Chile
Chile, the longest country in the world. I have visited this country several times because my mother was born here and lives here. As a kid the children in my class didn’t even know the country, but nowadays it’s gaining more popularity. Chile has a lot to offer with it’s diverse landscapes. From the desert al the way up in the north, and the glaciers all the way down in the south.
What To Do
How To Get Around
There are several ways to travels through Chile: renting a car, long distance bus, local bus, taxi, train, plane and colectivos. Only a few cities use trains, you will not find them in most of chile because of the mountainous landscape.
Long distances
The cheapest way to travel long distances is to use the long distance buses. I did this one time traveling from Viña Del Mar to Puerto Montt. This was an 17 hour drive at night. There are several bus companies who offer different prices for their rides. Pullman and Turbus are the biggest ones, you can check their websites to see the schedules. They are reliable but the bus terminals can be a bit chaotic with a lot of people.
Because of the huge distances Chile has, it can be a lot more convenient to use the plane. This is of course the more pricier option, but from time to time there will be good deals. LATAM is Chile’s airline, they offer a lot domestic flights and have a reliable service.
Sky Airline and JetSmart are other airlines you can use, I have no experience with them but they are usually cheaper, but have less destinations to offer.
Short distances
The easiest way to get around for the short distances are: taxi’s, colectivos and buses.
If you want to use a taxi it’s best to arrange one in advance because there are scammers active to take advantage of tourists. If that’s not possible try to figure out what the price is of a trip in advance, and if possible it would also help if you know the route a little because some drivers will take the detour so they can earn more money.
Colectivos are like taxi’s, but they run a fixed route and you share it with other people. It’s a much more cheaper option than a taxi. You can get on or off anywhere on the route. Colectivos are usually black cars with a sign on top of the car with the route written on it.
Another cheap way to travel are the local buses. The local buses are called: micros. You pay the driver when you get on the bus. It’s been a while, but I traveld with the bus several times in Viña Del Mar. The drivers can drive like crazy! And as far as I know they still do.
Costs
Accommodation:
Budget: €18-€30 per night
Midrange: €30-€45 per night
Luxury: €45+ per night
Restaurants:
This will range between €8 and €20. Expect to tip around 10%.
Transportation:
To see the prices of the long distances buses check out Pullman and Turbus.
To see the prices of the domestic flights check out LATAM, Sky Airline and JetSmart.
The prices of the local buses depend on the city you are in. But to have an indication it should be around 300-600 Chilean Pesos per ride.
The price indication for the colectivos are 200-300 Chilean Pesos per ride.
Practical Information
Language: Spanish
Currency: Chilean Peso
Travel documents: Passport
Water: Drinkable, but with a strong chlorine taste.
Electricity: 220 volt
Best time to travel: North: May till October. South: November till March.
Chilean winter starts in July and the summer starts in December. The more south you go the colder the weather.
I’ve visited Viña Del Mar in January, May, October and December. January and December was nice summer weather, I could walk around in shorts, real beach weather. May and October were more like spring weather, so it was a little bit cold sometimes. A sweather and long pants were necessary.