Tagged: Chile

September 28, 2012

You Won’t Believe What Happened on Our Way Home!

This is part 15 of a series of posts devoted to our whirlwind tour of Peru & Chile.

Maybe we did too much walking during our adventures throughout Peru and Chile, so fate wanted us to continue running until the last minute.

A 2-hour minimum connection time is typically required even for same-airline international-domestic transfers, given the uncertainty of immigration and security re-check. In our case, we would have to factor in 15 extra minutes for the walk between the international terminal and Southwest Airlines’ Terminal 1 at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

How much time did we really end up having for our LAN-Southwest connection? A mere 33 minutes!

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September 26, 2012

Budgeting for Your Next Big Dream Vacation

This is part 14 of a series of posts devoted to our whirlwind tour of Peru & Chile.

Travel can be very expensive, even with the help of miles and points. Many of us play the miles and points game for the thrill of getting the best possible deals, but the reality of it is that most families don’t have the luxury of an unlimited amount of time and/or money to devote to travel.

TravelWhimsy and I always share the true out-of-pocket all-in cost (including food, sightseeing, and incidentals) for all our trips, because we want to show everyone that a weekend cross-country getaway or an annual vacation abroad does not have to exceed your travel budget.

Let me use the actual expenses from this South America trip to explain.

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September 25, 2012

Airport Lounge Access + LAN International Business vs. Economy

This is part 13 of a series of posts devoted to our whirlwind tour of Peru & Chile.

Throughout the series, both TravelWhimsy and I briefly touched on the topic of airport lounges and LAN’s international business class product. I’d like to take this opportunity to share our experiences with the various lounges we used during the trip, and to also throw in my two cents on whether it was necessary to fly business class or not.

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September 24, 2012

Taking Advantage of an Airport Hotel for Our Walking Tour of Santiago, Chile

This is part 12 of a series of posts devoted to our whirlwind tour of Peru & Chile.

As many of you already know, Mrs. TravelByPoints is not so fond of cities. I, however, would not let an opportunity to visit the Chilean capital easily slip out of my hand, given that we did not have to use any extra miles or pay the $160-per-person visa fee flying directly from Easter Island.

In this post, I’d like to highlight three aspects of our pit stop that saved us time and money:

Staying at the Holiday Inn Santiago Airport;
Taking the airport bus;
Joining the 4-hour free walking tour of Santiago.

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August 14, 2012

A Tale of Three Guides #3 – Sergio for Our One-day Tour of Easter Island, Chile

This is part 11 of a series of posts devoted to our whirlwind tour of Peru & Chile.

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May 30, 2012

What Should I Bring to Machu Picchu, Lake Titicaca, and/or Easter Island?

This is part 4 of a series of posts devoted to our whirlwind tour of Peru & Chile.

High tourist season in Peru (from June to August) coincides with its dry winter months and summer holidays for many of us living in the Northern Hemisphere. High altitude brings chilly nights and makes it easier for us to get sun-burned.

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