We spent a few days ahead of the cruise in Buenos Aires. We didn't realize until a couple of days before leaving that we would be there during the 2022 World Cup final with Argentina vs. France. That was quite an experience. While we were able to see some sights, the World Cup basically took over our trip as 2 of our 3 days were public holidays, shutting down public transportation and sights and confining us to where we were. Even when the subway is open, it's nearly impossible to find a place to purchase a SUBE card, so taxis are the way to go if not walking. Make sure to have them run the meter, or else they might try to price gouge.

We did do a Buenos Aires Free Walks tour of Retiro and Recoleta which was excellent and I'd highly recommend, the Recoleta Cemetery, a tango show at Cafe Tortoni, took a taxi to La Boca (which is touristy and not safe outside of the tourist area). Beyond that, we were concentrated near the Obelisk, Puerto Madero, Plaza de Mayo, Casa Rosada and the World Cup festivities.

The Buenos Aires port itself is an industrial port. The embarkation process was pretty easy and well organized. You wait in a line to drop your luggage, then you go through the security and metal detectors. Then you check in and go through Argentina customs. You have to submit your passports to the cruise personnel for onboard customs (you get a receipt) and then take a shuttle bus from the terminal to the cruise ship.

Montevideo is an easy port to walk off of and explore the old town on your own. Locals provide a free map at the pier with a walking route and sights of interest. Lots of interesting architecture, a couple of pedestrian streets with shops, and restaurants, museums, and two major plazas. The furthest is Independence Plaza. Bring your sunscreen and water as the sun is hot! There is a market building close to the port mainly for restaurants with a handicraft market outside.

This is a tender port and the ship is quite far from shore. The ship tender operations were disorganized so plan accordingly and leave plenty of time if you are meeting a 3rd party. It took about 20 minutes for the tender to get to shore. We left 2 hours from the time we got a tender ticket to the time we had to meet pre-arranged free walking tour, and we still missed the tour. Once ashore, you can get a free map with walking routes and sights of interest marked on it, including the big hand and other sculptures and artwork. The town is very walkable. We spend a few hours exploring on our own. The main street with stores was open, but the marketplace was closed, possibly because of the holiday (12/23). There's an opportunity to see sea lions down by the marina. We were also struck by how clean it was. Lots of people constantly sweeping up.

We felt lucky to be able to go to this port as the next day it was closed due to high winds. We docked at a pier, and it was easy to walk out of the long pier and into the town. It was very cool (40 F degrees), windy, and raining. Many people were not prepared for the weather, but we had winter coats with rain coats, hats, and gloves. We booked a 1-hr double-decker bus tour ahead of time, but you could book it the day of. It left from the street on the other side of the tourist center at 10:30a, 12:30p, and so on. It kept us out of the rain for a bit. It went out of the city center and out of town and through some neighborhoods to two stops for photos. It was worth the $20 pp. Afterwards, we explored the town on our own. We walked along the waterfront where we saw sea lions, through the monuments and memorials, and then on the other major street with shops and restaurants up the hill. The tourist center has bathrooms, wi-fi, and stamps for the "End of the World." Make sure to catch the End of the World sign along the water to the left of the pier entrance behind the tour booths.

The cruise ended in Valparaiso, which is an industrial port. We took a shuttle bus from the ship to the terminal. It was confusing figuring out transportation out the cruise port. Many people paid for expensive tours and transfers to the airport. We asked several people for help and eventually went outside and found a random line of people standing to the left of the building. This is the line for the free shuttle bus to the downtown of Valparaiso, although we never saw any signage. A man helped us with our bags onto the bus. The bus then drove quite a ways along the inside of the port fence and eventually exited the port property and drove to the downtown area. From there, we shared a taxi to the bus station (although I suspect it was only 3-4 blocks and probably walkable).

We took a Turbus coach bus from the Terminal Rodoviario Valparaiso bus station to the Alameda bus station in Santiago for the equivalent of about $10 USD pp. We bought the tickets ahead of time online. It was very comfortable with plenty of room and bathrooms on the bus. It took 1 hr 45 min and made 1 stop at the airport. There are other bus lines: Pullman and Condor. Once in Santiago at the Alameda station, we walked to the metro and were able to metro to our hotel.

We had 2 days in Santiago. We used a Bip! card for the metro, which you can add trips to (multiple people can use one card). But the city is pretty walkable as well. We did a walking tour with Guruwalk of the Centro area. We also explored Santa Lucia, Lasterria, Bella Artes, Bella Vista, Providencia, and took the funicular and teleferico to San Cristobal Hill.