Has your IES Abroad program come to an end, but you want to keep exploring? Do you want to take advantage of the time you have outside of the US? There are so many opportunities post-program if you’ve caught the travel bug & aren’t quite ready for that flight home yet! From staying in Santiago to exploring Chile to checking out the rest of South America, this post will dive into some of the options for post-program adventures – including my personal travel plan after my time in Santiago.
If you’re truly in love with Santiago or feel like there’s just so much more you want to see, you can totally stay in the city after your program ends! While your housing with IES Abroad will no longer be an option, there are tons of hotels, AirBnBs, etc. around the city that are safe and reasonably priced, especially if you go in on it with friends. Take the time without work or classes to relax and check out all those places you’ve been waiting to see!
Beyond Santiago, there are so many beautiful places to visit around Chile! Whether it’s a day trip or a longer stay, places like Valparaiso, Viña del Mar, La Serena, and Patagonia are full of new things to do & gorgeous views — and if you’re interested in seeing the desert, check out my earlier blog post. You can get to most any of these places from the airport by Turbus or flying, so it’s totally feasible to make the trip. These destinations may require some more research than staying in the city, but if you have the time to dedicate to it they are totally worth the planning!
After my time in Santiago, I decided to take advantage of the location and check out more of South America! On the last day of my program I hopped on a flight across the Andes to Cordoba and kept the adventures going for another week across Argentina and Uruguay. This is another option that required a lot of planning and research, but the places I saw and memories I made 100% made up for it! Flights within South America are so much cheaper than flying down from the United States, so I was glad I took the opportunity to travel cheap while I had it. Within 6 days, I saw Cordoba & the quiet suburbs of Alta Gracia, explored all of Buenos Aires, and visited Montevideo in Uruguay. It was such an unforgettable experience & the perfect way to wrap up my time abroad :)
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Leah Heneveld
I speak four languages (English, Spanish, Arabic, and Pashto), and I LOVE holidays, especially Christmas. I also love watching new shows, specifically fun reality shows like the Great British Bake-Off and Queer Eye.
