5 Destinations in Chile for your Winter/Holiday Getaway

While it will be winter soon in the Western Hemisphere, summer is just around the corner down south. Perhaps you are looking to get away for a few days during the holidays, want to escape the cold or just feel like taking a short jaunt to work on your tan, then Chile may be your answer.

Nestled on a 4,000km Pacific Ocean coastline, Chile boasts a population of 17 million and its capital Santiago, is wrapped between the Andes and the Chilean Coast Range Mountains. The country is ideal for swimming, scuba diving or hiking. The Atacama Desert is roughly a day's bus ride from the capital and a good point where to get to Torres del Paine National Park. Chile is also home to glaciers, lakes, a desert and of course the Andes.

Here are five destinations in Chile that will make you soon want to pack your bags and head for the airport.

The first place to visit is Chile's Lake District, at more than 600 miles it may look at first glance like a tiny town in Austria or another European country. Despite the Chilean touches and volcanos it is popular with all sorts of travelers, especially hikers and active enthusiast.

Next, Cerrano de San Cristobal in northern Santiago is a colorful town that on a clear morning day you can see the Andes. It is a popular scenic stop for tourists with its funicular wires lining the sky. The cars take you from one end of town up to the hilltop.

If you crave a bit of an adventure, then get to Easter Island. An isolated group of islands on Chile's southeastern Pacific Ocean, there sits the hauntingly aboriginal Moai statues. The statues were created by the early Rapanui people centuries ago. Easter Island offers some terrific diving, great surfing and two volcanic craters. Not to mention a couple of sandy beaches.

Maybe you crave a bit of a bohemian adventure while you're away, then nestled in the central region of Chile along the Pacific Ocean is Valparaiso. If you want an artsy, avant-garde and carefree couple of days, then a stop to this city is a must. It has a lazy hazy seaside culture, cafes lining its hilltop and grand views of the Pacific Ocean.

To top off your Chilean vacation, why not head to a National Park. You could pass on Torres Del Paine and the town Puerto Natales, however, you would miss the scenery of Patagonia, glaciers, waterfalls and the Cerro Paine mountain range.

These destinations offer a great variety of activity and scenic views from lakes to deserts and mountain ranges. A lot of the traveling in and around Chile is done by bus. There are also smaller vehicles that drive around towns and taxis in major and even smaller cities.

These are only a handful of places to get you started on your Chiliean travels. There are tons of towns, villages and all of the Patagonia region for you to discover.

Chile is a great primer to get to know the South American continent and a great jumping off point as well.