edit Chile Travel Guide

• Torres del Paine literally meaning "Towers of Pain," these words alone conjur images of beauty with every avid hiker. This is a group of mountains in Chile's Patagoina region, it offers unmatched beatury and scenery and is considered one of the very best hikes in the world
• Note: Hikes can be as short or as long as you desire but some of the most popular hike the "W" takes about 5 days.

• Atacama Desert the driest desert in the world holds desert beauty all of its own...some places in the desert have never recorded rainfall!
• Lake District Located south of Santiago the Lake District has something for everyone; hiking, climbing, rafting, skiing, snowboarding, kayaking, trekking, or for the more tame just some great beauty and delightful hotsprings

Visa Requirements

Please be aware that although American citizens need a valid passport to enter the country, no visa is necessary.

Note: Citizens of many countries must pay a "reciprocity fee" of varying amounts (for example, USD 100 for American citizens, USD 132 for Canadian citizens, USD 56 for Australian citizens, and USD 15 for Mexican citizens). This fee is equivalent to the amount that country requires for entry visas from Chilean citizens. The fee is only for tourists entering by plane, and the one-time charge is good for the life of your passport. US citizens should have crisp $20 bills to pay the $100 fee.

Customs and Immigration

When entering Chile (By cruise, vehicle or plane), at customs, travelers will need to fill out a tourist card that allows them to stay for up to 90 days. Travelers will have to present the tourist card to Customs officials when leaving the country. Be aware that hotels waive Chile's 19% room tax when the guest shows this card and pays with U.S. dollars. On flights leaving Chile, there is an airport tax of US$18, or the equivalent in Chilean pesos. On domestic flights, airport tax is included in the price of the ticket. For tourism information of Chile please visit: www.visitchile.org. For consulate information please visit the Embassy web site: www.chile-usa.org. More info at Embassy of Chile, UK: www.echileuk.demon.co.uk/consulatevisas.htm.

Agriculture is very important to Chile, and to avoid contamination it is illegal to bring into the country: fruits, vegetable, meats, eggs, honey, etc.

By plane

The most common entry point for oversea visitors is the international airport of the capital Santiago. There are airports in major towns but Santiago offers the best connections. LAN Airlines is Chile's flagship airline.

By car

By bus

If you are already in South America a cheaper and still reliable way is to go by bus to Chile. Chile has borders with Argentina (daily bus from Mendoza), Peru (bus from Arequipa) and Bolivia. Also from Brazil (bus from São Paulo, on Mondays and Thursdays). Be aware that crossing to Chile means that high altitude points might be present (Up to 4000m - 6600ft), also the roads from Peru and Bolivia are a bit poor in quality so be patient.

By boat

By train

Economy

The Chilean economy is on the rise, they are into all aspects of technology and with a liberalized pro-business government they appear to be continuing their positive growth. 

Banking

ATM machines are prevelant around almost all cities of decent size, it is important to watch where and when you decide to pull out money in Santiago, certain areas have a bad reputation which is deserved (Suizia is an example of one). 

Currency

Chile's official currency is the Chilean peso, other currencies are not widely accepted everywhere, so try to carry pesos instead of US dollars or Euros. When exchanging currency, try to ask your travel agency or your tour guide where to do it. It's not advisable to do it in the hotel or the airport, the rates are awful. Just be patient.

Never exchange money on the streets, even if the "helper" indicates you to follow them. The automatic tellers network in Chile is respectable in size and they're all connected to the same service, so they're all good for usual transactions.

In June of 2007, el tipo de cambio : 1USD - 524Pesos

Credit Cards

MasterCard and Visa are both widely accepted at larger hotels and restraunts, especially in the city. However smaller towns and smaller shops might not take credit cards so it is a good idea to have cash on hand. 

Tax

Tipping

10% in sit down restraunts and to most service people. 

Shopping

Costs

A budget traveler can expect to spend about $20-30 a day for 3 meals a dorm room and other expenses. Chile to most western travelers is inexpensive and still presents high quality accomodations. 

About as varied as it gets, from freezing cold in the Andes to year round temperate conditions in the north

Holidays and Celebrations

Language

Types of Restaurants

Types of Food

• Pastel de choclo: corn casserole filled with ground beef, onions, chicken, raisins, hardboiled egg, olives, and topped with sugar and butter.
• Empanada de pino: a baked pie filled with ground beef, onion, raisins, a piece of boiled egg and a black olive. Watch for the pit.
• Empanada de queso: a deep fried patty filled with cheese. Found everywhere, including McDonald's.
• Cazuela de vacuno: beef soup with a potato, rice, a piece of corn and a piece of squash.
• Cazuela de ave (or de pollo): same as above, but with a piece of chicken.
• Cazuela de pavo: idem, with turkey.
• Porotos granados: stew made with fresh beans, squash, corn, onion and basil.
  • con choclo: with grains of corn
  • con pilco or pirco: with corn thinly chopped
  • con mazamorra: with ground corn
  • con riendas:with thin sliced noodles
• Curanto: lots of sea food, beef, chicken and pork, potatoes, cheese, and potato "burguers", prepared in a hole in the ground ("en hoyo") or in a pot ("en olla"); a dish from Chiloé
• Southern sopaipillas: a fried pastry cut as 10 cm circles, with no pumpkin in its dough (see Northern sopaipillas in the desserts section). They replace bread. They are known South of Linares.
• Lomo a lo pobre: a beefsteak, fried potatoes, a fried egg (in restaurants you should expect two) and fried onions.

Besides typical foods, you should expect food you normally found in any Western country. Normal diet includes rice, potatoes, meat and bread. In central Chile vegetables are abundant. If you are concerned about the amount of food, consider that the size of the dish increases the farther south you travel.

With such an enormous coastline you can expect fish and seafood almost everywhere. Locals used to eat bundles of raw shellfish, visitors should be cautious on raw shellfish because of frequent outbreaks of red tides. Chile is the worlds 2nd largest producer of salmón, as well as number of other farmed sea products, which include oysters, scallops, mussels, trout, turbot. Local fish offer includes corvina (sea bass), congrio(conger eel), lenguado (flounder), albacora (swordfish), yellow fin tuna, etc.

Sandwiches

• Hotdog or completo. Not similar to the American version. This one takes mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, tomato, mashed avocado (palta), sauerkraut (chucrut) and chilli (ají). All of it makes a full sandwich, i.e. un completo. With mayonnaise, tomato and avocado it's un italiano with the colors of the Italian flag.
• Lomito. Cooked pork steaks served with anything that can go in a hotdog. Italiano is the preferred form but German purists prefer it with sauerkraut (chucrut).
• Chacarero: a thin beefsteak (churrasco) with tomato, green beans, mayonnaise and green chilli (ají verde).
• Barros Luco: Named after President Ramón Barros Luco. Thinly sliced beefsteak with cheese.
• Choripán: Bread with "chorizo", which is a highly-seasoned pork sausage. Named that way because the contraction of "Pan con Chorizo" or "Chorizo con Pan".

A common combination is meat with avocado and/or mayonnaise, e.g. Ave palta mayo (chicken with avocado and mayonnaise) or Churrasco palta (thinly sliced beefsteak with avocado). The strong presence of avocado is a Chilean standard for sandwiches that even makes it to the fast food franchises who include it in their menus.

Desserts

• Mote con huesillos: dried peach (huesillos) cooked with with lots of sugar (giving a fresh syrup) with optional mote added. Mote is fresh cooked barley with almost no flavor. Since the syrup is very sweet, the mix is good.
• Northern sopaipillas: a fried pastry cut as 10 cm circles, which includes pumpkin in its dough, and normally is eaten with chancaca, a black treacle or molasses. It's customary to make them when it rains and it's cold outside. Sopaipillas as a dessert are known only north of San Javier. From Linares to the South they are not dessert and they are made with no pumpkin. So, when it rains, Chilean Southerners must cook picarones.
• Kuchen (or cújen, pronounced KOO-hen). It's German for pie. In the South ask for kuchen de quesillo, a kind of cheesecake.
• Strudel (pronounced ess-TROO-dayl). A kind of apple pie.
• Berlín. When they translate John Kennedy's famous gaffe they say it's a “jelly doughnut”. The Chilean version is a ball of dough (no hole) filled with dulce de membrillo, crema pastelera or manjar. Powder sugar is added just in case you have a sweet tooth.
• Cuchuflí. "Barquillo" (tube of something crunchy like a cookie) filled with "manjar".

As a major fruit producer, in Central Chile you can easily get fruit for dessert. There is a broad offer that includes apples, oranges, peaches, grapes, watermelons, strawberries, raspberries, chirimoyas', etc.

Etiquette

• Formerly a deeply conservative nation, Chile has since liberalized many facets of its society.
• Unlike other countries in Latin America, the Chilean police force, despite not being really well-paid, is admired for its honesty and competence. Report any complaints to the police the moment you receive them, including that of a crime. Bribing is not acceptable in Chile in comparison with the rest of the Latin America, and you'll likely get arrested for it.
• Do not assume that your hosts in Chile will have the opinion that Pinochet is bad. He still has many supporters - be careful when raising the issue.
• Burping is extremley taboo in Chile so be warned because it is a good way to be considered crude.
  

Drinks

• Wine: Chile produces some excellent wines, competing with California, Australia and New Zealand for world markets. Notable are the Cabernet Sauvignon and Carmenere in red, along with whites from the Casablanca valley.
• Mote con Huesillo: Dehydrated peaches with stewed barley often in water or peach juice.
• Chilean Pisco: Brandy made from Muscat grapes. Popular brands are Capel,Alto del Carmen,Valle Elqui.
• Pisco Sour: One of Chile's most popular mixed drinks, this consists of Pisco mixed with lemon juice and sugar. It has a delicious tart sweetness.
• Mango Sour: Pisco mixed with mangos juice.
• Piscola: Pisco mixed with Coke
• Borgoña: Red wine and strawberries.
• Schop: Beer on tap, generally the house beer.
  
• Fan-Schop: Beer mixed with orange Fanta soda. A refreshing alternative on a hot summer day.
• Beers: Cristal is the most popular (light). Several other main brands, Heineken, Brahma, Becker and premium Kunstmann.

Unlike other latin countries, in Chile it's illegal to drink on the streets or public areas, SO DON'T!. The alcohol laws also severely restrict vendors hours depending on the week day (in no case after 3 AM or before 9 AM). For Foreigners it's allowed to consume alcoholic beverages around the clock but only with their passport and in the hotel they're staying.

Chile has many types of hotels in the cities like Sheraton, Kempinsky, Marriott, Hyatt, Holiday Inn, etc. and a lot of hostels and little hotels of varying qualities. In the backpacker trail a local hostel version can be found in every small city residencial.

Along with Mexico and Argentina, Chile continues to grow as a preferred destination for studies abroad. It is not uncommon to find groups of European or North American students taking interdisciplinary studies in Spanish in one of its many reputed universities.

• Universidad de Chile
• Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
• Universidad de Concepcion http://www.udec.cl
• Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso
• Universidad de Santiago de Chile
• Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María

Foreigners need to apply for a work visa before arriving (it can be done after, but it is a lot harder to get one). Temporary permits are issued to spouses and people with a contract. Under-the-table jobs are normally not well paid, lack the mandatory health insurance and retirement plans, and are a reason to get deported.

Phones

Chile has an extensive network of communications. Mobile telephony (mostly GSM networks) is ubiquitous in major cities and central and southern Chile. If you stay for a considerable amount of time, you could even buy a prepaid cellular phone. Prepaid cards for mobile phones and landline networks and sold at most newspaper kiosks. A prepaid SIM card from ENTEL costs 5000 pesos. You don't need to show an ID card. It comes without credit though, which you need to buy as well to be able to call. The phone system is not as ridiculously complicated as in Argentina.

Internet

There are cybercafes in every major and midsize city and at all tourist destinations. Some libraries are in a program called Biblioredes, with free computers and Internet (they may be very sensitive if you plug your camera or something like that). In some remote locations, public libraries have internet satellite connections. Also notice if there's a Wi-Fi hotspot around. They're usually in metro stations, airports, malls, public buildings. (Check for the ones that say "gratis" = for free)

Having relatively good standards in medicine throughout the country, it is not difficult to stay healthy. However, one will usually find more refined resources at a private medical facility. In case of emergency call 131 (don't expect an english-fluent operator). No vaccinations are necessary.

Crime

Santiago suffers from a high rate of pickpocketers and muggings. Do not travel in the downtown area wearing expensive-looking jewelry or watches, even during the day. Stay alert and be especially careful in all crowded areas in Santiago.

Chilean Carabineros (National Police) are very trustworthy, call 133 if you need assistance. If you have a working GSM mobile phone, call to 112. Some municipalities (such as Santiago or Las Condes) have private guards; however they usually don't speak English.

Emergency

Police

Fire Department

Hospitals

Gays and lesbians

Illicit drugs and prostitution

A growing transshipment country for cocaine destined for the US and Europe; economic prosperity and increasing trade have made Chile more attractive to traffickers seeking to launder drug profits, especially through the Iquique Free Trade Zone; imported precursors passed on to Bolivia; domestic cocaine consumption is rising

Smoking

By plane

By train

By car

By bus

The bus system is pretty sophisticated providing a great way to get from town to town, it is usually quick especially the night buses which are comfortable and economical. Some company's that travel all the country are Turbus and Pullman Bus. In Santiago, you can find both terminal's and more companies on Universidad de Santiago subway station.

La Micro

Micro = transit/local buses. The word is the contraction of Microbus. Larger cities have bus routes to get around for a very affordable price. There are no maps with all the routes so a little bit of Spanish and the audacity to ask around can get you places effectively. Recently changed to a new more modern system in Santiago only. http://www.transantiago.cl

Colectivo

A mix between a micro and a taxi. These small cars have routes and get around quicker and more comfortably. Slightly more expensive or cheaper than the micros depending of the hour.

Metro

A metropolitan railway system operating in Santiago, Valparaiso and Concepcion. A reliable way to move around in the city. You must pay the fee only once (when you enter the system) and you can ride in it as much as you want. Now there are more stations because of the recent construction of two new lines. http://www.metrosantiago.cl

Most travelers are suprised at how efficent the Santiago metro is, the lines are clearly marked, it is not expensive, and it is cleaner and safer than any mass transit in the U.S.

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