Jaunted - Tag: South America Travel

You're Invited to Retire to Ecuador for a Month, for Free

kjb — 2012-02-07T11:28:26-05:00

Grandma and Grandpa might not be the typical Florida retirees, so maybe you should suggest something a little more interesting for their golden years. Especially because that means you can visit somewhere a little more exotic when you mooch off their hospitality, instead of just swinging by the local restaurant for a blue plate special after an afternoon at the beach.

Ecuador is that exotic destination, and the country is actually giving away a free month of vacation. They want internet millionaires, AARP members, and others looking to retire to consider the warm weather, hospitality—and possibility—that’s available in the country. Lucky winners will be spending an entire month in Cuenca, Ecuador, and the contest organizers over at International Living will even throw in round-trip airfare, an apartment rental, and some cash for this and that.

Bogota: All Sorts of South America Travel News from LAN Airlines

JetSetCD — 2012-02-01T16:53:12-05:00

Okay everyone, ready for some serious South America travel news? So LAN—which is really a group of airlines including LAN Chile, LAN Ecuador, LAN Argentina, LAN Express and LAN Colombia—made all kinds of changes, for the better, to their routes and in-flight service today, February 1.

· First off, LAN Colombia (which only really started as an airline in December 2012 after LAN took over Colombian airline AIRES) is now flying direct from Miami to Bogota. The inaugural hit the skies earlier today, complete with a visit from Juan Valdez, who served the passengers their in-flight coffees. Fares for this new route, which runs four times weekly on Airbus A320s, are $400 roundtrip, including taxes & fees, if booked by February 6. Of course, you can go straight through to booking via their Facebook page.

New York: LAN Airlines Pulls an Oprah and Surprises 200 People With Flights to South America

JetSetCD — 2011-10-07T09:35:02-05:00

Have you ever been to a taping of The Oprah Show where she gave away something to the entire audience? We haven't, but we like to imagine that it was a bit like what we experienced last night in New York City, when LAN Airlines gave away roundtrip tickets to South American destinations to nearly 200 bewildered diners.

The big surprise went down at Nuela, a nuevo latino restaurant in the Flatiron district, when LAN flight attendants first sprung free tickets on only a few tables. But then the manager got hold of a microphone and told everyone else to look underneath their tabletops...

TAM Tweaks Their In-Flight WiFi to Include Long-Haul Flights

kjb — 2011-08-04T08:43:13-05:00

It’s been some time since we heard about TAM Airlines and their new in-flight technology, but now is a perfect moment to revisit the topic as they’re beginning to expand their travel tech.

While in-flight WiFi is available on certain short-haul trips, the big news is that TAM is now bringing the magic of in-flight accessibility to some of their long-haul flights as well. They’ll be using OnAir to provide all the behind-the-scenes magic, as they start to equip their Boeing 777s along with Airbus A330s and A350s. In total there should be roughly 80 jets when the mechanics, electricians, and engineers finally hang up their wrenches and wire cutters.

Santiago: Inside LAN's Mistral VIP Lounge at Santiago Airport

EricRosen — 2011-07-08T15:10:01-05:00

While waiting for our flight back from Chile to the U.S., we spent our layover in LAN’s Mistral VIP Salon at the Santiago Airport. And, since we were there for several hours, we’re bringing you a detailed inside look as part of our Airport Lounges series.

· The Newer The Better
There are actually two LAN lounges at Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport, both named after Nobel Prize-winning Chilean poets. We chose the Mistral VIP Lounge over the Neruda Lounge because we’d heard it was more recently renovated (in 2009), and when we stopped in, it did look all-new.

San Pedro de Atacama: Whats There To Do in Chile's Atacama Desert, Anyway?

EricRosen — 2011-07-07T09:05:09-05:00

After his tasting trip through the vineyards of Chile, Jaunted Special Contributor Eric Rosen jetted to the country’s far north to visit the adventureland of the Atacama Desert, and here’s his roundup of the area’s best activities.

Ever since I first learned as a schoolchild that the Atacama Desert was the driest place on earth (some parts of it have not seen rain in 400 years!), I’ve wanted to visit what I assumed was a mystical wasteland at the end of the world. But on a recent visit to the region in Chile’s north—about a two-hour flight from Santiago—I found out just how much there is to do in one of South America’s best-kept secret adventure destinations.

While staying at the deluxe Hotel Alto Atacama, I got to take advantage of the hotel’s full schedule of planned guest excursions to explore one of the world’s most extreme environments and find out what a truly rich setting it is, with sights ranging from high-altitude geysers to hidden hot springs to ancient mountain forts. Here’s a roundup of some of the best experiences from my stay.

Rancagua: Drinking from the Roots of the Andes in Chile's Cachapoal Valley

EricRosen — 2011-07-06T09:45:02-05:00

This week, Jaunted Special Contributor Eric Rosen continues his worldwide wine wanderings south of the equator in the Andean foothills of Chile, visiting some of the biggest names in its famous Colchagua and Rapel Valleys. So start looking for a bottle of Carmenere in your grocery store, and join us as we taste through the wines of Chile. Salud!

Yesterday we drank at a breakneck pace through the famous wineries of Chile’s Colchagua Valley. We spend today tasting at a more leisurely clip in one of Chile’s newest wine regions: the Cachapoal Valley.

· A Valley By Any Other Name…
To call Cachapoal (pronounced cah-chah-poh-all) Chile’s newest wine region, though, is a little misleading since it’s actually a part of one of the country’s other famous appellations, the Rapel Valley. However, the conditions here are distinct enough from the rest of the Rapel thanks to its proximity to the Andes and its lack of maritime influences from the Pacific that it was given its own denomination.

Thus, it’s well known for producing rich red wines, especially Cabernet Sauvignon and some of the country’s most prized Carmeneres. The nearest major town is Rancagua, notorious for a bloody 19th-century massacre during Chile’s war of independence.