2 Days in Santiago Chile: Wine, Andes, Coast
Two days is enough to get genuinely excited about Santiago as a launchpad, as long as you pick one direction and commit to it. This plan spends day one getting oriented in the city itself, then sends you into the Maipo Valley for a full day at Concha y Toro instead of splitting the trip thin across wine, the Andes, and the coast at once. Want room for all three? Step up to the 3-day , 4-day , 5-day , 6-day , or 7-day version, same spine, more legs.
Book these before you go
- Reserve the Concha y Toro wine tour with transport from Santiago included
- Check hotel rates on Booking.com for a base in Providencia or Lastarria
- Skip the line at Sky Costanera on Viator for a guaranteed sunset slot
Day-by-day at a glance
| Day | Focus | Travel time | Daily cost (CLP, approx) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Centro Historico, Sky Costanera at golden hour | In-city, Metro | 35,000-45,000 |
| 2 | Maipo Valley wine day, Concha y Toro | Roughly 45-60 min each way | 55,000-90,000 |
Day 1: Centro Historico And Sky Costanera
Land at Arturo Merino Benitez (SCL) and take the Centropuerto bus (roughly CLP 1,900-2,500, 25-35 minutes) to Pajaritos station on Metro Line 1, then ride in to your hotel. Chile runs on the Chilean peso, not the euro or Argentina’s peso, roughly CLP 925-950 to the US dollar this year, so change money or find an ATM before you start spending. Grab a bip! card or just tap a contactless card at the turnstile (check current fares at red.cl ), which covers Metro, buses, and transfers within a two-hour window. Spend the morning on foot around Plaza de Armas, the Cathedral, and Mercado Central, then walk up free, green Cerro Santa Lucia for a break from the crowds. Keep your bag in front of you here and on Line 1 at rush hour, both flagged by the UK FCDO as the city’s real pickpocket hotspots; Chile’s own tourism board at chile.travel and both government advisories agree the risk is low-grade street crime, not a reason to skip the trip. In the afternoon, ride the Metro out to Providencia for Sky Costanera, the observation deck atop the Gran Torre Santiago (roughly CLP 18,000-20,000 adult), and time your visit for golden hour, when the Andes catch the light behind the whole valley you’re driving into tomorrow.
Day 2: Maipo Valley Wine, Concha Y Toro
Head southeast to Pirque, roughly 45-60 minutes by road, for Concha y Toro, Chile’s best-known winery and the Maipo Valley’s easiest day trip from the city. A tour with hotel pickup runs about CLP 76,000 adult, covering transport, the historic park, the Casillero del Diablo cellar, and four tastings; arranging your own taxi and paying at the door drops that to roughly CLP 50,000pp. Either way, check current tour tiers directly at conchaytoro.com before booking, and reserve ahead in Chile’s summer high season (December-February) when slots fill fast. Carmenere, the Bordeaux varietal once thought extinct and rediscovered growing quietly in Chile, is the bottle worth tasting here over anything else on the list. Head back into Santiago for dinner in Bellavista or Lastarria, and remember that July here is deep winter and ski season, not summer, so pack layers if you’re visiting mid-year.
Is 2 days really enough for Santiago plus a day trip?
Yes, if you accept the trade-off up front. Two days covers one solid city day and one full regional day well; it does not stretch to the Andes, the coast, and wine all at once, no matter how the trip gets titled. Treat this as a taste of Santiago-as-a-base, then come back to a longer version of this itinerary once Cajon del Maipo or Valparaiso earn a spot on the list.
Why Concha y Toro instead of Valparaiso on a 2-day trip?
Distance and time math, mostly. Valparaiso is a genuine 90-minute bus each way from Terminal Alameda, which eats most of a short second day before you’ve seen anything; Pirque is closer and leaves room for an actual wine tour instead of a transit day. Both destinations carry the same real, neutral safety note, muggings are reported frequently in both central Santiago and Valparaiso per UK and US advisories, so the choice here comes down to time, not risk.
Coming back with more days to spend? The Santiago Chile guide lays out where the Andes, the coast, and a second wine valley all fit, and the Santiago Chile places rundown maps every neighborhood and day-trip anchor mentioned above.