New Year in Bariloche or Santiago: what each is like and what to book first

Spending New Year in the southern hemisphere has an obvious advantage: it is summer on both sides, but with completely different landscapes. And between Bariloche and Santiago the choice is not about weather, it is about what kind of night you want.

Bariloche: lake, mountains and a small town at full capacity

In late December Bariloche is at the peak of its summer season. The days are long, with light until almost ten at night, and the temperature is pleasant by day and cool after dark, which surprises anyone picturing beach heat.

What the night is like:

• The town fills up. It is Argentine high season, with families and groups of young people, and the centre is busy.
• Most hotels run a New Year's Eve dinner, charged separately and booked well ahead. It is not something you sort out the week before.
• There are fireworks, and the view over the lake makes the most of them.
• On 1 January almost everything opens late. Full-day excursions generally do not run, and restaurants open only in the evening.

What to do on the surrounding days is in Bariloche in summer, and the classic attractions in the main attractions in Bariloche.

Santiago: a big city, with vineyards and coast an hour away

Santiago in late December is hot and dry, and many residents are away, which leaves the city emptier and easier to move around than usual.

What the night is like:

• The big draw is on the coast. Valparaíso and Viña del Mar put on a famous fireworks display over the bay and attract visitors from all over. Anyone going has to decide early: accommodation and transport sell out.
• In Santiago there are dinners at restaurants and hotels, plus options at nearby wineries, outdoors on a summer night.
• 1 January is quiet in the city, with much of it closed and the shops shut.
• The mountains are still there, but without snow in summer: the trip is a different one, about views and altitude.

The city side is in Santiago in summer, and the idea of closing the day with a view in sunset at a vineyard near Santiago.

How to choose between them

• You want lake and mountain scenery with a small-town feel: Bariloche.
• You want a big city, food, wine and the coast in one trip: Santiago.
• You are travelling with children: Bariloche is usually easier, thanks to short distances and long days.
• You want fireworks as the highlight: the Chilean coast is more spectacular, but demands planning far further ahead.

What has to be booked already

This is the practical part, and the one most people let slide:

1. Accommodation, months in advance. It is the most contested date of the year in both destinations.
2. The New Year's Eve dinner, which is almost always separate and has limited places.
3. Transfers on the 31st and the 1st, when transport thins out and schedules change.
4. Excursions on the surrounding days, because the week between Christmas and New Year has the highest occupancy.

One note about 1 January

In neither destination is it worth scheduling anything demanding for the first day of the year. Full-day excursions tend not to operate, there is almost no traffic in the morning, and many services open only after midday. It is a good day for the lake, a short walk, or simply resting.

If the question is broader than New Year's Eve and covers the whole trip, Bariloche or Santiago in winter compares the two on criteria that hold in summer too: air connections, distances and the kind of trip each one is.