How to Plan a Maipo Valley Day Trip from Santiago

Wondering how to plan a day trip to the Maipo Valley from Santiago? This is one of the easiest wine regions to visit from Chile’s capital – and it’s beautiful to boot. In this guide, I walk through options for both DIY and taking a tour.

If you’re visiting Santiago and have a spare day in your itinerary, the Maipo Valley is the easiest way to get a taste of Chile’s wine country.

Under an hour from the city and it’s like you’re in a different world: vineyards, mountain views on a clear day and plenty of opportunities to try the Cabernet Sauvignon Chile is known for.

While I personally recommend visiting Maipo Valley on an organised day tour (so you can responsibly drink more wine!), you can also use this guide to plan out a self-guided trip (with a designated driver, of course). I recommend some fantastic Maipo Valley wineries.

Read on for my guide to planning a Maipo Valley day trip from Santiago – including the tour we took and whether I recommend it.

Rows of grapevines stretch across a sunlit vineyard with the Andes mountains in the distance under a bright blue sky, capturing the scenic beauty of a Maipo Valley day trip from Santiago.

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Where is the Maipo Valley?

The Maipo Valley is Santiago’s closest wine region, sitting just south of the city in Chile’s Central Valley. It’s close enough that you can be at your first winery within about an hour (sometimes less, depending on where you’re staying and which part of Maipo you’re heading to), which is what makes it such an easy day trip.

Maipo is best known for red wines, especially Cabernet Sauvignon. You’ll also commonly see Carménère (another Chile favourite), along with other Bordeaux-style reds depending on the winery. Wineries also produce white wines – and some delicious sparkling wines.

This region is the birthplace of Chile’s wine industry – now an industry in which the country is the fifth or sixth largest producer depending on the year.

Clusters of dark purple grapes hang beneath green leaves in warm sunlight, showcasing the winemaking process on a Maipo Valley day trip from Santiago.

Is the Maipo Valley worth it?

If you’ve got an extra day in Santiago and you want to get out of the city and experience the country’s wine, Maipo is absolutely worth it. The biggest selling point is how easy it is: you can fit in a couple of tastings and a long lunch and still be back in Santiago for dinner.

There are a range of different wineries, from small, family-owned facilities to huge industrial wineries producing millions of litres. The visitor experience is well set up (especially at the more established wineries), so you don’t need to be a wine expert to enjoy it. It’s a great addition to a Santiago itinerary.

→ READ NEXT: How to spend 2 days in Santiago, Chile

When is the best time to visit the Maipo Valley?

Maipo is a year-round destination thanks to its Mediterranean climate, so there’s no truly bad time to go.

If you’re chasing the most atmospheric time of year, harvest season – vendimia – typically runs roughly February to April and often comes with festivals, harvest activities and more happening at wineries.

Spring (September to November) is a really pleasant time to visit, with mild weather and greener vineyard views. Summer (December to February) brings long, warm days, but it can be hotter and busier.

Autumn (March to May) is slightly cooler and can be especially pretty, with changing colours and it often overlaps with harvest events in many places.

Winter (June to August) is cooler and quieter which can be a real plus if you’d rather avoid crowds. Of course, the vines won’t be as pretty – but you can still taste plenty of wine!

Dark purple grapes hang from a vine beside a wooden post, offering a close-up view of the harvest during a Santiago to Maipo Valley wine experience.

Tour vs DIY: The best way to visit Maipo Valley

Because the Maipo Valley is so close to Santiago you have a few options to get there. If you want the easiest option with zero logistics, a tour is hard to beat. If you care more about choosing specific wineries, lingering over lunch or setting your own pace, you’ll probably prefer a private driver or self-driving.

Option 1 – Guided tour

A guided tour is the easiest way to visit Maipo Valley from Santiago. Most tours include transport from the city, visits to 2-3 wineries, tastings at each stop and sometimes lunch (or at least time set aside for it). This is what we chose – it meant we didn’t have to organise bookings or book a car (particularly since we were both still a little jetlagged – and we both wanted to sip wines!). We also met some nice people from around the world.

We chose this Maipo Valley tour from Santiago – which has more than 2,000 reviews and a 5-star rating – and we were really happy with the small size of the group, the different wineries we visited and the guide (both the tour guide and the individual winery guides) were great. It was definitely one of our favourite things to do in Santiago.

🍷 BOOK A MAIPO VALLEY WINE TOUR FROM SANTIAGO HERE 🍷

Option 2 – Private driver

If you want flexibility without the responsibility of driving, a private driver is the best option. You can choose the wineries you actually want to visit and set your own timing. It also means you’re just with your own travel group – and not a bunch of strangers.

This option is especially good for couples, small groups and travellers who want to focus on particular styles of wine or specific wineries. It is, of course, pricier than a group tour.

🍷 BOOK A PRIVATE MAIPO VALLEY TOUR HERE 🍷

Option 3 – Self-drive

Self-driving gives you the most freedom – you can start when you like, choose your own wineries and add extra stops if you feel like it. The big caveat is obvious but important: you need to designate a driver.

If you’re doing Maipo DIY, you will need to choose your wineries and book tasting times in advance. So this does mean you’ll have to do a bit of research ahead of time.

You can hire a car through DiscoverCars (they aggregate a range of car rental companies). You can pick up a car from the airport or there are offices in the Providencia neighbourhood (not far from the historical centre). Then hit the road from Santiago to Maipo Valley! Google Maps provides up-to-date directions (make sure you have an e-sim so you can access data).

🚙 CHECK RENTAL CAR PRICES IN SANTIAGO HERE 🚙

The best Maipo Valley wine tour

For our day trip, we booked a small-group wine tour with Stamp’s Tour, which is consistently one of the top-rated Maipo Valley options on Viator with more than 2,300 reviews.

The communication from the company was excellent from the start. We were picked up from our hotel at around 7.35am, then after a full day in the valley we were back in Santiago at about 6pm – a long day, but a really enjoyable one.

Our group was about 12 people, which was a good number. It was small enough that we weren’t herding onto a big bus or waiting ages for people, but there was still a nice mix of travellers to chat with.

Our guide Esme was fantastic. As we drove out of the city she shared context and history about Chile and Chilean wine, then once we arrived she kept everything running smoothly for the rest of the day. Our driver JC was safe on the road and kept the good tunes going (a lot of 80s classics!).

The Maipo Valley tour from Santiago included visits to three wineries plus a lunch stop. Lunch wasn’t included in the ticket price, so we paid for our own meal on the day, but it was well-timed and gave everyone a proper break between tastings.

🍷 BOOK A MAIPO VALLEY WINE TOUR FROM SANTIAGO HERE 🍷

A group of visitors stands together in a lush garden filled with palm trees and flowering plants, listening to a guide during a Maipo Valley tour through a winery estate called Undurraga.

Best wineries in Maipo Valley

One of the things I liked about doing Maipo Valley on a tour is that you get a mix of experiences – from tiny, family-run places where you’re chatting to the people behind the bottles to larger, industrial-scale ventures. Here are some of the best wineries we visited on our trip.

If you’re doing a DIY trip and don’t have the time to research many wineries, you can easily create a Maipo Valley itinerary from the wineries listed next – I’d recommend all of these to visit.

La Quirinca

Our first stop was La Quirinca, a small organic-focused winery that felt more like visiting someone’s farm than arriving at a big commercial cellar door. There’s a café on site, which was very welcome at this point in the morning – we grabbed coffees and muffins while we waited to get started.

La Quirinca produces only around 1,000 bottles a year. While it’s one of the smaller Maipo Valley wineries, they do put a big emphasis on organic production. They make Carménère, Merlot, Syrah and they’ve recently added their first white wine – a Sauvignon Blanc.

Before the tasting, we did a tour of the farm and an intro to their production methods with our guide Matías, who was genuinely entertaining and set the tone early with a firm warning of “do not behave!”

There’s also a veritable menagerie of animals roaming around – alpacas, llamas, geese, turkeys, horses and cows – including a 3-month-old baby alpaca that happily nibbled my finger like it was a snack.

After the tour, we sat down inside for a tasting of two wines which we had picked directly from the cellar – a 2023 Syrah and a 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon – paired with a plate of cheeses, fruit and vegetable crackers.

It was followed by a pisco tasting with flavours that ranged from apple and cinnamon to honey, plus the classic and reserve bottles.

A small heads up if you’re the type who likes things running like clockwork – the morning started a little slowly and we did wait around for the tour to kick off. Once it got going though, it was a really fun way to start the day and it felt wonderfully different from the more formal winery experiences later in the day.

Several glasses of red wine sit on a wooden table alongside small plates of cheese and fruit in a cozy tasting room—illustrating wine tasting experiences, a favorite option for what to do in Santiago and its surrounding valleys.

A close-up view of a young alpaca with dark curly fur standing in a wooden pen, adding a unique rural touch to a Maipo Valley tour experience.

A rustic garden with wooden fencing and flowering plants sits in front of rolling hills and mountains, illustrating the scenic landscapes you’ll see when traveling from Santiago to Maipo Valley.

Viña Ballek

Viña Ballek is another family-run Maipo Valley winery, but with a completely different vibe – playful, welcoming and not remotely precious about wine.

The family originally moved from Germany and started making wine as a hobby about 30 years ago before turning it into a business. Our guide was Sebastián, the son, and he was joined by a pack of dogs who followed us everywhere (which immediately won my husband over).

Their philosophy is that wine should be enjoyable, not intimidating, and you can see that in the labels too. The standout is their cheeky Potopelao label – it means naked butt and references an incident where Sebastián’s father fell into an oak barrel and his pants fell down. I think that tells you everything you need to know about the approach here!

They produce Carménère, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir, plus a few whites including Moscatel, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. We did our tasting in a beautiful shaded seating area right by the vines.

We tried three wines: a 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon, a 2023 Carménère and a 2021 blend made from equal portions Cabernet Sauvignon, Carménère, Syrah and Merlot.

The family is also turning some old wine barrels into accommodation – which would be a fun way to experience the Maipo Valley if you wanted to stay overnight!

A dirt path runs alongside rows of grapevines dotted with bright red roses, while a small dog walks ahead under a clear blue sky, capturing a peaceful moment in the Maipo Valley.

A table set with wine bottles and glasses overlooks vineyard rows and hills beyond, a typical tasting scene on a Maipo Valley day trip from Santiago.

A small barrel-shaped building with a sign reading “Viña Balek Potopelão” features a person (the author) looking out the window, adding character to a Maipo Valley winery visit.

Viña TerraMater

Viña TerraMater was our third stop. The winery was founded in 1996 by three Italian sisters, with a family winemaking history that goes back to the 1930s.

They’re not just about wine either – TerraMater also produces olive oils and there’s an on-site shop where you can buy bottles to take home, along with other goodies.

For us though, this stop was all about lunch at their restaurant, Zinfandel.

We had a lovely table set up for our group out on the shaded deck. It was a Sunday, so the restaurant was full of families celebrating birthdays.

I ordered the hake, which came with a light béchamel sauce, broad beans and mushrooms and was so nourishing.

If you’re planning Maipo Valley independently, I’d definitely recommend booking lunch here.

A rustic sign reading “Zinfandel” stands in front of greenery, marking part of a Maipo Valley tour where different grape varieties are highlighted.

A plated fish dish topped with herbs and lime sits in a creamy sauce on a restaurant table, representing dining options during a Maipo Valley day trip from Santiago.

Undurraga

Our final winery of the day was Undurraga and it was, by far, the biggest. It’s one of the most visited wineries in the Maipo Valley and the scale is noticeable as soon as you arrive. They produce around 15 million litres a year and the property is set on a beautiful estate that’s popular for weddings.

Their main wines include Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Malbec. The visit here was structured like a more classic winery tour. We did a walk-through of the facilities first, which was interesting but, to be honest, felt like a lot by this point in the afternoon when everyone was a bit tired and a bit wine’d out!

The tour finished with a tasting of five wines as part of a larger group in their lovely outdoor tasting room. We tried a 2024 Sauvignon Blanc, 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2023 Carménère, a 2023 Sémillon/Sauvignon Blanc blend and a sparkling wine.

Everyone was given a tasting glass to keep, which is a small touch but a fun souvenir if you’re collecting winery glasses as you travel.

A white building with an arched entrance labeled “Viña Undurraga” stands behind a green lawn and trees, a popular stop on a Maipo Valley tour for wine tastings and history.

A wide path lined with tall palm trees and manicured hedges leads through a sunny garden, a peaceful stop often included on a Santiago to Maipo Valley excursion.

Rows of wooden barrels line a dimly lit cellar with a sign reading “Undurraga,” showcasing part of a Maipo Valley tour focused on wine production and aging.

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Final thoughts: Maipo Valley day trip from Santiago

If you’ve got a few days in Santiago and you’re looking to get out of the city, then I’d highly recommend visiting the Maipo Valley. It’s close enough that you’re not spending half the day in transit, but it still feels like a proper escape once you’re out among the vines with the Andes in the distance. Our tour packed in a lot – three very different winery experiences, a proper sit-down lunch and plenty of tastings – without feeling rushed.

The great thing is that you can easily visit the wine region on a day tour or independently. While I think a Santiago to Maipo Valley wine tour makes everything easier and lets you fully enjoy the tastings, a private driver or self-drive day gives you more control over which wineries you visit and how long you stay.

Either way, it’s a beautiful part of Chile to visit – absolutely worth making time for.

→ READ NEXT: The best things to do in Santiago, Chile

Maipo Valley day trip: FAQs

Can you visit Maipo Valley without a tour?

Yes. Maipo is one of the easiest wine regions to visit independently from Santiago because the distances are short and there are plenty of wineries within an easy drive. The simplest DIY option is hiring a private driver for the day, especially if you want to taste properly without worrying about transport. Self-driving can work too, but you’ll need a designated driver and a realistic schedule so you’re not rushing from one booking to the next.

Do you need to book wineries in advance?

If you want your day to run smoothly, yes. Most wineries run tastings on set time slots – and they can book out, particularly on weekends and in peak travel months. Even if a winery accepts walk-ins, you’re taking a gamble on availability and you might end up waiting around or missing out entirely.

How many wineries should you do in a day?

Two to three wineries plus a long lunch is a great amount. It gives you enough variety without turning the day into a rush or leaving you too tired to enjoy the last tasting. If you’re doing it independently and you want a slower pace, I’d stick to two and spend longer at each.

Is it better than other valleys near Santiago?

Maipo is hard to beat for convenience – it’s close, easy to do in one day and a great introduction to Chilean wine, especially if you like Cabernet Sauvignon. Other wine regions near Santiago (such as the Casablanca and Colchagua Valleys) involve longer driving times. If you want the simplest wine day trip with minimal logistics, Maipo is the winner.

Is it worth it if you only have a couple of days in Santiago?

If you’ve got two full days in Santiago, a Maipo day trip can still be worth it, especially if you want to break up city sightseeing with something slower. It really depends on your priorities. If food and wine is a big part of why you’re in Chile, Maipo is an easy add-on. You could spend one day sightseeing in the city and the second day on a day trip to Maipo Valley. If you’ve got three days, visiting wine country is easy to slot into your itinerary.

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Have you done a Maipo Valley day trip from Santiago? Which were your favourite wineries?

Before you go, you might like these South America travel guides.

CHILE TRIP ESSENTIALS

Book your flight to Chile online with Skyscanner. I like how Skyscanner allows you to find the cheapest days.
Find great hotels across Chile. Check prices on Booking.com and Expedia online.
Check out the huge range of day tours throughout Chile on GetYourGuide or Viator. I love a good food tour in particular!
Saving money? Check out the range of free walking tours in Chile with GuruWalk (don’t forget to tip!).
Buying some bottles of delicious Chilean wine? Keep them safe in these wine bags.
A copy of the Lonely Planet guide to Chile will be handy. Also pick up a Spanish language phrasebook to help you navigate your visit.
One thing I always purchase is travel insurance! Travel Insurance Master allows you to compare across multiple policy providers, while SafetyWing is great for long-term travellers and digital nomads.
Grab an e-sim to stay connected.

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