Chile and Argentina: Road trip through Patagonia

A tingling spreads through your body and you know that at last, it's time for your dreams to true! You're standing at the airport, your suitcase is packed, you've got a big grin on your face and the next thing you know, you're soaring into the night towards Chile. The sky is filled with countless stars all twinkling with the promise that your time in the world's longest country is gonna be epic. You lean back in your seat, shut your eyes and dream of all the adventures one last time before they finally become reality.

The landing approach to Santiago de Chile is a highlight in itself – the Pacific Ocean to your left, the majestic Andes to your right and you bang in the middle. You can barely contain your excitement, and after just a few more minutes through the clouds, it's time for touchdown. Welcome to Chile's capital! First, you're off to your hotel, then your curiosity finally wins and you get to exploring. If you're interested in the history of Santiago, pay a visit to the Plaza de Armas, which stands flanked by the imposing Catedral Metropolitano and lets you feel the city's turbulent past up close. And at the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino, you can delve even deeper into the ancient cultures of Latin America. Would you rather head up high? Then make your way to Cerro San Cristobal, Santiago's local mountain. You either can reach it on foot or just take the cable car (optional, payable on site). What a view! 

Santiago de Chile has so much to offer! Its many neighbourhoods, also known as barrios, are incredibly diverse, and each one is unique. Be sure to make a detour to the Barrio Italia, where hidden courtyard cafés, chic boutiques and loads of antique shops have brought Italy right into Chile and transformed the area into truly trendy district. And when you stroll through its small alleyways, you might even discover one of country's next star designers! No less worth seeing is the Barrio Lastarria, which boasts 20th century architecture that gives the neighbourhood a particularly elegant vibe. Browse the flea market stalls that line the narrow streets and try a pisco sour, Chile's sweet but wickedly delicious national drink, in the Chipe Libre bar. Last stop: La Vega Market. Get ready for countless aisles of fruit, vegetables, cheese and meat – there's nothing you can't buy here!

You leave the Chilean capital with a smile on your face and a tear in your eye, sure that you'll be back again at some point. The bus (optional, payable on site) takes you back to the airport in Santiago, and a few hours later, you land in Punta Arenas. Bristling with excitement, you pick up your hire car, then it's off into the endless expanse of Patagonia. Yellowish-green steppe as far as the eye can see, turquoise lakes, snow-capped mountains on the horizon and a bright blue sky filled with fluffy white clouds – there's no better way to start a road trip! The feeling of tranquil solitude that surrounds you possesses a quality you can only describe as meditative – just you, this wild landscape and a few guanacos, a type of llama, ostriches and sheep along the path to the end of the world, where Torres del Paine National Park is already casting its shadow. And it's here that you fall into bed with countless new images racing through your mind.