Colchagua Valley: Self-guided Cycling tour & Wine Tasting

To anyone in Chile looking for some time off-the-beaten-track, the Colchagua valley is worth a trip for a few days. Here, you will find excellent wine, beautiful vineyards and a pleasant climate. Just enough to make you forget the hustle and bustle of Santiago de Chile or the unsettled weather of the south.

With pricey boutique hotels and expensive tours to fancy wineries, the Colchagua Valley in Chile isn’t what we can call a backpacker destination. Unlike the Argentinean wine region where crowds of budget travellers venture out into Mendoza’s nearby wineries, Santa Cruz in the Colchagua Valley rarely catches sight of backpackers.

Well, don’t call it off just yet.

We can assure you even those on a shoestring can visit this beautiful Chilean wine country. What if we told you the Colchagua valley was an excellent alternative to Mendoza, where you could spend a couple of days chilling out, cycling around and sampling local wines directly at the source, without breaking the wallet? The Colchagua valley is, in fact, one of the best places to go wine tasting in Chile and it would be a shame to skip it.

To our oenophile cycling fans planning a trip in Chile, here is a complete self-guided cycling tour & wine tasting of the Colchagua Valley.

Colchagua Valley | Self-guided Cycling Tour & Wine Tasting

About the Colchagua Valley

Nestled between the Andean Mountains and the Chilean coast, the volcanic soil of the Colchagua Valley is perfect for growing excellent Sauvignon blanc and strong red wine grapes such as Carmenère.

Carmenère, the long lost variety of Bordeaux was in fact rediscovered in Chile in 1994, where it was mistaken as Merlot grapes for decades (more on the subject below). The Colchagua Valley is one of the only places in the world where you can learn about this amazing red wine and taste its delicious juice from the source. A paradise for wine enthusiasts eager to discover new wine profil!

A visit to the Colchagua Valley usually starts from Santa Cruz, the biggest town of the area. From here, you can easily travel to a few wineries by bike or if you prefer by joining a tour.

How to get to the Colchagua Valley?

From Santiago to Colchagua Valley by bus

Take a bus from the South bus Terminal of Santiago de Chile near the “Universidad de Santiago” metro station to the town of Santa Cruz. A ticket one-way costs in average CLP 5,000 (€7) and the journey lasts 2 to 3 hours. The bus companies serving Santa Cruz are JetSur, Expresso Santa Cruz and Nilahue.

To go from Santa Cruz to Santiago, you can flag any bus on the Av. Frederico Errazuriz or go to the bus station on the Av. Rafael Casanova.

From the south of Chile to Colchagua Valley

If you come from the lake district (Puerto Varas / Puerto Montt), or even Pucon, you will first need to stop in Temuco and change bus to San Fernando, a town located just off the Pan-American road.

NOTE | Be aware of the distances between the southern part of the lake district and the Colchagua Valley are very long. If like us you don’t want to take a flight to Santiago (from Bariloche or Puerto Montt), we would recommend to take two–night buses in a row. You can alternatively stop in Villarica or Pucon if the weather allows it (not for us, unfortunately…). Once in San Fernando, change bus to Santa Cruz. This journey is about 45 minutes.

Example of costs from San Martin de los Andes to Santa Cruz:
Bus San Martin de Los Andes (Argentina) -> Temuco (Chile): 700 ARS (€22) – Night bus
Bus Temuco -> San Fernando: 17,000 CLP (€23.80) – Night bus
Bus San Fernando -> Santa Cruz: 1,500 CLP (€2.10) – Early morning bus

Where to stay in the Colchagua Valley

Budget Accommodation Santa Cruz Chile

Santa Cruz itself is a shy little town of only 35,000 inhabitants with a hospitality infrastructure quite limited to boutique hotels and highly regarded wineries offering accommodations and gourmet restaurants. Thankfully you can still find a couple of budget hostels ideal for the young backpacker looking into visiting the region on a budget.

We would recommend checking out the hostel Casa Suiza, and booking in advance as it is one of the only budget solutions in town. They understandably often get booked out long in advance. Prices for a dorm start at €17 per person per night with breakfast included, possibility to park a bike or hire one directly from the hostel. It also has a kitchen.

Aldea Colchagua Experience – dorms from €21 & doubles from €42 – free breakfast, kitchen, bar & spa
Hostal Vida 2000 – double from €42 – free breakfast, bungalows with kitchen – garden and spa/massage (paid)
Hostal del Mimbre – twin room from €34 and double from €47 – breakfast, kitchen, accept pets

The Hostal Cepa Noble is highly recommended for couples with an awesome staff, great breakfast and a nice swimming pool to chill out after a long day tasting wine and cycling!

Rediscovering Caménère

Caménère is a variety of Bordeaux which was believed to have disappeared due to infection. While unable to be grown in France without being grafted to a more resistant plant, Caménère had accidentally been introduced in Chile as Merlot and was since grown as if. Protected by the ocean to the West, the Andes to the East, the desert to the North and Patagonia to its South, Chilean Caménère is in perfect isolation and has a natural barrier to the diseases which wiped it out in Europe.

In 1994, on the occasion of a wine convention in Chile, Jean Michel Boursiquot, an eminent ampelographer, took the opportunity to visit the winery, Viña Carmen, where one of his old students was working. As his student asked him his thoughts about the Merlot plants, he noticed the leaves of the plants had turned red during autumn, which couldn’t be possible if it was truly a Merlot. By analysing the plant, Jean Michel Boursiquot identified the wine as the previously thought to be extinct Carménère.

What we loved about Carménère is how easy it is to drink while chatting with friends. It’s a social wine! It is fruity, it has also some smoky and earthy notes which can be married perfectly with an appetiser or after dinner when you don’t feel like going home and open another bottle to continue discussing the world.

Cycling the Colchagua Valley, the itinerary

The Colchagua valley is a small and compact area that can easily be explored by bike within a couple of days. Hop on a bike saddle for less than €7 (per 24 hours) and you will find 4 to 5 high-quality wineries offering wine tastings for free (or a small fee) within a radius of 10 km from Santa Cruz.

Day 1: To the east of Santa Cruz

• Leave Santa Cruz around 11 am and cycle to towards the east. After a short time along the National 90, you will turn left to a paved road surrounded by wineries and rolling hills. It is an easy 9 km to the first stop: Winery Las Niñas
• Drop your bike and enter the office-boutique made of shipping containers. You will meet with the oenologist who will present you the wine of the vineyard. You can either pay for a tasting menu or buy a bottle and ask to go to their picnic area for lunch. They should give you a couple of glasses and explain how to get there.
• Cycle to Las Niñas pic-nic area and enjoy your lunch with your bottle of freshly bought wine in the middle of the wine fields. Make sure to pack something to eat such as chips and sandwiches.

UPDATE | December 2019 | The winery Las Niñas is apparently not allowing food to be consumed on their premises anymore. Unfortunately, I am not aware of any other places in the area where to enjoy a picnic with a glass of wine. If during your trip, you find such a place, do not hesitate to let me know and I will be happy to share this info with future travellers 🙂

• From here you can go for a nice walk or continue on your tour to the next winery.
  • If you choose to sober up a bit by walking around, take the trail to your left and go uphill. You can leave your bikes at the picnic tables.
  • If you decide to head to the next place, grab your bikes, drop the dirty glasses at the containers and turn left on the road you came from. Your next stop should be the Montes Winery. This vineyard is renown for offering one of the best tasting tours of the region. But if you don’t have the budget for it, just the estate itself worth a stop.
• The Viña Montes building is, in fact, one of the most beautiful we have seen. As you arrive, you first need to cross rows of vines and a huge drawbridge leading to the front door across a giant clear water pool.
• At the end of your tour, head back to Santa Cruz and treat yourself with a nice dinner.

Day 2: The Isla de Yequil Loop

• The next day, set off again a bit before lunch. It’s wine we are talking about… as much as we like it, we still believe it is preferable to start tasting it a few hours after breakfast!
• Cycled a couple of kilometres north of Santa Cruz to start our day at the Laura Hartwig winery, one of the best wineries of Colchagua valley. This place is truly beautiful and the people are more than happy to talk about the estate and their production. For about CLP 2,000 you can taste their best offerings, from Pinot Grigio to Cabernet Sauvignon and of course Carménère.
• After this first stop, continue to cycle north and stop at the winery Estampa that looks a lot more modern than the family-run estate you just left. Here again, the oenologists will offer a cheap tasting of their best wines. They mainly do Blended wines which are very interesting in terms of their flavour profile. For a couple of the Chilean smallest notes (worth €1 to €2), you will get a couple of glasses and a quick history of the place.
• From Estampa, head to MontGras Estate. It is one of the most prestigious wineries in the region. We would recommend asking for their basket offer and experience their delicious wine with a selection of cheese, pate, ham and chorizo for CLP 25,000. If you can’t afford it, get a bottle here and cycle a little bit more along the Yequil loop to find a quiet place to eat your own lunch. Unfortunately, on this road, there isn’t any winery offering a picnic table for free.
• Before you leave the estate, sit down on their beautiful patio and enjoy a bit of shade and fresh breeze while sipping a free glass of wine. Unfortunately here, if you want more information you will have to pay for a tour of the property.
• Head back to Santa Cruz via the small farmer villages of Isla de Yequi, La Villa, and Los Boldos. Cut through Los Barrientos to your left to avoid the main road that enter Santa Cruz from the west.

Cycling the Colchagua Valley | MAP

Renting a bike in Santa Cruz

You can rent a bike directly at your hostel or guest house. If your accommodation doesn’t offer this service, we can recommend Aventura Colchagua.

The bikes are great, and the service is excellent.

The Santa Cruz – ChileAN wine tours

If after reading this itinerary you are not convinced of cycling the Colchagua valley on your own, here is a selection of wine tasting tours in Chile you might be interested in joining during your trip.

Colchagua Valley wine tour from Santiago

Maipo wine tour from Santiago

If going to the Colchagua Valley is too far from you and prefer to base yourself in Santiago, you can take a short tour to the Maipo region. Closer to the capital and at the feet of the Andes, the Chilean wine region of Maipo can be an excellent alternative to Mendoza and the Colchagua Valley. It is the home of the famous exported wine Concha y Toro and one of the finest wine in the central region of Chile. Here are a selection of day tours you can join for less than €80 per person.

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About the Author

Jen is the Funder, Author & Photographer behind Talesfromthelens.com

Jen has lived for the past 15 years across Oceania and Ireland while also travelling in Latin America, North America, and Europe. She has visited more than 65 countries and set foot on every continent in the world! She is a coffee nerd, passionate about photography, wildlife, and outdoor activities.

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