What's on in La Serena, Chile through the year

Peak crowds — Chilean summer holidays, Summer holidays in Chile

• Season

  Chilean summer holidays

  1 Jan – 28 FebSchool holidaysCrowdedBook early

  This is the north's family beach and Santiago arrives for all of January and February: the Avenida del Mar is bumper to bumper and Elqui's small hotels sell out. March is the same coast, half empty.

• Nature

  New-moon nights in the Elqui

  1 Jan – 31 DecDark-sky seasonBook early

  The valley has clear skies most nights of the year, and the tourist observatories close for the few days either side of a full moon. Book a new-moon night and take a coat; it drops fast.

Peak crowds — Chilean summer holidays, Summer holidays in Chile

• Nature

  Grape harvest in the Elqui

  15 Feb – 30 Apr · usually

  The pisco grapes come off between late February and April and the valley smells of them; the distilleries at Pisco Elqui and Vicuna run tastings through it and the light on the terraces is the year's best.

Still on: Chilean summer holidays (1 Jan – 28 Feb), New-moon nights in the Elqui (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Busy — Summer holidays in Chile, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Semana Santa

  3–5 AprEaster & Holy WeekCrowdedBook earlyClosures

  Good Friday and Holy Saturday are public holidays, giving an autumn long weekend. Offices close, long-distance buses and domestic flights fill, and hotels in coastal, lake and desert towns see one more busy weekend after the summer. Source ↗

Still on: New-moon nights in the Elqui (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Grape harvest in the Elqui (15 Feb – 30 Apr (usually))

Busy — Semana Santa

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: New-moon nights in the Elqui (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Grape harvest in the Elqui (15 Feb – 30 Apr (usually)), Semana Santa (3–5 Apr)

Quiet — one of its worst months for weather

• Season

  Camanchaca on the coast

  1 May – 30 Sep · usuallyFog seasonRisk

  The coastal fog sits over La Serena and Coquimbo for the cool half of the year, most of it burning off by late morning. Drive forty minutes inland and it is a different country.

Still on: New-moon nights in the Elqui (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Busy — Winter holidays in Chile

Nothing new starts in June.

Still on: New-moon nights in the Elqui (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Camanchaca on the coast (1 May – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — Winter holidays in Chile, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: New-moon nights in the Elqui (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Camanchaca on the coast (1 May – 30 Sep (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: New-moon nights in the Elqui (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Camanchaca on the coast (1 May – 30 Sep (usually))

Peak crowds — La Pampilla de Coquimbo, Fiestas Patrias

• Festival

  La Pampilla de Coquimbo

  17–20 SepMajor festivalCrowded

  Chile's national days are spent on a hillside above Coquimbo, in a temporary town of tents, fondas and cueca that draws hundreds of thousands. Roads in from La Serena are shut or crawling. Source ↗

• Holiday

  Fiestas Patrias

  16–21 Sep · usuallyNational holidayCrowdedBook earlyClosures

  18 and 19 September are Chile's biggest holidays, often stretched into a long weekend. Fondas serve empanadas, chicha and cueca dancing, long-distance buses and flights sell out, and offices and many shops close. Source ↗

Still on: New-moon nights in the Elqui (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Camanchaca on the coast (1 May – 30 Sep (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: New-moon nights in the Elqui (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: New-moon nights in the Elqui (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Busy — Summer holidays in Chile, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: New-moon nights in the Elqui (1 Jan – 31 Dec)