Language: The official language is Spanish.
Currency: The local currency is the Chilean Peso (CLP), which is divided into 100 centavos. Visa,
MasterCard,
Diners Club and to a lesser extent,
American Express, are accepted in most large shops and hotels. Travelers cheques, particularly in US Dollars, are welcome in major towns, where there are banks and cambios offering currency exchange services. ATMs are widely available.
Time: Mainland is GMT -4 (GMT -3 from October to March).
Easter Island is GMT -6 (GMT -5 from October to March).
Electricity: Electrical current
is 220 volts, 50Hz. Round two-pin plugs and round three-pin plugs (in-line) are used.
Communications: The international access code for
Chile is +56. The outgoing code is 00 followed by the relevant country code (e.g. 0044 for the
United Kingdom). The area code for
Santiago is (0)2. Internet cafes are available in the main towns. A number of telephone companies offer different rates for national and international calls, depending on the time of day. Public phones are widely available and international call centers are available in most shopping malls. Mobile phone companies have roaming agreements with most international cell phone companies; otherwise mobile phones can easily be rented. A GSM 1900 network is in operation. Internet cafes are widespread, particularly in the big cities.
Duty Free: Travelers entering Chile do not need to pay customs duty on 400 cigarettes, 50 cigars (large or small) and 500g tobacco; 2.5 liters of alcohol; and perfume for personal use. Meat products, flowers, fruit and vegetables may only be imported if permission is given by the
Department of Agriculture in advance.
Tourist OfficeChile
National Tourism Board SERNATUR, Santiago: +56 (0)2 696 7141 or www.chile.travel
EmergencyEmergencies: 133 (Police); 131 (Medical).
Embassies
Embassy of Chile,
Washington DC,
United States: +1 202 785 1746.
Embassy of Chile,
London, United Kingdom: +44 (0)20 7580 6392.
Embassy of Chile,
Ottawa,
Canada: +1 613 235 4402.
Embassy of Chile,
Canberra,
Australia: +61 (0)2 6286 2430.
Embassy of Chile,
Pretoria,
South Africa: +27 (0)12 460 8090.
Embassy of Chile,
Dublin,
Ireland: +353 (0)1 667 5094.
Embassy of Chile,
Wellington,
New Zealand: +64 (0)4 471 6270.
United States Embassy, Santiago: +56 (0)2 232 2600.
British Embassy, Santiago: +56 (0)2 370 4100.
Canadian Embassy, Santiago: +56 (0)2 652 3800.
Australian Embassy, Santiago: +56 (0)2 550 3500.
South
African Embassy, Santiago: +56 (0)2 231 2860-3.
Honorary Consul of Ireland, Santiago: +56 (0)2 245 6616.
New
Zealand Embassy, Santiago: +56 (0)2 290 9800.
