Travel Books
We highly recommended the following travel books for Chile. The Lonely Planet phrasebook is small and well-organized, easy to carry everywhere. As owner of many phrasebooks for travel, I was really impressed with this phrasebook. It covered local food terms for Latin American countries and the phrases were relevant for travelers.
Fodor's is always helpful for finding restaurants and hotels by price range. The maps in Fodor's give a good overview and their suggested tours help one decided "must visits" based on your personal interests. For example, we don't shop for antiques, but we wouldn't miss a great public garden. Even a not-so-great one...
The Airport and Customs
Santiago Aeropuerto International Arturo Merino Benitez
At the airport, be prepared for the U.S. entry fee. In Aug 2004 it was $100, payable only in U.S. dollars and they must have no tears or wrinkles - the bills must be perfect, so bring extras. Look for the payment clerks BEFORE the customs line. Mexicans, Canadians and Australians also had to pay an less expensive entry fee. Supposedly, the fee is good for the life of your passport where they staple a little receipt.
Hotel Links
Hotel Plaza San Francisco, Santiago
Cap Ducal, Viña del Mar
Hotel O'Higgins, Viña del Mar
Ski Resort Links
The Money - About $600 Chilean pesos (clp) to $1 US dollar. They use the $ sign and it amused me to see sandwiches that cost $1450.
There's a 19% tax on hotels, but if you pay in US dollars (including with a US credit card), you avoid paying the tax. We figure we already paid a hefty tax with that entry fee!
ATMs were readily available in Santiago. We only had trouble with one. Some businesses only take cash, but most take credit cards.
Gas prices? Who knows? It's thousands of pesos a liter.
The Weather - It was fun traveling from summer to winter. Santiago has mild weather while it was definitely winter in the mountains. There was a bit of city haze in Santiago. It was late winter/early spring, no really cold temperatures during the 10 day trip. Temperatures are in Centrigrade.
Other stuff:
- Bring a travel alarm clock. None of the hotels had clocks in the rooms. Wakeup call service was available.