half-day tour to Ahu Akivi and Puna A Pau Hill.
  • Professional English - speaking tour guides throughout the program. Note: All airport/hotel transfers are private for WTC. We will be combined with other tour groups on the sightseeing tours due to the remote locations we're visiting and the minimums required. 

 

OUR HOTELS

Santiago:  Hotel Galerias - 4 Stars

Easter Island:  Taha Tai Hotel or Iorana Hotel - 4 Stars

Santiago & Easter Island TourDay 1 - Depart JFK on your scheduled flight to Santiago, Chile.

Day 2 - Arrival reception at Santiago airport and private transfer to
your hotel with your guide.

Enjoy an afternoon city tour in Santiago with visits to the Pre- Colombian Art Museum and San Cristobal Hill. Santiago is a city of contrasts with traditional areas, a civic and commercial center and a modern district. The tour takes 4 hours and begins with the Club Hípico, a beautiful horse-racing track at the older residential area of the West Side of town with an interesting architecture. Proceed along the main avenue, you pass by the Cousiño Palace; many more historical buildings come into sight before reaching the heart of Santiago: the "La Moneda" government palace, statues of national heroes of the early Independence years, the banking and business center. We stop at the Pre-Columbian Art Museum, one of the most complete collections of ceramics, ancient textiles and relics of the American culture. At the Main Square (Plaza de Armas) view the Cathedral, Post Office and National Museum.

Continue along the main avenue called "Alameda" to admire the San Francisco Church, the National Library and then the Santa Lucía Hill, where Santiago was founded in 1541. A little further we cross the Mapocho river and head straight towards the San Cristobal Hill on the North side of the city with a fine all-round view of the capital stretched out below, the Andes in background. When we go down the hill, we are surprised to view the modern side of the bustling city and, driving towards east alongside the Mapocho river and almost to the foothills of the Andes Range, we watch fabulous homes built in the last decades, an updated architecture, well kept gardens, exclusive private schools and shopping malls in the residential district of Vitacura, Las Condes and Santa Maria de Manquehue. Continue towards the conventional shopping area of Providencia with a large variety of restaurants, coffee shops and fancy boutiques. On the way back to your hotel, stop for a wine tasting at a specialized store with a permanent display of many of Chile´s finest wines. Tonight, you are free for dinner on your own with other club members at one of numerous restaurants near your hotel. 

Day 3 - After breakfast, take a full day tour to Valparaiso and Viña del Mar with lunch. Our full day excursion starts with a drive through the beautiful Curacavi and Casablanca Valleys. The last is well known by its fine white wine production. After one and a half hours, we reach the picturesque port of Valparaiso, seat of the National Congress Building, with its characteristic hills full of colorful houses and narrow streets. From the highest point of the hills, you will get an amazing view of the bay. We will stop at the house of nobel prize winner and poet, Pablo Neruda. Later, continue along the coastline until we reach the charming  Viña del Mar, also known as the garden city.

After a panoramic tour through its streets, we will head out to the coastline road, one of the attractions of this area, where we will go along the sea line until reaching Reñaca the most popular beach. In the early afternoon, and after learning more about Viña del Mar and its surroundings, we start our drive back to our hotel in Santiago. (Breakfast, Lunch)

 

Santiago & Easter Island TourDay 4 - After breakfast, take a half-day tour to the Cousiño Macul Winery and Maipo River Valley, and enjoy a Premium wine tasting. Chile is well known for its wines around the world, and this tour features a drive into the Maipo Canyon, up to Las Vertientes, a popular resort at the foothills of the Andes, with a view of the winding Maipo River.

Traveling to the Santiago Orient sector, enjoy a trip to Cousio Macul winery, the oldest in Chile. The meeting point is at the Winery Shop, where you will be welcomed by a bilingual guide who will take you through the centenary cellars, while telling you about the history of the Cousiño family and the winery.

You will also learn about the winemaking process and see the huge contrast from the old equipment used in the 19th Century and the most advanced technology nowadays.

Next, we go back in time, when descending into one of the oldest and finest Chilean wine cellars, built in 1872 by French architects. There, the Cousiño family keeps its private collection, with bottles dated to 1927.

Finally, the visit ends in the same Shop, were an Antiguas Reservas wine will be offered for you to sample. Return to the hotel with your evening at leisure. (Breakfast)


Day 5 - After breakfast, transfer to the airport and board your flight to Easter Island. There, you will be welcomed by your private guide and transferred to your hotel.  The remainder of this day is at your leisure for you to relax and enjoy your surroundings. Although the island is small and remote, your hotel is in the center of town, close to a number of restaurants. Enjoy dinnfer on your own with club members. (Breakfast)

Santiago & Easter Island TourDay 6 - Enjoy a full-day exotic tour of Easter Island. From the town of Hanga Roa, drive to the southern shore at Ahu Vaihu to see eight large moai laying in ruins. These monolithic human figures were carved from volcanic rock between 1250 and 1500 AD. Next stop is the long stone platform, or "ahu," at Ahu Akahanga. With four fallen moais, it is believed to be the legendary tomb of the island's first king. Other stops include the Rano Raraku quarry, the largest ahu ever built, Ahu Tongariki, with 15 re-assembled moai, La Perouse Bay and Ahu Te Pito Kura, said to symbolize the "Navel of the World". Return to hotel for overnight with dinner at leisure.  (Breakfast, Box lunch)

Day 7 - After breakfast, head out for an exciting morning tour. The excursion begins in the town of Hanga Roa and proceeds towards Ahu Vinapu, a temple whose moais (sculptures) are curiously similar to stone works created by the Incas—evidence, according to some researchers, that the first inhabitants on the island were of South America descent. The excursion proceeds vertically, up the Rano Kau volcano to the city of Orongo, the center or the “Bird Man” cult (a bizarre ceremony was traditionally held here each year to elect island’s religious leader). Note that the houses in Orongo, made of soft stone, have been meticulously restored, but the cliff side has been left untouched: it is adorned with hundreds of petroglyphs such as Tangata Manu, the “Bird Man”, the Manu Tara, the sacred bird itself, and Makemake, the god who, it was believed, created the world. Pause to enjoy of a spectacular view of islets Motu Nui, Motu-Iti and Motu Kao-Kao. Return back to your hotel with a stop at the artisans market. Enjoy the rest of your day at leisure (Breakfast).

Day 8 - After breakfast, enjoy a morning tour to Ahu Akivi and Puna a Pau. The tour begins at Ahu Akivi, with seven spectacular moais that date back to 1460 A.D., and finishes at Puna a Pau hill, a red stone quarry that was most likely the source for the moais’ topknots and ornamental hairpieces. Later, transfer from the hotel to the airport on time to board your departure flight. (Breakfast).

Day 9 - Welcome Home!!!

Note: The sequence of this itinerary may be altered on-site depending on airline schedules, weather conditions and ground transportation conditions.

 


*Itineraries subject to minor change. Should there be a change in hotel, one of equal or better quality will be substituted. Fuel surcharges are included in trip prices where airfare is part of the tour; however these charges are subject to change before ticketing. Not included: airport taxes, government fees and September 11th Security Fee. Prices are per person based on double occupancy.

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