South America - Ideas for a few day in Santiago with my son

At the end of August I am taking my 6 year old son to Easter Island. We are going via SCL as I was able to get a good deal with miles. My son and I travel all over to get land mark pictures. Any suggestions for 3 days we will have? From my reading here there does not seem to be much in SCL itself for that many days. I debated going to Machupicchu for a day but think it might be too much. Iguazu Falls is a little expensive. What are the good day trips from SCL?

Thanks

Valparaiso is really nice. The German pirate gives really insightful tours. Google him.

Hey I am going to Easter Island in August too.

I spent 3 days in Santiago at New Year and it did get a little bit dreary, luckily one of the nights was New Year's Eve. You have to go up the Cerro de San Cristóbal on the funicular. There's one of your landmark photos, the city and the Andes, although it has always been too smoggy to see the Andes when I have been up there. Funicular up and walk back down is nearly a whole day.

Here you go, Santi from the peak
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Valparaiso isn't all that, you could just hit the buses and follow your nose. Santiago to Algorrobo for Mirasol, that's quite a nice seaside resort (although you are going in the winter) then you can get to Valparaiso from there via Casa Blanca.

You could bus it through the Andes to Mendoza for a night or two, I have always wanted to do that but never got around to it.

You could also check out what LAN is giving away cheap. You could avoid Santiago altogether, fly down to Puerto Montt, rent a car, head to Puerto Varas for a night, drive around lake Llanquihue a bit and now Volcano Osorno is paved all the way to the top, I think if I were 6 I would love to drive to the top of a volcano. You can then continue around the lake, Frutillar is worth a visit, then go back to Puerto Varas.

View off the mirador on the side of Volcán Osorno
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Thank you for the ideas and the photos. I booked a flight that will take me to Rio first for a couple of days which means about 3 days on the ground in Santiago before IPC. The German pirate has some great reviews out there and seems to be the way to go if we try for Valpariso. I also like the Mendosa option for a chance to see the Andes up close.

I also like the Mendosa option for a chance to see the Andes up close.

I think you may be out of luck taking the bus over the Andes. Due to the height of the road it is often blocked by snow. I'm not even sure the buses run in winter. Worth checking out though.

I enjoyed the day trips we did to Valpraiso and the Andes and would recommend both.

Iguaza may be a bit expensive, but IMHO it is pretty spectacular. We were there in the spring/summer, so was amazing and great to walk all around. I think that is well worth the travel/cost. You don't see something like that very often.

My two cents :D

There are a few good, large malls in SCL - with cinema's bowling, etc. that will entertain a 6 yr old.

Maybe visit a soccer stadium/match (mine likes that very much). I'd also pick a hotel with nice indoor pool.

Perhaps after all that travel it is nice not to run around like crazy but just relax a bit and enjoy what the local kids do.