Isla de Maipo, Central Chile

Isla de Maipo is a strange little town about 45 mins by bus from Santiago. It seems to be caught in a time warp, and that is how the locals like it. You drop it from the new fast highway and the confusion and noise of Santiago, and you can hear a pin drop in the evening and mornings. You will see a guy on a horse and trot through the center of town. It is more like what you would expect from a small town in the deep Patagonia.

Isla de Maipo is also one of the more famous wine production areas. The town sites on an island in a river, and thus has rich soil and good water for wine production. It is one of the most traditional wine production areas in Chile, and you will more than likely find a bottle of wine produced in this valley at your local wine store anywhere in the World.

Santa Cruz, Central Chile

Hope of the Wine train!!! Santa Cruz has recently set its sites on directly taking on the California wine tourism industry with its own wine train. The train departs from Santiago on the weekends and stops directly at wineries in the area. Please see our write up on Santa Cruz Chile here.

Pichilemu, Central Chile

This little town is the meca of surfers in Chile (although we hear not th best). Even in the off season you will see foreigners from all over the World walking the streets in sandals and in the evening they all run to the waves to worship with their surf boards under arm. This town is about 30 mins from Santa Cruz, and about 5 hours by bus south of Santiago. You can also read our writeup about Pichilemu Chile here.

Santo Domingo, Central Chile

This coastal area is where the old money in Chile bought and stayed. Some of the larger houses in Chile can be found around this area, and the beauty of the cost explains it. In the Summer months the beaches fill up, but the area is still fairly exclusive compared to places like Vina Del Mar and points North. It sits just sufficiently out of reach of the weekend Santiago tourist to be fairly peaceful. Seafood is what you want to keep your eye out for in Santo Domingo.