Camboriú has overtaken Bariloche, the figures say. But that is not the question your class should be asking

For decades, "study trip" and "Bariloche" were practically synonymous in Chile. Not any more. According to industry figures published this year, around 60% of Chilean study trips now choose destinations in Brazil, with Camboriú leading the way.

It is worth saying up front that the number comes from one operator's internal data, not an independent study. But it matches what we see in our own bookings, so the trend is real even if the decimal point is debatable.

The question that matters, though, is not which destination is winning. It is which one works for your class.

Why we can compare without taking sides

We operate both. Bariloche overland, Bariloche by air and Bariloche by air premium; Camboriú in 6- and 8-day programmes. And Pucón and La Serena within Chile too.

That means we have no destination to defend: whether your class goes to Camboriú or Bariloche, we work the same. What follows is the comparison we make with parents at the presentation meeting.

First and most honest: the price

- Bariloche overland: from CLP 669,000 per student - Camboriú: from CLP 1,672,000 per student

This is not a subtle difference: Camboriú costs more than twice as much. For many classes the discussion largely ends there, and rightly so.

The gap explains itself. Bariloche overland is reached by coach from southern Chile; Camboriú means flying. Add more nights, superior-category hotels and a beach destination in the Brazilian high season.

What each one offers

Bariloche has proximity on its side — you cross the Andes and you are there — and a density of activities that is hard to match: Cerro Campanario, the Circuito Chico, chocolate shops, the chairlift, ice skating. It is a mountain destination, with full days and organised evening activities. In winter, there is also snow.

Camboriú has the beach, theme parks and the scale of a Brazilian seaside resort in season. It is the destination students see on TikTok, and that counts: a class's enthusiasm is no small matter when the money has to be raised over two years.

The factor almost nobody weighs up

There is a third element that does not appear in any brochure and that does determine how the trip goes: how far away help is if something happens.

In Bariloche we have our head office; it is the city where the company was born and where most of the operation sits. In Camboriú we have our own office. In both cases there are our own people on the ground, not a local supplier hired for the week.

That is the question we would put to any operator before signing, ourselves included: do you have your own team at the destination, or do you subcontract? On a Sunday at three in the morning, with forty teenagers in your care, the answer matters more than the name of the hotel.

The map changed in another way too

The same report shows something that gets less attention: 30% of study trips now depart from northern Chile, compared with half that in 2010.

That fits what we have seen since we started operating charter flights with JetSMART from La Serena and Santiago. For years, a class from the regions had to travel to Santiago first just to start its trip. When that stops being necessary, the map opens up.

So which should you choose?

Our honest answer: it depends on the class's budget and on the kind of trip it wants. If the monthly instalment is the main constraint, Bariloche overland makes it possible to travel sooner and with less strain. If the class has been saving for two years and wants the beach, Camboriú delivers exactly that.

What does not change with the destination is everything else: how many coordinators travel, what the insurance covers, whether there is a written protocol and who answers in the middle of the night. That is worth the same in the snow as on the beach.

Weighing up destinations for 2028? Get in touch and we will build the comparison with your class's numbers.

The market share figures cited come from data published by industry operators in 2026 and do not come from an independent study. The prices shown are those published by Vivencias Travel on the date of this article.

Vivencias Travel is a tour operator founded in Bariloche with a presence in Chile, Brazil and Mexico, specialising in group and individual travel experiences. In Chile it has offices in Santiago, La Serena and Temuco.