Assuming you want to visit Patagonia as part of your vacation, the absolute best time to visit Chile is October to April.

This is when Patagonia is at its beautiful best, starting with the colorful onset of spring and moving through high summer into the red leaves of fall. Days are long, the landscapes are increasingly green and lush, Cape Horn cruises are a-go and, in the main, the weather is as stable as it’ll ever get down here.

If you are thinking about visiting Torres del Paine, keep in mind that it gets pretty busy in the summer, particularly in January and February when the Chileans are on their vacations. Going earlier or later can make all the difference. Crowds are rarely going to be an issue along the Carretera Austral, but the lodges we use are wonderfully small, so plan well ahead.

Of course, you can very well visit Chile outside these ‘peak’ months. Even in Torres del Paine, there are often pockets of calm, if a little cold, weather in the depths of winter.

Away from Patagonia, the grape harvests happen throughout the Central Valley and winelands area around March time, making this a good sweet spot to aim for if you’re headed there. You can do so on our Hidden Treasures of Central Chile Road Trip.

Up in the north, the Atacama Desert is a year-round destination.

Firstly, there are three main ‘on the beaten track’ areas in Chile that attract the most visitors – the region around San Pedro in the Atacama up north, Puerto Varas and the surrounding Lake District in the middle and Torres del Paine down in southern Patagonia. Together they give you a slice of the geographical variety that Chile is famed for: arid desert, great lakes, thick forests, granite mountains, rolling pampa and immense glaciers.

There’s certainly no need to avoid any of these areas if you have your heart set on them, but it does pay to think carefully about when to go and how to mix the headline sights that you’ll certainly want to see, with ways of getting off the beaten track and away from the other tourists. If you’re interested in that, just click through to each place on the link above.

They are all brilliant travel destinations, so naturally blessed with scenery you can’t see anywhere else. Let’s get do them justice.

Equally, there are some alternatives that, as well as attracting far fewer crowds, bring their own unique experiences that often elevate them above their most illustrious counterparts.

Down in Patagonia, the national parks, icefields and small communities of the Aysén region are connected along the Carretera Austral, brought together in one of the world’s great road trips. A two to four-week trip brings all the diversity and glorious views that you get in Torres del Paine, but with a greater sense of local culture, a stronger connection with local people and a more profound sense of journey and independent discovery.

Trip idea - Hidden Highlights of Chile's Carretera Austral

For many, it’s something to file away in the ‘off the beaten track’ section. For us, it’s our backyard and the vast majority of our Patagonia trips share this beautifully unspoilt slice of Chile, some weaving back and forth across the border into Argentina.

In the centre, there's plenty to do, see and experience beyond Puerto Varas. We are particularly fond of the Huilo Huilo reserve, part of a unique and little-explored ecosystem in the Patagonian temperate rainforest territory, set right in the Andes, and also Pucón further north in the Lake District. Both are terrific activity hubs. Keep going north and you’re into the winelands south of Santiago.

In short, there’s more than enough to make a truly memorable off the beaten track central Chile road trip, particularly recommendable for second-time visitors looking to get more under the skin of Chile and its diverse cultures, cuisines and communities.

Down in Patagonia, you have Torres del Paine of course, the Hollywood star of Chile's protected reserves. Whilst many strike out on the multi-day W trek, staying in refuges en route, our guests almost universally prefer to enjoy day hikes out into the park, retreating to the comforts of a modern lodge overlooking mountains and plains.

Trip idea – Chilean Patagonia: Torres del Paine & Beyond

Despite Torres del Paine being a world-class walking destination, most of our ‘walking’ trips to Patagonia actually take our guests down the Carretera Austral highway on a self-drive vacation.

The major advantage of this is that you can enjoy an even greater variety of day walks, from temperate rainforests and arid valleys to rewilded grasslands and basalt mountains, whilst forging a greater connection with the people and cultures of Patagonia than is possible in Paine.

You get all the great hiking with some really memorable experiences – how about anchoring up in the icefields for a night on a privately chartered boat? - and get to stay in a collection of beautiful small hotels and lodges, hosted by local people and eating local food.

Our Carretera Austral Road Trip vacation does a great job of showcasing what you can expect. Please do let us know if you want more details or to talk through a personalized proposal.

Outside of Patagonia, there’s scenic walking to be had throughout the centre, in forests, around lakes, up volcanoes and through vineyards. Our Hidden Treasures of Central Chile Road Trip ties these together for you.

Up in the Atacama, whilst not really a traditional ‘walking’ destination, we usually structure trips to give you a couple of opportunities to get out and explore on foot. Two notable hikes take you firstly along old Inca pathways into wide valleys and past farm terraces between dusty villages, and up Toco Volcano for memorable views into Argentina and Bolivia.

If ever there was a walking trip to showcase the variety between north and south Chile, our Atacama to Torres del Paine Walking Vacation might just be it. Take a look and see what you think. As always, our trips can be adapted to suit you down to the last detail.

Driving a 4x4 down Patagonia’s Carretera Austral is not just one of Chile’s great road trips, but one of the great road journeys of Latin America.

We could wax lyrical about the diversity of landscapes – from temperate forests and hanging glaciers to rewilded grasslands; basalt mountain amphitheatres and glacial lagoons to the great icefields – or about the extraordinary warmth of the local people and their priceless hospitality.

But actually, from 20 years of sharing the Carretera Austral, this quote from a recent Pura Aventura guest quite brilliantly encapsulates the spirit of Chile’s Southern Highway:

"If you are independently minded, don't mind driving on unpaved roads, are not expecting a sun tan or to stumble upon a celebrity chef, but are open to trying new things – give it a go! You will meet genuinely friendly and welcoming locals, in a region where your smartphone will be delightfully redundant."

Trip idea – Hidden Highlights of Chile's Carretera Austral

If you love the idea of the Carretera Austral and have more time to explore, then why not consider a two-part road trip which crosses over the border onto Argentine Patagonia’s iconic Ruta 40 highway? Take a look at the trip idea below if that’s of interest. As always, the trip will be tailored to you if you want to tweak, lengthen or shorten the route.

Trip idea - Chile to Argentina: Off the Beaten Track Patagonia

Away from the south, we’d be keen to talk to you about our off-the-beaten-track driving trip from Chiloé and the Lake District, up through the winelands and Valparaíso to the Elquí Valley.

If you’re into your food, the trip passes through some of Chile’s real culinary hotspots. If you love good wine, you’ll be at home in a number of outstanding wine regions. If you love making a real connection with the locals, you’ll have ample opportunity to meet the people of Chile – wine producers, fishing folk, Mapuche craftspeople, miners and more.

For wildlife lovers, there’s the chance to see penguins, dolphins and whales in the north and anyone with even the slightest appreciation of nature will be moved by the sheer diversity of landscapes linked together, from conical volcanoes and thick forests to sunny vineyards and immense sand dunes.

If you’re intrigued, please have a look at our Hidden Treasures of Central Chile Road Trip and get in touch if you’d like to see a full proposal.

Chile’s Route of Parks is a groundbreaking tourism conservation project linking 17 national parks across 2,800km of Patagonia, from the Lake District to legendary Cape Horn, via the remote beauty of the Carretera Austral, the twisting glaciers of the icefields and the mountains of Torres del Paine.

The name is evocative and the numbers impressive. The scale is mind-boggling, overwhelming; the length of the route is the equivalent of driving from London to Moscow. The area covered is bigger than Iceland, Portugal and Bulgaria and is more than double the size of Costa Rica.

But at its heart, the route is the culmination of a very personal and improbable ambition, realized over time thanks to extraordinary perseverance, dedication and a sheer love of Patagonia on the part of Douglas and Kristine Tompkins and likeminded partners.

Douglas Tompkins was the founder of the hugely successful North Face and Espirit outdoor clothing brands. Kristine Tompkins was the CEO of well-known adventure clothing brand Patagonia. They married in 1993. Along with their partners, the Tompkins Foundation has protected over 130,000 km2 of land in Chile and Argentina. That's basically Greece.

The project protects precious land from the destructive forces of large-scale cattle rearing, mining and oil extraction, for the benefit of all; the wildlife, the locals and visitors alike. Rewilding efforts have returned guanacos, pumas, huemul deer and foxes to their natural habitats. Eco-tourism offers ranchers a more sustainable and lucrative source of income, and a sensitive and considered way for us all to experience these wonderful environments and allow future generations to follow in our footsteps.

It was therefore with immense pride that Pura Aventura hosted the official European launch of the Route of Parks in September 2019, welcoming Kristine Tompkins to London to discuss her decades of conservation work and help us celebrate two decades of thoughtfully tailoring travel to this beautiful part of the world.

Chile is the only major South American tourism destination without huge swathes of tropical jungle or wetlands within its borders. But what Chile lacks in these, it makes up for in great grasslands, high mountain habitats, some of the world’s few remaining Valdivian temperate rainforests and a 4,000-mile coastline which laps the shores of desert in the north and glaciers in the south.

Granted, you’re unlikely to come here solely for the wildlife, but all those great landscapes that we associate with Chile are home to some very special creatures.

After all, the BBC do not make their much-feted wildlife documentaries without having a tangled web of wildlife stories to weave together.

In 2015, their three-part series work everyone up to treasures held within Patagonia: Earth's Secret Paradise. From stealthy pumas stalking lonesome guanacos to condors rising on the morning thermals and from the aerial acrobatics of duelling hummingbirds to the quarrels of lumbering elephant seals on the coast, the show shone a light on the sheer diversity of creatures who make their home in this most diverse of border-straddling regions.

Trip idea - Chile to Argentina: Off the Beaten Track Patagonia

We’re fortunate enough to have experienced many of these sorts of moments ourselves and are privileged to be able to share a little slice of it all with you.

Working closely with our partners from Tompkins Conservation - the team behind Patagonia’s brilliant Route of Parks project - and through a collection of outstanding day hikes and guided experiences, we’re able to bring the wilder side of Chile and Argentina right to the front and centre. It’s all yours to go and see what you can find.

In theory, any of South America’s major destinations, from Peru to Brazil, the Galápagos to the Amazon, are easily connected to Chile by taking to the skies. But not being fans of airport lounges and long transit days, we’re most enthusiastic about the myriad ways you can hop back and forth overland into Argentina, or cross from the Bolivian altiplano into the Atacama.

Argentina is the one we want mainly want to focus on here though, and in particular the opportunities to cross through the Andes down in Patagonia.

It actually can help to think of Chilean and Argentine Patagonia as one contiguous land mass, separated in the main by the spine of the Andes running right down to the bottom of the continent.

There are several opportunities to cross from east to west and back again, some fairly well known, others quite remote and barely used by foreign visitors. The latter nearly always make for more interesting and scenic connections without any of the red tape and headaches that you’re probably imagining right now as you read this. It’s actually all very simple if you have the right support.

What this means for you and your travels is that you have choices. In the northern half of Patagonia, you can choose to travel down the Chilean side on the Carretera Austral, or down it’s Argentine counterpart – the Ruta 40. Or, you can weave between the Andes for a good look at both sides of the border.

Trip idea - Chile to Argentina: Off the Beaten Track Patagonia

Trip idea - Chile to Argentina: Lakes, Wine & Active Adventures

In the far south of Patagonia, we think it makes complete sense to bring together Torres del Paine in Chile with El Chaltén and the Perito Moreno Glacier in Argentina into a driving trip that is particularly good for you hikers/walkers out there. If you've always dreamed of visiting Antarctica and really want to make your trip count, adding an active 'base camp' cruise to the above Chile/Argentina combination is probably the greatest of 'great outdoors' journeys.

Trip idea - Chile, Argentina & Antarctica Active Adventure

Choice is great, but it can also be a little confusing too. Please don’t let the above options tie you up in knots – we're here to help. If it's easier for you, just let us know your initial thoughts and we can go over everything and answer all your questions. We’ll get there together, and have a bit of fun throwing around some ideas on the way.

You can either use our enquiry form, or e-mail us at [email protected].

If you'd rather chat through the best options for your trip, simply call us toll-free on 1-844-368-7192.

One of our Chile specialists will help to create your perfect trip.