Santiago beckons with LATAM

South America will see more Australians visiting from 5 October 2017, when LATAM begins its direct flights between Melbourne and Santiago, Chile. The 15-hour (westbound) flight will be the longest in the airline’s history and the threetimes weekly service will be on a Boeing 787-9 aircraft with 220 seats in Economy, 54 seats in Space + and 30 seats in Premium Business. Chimu Adventures, a Latin America specialist, expects Australians to welcome this opportunity to discover Santiago, before going on to explore other Chilean or South American destinations. Chimu’s top five things to do on a Santiago stopover are to visit Plaza de Armas, the colonial heart of the city, take in the views from The Parque Metropolitano on San Cristobal Hill, try Chilean wines at Casablanca Valley, visit the La Vega markets held on Saturday mornings, and head for Valparaiso, the cultural capital of Chile with its street art, festivals and unique architecture. LATAM already operates flights from Sydney to Santiago, via Auckland. latam.com; chimuadventures.com