News in Chile
Every year, Lonely Planet publishes a list of countries that it recommends visiting in the following year, but Chile can be happy, because in 2018 they put it right on the first place. Victory tastes even more to them, since they are the only one from South America to be ranked. Perhaps this is also helped by the fact that, according to another ranking, the inhabitants of Chile are also the happiest among all their neighbors.
Globally, they ranked 25th. Brazil is 28th, Argentina 29th, Uruguay 31st, followed by Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru. And the absolute happiest country in Latin America? Costa Rica - Pura Vida! - is in ranking in 13th place (followed by Mexico and then Chile).
From school atlases, most people remember Chile as a country occupying a narrow strip of territory in South America. This narrow strip is an incredible 5000 km, which is ¼ of the circumference of the Earth. In comparison, it is like the road from Skalica to Vladivostok. Well, we at BUBO visit a place south of Punta Arenas, where there is a Chilean monument proclaiming that the center of the country is right here.
Chile has everything a country could wish for. The ocean all along the east side, the Andes on the west side. In the north is the world's driest desert and in the south are glaciers. Volcanoes, mountains, valleys, lakes... World Travel announced Chile as the top travel destination for 2015, 2016 and 2017. In 2017, the number of visitors to Chile increased by 13% compared to 2016. In January, February and March 2018, Google recorded a 1000% increase in searches for the term "Chile" compared to the same period last year year.
In recent days, Chile issued a new law that set aside new protected areas. In the ocean, this is a territory so large that it would fit up to 24 times the area of Slovakia. However, they do not only protect their sea, but also their land. They prepared the law for about a year. Philanthropist Kris Tompkins donated a million acres of her land to the state, and Chile added another 9 million acres of state land. head of the Patagonia brand, she was the wife of the now-deceased Doug Tompkins, founder of The North Face and Espirit, who sold shares in his companies, settled in Chile with his wife, and began buying land. They supported projects related to nature conservation in Patagonia. In the outdoors, they worked with Ridgeway, a family friend who was a member of the first American expedition to K2 in 1978. Their gift to the state on similarly private land is the largest gift of its kind in the world. Today, they are protecting another 10 million acres of land that could fit our TANAP 54x. This increased the area of the originally protected area from 38.5% to an incredible 81.8%. And as for the area of the protected marine area belonging to Chile, it has increased there from 4.3% to 42.4%. A completely new tourist route Ruta de los Parques is being created, which will connect 17 parks and will be approximately 2400 km long. Starting in Hornopirén and ending at Cape Horn. Enthusiasts of Chile and, therefore, Patagonia are looking forward to the emerging tremendous road trip. Maybe a little hardcore - even cyclists dare to do it. The law was signed by the outgoing president Michelle Bachelet (on 11.3. the inauguration of the new president Sebastian Pinera took place, who expressed his support for this law).
Patagonia. The exotic, wild area that stretches in the south of South America between Chile and Argentina is approximately 1,000,000 km², which is slightly larger than e.g. It is a destination for true adventurers. It also includes southern islands such as the islands of Cape Horn and Tierra del Fuego, which we visit on BUBO tours. It was never depopulated. Once upon a time, Indians lived here. Perhaps the first European to see them was Fernão de Magalhães, who sailed in this area on his way around the world. In the distance he saw flames from Indian torches and decided to name the area Tierra del Fuego. At first glance, it seems that this whole fairy tale is somewhere at the end of the world, but with the program from BUBO you can fly over huge sections and quickly get to the places you want to see and take pictures. In addition, it is a safe route that can be mastered even by beginners in travel, but also by hiking enthusiasts. Anyway, BUBO tours in they are mainly for people who expect high-quality services and, above all, decent experiences. We will walk on cats on Perito Moreno (restricted age limit max. 65!), we will cross the fire ground in all-terrain vehicles, in Torres del Paine the view from the reception of your hotel can be an experience.
The level of service in Patagonia is high, the food and wine you taste will be among the best you have ever eaten in the world.
And so we secretly hope that you indulge in luxury and at the same time you would like to wake up three times in front of the most famous panorama of Patagonia, which you will have in the palm of your hand. It offers all of this Rio Serrano just outside the park gates. Sit down at the hotel reception, order a good wine, and right from the sofa you can send photos to your Instagram that will be the envy of everyone. BUBO offers this hotel as part of the BUBO premium services. If you don't want to save on some things, order this item, preferably when signing up for the tour (hotel capacities sell out quickly). Most tours come to the national park from a greater distance and the journey there/back may take an extra 1-2 hours. Here, however, you can enjoy all the sunsets and sunrises (in the superior rooms and directly from the bed) on Torres del Paine. You just have to have good karma, let the weather be great. To the national park it is from just a jump away.
At BUBO we love Chile very much and we visit it on these tours:
The longest version of the tour in South America that we offer is the tour called South America - once in a lifetime, which lasts 29 days. It starts in Peru, in the capital city of Lima, and flows smoothly towards Bolivia, Chile, Argentina and Brazil, where it ends in Rio de Janeiro. If you don't have 29 days free but would like to do only part of this trip, you can choose between two options, either you will only do the first part of this great Chile Peru Bolivia trip, which will last 16 days and you will fly home from Santiago. the second part Chile Argentina Brazil, which will also last 16 days. There you will fly to Santiago and fly home from Rio. You can even combine the Chile, Argentina, Brazil tour with a visit to Easter Island, where after returning from the island to Santiago you will join the Chile Argentina Brazil tour.
If you want to travel, but are afraid of long transfers and the difficulty of the South America - once in a lifetime tour program, we recommend choosing the more comfortable version of The best of South America, where you will fly large sections of this route (flights included in the tour price) and this entire tour from Lima to Rio will take only 16 days in total.
Our offer for Chile is therefore in various combinations, so that everyone can find what they like. Of course, we cannot guarantee ideal weather during the trip, but all the dates that are on offer at www.bubo.sk are suitable for visiting South America .
However, if you want to go deeper into Patagonia, order the version Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego (also available in combination with a luxury cruise to the most remote places of the continent with all inclusive on the ship) or Patagonia Argentina Brazil (in combination with Buzios beaches).
A clear description of all programs can be found at bubo.sk, or under each of the of the mentioned lines. Business class tickets on main flights from/to Europe with Air France or KLM are available for an additional fee from 2800 euros/person, depending on the specific date of the trip and the day of purchase of Business class. We therefore recommend ordering directly when registering for a specific tour date.
Article source: https://bubo.sk/blog/novinky-v-chile
Article author: Daniela Mihaldova