| 1. About us 2. Itinerary 3. Joining instructions 4. Weather and climate 5. Transport 6. Lodging 7. Food 8. Luggage 9. Documents 10. Health 11. Money |
1. About us
ROLLING HOSTEL organizes sustainable travels through unspoiled nature in Chile.
We travel in a small international group of min. 6 and max. 15 persons.
ROLLING HOSTEL has a multidisciplinary team that will show you Chile from the
inside, starting from our own experiences and love for the country. Apart from
visiting the highlights, we will bring you to places not included in the regular
Chile traveling program, places that only Chileans know they exist. Our guides
speak English, Spanish and Dutch.
ROLLING HOSTEL makes Chile easy to explore and keeps you in touch with its warm
and generous people and its excellent wine and seafood.
ROLLING HOSTEL will make your trip an unforgettable ecoadventure, full of fun
and lots of laughter!
The included air transfer:
- Santiago>Punta Arenas (Day 2)
- Punta Arenas>Santiago (Day 8)
Santiago de Chile (Day 1)
This is an arrival day. We will arrange a taxi to transfer you from the airport to the hotel (see 3. Joining instructions). There you will meet your tour leader who will help you to check in. No activities are planned on day 1 so you may set out to explore the city. Santiago de Chile is a great place to discover on foot. At 7 pm you are expected at the hotel for a presentation of the itinerary and an evening meal. The next day we fly to Punta Arenas (Patagonia).
Day 2
From Santiago de Chile we arrive by airplane in Punta Arenas where we join our
comfortable 4x4 vehicles. We drive to Puerto Natales, access town for the Torres
del Paine National Park, and visit the port and the city centre.
Day 3 and 4
We make two daytrips in the famous Torres del Paine National Park, Chile 's
single most famous attraction, and a magnet for hikers and climbers. On the
first daytrip we make a walk and enjoy breathtaking views of the three magnificent
pink granite Towers' of the Torres del Paine massif. On the second daytrip
we travel by boat on Lake Pehoe and make a walk to the Grey Glacier, one of
the most beautiful glaciers of the Patagonia ice field.
Day 5
Nearby Puerto Natales, we visit the Laguna Azul (Blue Lake) and the famous Cueva
del Milodon (Cave of the Milodon, a prehistoric animal).
Day 6
We drive to Argentina to visit the small city of El Calafate and the enormous
(5 km wide and 60 meters in height) Glaciar Perito Moreno. The glacier is continuously
cracking and expelling gigantic ice blocks as big as apartment blocks into the
water. A great spectacle! We make a boat trip on the glacial lake between the
floating icebergs. At night we enjoy an excellent Argentine meat barbecue (parrilla).
Day 7
We visit Punta Arenas, capital of Chilean Patagonia, and there is time to do
some shopping for example.
Day 8
We fly to Santiago de Chile and visit centre town. At night we have a great
party!
EXTRA DAYS
Those who have some spare traveling time we can recommend some nice day trips in and around cosmopolitan and vibrant Santiago. You can visit for example the house of Pablo Neruda, Chile 's greatest poet and make an easy climb up Cerro Cristobal where you have an excellent overview of the city. You can spend a few days in Valparaiso while discovering its coastal charm on hill slope lifts or you can visit Viña del Mar, a luxurious seaside resort.
3. Joining instructionsPlease note that day 1 is an arrival day and no activities have been planned, so you may arrive at any time. Please inform us about your estimated arrival time and we will arrange a taxi to transfer you to the hotel. Your tour leader will contact you at the hotel and make sure you are settled comfortably. S/he will organize a short meeting at 7 pm, during which you will meet other tour participants and receive information about general and specific aspects of the trip. If you arrive late, s/he will leave you a message detailing what time and where you should meet the next morning.
Hotel Lyon
Avda. Ricardo Lyon 1525
Providencia
Santiago de Chile
Chile
Tel. +56 (0)2-225 77 32
URL: www.hotellyon.cl
GETTING TO/FROM THE AIRPORT
Aeropuerto International Arturo Merino Benítez is in Pudahuel, 26km northwest of downtown Santiago. Please inform us about your estimated arrival time and we will arrange a taxi to transfer you to the hotel.
Due to its enormous length (about 4300 km), Chile has a variety of climate
regions.
De period december-february is in Chile the summer period.
Santiago de Chile has warm summer temperatures and stable weather conditions
with few or no rainfall.
- Santiago de Chile: mean minimum temperature: 12°C, mean maximum temperature:
28°C.
Patagonia has cool summer temperatures and unstable weather conditions with
sometimes heavy rainfall and a strong wind.
- South Patagonia: mean minimum temperature: 7°C, mean maximum temperature:
14 °C.
For more detailed weather conditions in Chile, please consult the BBC weather website.
We will travel by means of comfortable 4x4 vans (max. 8 persons/van).
We stay overnight in comfortable and clean hotels where you can relax in a nice atmosphere.
ROLLING HOSTEL combines vegetarian and non-vegetarian meals in small local restaurants with self cooked meals on small gas stoves while camping.
Fish and seafood are the great speciality of Chilean cuisine. Salmon fishing is booming along Chile 's southern coast, and salmon is served widely in restaurants. Curanto, originally a dish from Chiloé, is a rich potpourri of various kinds of seafood, beef or chicken cooked with vegetables such as pumpkin or potato. A cheap and universal Chilean takeaway food is the empanada, a pastry filled with anything from sweetened maize or vegetables to minced meat.
Argentine food is typified by meat dishes, especially by roast lamb and beef. Argentina is famous for its asados, where a whole sheep or calf is grilled on a vertical spit around a large open charcoal fire. Italian-style food as pasta and pizza is also excellent in Argentina.
You will be on the move a great deal, so our advice is to pack as lightly as possible. Most people automatically assume that the weather is hot in South America, but because of the higher altitude in the Andes, the temperature can feel quite cold, especially at night. A small size daypack is also essential.
Suggested List:
Windproof/waterproof jacket and trousers
Warm (fleece) jacket
Warm clothing (hat, scarf and gloves included) and some light clothing
Hiking boots or sturdy walking shoes
(Sport) sandals
Toiletries
Small towel and swim wear
Sunblock (min factor 30)
Lip salve
Sun hat
Sunglasses
First aid kit*
*First aid kit should contain insect repellent, second skin (for blisters), aspirin, antihistamine, antidiarrhoea, and extra prescription drugs you may be taking. On the rolling hostel there will be a general first aid kit available.
Optional
Camera and film, reading/writing material, binoculars, money belt
Remember that the higher altitude on some parts of the trip make for cold evenings and you will need a warm sweater or pullover and long trousers. It's best to layer clothes rather than bring a heavy parka so that you can take layers off.
Passport (with photocopies)
Travel insurance (with photocopies)
Airline tickets (with photocopies)
Euro cash, credit or debit card (see money) - (with credit card photocopies)
ROLLING HOSTEL vouchers and tour dossier
Entry visas (with photocopies)
Contact your local embassy or consulate for the most up-to-date visa requirements. It is your responsibility to have the correct travel documentation. It's recommended to leave also extra photocopies of all your documents at your home contact point! Leave also the Rolling Hostel contact info (see website) at your home contact point.
There are no special vaccinations needed.
Recommended vaccinations: Tetanus, Poliomyelitis, Typhoid and Hepatitis A.
Please contact your physician for the most up-to-date health requirements. We will ask you to fill up a medical form at the beginning of our trip.
Everything is included in the Price' except for personal expenses as souvenirs, extra drinks and optional activities. How much you take is obviously a personal matter.
The official currency in Chile is the Chilean peso. Exchange rate: 100 peso = 0,13 € (December 2005).
The official currency in Argentina is the Argentinean peso. Exchange rate: 1 peso = 0,28 € (December 2005).
Credit cards and debit cards are very useful for cash advances. Visa cards are the most widely accepted cards. You should be aware that to purchase products or services on a credit card a fee of 5%-10% usually applies. Do not rely on credit or debit cards as your only source of money. A combination of cash (Euro or US dollar) and credit cards is best.