I just got back from a 2 ½ week trip to Chile and I thought it might be helpful to actually break down what the true costs of an epic trip like this are.
I flew to Santiago, stayed overnight, then onwards to Patagonia and Torres del Paine national park. After a week there I flew back to Santiago for a weekend and then to Rapa Nui (Easter Island) for 5 days. Finally, back to Santiago for a day and then home.
Flights
My flight from Boston to Santiago was in Business Class on Copa Airlines (since I turned 60 I decided that any flights over 4 hours need to be in Business – if that means I fly less but in better health, so be it.)
Cost: 160,000 miles and $51.01 in fees
I flew from Santiago to Punta Arenas on LATAM in their domestic version of business which is like short haul European flights – middle seat is open, a little more legroom, better service and 2 bags included.
Cost: $273.20 including taxes and fees (probably could have got it cheaper using a trick I learned later). Earned 3400 Delta miles plus 340 MQD
Santiago to Rapa Nui is a 5 1/2 hour flight across the Pacific to the most remote commercial airport in the world (many times more remote than any of the Arctic or Antarctic airstrips). I flew in Business for half the “normal” cost by booking my flight on the .cl site (see my earlier blog post for details)
Cost: $772.94 including taxes and fees. Earned 9300 Delta miles plus 700 MQD. This was less than half what I would have paid for the same ticket on the LATAM US site. Basically I got Premium business class for less than the US cost of economy.
Lodging
First night at the Holiday Inn (recommended) at Santiago airport was done on points – 32,000 IHG points
Plaza Hotel (recommended with caveats) in Punta Arenas cost $90 USD per night for 2 nights
Hotel Martin Gusinde in Puerto Natales (highly recommended) cost $83.70 USD per night for 3 nights
Plaza Hotel (again) – $90 USD
AC Hotel Santiago at Costanera Center (also highly recommended) – was also on points – 66,000 Bonvoy points
Tupa Hotel in Hanga Roa (also recommended with caveats) – $77 USD per night for 4 nights ($308 total)
Holiday Inn at SCL – $304.30 for 2 nights including taxes – earned 5651 points
I arrived late at BOS from SCL and didn’t feel like it was safe to drive home after being up for 20+ hours. I stayed at the Hilton at Boston airport using points – 75,000 HH points.
Food
Breakfast was included everywhere I stayed except the AC hotel where I paid $15 for a fantastic breakfast buffet on two of the three days. I bought breakfast at SCL airport twice for ~$10 each
I tend not to eat lunch when I am travelling like this and spent $25-30 per night on dinner including drinks and tips – even Rapa Nui was reasonably affordable. Coffee and bottled water and snacks probably added another $50-60 total for the trip.
My most expensive meal of the trip was meeting up with a friend in Santiago and we spent $60 each. Overall, though, you could spend a lot more, but you could also spend less. I wasn’t looking to save money on food or drinks.
Total for 18 days – $515 USD or $28.61 per day
Car Rental
Rather than pay for parking in Boston for almost 3 weeks – which would have cost over $520 in economy parking or $820 in central parking, I rented a car from Enterprise one-way to the airport and the same on the way back.
Cost: MYS-BOS $4.30 plus 1750 Enterprise points
BOS-MYS $27.31 plus 1750 Enterprise Points
I rented a 4×4 in Patagonia from a local provider (ASV – recommended with caveats). This was a big expense but added tremendously to the trip. I drove from Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales to Torres del Paine, through the park and explored all around Natales and then south to the very end of Ruta 9 in the Magellanes.
Cost: $508 for 5 days including all insurance. I paid an $800 deposit when I picked up the car and was refunded that in full when I returned it at the airport.
Gas – I paid $26 total to fill up both the Enterprise cars and I paid $117 for diesel for the Hilux.
Tours, National Park Fees, etc.
I paid online for national park entry for both TdP and Rapa Nui. Milodon cave was also an additional charge. As it turned out, the CONAF rangers were on strike so I could have gone into TdP and Milodon cave for free – but I was happy to have contributed to the upkeep.
Torres del Paine entry fee for foreigners – $34.41
Milodon Cave entry fee for foreigners – $12.11
Rapa Nui National Park entry fee for foreigners – $80 USD
I also paid 12000 CLP entry fee for the Museum of Pre-Columbian art in Santiago
10,000CLP for the NAO Victoria ship museum in Punta Arenas, and 15,000 CLP for the Magellan Straits park (https://parquedelestrecho.cl)
I paid 50,000 CLP for a very good one day tour of Rapa Nui sites and 42,240 for an equally good half day tour to cover the other areas I hadn’t seen. I’d planned on renting a car in Rapa Nui, but after doing these tours didn’t feel it would add much. I’m not really an organized tour kind of person, but it is required that you use a local guide to visit the national park sites on the island, and I learned a huge amount from the excellent guides on both.
Total: $263.52 USD
Anything else?
I paid $21 for an Uber from Punta Arenas airport to the hotel (including tip)
I paid $22 for an Uber from SCL airport to the AC hotel
I paid $40 for a car ride to the airport from the AC hotel (paid more because it was rush hour and torrential rain)
I bought a long sleeve T shirt on Rapa Nui for 23000 CLP and bought and mailed postcards to family and friends for a total of $18. I bought a map of Torres del Paine national park and another of the roads in Magellanes (because there’s no cell signal outside towns) for a total of 20,000 CLP.
I also paid $50 for T-Mobile data and roaming for up to 3o days and up to 15GB of usage – I don’t think I came anywhere near 15GB of usage and coverage was very spotty in both Patagonia and Rapa Nui.
For the first time ever – and now I’m retired I think more about this – I bought evacuation and medical insurance. I paid $72 for $1M USD evacuation costs and $500K emergency medical. Fortunately I didn’t need to use it.
Total extras: $266.60
Total for 18 days in Patagonia, Santiago, and Rapa Nui plus all travel between home and destination was $3,958.28. Using miles and points probably saved me another $4-5,000 as the flight alone to SCL from BOS is over $3000. I think that’s good value for a phenomenal trip to multiple remote areas of the earth.
