Day 1

Arrive at Aeropuerto Internacional Arturo Merino Benítez and transfer to a Santiago hotel. In the afternoon, visit sites such as the Barrio Cívico, Plaza de Armas, and Nobel Prize poet Pablo Neruda’s La Chascona home.

Day 2

After a five-hour flight, the sight of triangular Rapa Nui (Easter Island) is a welcome sight. Stay in Hanga Roa, a sprawling, subtropical seaside village that’s home to every island resident and nearly all services.

On an afternoon stroll, visit the Museo Antropológico Padre Sebastián Englert and close-in archaeological sites such as Ahu Tautira and Ahu Tahai (one of the best places to catch the sunset).

Day 3

After breakfast, hire a cab and take the Hanga Roa Loop to Rano Kau crater and Orongo, a ceremonial village perched between the marshy crater’s rocky edge and the steep cliffs above the ocean. Return to Hanga Roa via the new heritage footpath and, after lunch in town, hire a car to visit Ahu Vinapu, the obsidian quarry of Maunga Orito, and Playa Anakena (also an archaeological site).

Day 4

Circling most of the island by road, the itinerary’s single busiest day passes a string of archaeological sites on the rugged south coast, including Rano Raraku crater, where the great moai were carved, and the restored Ahu Tongariki; the north coast’s Ahu Te Pito Kura shows the largest moai ever raised.

Day 5

Some moai got their reddish topknots at Puna Pau quarry, just east of Hanga Roa. From there, a road—more a track, really—goes north to Ahu Akivi and its seven standing moai, and the coastal Ahu Tepeu, then returns to Hanga Roa. The summit of Maunga Terevaka, the highest and most northerly of three volcanoes that coalesced to form Rapa Nui, is reachable by foot.

Day 6

Morning is available for souvenir shopping before an afternoon flight back to Santiago. Given late arrival on the mainland, around 7:30 p.m., you’ll probably want to go straight to the hotel, shower, and head out for dinner.

Day 7

Leave by midmorning air taxi for Isla Robinson Crusoe, a two-hour flight to an extraordinary combination of subtropical verdure and arid desolation, depending what side of the island you’re on. After landing, a covered passenger launch skirts nearly vertical volcanic cliffs to arrive at San Juan Bautista, the island’s only settlement.

Find accommodations in San Juan, where a walk around the village leads to late colonial ruins, remains of an early Chilean penal colony, and a fascinating cemetery.

Day 8

Hike in the morning to Mirador de Selkirk for spectacular views of both sides of the island; weather and time permitting, continue to the fur seal colony at Tierras Blancas, but the hike back is a long one. Alternatively, return to San Juan Bautista and, after lunch, consider the strenuous hike to El Camote, through some of the best island’s preserved forests.

Day 9

Ask for a box lunch before hiring an open motor launch for a full day’s excursion around the island. From Cumberland Bay you’ll sail toward Puerto Francés, site of a brief French encampment, and around the island’s eastern cape to Islote El Verdugo, a vertical volcanic stack.

The most entertaining sights, other than the vertical cliffs, are the several colonies of Juan Fernández fur seals that bask on the rocks and frolic in the water. Before returning to San Juan, stop at Puerto Inglés, where there’s a reconstruction of Selkirk’s shelter.

Day 10

Because weather sometimes delays flights to and from Robinson Crusoe, it’s wise to include an extra day. If things go according to schedule, though, a midafternoon arrival in Santiago allows further sightseeing explorations like the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino.

Day 11

Since northbound international flights don’t leave until around 10 p.m., there’s plenty of time for a full day’s sightseeing. One alternative is a winery excursion followed by a drive up the Cajón del Maipo, a scenic Andean canyon barely an hour from downtown. There are two good, well-known wineries near the town of Pirque, southeast of Santiago: Viña Concha y Toro and Viña Santa Rita, both of which offer English-speaking tours and tasting.

© Wayne Bernhardson from Moon Chile, 2nd edition