10 ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR TRAVELING TO CHILE

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With this list of tips for traveling to Chile We want to make your trip as easy as possible, in addition to approaching you to one of the most incredible countries in the world, which we are sure, will make you fall in love when you step on it.
With some of the most extreme landscapes in the world, a unique culture and exceptional cuisine, among many other things, Chile is a safe bet in addition to a destination in uppercase that will exceed any expectations you have, however high it may be.

Based on our trip to Chile and Easter Island in 31 days, we leave you a list of those that are for us, the best tips for traveling to Chile.

1. What is the best time?

The first thing to keep in mind is that Chile is a country of great dimensions and for this reason, it has different climates, depending on the time and the area you travel, so we could even say that any time is good to travel to Chile, without forgetting that if you are going to travel to Chile during these months, it is highly recommended to make reservations for flights, accommodation and rental car in time to avoid excessive prices and lack of availability.
In addition to this, we cannot forget that Chile is in the southern hemisphere, so the seasons are reversed in relation to Spain.

High season (from November to February): In addition to being the busiest season, these months are the best to visit much of Chile such as Santiago, the Atacama Desert, Torres del Paine, Puerto Mont and Easter Island.
Mid season (from September to November and from March to May): This would be the best time to travel to the Lake District, at which time temperatures are more stable.
Low season (from June to August): If you like winter sports, this is the most suitable time for a trip to Chile as well as to visit the northern part of the country.

2. Security

Chile is a very safe country in general, although as in any destination, certain basic precautions have to be taken, such as not carrying valuables in sight in places that we do not know or do not go through crowded areas at night. To have data on the unsafe areas of a city or area, nothing better than asking at the accommodation itself, where they will surely give you advice so that travel to Chile Be totally safe.
If you are going to make a journey by public transport, you should book it in advance and keep track of valuables and luggage and if you are going to need a taxi, it is usually more advisable to hire it directly with the accommodation that you do not take one on the street .
In addition to this, we cannot forget that Chile is a country sometimes exposed to natural disasters such as earthquakes or floods. Despite that, we assure you from experience, that it is an incredibly prepared country, so if you live any, always follow the recommendations and indications of the authorities.

Castro in Chiloé

3. Requirements for entering Chile

Any Spanish citizen can make a trip to Chile for a maximum period of three months, carrying a passport, round-trip ticket, as well as demonstrating that there are financial means available for their entire stay.
In case you need to extend your trip more than 3 months, it is necessary to request an extension at the local authorities.
In case of belonging to any other nationality, it is essential to consult the requirements for entering Chile in the corresponding Embassy.

Another of the best tips for traveling to Chile It is always carry a copy of important documents such as passport, driving license, airline tickets, medical insurance ... etc in the cloud so that in case of loss, the procedures can be much more agile.

Passport

4. Vaccines and travel insurance

There is not no mandatory vaccine to travel to Chile, although tetanus, diphtheria, hepatitis A and B, triple viral and typhoid fever and rabies are recommended in risk groups.
In the same way, it is absolutely essential and advisable to go to your international vaccination center so that it is a doctor who, depending on your medical history, duration of the trip and places you are going to visit, determines which vaccines are necessary for you.

In addition to this it is also essential to have the best travel insurance for Chile, in case of need, have the most appropriate assistance.
We always travel insured with Mondo, with whom we carry a totally adequate insurance to the needs that we will have during the trip. Hiring your insurance here with Mondo, just for being a Street Travelers reader, you have a 5% discount.

Do not forget that in Chile, if you are going to visit a place that is above 3000 meters such as the Atacama Desert, you will need to hire extra coverage for adventure sports, which includes assistance on that altitude and that of course, you can also hire with Mondo.

5. Money exchange

The currency of Chile is the Chilean peso (CLP) which currently equals 1 euros to 803 Chilean pesos. After many trips and different experiences with the currency exchange we currently recommend traveling to Chile to pay as much as possible with a card and withdraw money from ATMs.

We recommend using the N26 card to pay and the Bnext and Revolut cards to get money at the ATMs. They are the ones we use, They are free and will save you a lot.
You can find more information in this article about the best cards to travel without commissions.

In addition to this it is necessary to carry cash to make payments in places where they do not accept cards and for the usual tips in restaurants and hotels.
Remember that even if you read the opposite, there are ATMs on Easter Island and you can pay by card in most places, although it is true that there are some restaurants that do not accept them.

Atacama Desert, a must when traveling to Chile

6. How to have internet in Chile?

If you want to have internet in Chile, something very necessary today, especially considering the amount of applications we use in our trips and the need to be in contact with our family and friends, you can choose several options:

Buy a SIM card at the airport or at a phone shop in the city.
Buy one Holafly SIM card, with which you will have internet from the moment you land, saving you all the time of the negotiations and making the whole process to have internet in Chile much more comfortable, fast and easy.
In this case, with the Holafly SIM you will have several Gb to surf the Internet (depending on the option you choose), they will send it to you for free at home, you will keep your WhatsApp number and you will have assistance service in Spanish. You can buy your Holafly prepaid SIM card here with a 5% discount for being our reader.

More information on the Holafly post, the best prepaid SIM card for travel

7. Route Santiago and northern Chile

The first and most important thing before starting a trip to Chile is to divide the country into zones and once you have clear the places to see in Chile essential and depending on the days you have, make a logical route, which allows you to take advantage of the time maximum.
After our experience, if you want to cover the main areas of the country, we believe that the minimum to travel would be a month although logically you can make very complete routes with less time, but covering fewer areas.

Once you are clear about what you want and can visit, the next step will be to look for a flight, which will normally be to Santiago de Chile, where we recommend you to make a route through Santiago de Chile in 1 day and Santiago de Chile in two days to From there, make a day trip to see all the places to see in Valparaíso, one of the essentials of the country.

After this first stage of the trip, we advise you to fly to the north of the country, to the Atacama Desert, where you can not miss the Valley of the Moon and Death Valley tour, the Altiplanic Lagoons, Red Stones and Salar de Atacama tour, the Salar de Tara tour from San Pedro de Atacama and of course, the Geysers of Tatio Tour from San Pedro de Atacama.

Meñiques Lagoon

8. Chiloé Route and Southern Chile

After this second stage, the best way to continue the trip to Chile is to fly to Puerto Montt, where we recommend you rent a car to visit Chiloé, another of the most beautiful areas of the country.
Once on this wonderful island, we recommend you to know the places to see in Castro, one of its most famous locations, make a route through the Chiloé Churches and the places to see in Chiloé as well as trekking to the Muelle de las Souls in Chiloé, one of the most magical places in the country.

Pier of Souls

From here the third stage will take you to the south of the country, returning the car in Puerto Montt where you will return the rental car and from where you will fly to Punta Arenas, a town where if you arrive soon, you can take advantage to start a route through the places that See in Punta Arenas.
The next day you can not miss enjoying a Magdalena Island and Marta Island Tour from Punta Arenas to go by bus to Puerto Natales in the afternoon, another of the places you can not miss in Chile and where it is highly recommended to do a Balmaceda Glacier Tour and Serrano from Puerto Natales plus a route through the places to see in Puerto Natales.

The next stage of the trip is the impressive Torres del Paine National Park, where you can arrive by bus from Puerto Natales and where we recommend you to take a route through all the incredible places to see in Torres del Paine in addition to doing the impressive and hard Trekking Base Torres del Paine in addition to a visit to the Blue Lagoon in Torres del Paine.

Trekking Base Torres del Paine

9. Easter Island

From here and as the last stage of the trip and as one of the tips for traveling to Chile, we recommend you go to Easter Island, one of the most magical places in the world where you can only fly with the LAN airline from Santiago de Chile.
Although it is an island that can be traveled in 2-3 days, we recommend whenever you can, dedicate a minimum of one week, as it is, as we say, one of the most impressive and incredible places in the world.
Here you can visit Rano Kau and Orongo, enjoy an incredible sunrise in Ahu Tongariki, make a route through the places to see in Hanga Roa and of course, through the places to see in Easter Island, among which Rano Raraku, the Moises quarry, Anakena, one of the best beaches in the world and of course, enjoy one of the best options, tour Easter Island by rental car.

10. Gastronomy in Chile

Another of the great reasons to travel to Chile It is without a doubt its gastronomy, one of the best and most exquisite in the world.
Although there are hundreds of dishes that we could recommend, we want to leave you a list of those that have been essential for us and that we believe, you can not fail to try:

Empanadas: Wheat dough that is filled with different ingredients, meat being very common.
Humitas: Cakes made with corn (corn), typical of the Andean area, to which onion, garlic, egg and cheese are added and wrapped in leaves.
Parmesan Machas: Chilean clam variety that is baked with Parmesan cheese.
Carbonada: Stew that is consumed mainly in winter and consists of broth with potatoes, carrots, beans and meat.
Chorrillana: Typical dish of Valparaíso and extremely caloric consists of potatoes, onion, sausage, meat and several fried eggs.

Chorrillana at the J.Cruz Social Casino

More tips for traveling to Chile

Other of the best tips for traveling to Chile are:

If you are going to make a trip to Chile and visit the Atacama Desert, do not forget that you can suffer from altitude sickness, so it is important to have in addition to good insurance, be aware of the possible symptoms to take precautions and above all, Ask for assistance if necessary.
InChile The common voltage is 220V, the 50Hz frequency and the plugs and plugs are of the C / L type.
If you want to make internal flights, the two companies that perform them are LAN and Sky Airline and in case of traveling in high season, it is important to book in advance if you want to save.
Another of the tips to visit Chile is to enjoy its cuisine, which we hope you enjoy to the fullest.
If you are going to rent a car, remember that it is necessary to take the international driving license.

If you want to expand this advice section, you have many more practical suggestions here.

Easter Island

Do you want to organize this trip to Chile and Easter Island for free?
Get it here:
The best offers of Flights to Chile here
The best hotels at the best prices in Chile: here
Get € 35 for your reservation with AirBnb here
Book your travel insurance with a 5% discount here
Book the best tours and excursions in Chile in Spanish here
Rent your car to travel through Chile at the best price here