15 La Serena Tours, Compared

1.Elqui Valley Tour: History and Flavors (NOT FOR CRUISES)

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 139 reviews · 7 to 9 hours (approx.) · from $53Our pick

Explore Chile’s Elqui Valley from La Serena with pisco, organic wine, mountain views, local lunch, and Gabriela Mistral sites.

“Guide/Driver picked me up from my location even though there was a stated meeting point. This was wonderful. Guide was down to earth and had lots of experience. Guide was able to conduct tour in both English and Spanish. He spoke both well. He was able to keep everyone engaged and had a deep understanding of the area and the locations we visited. I wasn't expecting much out of this tour and it far exceeded my expectations as I normally use a different tour provider. We went to several sites including a reservoir, a wine production facility, a pisco mueseum and retailer, a historical site, a wonderful place for lunch…”

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2.Pisco Elqui: Mountaintop Stargazing and Night Portrait

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 20 reviews · 2h 30m · from $54

Stargaze from a mountain above Pisco Elqui with a 20-inch telescope, Spanish guide, pisco sour, and a digital night portrait.

“Super Tour mit tollen Sternbildern. Super Guide, sehr freundlich, nahm sich viel Zeit. Empfehlung!”

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3.Elqui Valley and Vicuna Private Tour Including Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 18 reviews · 6 hours (approx.) · from $339

Review of a private Elqui Valley tour from La Serena with pisco tasting, Gabriela Mistral museum, solar lunch, and port transfers.

“Buyer beware. Do not book this tour. The description is not at all accurate. Pickup at port was not on time nor in the right location, I had to go find them and wasted a bunch of time looking for them. Driver was great, but the driver and guide clearly had never met each other as well, and we couldn't find the driver at first which wasted even more time. The tour itself was only semi-private. The vehicle was private, but then we got to stops and had to "wait for the rest of the groups to come" before we were able to actually see anything. The whole point of…”

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4.Classic Elqui Valley (Between vineyards and fruit trees)

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 16 reviews · 8 to 10 hours (approx.) · from $94

Review of the Classic Elqui Valley tour from La Serena, with pisco, vineyards, Gabriela Mistral sites, lunch, timing, value, and practical tips.

“Our guide was very professional and went out of her way to ensure that as the only English speakers in the group that we didn't miss out on any of the information. The stop off points were interesting and the lunch was also great. Our only criticism would be that we travelled through a lot of incredible scenery, and as a nature lover it would have been a much better tour if we were able to stop and take some of it in. It seemed a shame to drive by so much beauty and not be able to fully appreciate it.”

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5.Sailing and Hiking Isla Damas : Humboldt Penguin Reserve

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 13 reviews · 10 hours (approx.) · from $180

Review of the Isla Damas sailing tour from La Serena, with penguins, sea lions, desert wildlife, lunch, practical tips, and honest drawbacks.

“It is extremely informative and was loads of fun. Remember to ask the guide to stop to show you the prehistoric plant”

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6.Full day Tour to Elqui Valley

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 11 reviews · 10 hours (approx.) · from $110

Explore Chile’s Elqui Valley from La Serena with lunch, pisco tasting, Gabriela Mistral sites, hotel pickup, and a small group.

“The views were great and the tour guide was very personable. The pisco tasting could be improved, the explanations were good but we didn’t get to real taste pisco, only cocktails.”

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7.Full day to Isla Damas & Humbolt Pinguino National Reserve

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 11 reviews · 8 hours (approx.) · from $150

Review of La Serena’s Isla Damas tour, with Humboldt penguins, dolphins, seafood lunch, transport tips, pricing, and practical advice.

“The tour was run by Akana tours who kept us well informed right up to pick up. Our guide was Seb who was clearly very knowledgable and passionate about the area. Layer up!”

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8.Whales & Humboldt Penguins: Chañaral or Damas island hiking

★★★★★★★★★★4.3 · 10 reviews · 10 hours · from $280

Review of a 10-hour La Serena tour to Chañaral and Damas islands, with Humboldt penguins, whales, seafood, hiking, and coastal scenery.

“Helt fantastisk dagstur! Vi fik en masse information på turen hen til havnen og spændene stop hvor vi bl.a. så lamaer. Bådturen var magisk, med både søløver, pingviner, oddere, rovfugle og ikke mindst hvaler! Bagefter fik vi lækker frokost og fik besvaret alle vores spørgsmål. Guiden var virkelig dygtig og meget engageret i at vi fik en god tur. Kan varmt anbefales.”

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9.Grand Tour Elqui Valley Heavenly Paradise of Sacred Mountains

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 10 reviews · 10 hours (approx.) · from $135

Explore Chile’s Elqui Valley from La Serena with pisco tastings, Gabriela Mistral sites, solar-cooked lunch and mountain towns.

“This tour was a great way to spend the day. We covered a lot of ground in the ~9 hours we spent together. Cristobal was a very friendly and knowledgeable tour guide whose passion for Chilean history and culture is obvious from the start. The choices for points of interest were excellent and one of the highlights was eating at a restaurant that used the sun to cook the food. Cristobal accommodated both English and Spanish speakers on the tour and was able to seamlessly switch between languages throughout the day. Everything was well organized and well balanced in terms of seeing beautiful landscapes, tasting pisco/wine while also learning about…”

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10.Astronomical Observation Milky Way Sanctuary Pangue Observatory

★★★★★★★★★★3.5 · 7 reviews · 6 to 7 hours (approx.) · from $185

Travel from La Serena to El Pangue Observatory for a small-group Milky Way tour, powerful telescopes, and clear southern-sky viewing.

“Amazing southern night sky! The very knowledgeable astronomer showed us the most interesting sky objects using quite powerful telescope”

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11.Milky Way Sanctuary Stargazing Tour at Pangue Observatory

★★★★★★★★★★4.2 · 5 reviews · 6 hours · from $225

Review of Pangue Observatory’s six-hour Elqui Valley stargazing tour, with giant telescopes, dark skies, sunset views, and practical tips.

“This tour is awesome! The town of Vicuña was absolutely adorable and the stars are a once in a lifetime experience! Cristobal was very knowledgeable and accommodating. The guides at the observatory were great and the driving was excellent”

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12.La Serena and Coquimbo Private City Tour Including Lunch, Shore Excursion

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 5 reviews · 6 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $355

Explore La Serena and Coquimbo on a private shore tour with historic sights, ocean views, lunch, port transfers, and a local guide.

“We were disappointed that the museum was closed. Otherwise, a great tour. The guide and driver were excellent: professional, flexible, friendly, knowledgeable. They went out of their way to arrange unique experiences for us. Lunch was excellent, and we greatly enjoyed our day!”

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13.The Magnificient Elqui Valley Grand Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 4 reviews · from $195

Explore Chile’s Elqui Valley on a 10-hour cultural tour with pisco, Gabriela Mistral sites, solar cuisine, villages, and mountain views.

“I liked everything, the guide Cristobal introduced and explained very thoroughly”

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14.Spas and Beaches Tour: La Herradura -Totoralillo – Guanaqueros -Tongoy

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 4 reviews · 8 to 9 hours (approx.) · from $118

Explore La Serena’s coastal beaches, wetlands, seafood towns, and pirate legends on an intimate full-day tour from $118.

“Excellent everyone from the people who contact you, the guide, the places, the food everythingoo was very good. I congratulate you on the service and being so close with people. Highly recommendedAuto-translated”

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15.Activity in Fray Jorge National Park

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 3 reviews · 7 hours (approx.)

Explore Fray Jorge National Park from La Serena, where camanchaca fog feeds a rare forest, with transport, brunch, and guided trails.

“Fray Jorge Park is beautiful. I was amazed by this landscape found in the north. As always, I was happy with the Ecoturismo La Serena tour. I always take tours with this agency, so, as always, I am delighted with these experiences. The guide, Felipe, was also very knowledgeable about the place and its surroundings. Congratulations on your professionalism at work.Auto-translated”

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