Packing List for Chile in the Winter – August and September
Chile is a wonderful country and I can only highly recommend a visit. Travel Chile in the winter, not summer. But careful – winter is from July to September and summer from December to February!
- February is peak season in Chile and I heard horror stories of sold out or even over-booked accommodations and super busy tourist attractions.
- I visited Chile in August/September and it was absolutely perfect. I only met very few travellers, it was super easy to find accommodation and last minute bus tickets.
- I still bought my bus tickets the day before because I wanted to make sure I had a good/comfortable seat. #TeamWindowSeat.
Here’s my packing list for four weeks in Chile – my big backpack weighed 10,4kg and in hindsight – I could have taken even less.
I travelled from Arica down to Chiloé and temperatures ranged between -6°C and +30°C. I was glad to have packed my Long Johns for the South and also the Atacama desert.
Clothes
I always use packing cubes to pack my clothes (and save space!)
- Rain jacket – I was really glad to have brought it when visiting the Easer Island as well as the South of Chile, and I also used it as a wind breaker in the Atacama desert
- Fleece jacket
- Softshell jacket (I often wore all three jackets at the same time and still felt cold)
- Scarf
- Beanie
- Gloves
- Long Johns (top and bottoms!)
- Long trousers
- Long hiking trousers
- Comfortable 3/4 training pants – to wear on long bus rides
- Short trousers
- 6 t-shirts (4 would have been enough)
- 1 denim blouse
- Long, WARM pyjamas (or wear your fleece jacket to bed like me)
- Thick socks
- Normal socks
- Underwear
- Swimwear (diving, thermal baths, …)
- My Dirndl
Shoes
I only had two pairs of shoes with me which was perfect. I only wore my flip flops in the hostels to avoid dirty bathroom tiles.
- Shoes like runners, or trekking boots (water resistant)
- Flip flops
Toiletries
- Toothbrush
- Toothpaste
- Lush shampoo bar
- Lush body soap
- Hair brush
- Sunscreen (!!!) especially for day trips in the Atacama desert or on hikes
- DivaCup
- Razor
- Tweezer
- Band-aids
- Tiger Balm
- First-aid kit (brought it back unused)
Misc
- Sleeping bag or fleece cover – I used my sleeping bag in all but one hostel. I also used my sleeping bag on bus rides. We were given fleece throws but I still felt really cold.
I’ve had my High Peak sleeping bag for years and absolutely love it. I need to be able to stretch out my legs and also use my sleeping bag as a duvet. My sleeping bag is an indoor-sleeping-bag and suitable for temperatures around 15°C. It folds up really well (20 cm long with a diameter of 13cm and a weight of 700grams!) - Eye mask: a life saver on night buses as well as in hostels!
- Natural sedative tablets: help me sleep better on planes
- Day-pack (I use my Black Diamond Nitro 26 in petrol blue a lot)
- Backpack Deuter Quantum 70 (I use an older version – and it was almost too big for this trip)
- Dive computer
- Travel towel
- Kindle filled with books – unfortunately mine broke after just four days so I had to make do with books I found in hostels
- Cameras: Olympus OM-D EM-5 II and GoPro Hero 4 plus extra batteries
- Laptop
What did you pack on your winter trip to Chile?
