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The Casablanca Wine Region
Casablanca was personally our favourite wine region in South America, full of delicious wines and stunning vineyards. We would definitely recommend a visit here if you are visiting Santiago, Valparaiso or Viña del Mar.
We noticed when researching a wine tour here that all of the tours were not very budget friendly at all so we almost missed out. However, we decided to try and do it ourselves instead and it didn’t cost even close to what the tour companies are charging! So we thought we’d share our day trip to the Casablanca wine region, so you don’t have to miss out too.
How to get there
The Casablanca region is very easily accessed via public transport from Santiago, Valparaiso or Viña del Mar.
From Santiago, head to the bus terminal and ask for Casablanca when buying your ticket. It will probably be the bus going to Valparaiso and the bus company Tur Bus. Just make sure your driver knows you want Casablanca when you step on.
From Valparaiso, just head to the main bus terminal and you can catch a bus to Casablanca, which will drop you off in the main plaza.
If you are located in Viña del Mar, you will have to head to the Valparaiso bus terminal first and go from there.
Of course, if you have a non-alcoholic or super nice friend willing to do the tours without drinking, a road trip could also be fun.
Getting around the Casablanca region
Ok so I’m at the main plaza. Now what?
So, from the main plaza, the only way to visit the vineyards is by taxi. The idea of cycling it sounds pretty but once you see the dual carriageways en route, you soon see why a car is the only good option.
Personally, we would advise to visit no more than 3 of the Casablanca vineyards in one day but the next part of the day depends entirely on which and how many vineyards you’d like to visit. We also recommend booking wine tours in advance to avoid them being full. This can easily be done on most of their websites or via email. If not, your hotel/hostel reception should be happy to call for you.
The Vineyards
To make it easier for you, we have listed the vineyards we visited below, which we very highly recommend. We have also advised on the taxi cost for each journey, make sure you agree prices with your driver before moving off. Organising a round-trip price at the beginning would be a great idea to avoid having to wait around between vineyards for your taxi to arrive too.
Bodegas RE
Taxi Cost: Plaza to Bodegas RE cost 3000 pesos
Bodegas RE is worth visiting purely because the owner is the pioneer who made the Casablanca region what it is today. He insisted that it was a good place to grow grapes, even though it took 8 years of him being mocked by unbelievers before it reached that point.
Bodegas RE is also worth a visit due to its uniqueness whereby they mix their grapes to create remixed versions of classic wines, such as Cabergnan, Chardonnoir, Syranoir and Pinotel. It's great fun trying to guess the two blends before the guides let you know too!
With so much history behind this vineyard, we definitely recommend the tour to learn more about the Casablanca region, as well as sampling their tasty wines.
Here we opted to do the wine tour and tasting, but there are plenty of options for all budgets. You can view all the options here.
Viña Mar
Taxi cost: Bodegas RE to Viña Mar cost 6000 pesos).
Viña Mar is absolutely stunning and you will be impressed by its image as soon as you enter the grounds and see the sparkling fountain in front of its impressive facade.
Rather than doing another tasting or tour here, we decided to take advantage of the lovely grounds and had a picnic right by the vines. Viña Mar do a lovely picnic package, which includes sandwiches and treats, as well as a bottle of their bubbly. You also receive a Viña Mar hat and once you’re done, you can relax in their deck chairs.
The picnic cost 16000 Pesos pp
Emiliana
Taxi cost: Viña Mar to Emiliana cost 5000 pesos
We chose our final stop as a result of Emiliana being the largest organic vineyard in the world.
We chose to do the tasting and tour here to learn more about what it’s like to run such a large organic vineyard.
You also get to see llamas here!
The tour and tasting here costs 16000pp and cheese or chocolate can be added for an extra 3000.
Now you just need to head back to the main plaza full of cheese, chocolate and an increased appreciation for Chilean wine.
Taxi cost: Emiliana back to the main plaza cost 6000 pesos
To cut costs even further, try to find other people heading the same way to share the taxi. This is especially easy from your final vineyard as around that time most people should be heading back to the plaza.
From the main plaza, either hop back on a returning bus or look out for the cars with a sign in the window stating where they are heading to and hop in!
The total cost
So including all the taxis, tastings tours and a picnic, the total spend in Casablanca was 52000. This of course can be lowered with shared taxis, fewer vineyards or different taste tours.
Either way, it is by far the best and cheapest way to visit this region. Enjoy!
