Of Chile's 4000-kilometre coastline, the brief central strip between Santo Domingo and Papudo is the most visited and most developed. Known as El Litoral Central by Chileans, this 140-kilometre stretch boasts bay after bay lined with gorgeous, white-sand beaches and a string of coastal resort towns of varying size and character.

Valparaíso ("Valpo" for short) and Viña del Mar sit next door to each other on the northern third of the strip. They are geographical neighbours but centuries apart in look and feel. Viña is Chile's largest beach resort and one of its ritziest – a dose of modernity along the generally undeveloped coast. Valparaíso, on the other hand, has a much more natural and offhand style. With its ramshackle, brightly painted houses spilling chaotically down the hills to the sea, this is Chile's second biggest port and is wonderfully atmospheric, though bereft of decent beaches. For these, you need to head north or south where you can find anything from disco-packed pleasure grounds to tiny, secluded coves – if you know where to go. Many travellers make Valpo their base from which they take day-trips, including to Viña.

Heading north up the coast, the main spots of interest are Zapallar, the most architecturally graceful of all the resorts, and Papudo, a small fishing town dramatically hemmed in by steep, green hills.

Most Chilenos take their annual holiday in February, during which time all the resort towns, large and small, are unbearably crowded. They also get busy on weekends in December and January, but outside these times are remarkably quiet. November and March are probably the best months to be here, as the weather is usually perfect and the beaches virtually deserted, especially midweek, though winter can be even more romantic when the resorts wear a forlorn, abandoned look and you can go for walks along the empty, blustery beaches.