Santiago, Chile — Travel Tips
Getting There By Air
Aeropuerto Arturo Merino Benítez (SCL)
Tel: (02) 690 1752 or 1753 (information).
Website: www.aeropuertosantiago.cl
Most flights to Santiago arrive at the Arturo Merino Benítez Airport located in the city's eastern suburb of Pudahuel, 25km (16 miles) northwest of the city. There are two terminals, international and domestic.
Approximate flight times to Santiago: From London is 20 hours; from New York is 10 hours; from Los Angeles is 14 hours; from Toronto is 16 hours and from Sydney is 18 hours.
Airport facilities: These include restaurants, bars, a post office, left luggage, tourist information, duty-free shops, boutiques, VIP lounges, a first-aid center, a bureau de change and ATMs. Passengers in search of lost property should call the airport's helpline (tel: (02) 690 1707), open daily 0830-1730. Car hire is available from several companies, including Avis, Alamo, Budget and Hertz.
Transport to the city: Tur-Bus (tel: 600 660 6600, in Chile only, or (02) 601 9573; www.turbus.cl) operates shuttle buses that leave every 30 minutes from outside arrivals, stopping at city center locations, including Los Héroes and Universidad de Santiago Metro stations. CentroPuerto (tel: (02) 601 9883 or 0549) offers a similar service but is slightly cheaper. Door-to-door mini-van transfers from airport to hotel are available through TransVip (tel: (02) 677 3000; www.transvip.cl) and TurTransfer (tel: (02) 677 3600; www.turtransfer.cl). It is possible to find space in one of these mini-vans on arrival but advance booking is advisable. The airport's official taxi service (tel: (02) 690 1381; www.taxioficial.cl) is available 24 hours a day. A trip to the downtown area should cost no more than US$20-25 (journey time - approximately 25 minutes, although it can take much longer due to traffic).
Getting There By Road
Chile's main roads are fast, well maintained and a far cry from the potholed quagmires of some other South American countries. Highways connecting towns and cities are Rutas Nacionales (national routes) and are identified by their numbers - for example, Ruta 5 or Ruta 68. In theory, many visitors only require a current driving license from their country of residence, but an International Driving License is usually preferable. If using a non-Chilean-registered car, it must be taken out of the country within 90 days. This period cannot be extended. Cars brought into Chile need local insurance and a Relaciones de Pasajeros (Passenger Relations) document, both of which are available at points of entry and border crossings. Public liability insurance is compulsory.
The minimum driving age is 18 years. In Chile it is illegal for the driver of a vehicle to smoke, use headphones to listen to MP3/CD players or use a phone while at the wheel. Seat belts are mandatory for drivers and passengers. The maximum legal alcohol-to-blood ratio for driving is 0.05% and all drivers involved in a road accident will undergo an obligatory blood alcohol test at the nearest police station. Speed limits on roads in Chile vary from place to place and it is best to keep an eye on road signs. Maximum speed limits are as follows: 60kph (37mph) in urban areas, 80kph (50mph) on secondary roads and 120kph (75mph) on two-lane highways. Drivers are charged for using Chile's highways at tollbooths (peajes) - the charge ranges from Ch$400 to Ch$3,000, depending on the location, day and time.
Chile's automobile association is the Automovil Club de Chile (tel: 600 464 4040, in Chile only; www.automovilclub.cl), which has offices in most large towns, offering local information, maps and vehicle rental. Reciprocal benefits exist for members of some motoring organizations in other countries.
Emergency breakdown services
Automovil Club de Chile (ACCHI) (tel: 600 450 6000, in Chile only, or (02) 431 1313).
Routes to the city
Santiago sits halfway along the north-south Ruta 5, the Chilean section of the Pan-American Highway. Destinations that can be reached via Ruta 5 are Rancagua, Chillán, La Serena, Valdivia, Puerto Montt, Antofagasta and Arica. It is linked to the coast by Ruta 68, which runs to Valparaíso and the resort town of Viña del Mar. There is no land route within Chile's borders to Punta Arenas and the far south, so drivers heading there must pass through Argentina. All routes into the city eventually link up with the main downtown thoroughfare of Avenida Bernardo O'Higgins, which is more commonly known as the Alameda.
Coach services
By far the most popular form of long-distance transport in Chile is bus, with several companies competing with each other for domestic as well as marathon transcontinental routes. Two reliable providers for international routes are Tas Choapa (tel: (02) 776 7307; www.taschoapa.cl) and Buses Ahumada (tel: (02) 784 2512; www.busesahumada.cl). These operators also run domestic routes. There are dozens of companies with domestic services but the best known and most reliable are Tur-Bus (tel: 600 660 6600, in Chile only; www.turbus.cl) and Pullman Bus (tel: 600 320 3200, in Chile only; www.pullman.cl).
Getting There By Rail
Chile's railway system, run by Empresa de los Ferrocarriles del Estado (EFE) (tel: 600 585 5000, in Chile only; www.efe.cl), is not what it used to be. There has been some investment in recent years but routes are relatively limited. Trains leave from Estación Central (Central Station), Avenida Bernardo O'Higgins (Alameda) 3170 - the grand 19th-century terminus was designated a national monument in 1983.
Rail Services
The only long-distance passenger trains from Santiago go south to Chillán (journey time - 4 hours 30 minutes; www.terra-sur.cl) and Concepción, where you can connect with buses to destinations further south. Total journey times are: Los Angeles (10 hours), Temuco (12 hours), Pucón (14 hours).
Getting Around in Santiago, Chile
Public Transport
Santiago's transport system has been plagued by problems recently. Transantiago (tel: 600 730 0073, in Chile only; www.transantiagoinforma.cl), an ambitious plan to overhaul the city's public transport infrastructure, has proved woefully inadequate and officials are desperately trying to repair the damage done to commuter relations. Strikes and complaints have been commonplace since Transantiago began in 2005.
Tarjeta Bip! travel cards (tel: 800 730 073; www.tarjetabip.cl) are valid for travel on Santiago's Metro system and buses; you can buy these at Metro ticket offices. Each single fare on a Bip! card covers up to three interconnected metro/bus journeys over a period of two hours.
The modern Metro system, Metro de Santiago (tel: 600 730 0073, in Chile only; www.metrosantiago.cl), is still the easiest way to travel around Santiago, and is for the most part clean, efficient and reliable. Nevertheless it can get extremely crowded at peak hours (partly the result of poor bus route planning), and avoiding travel during rush hour is recommended. The Metro system has five lines which operate daily, closing overnight.
Santiago's city buses are run by private companies. The system has changed under the new Transantiago transport scheme. The old yellow fume-belchers no longer rule the streets; those on the major 'trunk' routes have now been painted white with green stripes, while other buses have different colors according to the zones they serve (there are nine outside the city center). Gradually authorities have tried to instil more order, clamping down on the blatant competition. However, work still needs to be done to fine-tune the bus routes and ensure an adequate level of service.
Taxis
There is no shortage of taxis, which are black with yellow roofs. Taxi drivers are generally honest but occasionally take foreigners to their destinations via very indirect routes, as a means of bumping up the fare. Taxis should have meters, although the occasional dodgy, fast-moving meter is not unheard of either. Find out what your fare should be before you travel. Women traveling alone at night should exercise caution. Radio Taxi Andes-Pacífico (tel: (02) 204 0530; www.andespacifico.cl) and Radio Taxi Centro (tel: (02) 697 0106; www.rtcentro.cl) are reliable, well-established minicab firms.
Driving in the City
Driving in Santiago is a headache, with congestion to rival any European or North American metropolis - although most Chilean drivers are reasonably courteous. Attempts to combat pollution have included imposing limits on the use of cars that run on leaded petrol. Some areas impose traffic restrictions by barring entry to cars with certain registration numbers on certain days.
Many of the more upmarket hotels have a guest car park. Parking in the downtown area is difficult but there are two car parks close to Avenida Bernardo O'Higgins (Alameda). These are at Calle San Francisco 75 (tel: (02) 632 4024) and outside Calle Santa Rosa 76 (tel: (02) 460 8555). There are also underground estacionamientos along Avenida Providencia, situated beside Metro stations. Many of Santiago's car parks are owned by Saba (www.saba.es). Alternatively, many urban streets offer metered parking.
Car Hire
Most car hire companies require the driver to be 22 years or over. Drivers must hold a current driving license from their country of origin (an International Driving Permit is not usually essential but can be helpful), and must show a passport and leave an imprint of a credit card as a deposit. Insurance is usually additional to the car rate and is recommended.
Providers include Chilean Rent A Car (tel: (02) 737 9650; www.chileanrentacar.cl), Avis (tel: 600 368 2000, in Chile only; www.avischile.cl) and Rosselot (tel: (02) 690 1374; www.rosselot.cl).
Bicycle Hire
Cycling is becoming a lot easier in central Santiago. With the pollution and transport problems of recent years, using two wheels is a more attractive option than it used to be. That said, you do need to be careful about the route you take - dodging buses on the Alameda is not an experience many will enjoy. Nowadays, many of the city's parks have cycle lanes, there is a lovely riverside route and there is good mountain biking along the winding lanes of Cerro San Cristobál. You can hire mountain bikes from LYS Rent-a-Car, Calle Miraflores 537 (tel: (02) 633 7600; www.lys.cl).
