We plan on doing this port on our own. Here are the notes I have listed on our itinerary (with backup information printed out in my trip book) (I'm "old school" with a formal printed itinerary and trip book complete with tabs). Not sure if we'll see/do all of these, but gives us a good start on things to do (we've also been known to just find a nice sidewalk cafe to eat or drink and people watch).
Visit La Serena on own
- Taxi is ~$7.00 to La Serena
- La Recova Market (9:00am-1:00pm)
- Museo Historico Casa Gonzalez Videla (history museum housed in an 18th century mansion); located on Plaza de Armas; admission is free
- Visit La Serena Archeological Museum (with Easter Island “Moai”—one of the few outside Easter Island
- La Serena Lighthouse; open to visitors who can climb to the top; located at the end of the city’s main road, Avenida del Mar, running along the beachfront (or rambla)
- Catedral De San Bartolome De La Serena
- Jardin del Corazon or Kokoro No Niwa Garden: largest Japanese garden in South America with koi, pagodas, waterfalls, curved bridges
Visit Coquimbo on own (after La Serena)
- Cruz del Tercer Milenio (83 meters tall; elevator to the top provides fantastic views)
- Fuerte Lambert, Mosque of Coquimbo-Centro Mohammed VI para el Dialogo de las Civilizaciones
- Main shopping street and downtown is less than a mile from the port