Patagonia Cruise & Colchagua Wine Country
Wine & Ice
A beautiful and delicious tour combination!
Our 10-night Patagonia and Colchagua program in Chile offers great wine, stunning landscapes and encounters with southern cone nature and culture. This program consists of two nights away from Santiago, plus a night before and after in the Las Condes or Vitacura district of Santiago. You will also spend one night in Puerto Varas before your cruise, for a total of five nights before boarding the ship.
NOTE: The program can be taken in reverse, allowing you to enjoy the winery visits after your cruise if this aligns better with your international flights.
Our wine experience will feature a three-day trip to the premier wine region of Colchagua, visiting two or three wineries per day and enjoying a wide range of wine styles, varieties and blends, including two world-class producers that are often asked for by clients – Montes and Clos Apalta.
Note: We offer different hotel levels for your time on dry land, plus several optional activities. Please share your wish list with us, and we can customise the Wine & Ice package around the fixed date of the Patagonia fjords cruise.
Additional Option – Casablanca & Maipo with Patagonia | 9-night program – click here.
Wine & Ice Highlights:
- Transfers with a guide between all locations on the trip.
- Three days of winery visits – with lunches included.
- Enjoy two or three wineries per day.
- 4- or 5-star hotels – for the nights in Santiago, Colchagua and Puerto Varas.
- Optional Puerto Varas excursion – lakes and volcanoes.
- 5-night / 6-day Chilean Fjords cruise.
- Full board and open bar on the ship.
- Internet access and expert lectures during the cruise.
- Many different shore excursions.
Itinerary in Detail:
For the Chile fjords and wine description below, we will assume that clients are taking the wine portion of the program first, then joining the cruise – but remember it can be the other way round if that is better for your dates.
Day 1 | Monday – Arrival in Chile
We will be waiting for you with your name on a sign when you land in Santiago. You will then be transferred to your hotel in the Las Condes or Vitacura districts of the city. The rest of the day will be yours to rest and relax after your flight.
Option. If you are travelling as a group of four people or more (or we can match you with fellow Skorpios cruise passengers), we can arrange an introductory Chilean wine dinner.
Day 2 | Tuesday – Travel to Colchagua – Wineries en Route
Today, we will pick you up at 9 am to start the journey to the Colchagua Valley. The drive will take around two hours and 45 minutes, and we will stop along the way for a comfort break. Our first winery will be Estampa. This is a very interesting winery as it features wines made in Cocciopesto, a material used in ancient Rome, and the amphorae are very impressive. They also complete the Roman circle with the production of some classic Italian varieties. You will enjoy a tour and “Premium” tasting, then you will have a simple lunch at their bistrot on the grounds of the winery. Feel free to enjoy the discount on buying a bottle in the wine store and take it to lunch.
After refuelling we will head just 5 minutes’ drive away to the Maquis winery. The tasting room for this winery is located in a traditional Chilean country house, which is stunning. You will enjoy the premium “Lien” tour and tasting here, and can take your time afterwards, sitting with a glass on the terrace, after the tasting, if you wish. When it is time to leave, you will be taken to your hotel for check-in. You will be free for the evening to continue to sample the wines of Chile and try local gastronomy.
Day 3 | Wednesday – Exploring Colchagua
Your first winery today is an icon of Colchagua, Montes. This polished, high-tech winery boasts some of the best terroir in Chile, in the Apalta sub-region, which could be considered like premier cru vineyards in France, for example. At Montes, you will enjoy the “Icon” cellar tour and tasting and have some time afterwards to browse the wine store and sit on the terrace with a glass in hand.
From here we will head to the very well-respected Viu Manent winery for lunch. The Rayuela restaurant is a superb spot for lunch and very popular with locals and visitors alike. Lunch is included, but you will need to choose Viu Manent wines by the glass or bottle to accompany your lunch, and pay for those on the day.
The final visit for today is to the prestigious winery of Clos Apalta. These are very high-scoring wines every year, and here we can enjoy a tasting by the glass as they offer a dispenser so that clients can try iconic and expensive wines without buying the whole bottle. You have the flexibility to choose what to try, sitting on the terrace with a view over the vines. These glasses are paid for directly, on the day. After all of this eating and sipping, we take you back to your hotel, where you will be free for the evening
Day 4 | Thursday – Tours, Tastings and Return to Santiago
We will pick you up with your luggage after breakfast and head to our first port of call, the Mont Gras winery. Here you will enjoy the “Icono” tour, which includes tasting directly from the tanks. It is not often you can try wines that are not quite finished, so it is a real treat for wine nerds. After a tour of the production area and the vineyards, we head up to the tasting room to try some wines from the bottles. This is a very complete tour, and you will learn a lot.
Finally, we head away from Colchagua towards Santiago but not without first stopping at another world-class winery, Casa Silva. Here you will enjoy lunch in their restaurant overlooking vines and a polo field. Again, here you can add a glass or two to go with your lunch. After you have enjoyed lunch, we will stop at the wine store so you can take advantage of good prices. Here, do not forget to ask for a “taste” of some wines before you buy. The staff should oblige. You are allowed to take a couple of bottles onto the ship, but only for drinking in your cabin, of course. The drive back from Casa Silva to your hotel should take around an hour and 45 minutes, though you may well be asleep for most of it!
We will drop you off for your last night in Santiago and remind you of the pick-up time for tomorrow.
Day 5 | Friday – Travel South to the Lake District
We will pick you up at the arranged time to transfer you to the Santiago airport for your flight to Puerto Montt (airport code: PMC), from where the cruise portion of this Chile fjords and wine will start. We recommend a morning flight so you can enjoy the late afternoon and early evening in the charming lakeside city of Puerto Varas.
There are several morning options for the 1-hour-and-45-minute flight. Upon arrival, we will meet you and drive you 30 minutes to your hotel in Puerto Varas. After checking in, you will have the rest of the day free to explore the town (shown in the photo above), take in the views of the lake and volcanoes, and sample local cuisine.
You also have the option to take a lake and volcano excursion if you wish; please let us know at the planning stage, and we will see how it matches with your flights.
Day 6 | Saturday – Board your ship and set sail.
We will pick you up from your Puerto Varas hotel and transfer you to the port. You will need to board before 12:00 pm. At noon, the ship will set sail from the Skorpios terminal in Puerto Montt and sail through the Llanquihue Archipelago. You will have views of the city of Calbuco while crossing the Ancud Gulf. At 4:30 pm you will arrive in Quemchi, located on the island of Chiloé.
Disembarkation by small boat will deliver you to this picturesque town, where you will be able to visit the handicraft market, wander the streets and maybe try one of the cafés, as well as visit the museum of Chilean writer Francisco Coloane. At 6:30 pm, we will continue sailing south through the Chiloé Archipelago, crossing the Corcovado Gulf around midnight.
Day 7 | Sunday – Puerto Aguirre and Caleta Quesahuen
Around 8:00 am, we set off to sail through the Moraleda and Ferronave Channels. We will arrive at Puerto Aguirre at 11:00 am, where you will disembark. This fishing town is nestled in the Chonos Archipelago, and we will have time to explore its streets, viewpoints, and the trail through a forested area. At 1:30 pm, we set off again, navigating through the Ferronave and Pilcomayo Channels, and then the Casma Passage. At around 4:00 pm, we will arrive at the Barrientos Islet.
Here we will disembark by boat, quietly approaching this group of small rocky islands to visit the place that is home to the largest number of seabirds in the Aysén region, including Imperial and Red-legged Cormorants, Austral and Dominican Gulls. There may well also be some South American fur seals resting on the rocks or in the sea. At 5:00 pm, we will continue to head southbound, anchoring around 10:00 pm at Caleta Quesahuen or Punta Leopardos, around 20 miles from San Rafael Glacier.
Day 8 | Monday – San Rafael Glacier
Around breakfast time, we will arrive in the San Rafael Glacier area, after sailing through San Rafael Bay and Témpanos Channel. At around 9:00 am, the ship will anchor about 2 km from the glacier nose, and we will begin exploring the glacier wall and icebergs in small boats. (weather permitting). Later, the vessel will approach the Ice wall for another point of view and around 4:00 pm we will head to our night stop in the Quitralco Fjord.
Day 9 | Tuesday – Hot Springs and Northbound
We will spend the night docked at the Quitralco Pier. After breakfast, passengers can
disembark to enjoy the hot springs, pools with temperatures ranging from 32°C to 38°C, both indoor and outdoor. You will also have time to take short walks along the local trails. Weather permitting, motorboat excursions will be offered around the islands and fjord. At 5:00 pm, we will set sail northbound toward Chiloé Island, sailing through the Moraleda and Pérez Norte Channels.
Day 10 | Wednesday – Chiloe and Captains Dinner
Today sees us sailing through Leucayec Channel and crossing the Corcovado Gulf at approximately 5:30 am. In this area, weather permitting, there is a chance that we will see Blue Whales, also called Alfaguaras. Continuing along the eastern coast of Chiloé, we will anchor at the Conejos Islet in the Queilen Channel at around 11:00 am.
Here you will disembark for a motorboat excursion to take a look around this small island, home to Magellanic penguins and numerous local birds. At 1 pm, we will set sail again, sailing between the Lemuy and Chelín Islands and arriving in the afternoon at Dalcahue. You will disembark at this small town and have time to explore its craft fair, lovely church, and stroll along the waterfront promenade. In the evening, at 11:00 pm, we will head off on our last sailing leg toward Puerto Montt while all guests enjoy the farewell party and Captain’s Dinner.
Day 11 | Thursday – Departure day – Fly home or continue?
After breakfast today, you will disembark and be transferred to Puerto Montt Airport for your flight to Santiago. At Santiago Airport, you could choose to connect and fly directly home, or maybe you would like to try another location in Chile, Argentina or Peru. If you would like more wine tour locations, we have that covered too!