Northern Chile and Bolivia Luxury Adventure
Trip highlights
- Get a taste for Chilean cuisine with a culinary class in Santiago
- Go stargazing in the Atacama Desert
- Explore the ethereal Uyuni salt flats
- Visit Pukara de Ayque at the foothills of foothills of Tunupa Volcano
- Discover the delights of La Paz by cable car
- Marvel at Easter Island's ancient statues
Bespoke trips with Jacada
We design one-of-a-kind journeys incorporating luxury in all its forms. Our bespoke trips include:
- Luxury accommodation throughout
- Private transfers
- Private tours and experiences
- Full support from your travel designer and concierge
- Help with restaurant recommendations and reservations
- Days 1–2 Valparaiso
- Days 2–5 Easter Island
- Days 5–7 Santiago
- Days 7–11 Atacama Desert
- Days 11–14 Uyuni Salt Flats
- Days 14–15 La Paz
- Days 1–2 Valparaiso
- Days 2–5 Easter Island
- Days 5–7 Santiago
- Days 7–11 Atacama Desert
- Days 11–14 Uyuni Salt Flats
- Days 14–15 La Paz
Itinerary in detail
Every Jacada trip is tailored to your personal preferences and interests. Below you’ll find a sample itinerary to inspire your own custom-designed journey.
A night in Valparaiso
Valparaíso has “World Heritage Site” status and is regarded as the cultural capital of Chile, making it a fantastic place to explore. Lose yourself in its eclectic street art, where each turn reveals a new gallery of vibrant designs. This seaside city is also within striking distance of some of the region’s finest vineyards – combine your stay with a wine tasting and tour for a true taste of Chile.
Where you could stay
Valparaiso
Overview
An excellent boutique hotel, Casa Higueras is located in the upmarket Cerro Alegre area with great views out across the harbour and Plaza Sottomayor.
The hotel’s a little larger than other hotels of a similar style in the area with twenty rooms and therefore has a more developed infrastructure with larger and more extensive communal areas and facilities. Guests can enjoy a great restaurant, outdoor swimming pool, Jacuzzi as well as the large terraces and garden.
A 1920s building, the hotel was completely refurbished in 2006 in an elegant style mixing the contemporary with the historical aspect of the building.
→ Find out moreThree days on Easter Island
Easter Island is one of the most intriguing small islands of the world, which offers fantastic scenery and mystical sites to see. The alluring mystery of its giant stone Moai statues has long captivated travellers – learn more about them on a privately guided tour, or explore the beautiful scenery with a naturalist guide.
Where you could stay
Easter Island
Overview
Another luxurious addition to the Explora hotel range. The Rapa Nui hotel doesn’t disappoint, very much in the concept of the other Explora properties with stunning architecture, beautiful curving wooden interiors, exemplary service and activities.
Set on a hill in a quiet area away from the more populated Hanga Roa. The 30 well-appointed rooms each have a sea view and are tastefully decorated in keeping with the surrounds. Rooms are equipped with hydro-massage baths to relax in after a day exploring.
Hotel facilities include an outdoor pool and jacuzzi as well as a spa area to relax in. All meals and full program of activities are included in the cost.
The hotel is also renowned for its innovative educational scheme, the Explora Rapa Nui Terevaka Outreach Programme, aimed at allowing students to gain knowledge in enriching the island’s scientific and touristic potential.
→ Find out moreTwo nights in Santiago
Enjoy a couple of days in bustling Santiago, Chile’s capital city. Set against the stunning backdrop of the Andes, Santiago is considered to have an understated charm. Sleek glassy skyscrapers share space with perfectly landscaped gardens, fascinating museums and stylish art galleries. There’s also an emerging culinary scene boasting fine dining establishments and a celebrated seafood market.
Where you could stay
Santiago
Highlights
- 62 rooms
- Restaurant & Sky Bar
- Rooftop swimming pool
- Spa, Jacuzzi, sauna & steam room
Overview
The Singular Santiago is a luxury hotel in the Lastarria neighbourhood of Santiago.
A sister hotel to The Singular Patagonia, The Singular Santiago is located in one of the artiest areas of the Chilean capital, Lastarria: the Museum of Fine Art, the Museum of Visual Arts, and the Gabriel Mistral Center are all within walking distance of the hotel.
It’s not just the location that’s appealing: the rooftop pool provides a scenic setting in which to both cool down after a day exploring Santiago and take in the view; the spa offers post- or pre-long-haul flight massages; and the Singular Restaurant serves French dishes alongside local specialties, such as Guanaco and Penca, to keep the flavour decidedly Latin. The ninth-floor Sky Bar is the perfect place to polish off a day in Lastarria.
There are 62 rooms: the Patio Rooms and the Classic Rooms overlook the Plaza Mulato Gil, and the Deluxe Balcony Rooms have views across the Parque Forestal. All rooms at The Singular benefit from stylish decor and all the mod-cons you could wish for, including wireless internet, LCD TVs, large and comfortable beds, and well-equipped, spacious marble bathrooms.
→ Find out moreSantiago
Overview
As one might expect from the Ritz-Carlton, this is one of the best luxury hotels in South America, with impeccable service. The hotel is well located, near some excellent restaurants.
The rooms are very luxurious, and the crowning feature of the hotel is the stunning, glass-covered rooftop pool and spa. Which, on a clear day, offers fantastic views to the Andes.
→ Find out moreMake it mine
Take a tour
Taste and cook
Enjoy a private city tour
With your expert guide you will explore Chile’s capital. This city mixes the country’s Mapuche legacy (the original inhabitants of the region during the Pre-Columbian era), Spanish colonial past and the modernity of any thriving city of the world. With a guide, you will walk its streets, visit its museums, see its architecture; both historical and contemporary, that make up the heart of Chile.
A Chilean Culinary Class
Start at the Mercado Central, Santiago’s celebrated fresh fish market before moving onto La Vega, the popular fruit and vegetable market, and perfect place to discover new flavours. Bring the produce to a cooking workshop located in Barrio Italia, where a chef will guide a relaxed class, preparing delicious Chilean recipes and reveal some culinary secrets. Finally, enjoy a well-earned feast of Chilean dishes complemented by excellent Chilean wines.
Four nights in the Atacama Desert
The Atacama Desert ranks among the driest places on earth with some regions never experiencing rainfall. Located in the far north of Chile, it is a place of truly other-worldly landscapes; towering volcanoes, flamingo frequented lagoons, salt-flats, geysers and shifting sand dunes. The high altitudes and low-to-zero light pollution makes this a stargazing haven, home to the world’s most advanced observatories.
Despite its remote location and arid climate, the Atacama Desert is home to a handful of luxury hotels. Based around the remote oasis town of San Pedro de Atacama, you can venture out and explore this incredible wilderness on foot, 4WD vehicle and mountain bike, or soar over it in a hot air balloon.
Where you could stay
Atacama Desert
Highlights
- 42 rooms, each with a terrace
- Spa
- Swimming pools and hot springs
- Astronomy classes and excursions
- Mountain biking
- Restaurant
- Lounge and bar
Overview
Almost imperceptible from its backdrop of baked red rock, emerging as a perfectly placed traditional adobe settlement, it takes an even closer look to discover that this is, in fact, the very conscientiously designed and luxuriously authentic Nayara Alto Atacama. Its beauty is matched by its sustainable ideals, with the resort dedicated to integrating into the environment without causing harm to the immediate landscapes or ecosystems.
In the shadow of the Cordillera de la Sal and with the San Pedro River coursing by its enviably remote and magical position in the Atacama desert means it is well placed to explore the surrounding natural sights of deep, sweeping valleys and canyons, kaleidoscope skies, serene lagoons, ancient ruins and tempestuous geysers.
Yet the location is only part of the hotel’s unique allure; its design both in and out stylishly embraces the aesthetic of the Altiplano and Atacama. Varying textures in the form of colourful earth-tone tiles, Brea lamps, cave paintings, local iconography, sculptures, and coarse Aguayo tapestries and Amerindian textiles, blend to create an inviting, warm and intimate atmosphere to the contrasting wilderness outside. Each comfortable room features its own terrace and is equipped with many modern appliances and luxuries.
What’s more the hotel’s activities and expeditions are expertly planned and personalised to you, with private guiding available. The staff will do their utmost to look after you and there are many facilities to enjoy at the hotel, such as yoga, spa treatments, hot springs, or just sitting under the patio awnings gazing at the spectacle in front of you.
→ Find out moreAtacama Desert
Overview
The Explora hotels are perhaps Chile’s most famous, meaning Explora Atacama comes with an enviable reputation to live up to and it’s pleasing to say that it doesn’t disappoint.
Everything about the hotel exudes understated quality, with tastefully furnished, extremely comfortable rooms. Each has its own jacuzzi in the bathroom and a cut-out floor to ceiling window with panoramic views.
There are four interconnected high-design swimming pools and saunas, a stargazing platform (complete with high quality telescopes) and an open bar. The hotel is also home to a superb restaurant.
The programmes offered are all inclusive, so all meals, most drinks and all tours are included in this price. Explore this beautiful region either on foot, horseback riding, bike, or 4WD excursions. There are also cultural excursions and high mountain ascents ranging in difficulty and altitude. For safety reasons, high mountain hiking requires a minimum of two-night acclimatization but we’d recommend four nights here simply to get the most out of your time here.
→ Find out moreAtacama Desert
Highlights
- 12 thoughtfully crafted circular suites
- Indulge in delicious dishes in the open-air restaurant
- Dip your toes into the outdoor pool to cool off from the desert heat
- Head out on 4WD adventures with your private guide
- Spot roaming llamas and alpacas
Overview
Within the ancient town of San Pedro de Atacama lies Awasi, a 12-suite lodge complete with communal areas and a restaurant. The lodge offers a private guide and a 4WD vehicle with each room, so your Atacama Desert adventures are mere moments away. The hotel’s experiences are all completely private and personalised to your needs and requests.
The stunning suites of Awasi Atacama are circular in shape and thoughtfully crafted from adobe, stone and wood which help to keep them cool in the day and warm in the evenings. Each suite has its own private patio along with indoor and outdoor showers, whilst ten of the suites also feature their own walk-in wardrobes and chaises longues. For the rare, chilly evenings you’ll find cosy armchairs and alpaca blankets to wrap up warm in.
Throughout the lodge the walls are splashed with beautiful decorations of wool hangings and hardwood and marble floors, all of which evoke a sense of history and tradition.
The charming restaurant uses local, seasonal produce to create delicious dishes that show off some of the more traditional ingredients used in Chilean cooking. Its open-air setting makes for a truly magical and memorable meal.
For a welcome relief from the heat take a dive into the outdoor pool, or relax under the twinkling stars in one of the common areas, the crackling flames of the nearby fire pit your only companion.
Operating on an all-inclusive basis, Awasi Atacama ensures that transfers, accommodation, full-board meals, non-alcoholic beverages and all excursions are seamlessly included in your stay, allowing you to fully immerse yourself in this extraordinary experience.
→ Find out moreOverland adventures across Bolivia's high plains
After crossing the border into Bolivia you’ll enter the Eduardo Avaroa National Park, a beautiful landscape of lakes, salt pans, volcanoes and thermal springs. Visit the emerald green Laguna Verde before continuing to the Sol de Mañana geysers and the striking Laguna Colorado with its red waters and flocks of flamingos. You’ll then continue on to Uyuni.
Three nights by the Uyuni Salt Flats
Arguably Bolivia’s most breath-taking experience, the 4000 square miles of the shimmering Salar de Uyuni are a must-see. Formed from the drying up of vast prehistoric lakes, the salt flats stretch as far as the eye can see. When they flood each rainy season (November-March) the flats transform into a vast mirror which reflects the sky and seems to defy reality. During the dry season (April – October) the salt glistens until the horizon creating a surreal and magical atmosphere.
During your time here you will have a private tour guide (and 4×4 off-road vehicle) on hand to lead you on a range of excursions and activities of this incredible region. You will visit ‘islands’, deserted rail tracks and trains, lagoons, salt farms and relax while enjoying picnic lunches in beautiful, middle-of-nowhere locations.
Where you could stay
Uyuni Salt Flats
Overview
Seated on the banks of the Salar de Uyuni, the highest salt pan in the world, the Luna Salada or Salt Moon hotel commands extraordinary panoramic views over this expanse of surreal white desert.
Built using salt blocks and designed in the style of Bolivia’s indigenous homes with brightly woven rugs, artisanal furniture and glowing fireplaces, Luna Salada retains a wonderfully authentic feel of life in the Bolivian high plains.
The rooms are spacious with private bathrooms, heating and hot water at any time of day. The hotel’s restaurant, Mirador Tanupa, is the place to watch the blue, purple and pink tie-dye sunsets disappear behind the silvery horizon in simple yet cosy surroundings.
At 3658 meters above sea level, located thirty minutes from Uyuni town and ten minutes from Colchani, Luna Salada enjoys a unique location and offers guests a very immersive experience as well as various treks, hikes and tours in the prehistoric salt flats.
→ Find out moreUyuni Salt Flats
Highlights
- Journey across some of Latin America’s most breathtaking vistas
- A private guide and driver help tailor the trip to your personal tastes
- Learn about the unique flora and fauna which thrive in these unique spaces
- Marvel at the seemingly infinite Salar de Uyuni salt flats
- Choose from a range of activities to suit your interests
Overview
Travesia is a journey across the desert, mountains and salt flats; from Chile to Bolivia, or in reverse. A private 4×4 vehicle with an expert Explora guide and local driver lead an immersive exploration of unique landscapes and thrilling activities, with evenings spent in mountain homes and isolated lodges.
The exceptional Explora, situated on the outskirts of San Pedro de Atacama, is a wonderfully placed lodge to explore the Atacama desert. It offers everything from breathtaking landscapes, fascinating wildlife and exciting activities to enthralling history and culture.
Hop back in your 4×4 and journey from the orange, pink and yellow desert of Atacama to the jaw-dropping Altiplano across the Bolivian border. This epic journey is designed to discover the staggering natural beauty of high altitudes, with volcanoes, geysers, deserts, lagoons and finally – the world’s largest salt flats.
Throughout the Travesia journey of either 8 or 11 nights, along with scenic transfers between each lodge, there’s an array of activities available to suit every kind of traveller. Each activity, whether adventurous or reflective, will dive deep into local nature, geography, history and local myth and legend.
There are four lodges stretched across the Travesia route, for weary travellers to rest and restore: Explora in Chile, and Chituca, Ramaditas and Lodge Uyuni, all in Bolivia. Each property is designed to take full advantage of the silence, privacy and spaciousness of the surrounding landscapes, ensuring deep rest after a long day of exploration. The architecture of each lodge highlights the natural beauty with a low environmental impact approach to the construction and daily operations.
→ Find out moreThe highlights of the Salt Flats
The Chiquini Cave is a sub-aquatic cave formed prior to the formation of the glaciers through volcanic eruptions. Inside it’s possible to see calcified shapes of magma which solidified when the magma hit the water.
You will also visit Pukara de Ayque, an archaeological site with spectacular views of the Salar and its islands, thanks to its location and altitude. Very close to the edge of Jirira – only a 30 minute walk or 15 minute bike ride, you will ascend to Cajchi Island which contains a variety of cacti. It’s here you can also enjoy a different photographic perspective and view the flats from the north.
One night in La Paz
In the shadow of the immense triple snow-capped peaks of Mount Illimani and at altitudes reaching 4,000m, Bolivia’s cultural capital, La Paz has earned itself the moniker of the ‘Tibet of the Americas’ and life at these lofty heights is admirable, if not spectacular.
Where you could stay
La Paz
Overview
You’ll find the Casa Grande Nuevo surrounded by majestic mountains, in a peaceful residential district of La Paz.
The hotel is composed of 65 chic rooms, all featuring air conditioning, flat-screen TVs, and private balconies. After a busy day out exploring La Paz, enjoy a meal in the on-site restaurant which features both international and local dishes, and relax with a cocktail in the bar afterwards. There’s also a spa, an indoor pool, and a gym for you to use.
When you’re not enjoying the facilities of this modern hotel, step outside and you’ll find that you are well placed to explore La Paz with the San Miguel commercial area and the Megacenter Shopping Centre just a five-minute drive away.
→ Find out moreLa Paz
Overview
One of La Paz’s best hotels is the Camino Real Suites providing friendly service and contemporary high-rise, western comfort to its guests.
Just outside the capital of Bolivia’s city centre, this hotel is in the quieter but well-connected suburbs with seventy suites and a very well-equipped health club where you can take a swim, get a massage or visit the beauty salon.
Moreover at 3,300m above sea level, the outskirts of La Paz make for an easier introduction to the altitude than say uptown districts that can reach 4,100m.
Whether just beginning your Bolivian holiday or on your way out this is a good hotel where you can unwind or from which to explore La Paz.
→ Find out moreLa Paz
Overview
Located in the Zona Sur district in the vibrant Calacoto neighbourhood, Atix Hotel is a masterpiece of modern design. It takes its name from the Quenchua word meaning ‘the one who thrives’ and it is one of the city’s most impressive landmarks and best hotels.
The hotel, which is shaped like a parallelogram, is clad in native Bolivian wood and Comanche stone from a village of the same name 70km outside the city. Inside is no less impressive with photography and artwork from Bolivian artist, Gastón Ugalde, throughout. There are 53 modern, spacious rooms that look out over the mountains that surround the city, that are simple and sophisticated in design.
Ona meaning ‘gift’ in the ancient Pukina language, is the hotel’s restaurant and is headed up by a team of young Bolivian chefs and offers a creative, inspiring menu. Head to the rooftop bar +591, named after the area code, and enjoy cocktails while taking in the incredible view. There is also a small cafe and shop opening in September which will sell coffee, bread and pastries.
→ Find out moreExplore La Paz
Meet with your guide and embark on a tour around the highlights of La Paz. Visit the Gold Museum, Pedro Domingo Murillo House, National Museum of Art and the Bolivian Metals Museum. Jaen street is a picturesque spot to wander, taking in the brightly coloured houses. Continue to Killi Killi lookout point to enjoy a panoramic view of the city and lunch at a local restaurant, before heading to the Teleferico cable car. Your adventure of Chile and Bolivia will end in this beautiful city, but the memories you’ve made will last a lifetime.
Delfina created an itinerary for us that matched our requirements perfectly. The information prior to our trip enabled us to prepare for it and the help and advice from Carlos was excellent. The attention to detail throughout our visit was exemplary. Everything was taken care of and we really did not have to think or worry about a single thing.…