One month in Chile: Itinerary, balance sheet, budget, guide, advice

We didn’t expect to stay in Chile for so long. Apart from Easter Island, we had no other must-see planned for Chile. The beginnings were not simple: Chilean Spanish sounded like a slap in the face: incomprehensible. But we didn’t give up: after Argentina, we went back there to travel the whole country, from South to North.

Itinerary

Easter Island (4 days): Round-the-world ticket from Papeete. Visit of the island with a 4×4
Santiago (3 days) : Round the world ticket. Linguistic shock. We tried to understand Chilean Spanish, but without success. Hence our rather precipitous departure for Argentina
Punta Arenas (1 day): Flight from Santiago. Visit of Magallanes Island and its penguins
15 days in Argentina
Torres del Paine (1/2 day): Excursion from El Calafate (Argentina). Not to be missed
Puerto Montt (1 day): Bus of 5 hours from Bariloche (Argentina). The city only serves us as a transportation hub
Castro on the island of Chiloé (6 days): 5h bus. Idyllic little week at the water’s edge (+ an earthquake on Christmas day)
Puerto Varas (3 days): 5h20 bus. A real “coup de coeur”, with a magnificent view of the snow-covered volcanoes. Super pleasant walks. Best place to taste ceviche/beef from the lake region
Viña del Mar (3 days): bus of 16h. Best fireworks in South America. This is where we spent New Year’s Eve.
Valparaíso (2 days): 20mn bus. A real favorite for its hills, its streets filled with graffiti
Santiago (4 days): 1h30 bus ride.
Copiapó (1 day): 12h bus. Interesting stop on the way to San Pedro de Atacama
San Pedro de Atacama (5 days): 12h bus. Visit of the lunar landscapes, lagoons and flamingos. Mountain sickness as a bonus.
Calama (1 day): 1h30 bus ride. Stop without interest to take the bus to Uyuni

Some pictures

Easter Island

Santiago

Punta Arenas (Magallanes Island excursion)

Torres del Paine

Castro

Puerto Varas

Viña del Mar

Valparaíso

San Pedro de Atacama

Budget

The total budget is a bit high due to the travel period: Christmas + New Year. It’s also the vacation period for Chileans which pulls the prices up. I hesitate to give it to you because if you travel outside this period and outside the summer vacations (January-March), the housing budget is much more reasonable.

Exchange rate in January 2017 :

1000$CH = 1,42€
1US$ = 0,93€

Apart from that, Chile is a slightly more affordable destination than Argentina. If prices in Argentina can be compared to France (in the provinces), Chile can be compared to Spain.

Accommodation: about 13500$CH/person/night.
- For the new year, accommodation in Valparaiso can easily reach 100€/night. In this case, prefer Viña del Mar (50€/night for New Year’s Eve). Remember to book in advance!
- Some hotels have rates in USD, so if the USD increases in value as it is the case in December 2016, it will become more expensive.

Food :
- Restaurants: between 15000$CH and 30000$CH/meal for two
- Boui boui: between 4000$CH and 6000$CH/meal for two
- A squeezed fruit juice: between 1000$CH and 2500$CH

Visits :
- Excursion to see the penguins in Punta Arenas: 65000$CH/person
- Excursions to San Pedro de Atacama : 45000$CH/person for 2 excursions : Moon Valley and Antiplanas Lagoon
- Walking tour of Valparaíso with Valp’Otop (English speaking guide): tip free but plan 5000$CH/person

Transportation :
- Easter Island car rental: 40000$CH/day
- Santiago -> Punta Arenas by plane with Sky Airline: 144€/person
- Bariloche -> Puerto Montt by bus : 500$AR/person
- Puerto Montt -> Castro by bus: 6500$CH/person
- Castro -> Puerto Varas by bus : 6500$CH/person
- Puerto Varas -> Viña del Mar by bus : 25 000$CH/person
- Viña del Mar -> Valparaíso by bus: 650$CH/person
- Valparaíso -> Santiago by bus : 4000$CH/person
- Santiago -> Copiapó by bus: 20000$CH/person
- Copiapó -> San Pedro de Atacama by bus : 22250$Ch/person
- San Pedro de Atacama -> Calama by bus : 4000$CH/person

Addresses

I only give you the addresses of the hotels/inns I recommend

Santiago: Hostal Lago de Plata US$36 a private room with breakfast (link Agoda)
Valparaíso: La Casa Azul Hostel 8000$CH/bed (link Booking)
Viña del Mar : King Hostel (Agoda link, I only recommend for New Year’s Eve, it’s the cheapest 50€/night with breakfast – you can find nicer ones outside this period)
Castro: Cabañas Palafitos Los Pescadores US$ 43 a very nice bungalow with view for 3 (link Booking)
Puerto Montt: Hospedaje Javiera 28000$CH a private room for 2, with breakfast
Punta Arenas: Hostal Dona Irma, US$ 43 for a private room, with breakfast (link Booking)
San Pedro de Atacama: Legal Hostal 12500$CH/bed, we have been upgraded at no extra charge (private room)

Transport

Plane : Skyline is a low cost airline. The service is minimal but the prices are correct (compared to LAN). However, the long queue can discourage a lot of people, go to the airport 3 hours before takeoff.

Subway: I love the subway in Santiago, it isn’t air-conditioned but it is clean and not too crowded. It is possible to buy a card and recharge it, but we prefer to buy tickets one by one. Prices change according to the timetable.

Cab: The cabs here don’t hesitate for a second to rip you off. Thus, for cabs leaving from the airport, ask if there is a flat rate (otherwise the cab will put the meter on and you will pay a lot). Always agree on the price before getting in (specifying that it is for 2 people, and with luggage). If you take a Uber, make sure it stops after dropping you off… If it doesn’t, don’t hesitate to complain, you will be refunded.

Cabs colectivos: it’s like buses but in a 4-seater car, with well defined routes (indicated on the windshield). We have never had the opportunity to test them yet, it seems a bit too tightly glued for us. We prefer buses.

Public transportation: The Chilean bus is royal. The driver gets a % of the tickets sold, so it isn’t uncommon for drivers to stop without being asked where we are going. We can hail the bus anywhere, and get dropped off anywhere (as long as it’s on the bus route), it’s very convenient and cheap (about 350$CH/person/route). Keep small change or small bills of 1000$CH to pay your bus tickets. Overall the bus lines are well indicated on Google Maps, which is very convenient because you won’t find maps on the bus stops.

Long distance buses: Chilean buses are very comfortable, but within the same company, you can have new and very clean buses and the next day, come across an old bus that stinks. The fares vary according to the departure time, the category (semi cama cheaper than cama) and the bus companies. The two most famous companies are Pullman Bus and Turbus. Andesmar too but we couldn’t test them. Be careful, there can be several bus terminals in the same city, you have to inquire beforehand at the risk of missing your bus.

The recorridor and busbud sites sell a certain number of bus tickets, but not always on the routes that interest me. So don’t trust the Internet, go to the bus terminal, go to the bus companies to buy your tickets. There will always be a company to connect the big cities.

We have tested Cruz del Sur, Queilén (very good service to Chiloé Island), Bus sur (Ushuaia service), Pullman Bus and Turbus.

Pullman bus remains our favorite with a service worthy of an airline company (with blanket and pillow when we travel at night). Bus Sur is the worst of all, but it’s one of the only one to serve Ushuaïa (Argentina) and it’s still very correct.

Car rental/campervan: We rented a 4×4 on Easter Island (without any insurance, that’s how it is on this island), and loved it. I know that Wicked (and another campervan rental company) exists in Chile and can cover your trips to Argentina. However, I don’t especially recommend renting a car knowing that the buses are very affordable. Some routes are served every 15 minutes so why bother driving yourself, huh?

Chilean Spanish

Very difficult with an impressive speech rate (many consonants are swallowed, hence the speed of speech). There are a lot of words that only exist in Chile (mix of English, mapuche). Chileans do not necessarily realize the peculiarity of their Spanish, so do not hesitate to have it repeated several times. However, in Patagonia and the lake region, the speech flow is more bearable and people are more relaxed to repeat several times until I understand. If this seems insurmountable (as it was in our case), flee to Argentina, or Peru, or Bolivia to perfect your Spanish and come back to Chile later.

Oh yes, should I point out that even if you are bilingual in English, it doesn’t help you at all here? Learn Spanish!🙂

Telecommunications

Wifi varies from medium to very bad but available in all guesthouses and hostels. You can buy a SIM card at Entel for 4000$CH. Ask the seller to activate the line for you because you have to call a special number. The top-up isn’t bought at Entel, but in pharmacies or newsagents. You have to give your phone number when you top up. Then you call a number and choose the offer you want (1500$CH for 300MB, xx$CH for unlimited SMS etc.) – which implies that you have to understand Spanish to be able to choose your offers! The purchase of a SIM card is recommended for Chile because during the earthquake in Chiloé, I received a tsunami alert directly on my smartphone.

Payment/Money

Fee between 4000$CH and 6000$CH for each withdrawal capped at 200,000$CH. As in Argentina, there are a lot of cash flow problems here, the distributors are often empty. At Banco Estado, Bando Santander, I can only withdraw between 150k$CH and 170k$CH. However, at Banco de Chile, I have always managed to withdraw CH$200,000. The Banco de Chile ATMs in the subway look safe. Observe the locals, they tend to like only 3 of the 5 ATMs, do like them!
If you are having too much trouble withdrawing money, use either your dollars or Xoom (a cheaper equivalent of W. Union) to send you money
To enter the bank, it isn’t uncommon for you to be asked to scan your fingerprint or insert your credit card. Do this only at the major banks listed above
My unsuccessful withdrawal attempts triggered a fraud alert with my bank. So don’t do as I did, come back another day, change ATMs, don’t go to the same ATM several times.
Payment in USD for accommodation can, most of the time, exempt you from 19% VAT (it’s perfectly legal). But sometimes, with a little smile, paying in cash in Chilean pesos also exempts you from 19% VAT (it is less). So it’s up to the customer.
Guest houses and hostels never accept credit cards except in exceptional cases. Come with your pesos or USD.
A tip (propina) of 10% is recommended. It is usually marked on the invoice as a suggestion but the customer must specify that he wants to pay the tip (“con la propina“, one of the few expressions that JB masters), otherwise the server will not necessarily dare to include it automatically.
At the supermarket, there are always people to help you put your groceries in plastic bags, everyone gives them something, between 100$CH and 300$CH.
The exchange offices have rates between 10% and 20%, take a look around before choosing the most advantageous one. Be sure to check for counterfeit bills, especially in Santiago.
Except for cabs, all the prices we have been given in Chile are the same as for the locals. I don’t know if it’s related to the fact that we speak a little bit of Spanish or not.

Food

Chilean gastronomy isn’t as good as in Argentina (and I wrote a long article about it) . However, the lake region is THE PLACE TO BE for the gourmands. My favorite remains the ceviche (fish marinated in lemon), which is mostly found in Peruvian restaurants in Chile, and which is very appreciated here.

I especially like the possibility of buying homemade food sold on the street. Just spot people with a cooler and ask them what they are selling, there may be homemade ice cream or homemade ceviches hidden in it.

UNIMARC is the supermarket I see most often. The meat department is well stocked and classified by cooking method. There are a lot of prepared dishes, to be heated in the microwave for the laziest ones. In Chile, it is impossible to find real sausage but only salami (snif), but the fruits aren’t expensive at all, and the natural jugos (natural juices) are delicious!

Other tips

When you enter Chile, you must throw away absolutely everything that is edible (bio-security). In case of doubt, ask before having your luggage checked, heavy fines can be applied. Chile uses bio-security to protect its fruits, exported all over the world. They don’t joke about it, at our border crossings by bus, all the bags are taken out of the holds and sniffer dogs are there to check.
When you pass immigration, you will be given a small PDI paper. This is your exit ticket, without this little paper, you will have a lot of trouble getting out of the country. What I advise you is to always take a picture of the stamp on your passport + the PDI, so that immigration can find your PDI in case of loss.
In case of overstay, a tax must be paid and this problem must be solved BEFORE taking the plane. I met a French woman who overstayed by 5 days, and it took her 15 days to get an appointment, pay the fines and get a visa extension.
Even without indication, all toilet paper (even the dirtiest butterkk) should be thrown in the trash and not in the toilet.
Chile is an area of high seismic activity. We had a small tremor in San Pedro de Atacama, but since it didn’t last more than 30 seconds, the Chileans didn’t even notice it. In spite of the tsunami alert given to Castro following an earthquake at 7.6, our Chilean neighbors continued to barbecue. But you who don’t know if it’s serious or not, still hide under a table and be prepared to evacuate in case of a tsunami alert, with your special tsunami survival kit (see the Practical Tips section here). Look for the “Tsunami Hazard Zone” and “Evacuation Zone” signs if you are near water. If you need to follow the news live, go on Twitter or on channel 13 on TV.

What we liked

Easter Island, Puerto Varas and Valparaíso
Ceviche with salmon and squeezed juices (especially the ginger limonada )
Ease & reasonable prices of transport
Good government management in case of earthquake/tsunami
Chileans’ resourcefulness in the face of poverty, while remaining smiling and optimistic

What we liked less

Chilean Spanish
Fear of running out of money because withdrawals at the bank don’t always work.
Exorbitant rates in San Pedro de Atacama