New Year’s in Valparaiso, Chile

Who’s a fan of New Year’s? There is something about celebrating the end of one chapter and the start of the next one each year. A time to celebrate the highlights, learn from the lowlights and set new goals/adventures/dreams for the coming year. A couple years ago we started to travel overseas for New Year’s. It’s an added bonus to experience the buzz of excitement for this fresh start of the calendar year while also visiting a new country. To start 2016, we decided to travel to Valparaiso, Chile.

Nearly 1MM people head to this colorful city each year to celebrate New Year’s in Valparaiso. Since this is nearly 5 times the standard population, it’s good to plan in advance. There is certainly a party atmosphere throughout the streets in the main harbor area where the Valparaiso launch point is, however we prefer to be outside of the crowds.

We chose to find a hotel high on the hill which offered a package for New Year’s in Valparaiso. We chose to stay at the beautiful Hotel Casa Higueras. Not only did we get accommodations, but they offered a champagne toast with a view of the fireworks from their rooftop!

Our trip to Valparaiso started with a drive in from Santiago. A drive that typically takes about an hour & 45 minutes took nearly 4 hours! Plan extra time, as we got closer to Valparaiso many of the roads were closed off for the celebration. Our advice is to go in a day early so you beat the crowds.

Hotel Casa Higueras was a beautiful property with views of the harbor. It’s a bed & breakfast style property with an on-site restaurant, rooftop bar and gorgeous pool. The perfect oasis for spending New Year’s in Valparaiso!

Our New Year’s in Valparaiso started with dinner at their on-site restaurant, Montealegre. Dinner is served either inside or on the patio with the view. We opted for outdoor seating but make sure you request it in advance as it’s the most popular seats in the place!

Dinner was fabulous with several courses which included fresh fish from the region.

As the sun began to set, we made our way to the rooftop to enjoy a view of the harbor. Not only are fireworks set off in Valparaiso, but there are 17 firework sites across the harbor. This is what makes New Year’s in Valparaiso so exciting!

What amazed us about the firework display was their ability to ensure it was synchronized across the harbor! It started just moments past midnight and continued for 20 minutes. Having a relaxing environment to view this display across the harbor while sipping champagne was a true highlight of spending New Year’s in Valparaiso!

The party was not over once the fireworks stopped. We headed to their outdoor venue for dancing and drinks until 3AM! Amazing celebration and way to welcome 2016!

After a restful sleep, we kept the party going the next day on our balcony. We enjoyed sparkling wine and bites from our private balcony of the premium superior room to celebrate the start of 2016.

Overall we really enjoyed our New Year’s in Valparaiso. It was an interesting way to start the New Year and we highly recommend staying out of the crowds and enjoying the celebration in this setting.

Happy New Year to all our readers and we wish you a fabulous start to 2017!