|
St Francis |
|
Chile Travel Notes
March - April, 2009
|
Books and Reference Material |
|||
|
South America on a Shoestring |
Another good pub from Lonely Planet. |
||
|
Chile and
Easter Island |
The latest
edition is 2006, and is therefore a little out of date in 2009.
Prices have risen about 50%, and there are A LOT more places to stay
everywhere than is mentioned in the guide. Bus still has lots
of useful information on where to go, and what to see, as well as
town maps that might help you figure out where that hostal you are
booking is located. |
||
| Chile Forum on Lonely Planet |
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forum.jspa?forumID=22&keywordid=234 You can search this forum and post your own questions. |
||
|
HostalWorld |
http://www.hostalworld.com A reasonably good site with reviews and ability to book hostals in Chile. However, we found that hostels that were on HostalWorld were slightly more expensive, and as it got further into low season, we quit booking ahead and just let ourselves be hustled from the bus station. |
||
|
Backpackers Chile |
http://www.backpackerschile.com They publish an English-language booklet with slightly more upscale places than the low-rent backpacker places. Some quality control in their listings. Based in Pucon, but cover all over Chile. | ||
|
Hostel Trail |
http://www.hosteltrail.com The Hostel Trail maintains a great website for finding backpacker places all over South America, and some 'to do' information once you get to a place. Not as good in Chile as it was in Colombia. |
||
| Patagonia Black Sheep | http://www.patagoniablacksheep.com A newspaper published monthly in the Chilean summer with lots of info on Patagonia, in English. | ||
|
Traveller's Guru |
An English language tourist newspaper for Argentina and Chile (based
in Bariloche) |
||
|
Poor But Happy Website |
http://www.poorbuthappy.com/chile/ This website was a good resource for Colombia, not sure how good for Chile. | ||
|
Tips on Finding a Hotel & Things to
Do in a New Town We found that almost every town in Chile and Argentina that is a tourist destination has a staffed tourist office near the central square and/or the bus station. They usually have a book listing all the hostals/hotels, prices, locations, and *sometimes* will recommend one. They also usually have town and region maps, and advice on what the average tourist will want to do (both paid tours and self tours) |
|||
|
Tips on Communicating via the
Internet Many 1st World people do not realize that anti-spam filters on your email might be filtering out emails from foreign locations, without telling you. So if you've emailed someone in Chile and not gotten a response, try it again from another email address (Gmail, Yahoo, your work address, whatever) before you give up. We thought that the Navimag people were not responding to our reservation request, but in fact their responses just never reached us because of anti-spam protection from our email host. Finally, when all else fails, use Skype, and ask "Hay un persona aqui que habla Ingles?" Usually they can dig up someone who can communicate with you. |
|||
|
Money |
Note: Chile uses Chilean Pesos as its currency. If the amount is in thousands, it is Chilean Pesos. Note that in Latin countries, the decimal point is a comma, and the thousands separator is a period. So one hundred thousand pesos is written $100.000 (it is very confusing!). If you see 3 zeros on a website, assume it is Pesos, NOT dollars. In Mar-April 2009, the exchange rate ranged between 560-615 pesos to the dollar. So to get dollars from pesos, you knock off the last 3 zeros, and double it (roughly). What is it now?: Yahoo's Exchange Rate Site | ||
|
English News of Chile |
We often overhear news on the TV or radio that we don't completely understand. Here's a site that covers the major news stories in English. Here's at least one we've found. It's a little fluffy (more tree-hugger than news), but better than nothing: http://www.santiagotimes.cl/santiagotimes/ |
||
|
Weather |
|||
|
Internet |
Good, fairly fast, internet is
available all over Chile, even in the remoter places like Puerto
Natales. However, you will almost NEVER just open your laptop
and find an open wifi hotspot. Everyone uses either MAC
Address filtering, or WEP, or WPA password-protected encryption.
A number of the internet cafes didn't have any provisions for wifi,
had to hard connect on a cable and then reconfigure to a set IP
address. Some refused the laptop. Most (but not all)
hostals have at least some kind of internet. |
||
|
Chile and Argentina have a really
nice bus system, especially on long-haul trips. You can even
book buses with full reclining beds. ('cama' and 'semi-cama'
buses). For best sightseeing while on the bus, if the bus is a
double-decker, ask for the upstairs front seats. The
downstairs front seats are often blocked by a curtain behind the
driver. |
|||
|
Tur-Bus -
Really nice executive class buses that have routes all over Chile. Tur-bus also operates a van shuttle from the Santiago Airport.
You can book bus tickets online. The Santiago station is found
at metro stop University of Santiago. If you are going round
trip, you should book the return at the same time as the outbound,
as you get a 20% discount on the return.
http://www.turbus.cl |
|||
|
Cruz del Sur - Covers south and
central Chile, from Santiago to Punta Arenas. Main bus line to
Chiloe. Has a route from Puerto Montt to Bariloche also.
http://www.pullmansur.cl/
|
|||
|
Andesmar - Bus we took between Valdivia and Bariloche, Argentina http://www.andesmar.com |
|||
|
Train between Chillan and Santiago http://www.efe.cl/ We enjoyed the train trip up from Chillan to Santiago. It seems really hard to get info from anyone about the trains (no travel agent we asked had any information). But they are actively working on their website. There is an online booking capability, but we had trouble getting properly registered on the site to complete the booking. Finally ended up booking in person the day before in Chillan. The 10am train north in April was only about 25% full. |
|||
|
|
|||
|
LAN |
LAN Chile is
THE airline for Chile. But we also used Sky Airlines for
cheaper travel within Chile. However, Sky is nearly impossible
to book outside of Chile. |
||
|
Sky Air |
Sky Air is a smaller operator within Chile.
They can be cheaper than LAN, but hard to book from outside Chile
(you can't pay with a credit card). They have an office on the
3rd floor of the Santiago Airport, and downtown in Santiago. |
||
| CostaMar Travel in Peru |
We were able to book some legs on LAN via Costamar for cheaper than
they were showing on LAN's website (but not always). We were also somehow able
to book and pay for a Sky flight on their site (but later friends
tried and could not) http://www.costamar.com/switchLanguage.costamar?lang=en |
||
|
|
|||
|
Name |
Address |
Phone |
Description |
| Hotel |
Green House 537 Marcoleta Street 2 minute walk from the metro station Santa Lucia |
02-633-7638 |
We booked online via
HostelWorld.com Or you can contact them directly via greenhouse.chile@gmail.com Double, shared bath, wifi, very close to everything in downtown Santiago. |
| Eating |
Miyako Japanese Restaurant -
Address is Moneda 856, a few blocks from the Green House. A hopping
sushi restaurant that has a 50% discount during lunch hour and after
6pm. Good value, good service, good food. Restaurant Row on Pio Nono (Barrio Bella Vista) - Take the Metro to the Baqueadano stop, walk north on Pio Nono, over the bridge. Pio Nono is lined on both sides with restaurants, sidewalk cafe's and bars. This looked like a fun place to go out for the night. |
||
| To Do |
Downtown Santiago is a safe and
cosmopolitan place to walk around. From the Green House, you
are only a few blocks from lots of interesting people-watching
places. The Santiago Metro is a great way to extend your legs
and see the rest of the city and the surrounding countryside. Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino - Nice presentation of the array of pre-Colombian art for South and Central America People-Watching - Plaza de Armas, downtown Shopping - Big outdoor pedestrian mall area Huerfanos and the Plaza de las Armas |
||
| Metro Santiago |
Clean, fast, goes
everywhere in Santiago http://www.metrosantiago.cl/tu_viaje.php |
||
|
Maipo Valley (Via Local Bus from Santiago) |
|||
|
Getting There |
We asked at a Tourist Information office. We went via public transportation, the Metro and a bus. |
||
|
Hotel: |
Cascada de los
Animas
http://www.cascada.net/index_ing/index.php |
||
|
To Do: |
We did a half-day of whitewater rafting and a half-day of horseback riding, and a self-hike up to a waterfall. It's a beautiful area with lots of hiking possible. |
||
|
Valparaiso (via bus from Santiago) |
|||
|
|
Name/Address |
Phone |
Description |
|
Hotel: |
Resedencia en
el Cerro |
032-249-5298 |
We called for
reservations ahead of time, but it was not full in mid-March.
Room 2.2 has fantastic views of the harbor, can sleep up to 5 people
(but was booked as a double)
Website
pierreloti51@gmail.com
|
|
Other Hotels: |
http://alojamientoenvalparaiso.cl |
||
|
To Do: |
- Sunday
afternoon flea market, on the main street into town near the bus
station |
||
|
Eating Out: |
Lunch at the fish market (Mercado Puerto Valparaiso) near the waterfront downtown. 2 big restaurants on the street across from the market, and a number of small restaurants upstairs over the fish market. We ate at Anita's, Locale # 81. Seemed like a popular place with the locals. Nice and clean. Free Pisco Sour with lunch. |
||
|
Punta Arenas |
|||
|
|
Name/Address |
Phone |
Description |
|
Hotel: |
Hostal La
Luna |
061-221-764 |
We called for
reservations ahead of time. Small place run by a nice lady, a
few blocks out of the central part of town, quiet. TV in room,
no internet (but internet cafes close by). Near big grocery
store. |
|
Buses |
We flew to
Punta Arenas, so don't know about getting there by bus, but I think
you get there via Argentina. |
||
|
Eating: |
Lomit's - nice
cozy place, bar and restaurant. Has non-smoking area.
Good steak. No internet |
||
|
To Do: |
Penguin Tours... the trips to Isla Magdalena aren't running on a regular basis in March. So we did the cheaper trip which you go by shuttle van. |
||
|
Puerto Natales |
|||
|
|
Name/Address |
Phone |
Description |
|
Hotel: |
Hostal Mary |
061-412-498 |
Recommended by
someone we met in Punta Arenas. Small place run by a nice lady, a
few blocks out of the central part of town, quiet. TV in room,
owner has loaner internet card for a laptop (also internet cafes close by). |
|
Buses |
|
||
|
To Do |
Hike Torres del
Paine |
||
|
Hiking Torres del Paine |
TDP is a huge national park with a
glacier (Glaciar Grey) and 3-4 varieties of terrain. The
traditional hike is called "The W", a 5 day hike in a W-shape, up 3
valleys. It is possible to either camp for free everywhere,
camp at paid places (with more amenties), or stay at a 'Refugio' (a
bare-bones hostal that provides beds, heated areas, and meals).
If going in high season (Dec-Feb), definitely book facilities ahead. If
you want low season, and want to use Refugios, go BEFORE Mar 15,
because some refugios start closing down Mar 15. It IS
possible to visit the highlights of TDP in 1 or 2 days, and if
you're an avid hiker/camper, you could spend 2 weeks here easily. |
||
|
Puerto Varas |
|||
|
|
Name/Address |
Phone |
Description |
|
Hotel: |
Hospedaje
Ellenhaus |
065-233-577 |
Nice 3-story
hostel hidden down a narrow entryway, very clean. Good kitchen
for guests. The optional breakfast (with eggs) costs 2,500
pesos. |
|
Ensenada |
|||
|
|
Name/Address |
Phone |
Description |
|
Hotel: |
Brisas del Lago |
065-212-012 |
Waterfront
cabins on Lago Llanquihue. Very nice, clean. Beautiful
location right under Vulcan Osorno. $67 for a cabin that
sleeps 4, with a full kitchen. |
| Alternate Hotel |
Cabanas Barlovento Ensenada Ruta 225 Km 44 |
(065) - 233140 | We checked these out, they are comparable in price and size, but not on the water. $30,000 pesos for cabin with 2 people, $35,000 for 4 people. |
| Biking |
There are some biking outfitters in
Puerto Varas. We rented bikes from our hotel (Brisas del Lago) for $10,000 pesos per day. Another place in Ensenada, Barlovento, rents for $12,000 pesos. We took a day-long bike trip (about 40km r/t) from Brisas to Lago Todos los Santos, via the Rio Petrohue and Petrohue Falls. Mostly level, not bad trip even for novices. The falls are only half way, so an even easier trip would be just to the falls. We were working on arranging transportation for us and bike up Osorno to the parking lot of the ski resort (and then coast down), but wx went bad and we cancelled. |
||
| Whitewater Rafting and Kayaking |
Ko Kayak. A great outfit run by a
French ex-pat named Richard. KM 40 on Route 225 (just outside
Ensenada). $27,000 pesos per person for half day trip (~2 hrs
on river) Well-run, multilingual. Nice job, nice river. http://www.kokayak.com/ They also do multi-day sea kayak trips on the ocean. Richard was also willing to help us arrange transport for bikes up to Mt. Osorno. Richard's Cell # 93105272 Al Sur Expediciones. The other rafting/kayaking company in the area. http://www.alsurexpeditions.com Same price as Ko Kayak. Puelo Adventure. A travel agent in Puerto Varas that we could have booked the rafting trip through. http://www.pueloadventure.cl Ernesto speaks good English. Cost for the trip is the same whether booked thru an agent in Puerto Varas or directly with the company, and whether it includes transport to/from P Varas or not. We tried the direct approach in Ensenada with 4 of us, and could get no discount. |
||
|
Bus |
We took the public bus from Puerto Varas to Ensenada for $1,200 pesos each. Runs about every half hour. You can take the same bus all the way to Petrohue (with stop at waterfall). Just look for ones that say Ensenada and Petrohue. | ||
|
Chiloe This is a charming island with a little of the feel of Maine (without the lobster traps). Kind of dead in the off-season. Good place to get away from the tourist crowds. Less expensive than most of the places we have been in Chile. |
|||
|
|
Name/Address |
Phone |
Description |
|
Castro Hotel: |
Hostal Cordillero |
065-532-247 |
Nice 2-story hostel a few blocks from
Central Square, Cruz del Sur Bus Terminal and Municipal Bus
Terminal. Some rooms have great view of harbor. NO
central heat, but fireplace in common room and hall heater in the
evenings (adequate). Good hot water. Free wifi and
decent computer in common room. Free breakfast (better than
most, but no eggs). $7,000 pesos per person (mid April 2009)
in double with shared bath. TV's in some rooms. |
| Alternate Hotel | Hospedaje El Mirador | 065-633-795 |
Same area as Cordillero, same kind of
place for similar rate. http://hospedaje-mirador.blogspot.com |
| Alternate Hotel | Hostal Don Miguel | Right down alley from Cordillero, same kind of place for similar rate. | |
| Chonchi Hotel |
Esmerelda by the Sea |
In the 'Recommended Hostels in Chile' guide, but friends stayed there and said it was substandard. | |
| To Do |
From Castro, you can jump local buses
for a couple dollars to go on day trips anywhere on the island.
We priced 4-6 hour tours with tour companies at $18,000 pesos per person,
and opted the do-it-yourself route. Day 1: Chonchi and the Chiloe National Park (Chonchi/Park bus leaves 9am from muni bus station) (next bus leaves at 11am). Spend 2-3 hours in the park, stop off at Chonchi on the way back (or there). Bus fare 3,000 r/t, Park entry 1,000 (per person) Day 2: Dalcahue and Anchoe. Get the Dalcahue bus that goes onto the island via the ferry (ask for the right bus at the bus station). They leave about every 15-20 minutes. Can stop in Dalcahue, Curaco del Ventas or Anchoe, all small towns. We ate lunch at the new waterfront Artesania facility in Dalcahue. About 3,000 r/t. The water taxis going to the outer small islands don't seem to be running much in the offseason (mid-April). |
||
| Eating |
Several inexpensive restaurants along
the waterfront near Cordillera Restaurante Artemesia, just up the street La Piazza pizza place on the corner of the square. |
||
|
Valdivia |
|||
|
|
Name/Address |
Phone |
Description |
|
Hotel |
Hostal Perez Rosales |
063-215607 |
Nice family-run 12-room hostal.
2 blocks from the waterfront, 4-5 blocks from the central square
area and 1 block from waterfront. |
| To Do |
6 hour boat tour around the rivers and
to 2 forts, including lunch and drink for about $12-14K pesos.
We recommend the big catamaran Marques de ____. Beautiful waterfront... stroll along and watch the sea lions. Museum just across the river. |
||
| Eating | Numerous seafood restaurants down by the mercado on the waterfront. Our favorite was La Estrella, on the 3rd floor of the mercado, space #210, on the water side. | ||
|
Pucon |
|||
|
|
Name/Address |
Phone |
Description |
|
Hotel |
Hospedaje M@yra |
045-442745 |
Less than a block from the terminal
that Bus San Martin dropped us off at, 2 blocks off the main drag in
Pucon. Cheap (5000 pesos pp offseason, double, shared bath, no
breakfast, kitchen privs, wifi). Kind of run down, not much
heat. |
|
Hotel |
Ruca Rayen |
09-84491153 |
After 2 nights in town, we moved out to
Ruca Rayen, a farm about 20 minutes by bus from Pucon. This is
a great place to just chill out after too much traveling. No
internet. 10,000 pp double/private, including breakfast. Other meals
available for a price. Horseback riding, kayaking, hiking.
Speak English, German, Spanish, Mapuche. http://www.rukarayen.com |
| To Do | We booked a guided hike ($16K pesos each) with ecole to see the Cani Forest. Also went horseback riding and kayaking with Ruca Rayen. There's also the Villarica Volcano trek and hot springs, which we didn't do. | ||
| Eating | Restaurants everywhere. Good vegetarian food at ecole. | ||
|
|
|||
|
|
Name/Address |
Phone |
|
|
|
Name/Address |
Phone |
Description |
|
Hotel |
Hostal Canada |
234515 |
A couple blocks from the big bus terminal, 1 block from train station, 2 blocks from square/market area. 7000 pesos pp offseason, double, shared bath, no breakfast, kitchen privs, wifi, TV in room). Kind of run down, not much heat. Clean rooms, good beds. |
|
Here's what we know
about cell phones in Chile. 1. U.S. GSM phones from Cingular/ATT, if 'opened' can be used in Chile. Most phones can be opened, but the cost and effort to do so varies. If you don't already have a GSM phone, you can buy one on eBay, already opened, or 'in country'. 2. Once your phone is open, you can buy a prepaid sim card for about $8 (Movistar, in Chile) 3. Then you can 'add minutes' from many places, including online. Note that minutes expire eventually. When they expire depends on how big an increment you buy. 4. One quirk with Chilean cell phones is that they have to be activated for 90 days before you can call out internationally (and I think be called internationally). This is supposedly a security regulation. Calling our cell phone via Skype gets the message that the phone is not activated. We went back to a Movistar place to try to get it opened for international, and the guy said it wasn't possible. 6. To call internationally... (see #4). A local guy asked his mother how she called the States. She said that you call whatever long distance service you want (she used #154) and then the international access number for the States (01). So theoretically you would prefix a US call by 15401. So I would dial 15401-321-536-8751 to call my US cell phone. But we can't try it because of #4. Use a 'Cabina Telefonica' on the streets, or Skype, to make calls to the US. 7. To get your minutes, dial 300, it is a free call the first time you call each day 8. To get voicemail, call 500 (I think) 9. If you do not have a cell phone, you can still make calls. Look for the sign 'Cabinas Telefonica' on the sidewalk. These are 'call anywhere' places. 10. Internet Access with Your Phone. With Movistar prepaid service, a Motorola, internet capable cell phone (like a V3), a USB cable for your phone, and Motorola Phone Tools, you can do internet very easily with cell phone. Motorola Phone Tools figures out the configuration needed for your phone and network, it's fairly idiot proof to set up. The connection is not THAT expensive. It costs us about $1 US to go online, send/receive email with Outlook, and get offline. You can web surf, but the cost adds up. Speed is like 19.2 dialup.
|
|||