CHILE: Santiago
Santiago, Chile
Now that Travis and I live in South America we are taking full advantage of exploring as much as we can in the next year. This blog post (with helpful links in pink) is about our two day stop in Santiago, Chile before visiting Easter Island, Chile.
2 DAYS IN SANTIAGO + 4 DAYS IN EASTER ISLAND, CHILE DAY BY DAY
DAY ONE - Self walking tour of Santiago, Chile
DAY TWO - Self walking tour of Santiago (or if you prefer day trip to Valparaiso)
DAY THREE - Fly to Easter Island (known as Rapa Nui) watch sunset at Ahu Tahai
DAY FOUR - Full day tour of Easter Island (Rano Raraku, Ahu Tongariki, Anakena Beach)
DAY FIVE - Full day Easter Island on our own (Sunrise at Ahu Tongariki, Ovahe Beach, Sunset at Ahu Tahai)
DAY SIX - Half day tour of Easter Island (Ahu A Kivi, Puna A Pau, Vinapu, Orongo Crater) and fly back home
GETTING TO SANTIAGO, CHILE: We flew from our home in Montevideo, Uruguay so this was a quick 2.5 hour direct flight. I love using Skyscanner to research all flight options no matter where I am flying from or what my destination is. As U.S.A residents we didn’t need to worry about a visa for this trip. CHILE TRAVEL has all the needed information for entry into Chile as well as a FAQ page.
WHERE TO STAY IN SANTIAGO: When we travel we like to get hotels near the city center (you can choose this filter option through Booking.com) since we like to walk most places. Travis and I booked a room at Hotel Nippon because it was decently priced and we were hoping it would be super Japanese as we really miss Japan. However, minus a few Japanese decorations it was just another hotel. Staff was incredibly friendly and it had free breakfast. Also there was a great little speak easy in the basement that had great drinks and we loved getting to practice our Spanish with the bartender. I would rank it 3/5 as you get what you pay for - our AC window unit didn’t work very well and it felt a bit dirty. However I really struggle on giving out hotel advice as - priorities baby - we often will book hostels or cheap hotels since we don’t spend much time in them during vacation. Our friends booked a room at Crowne Plaza Hotel which was much nicer and had a pool.
LOCAL SANTIAGO ADVICE: We were told by our Uber driver and by the staff at the hotel that Santiago is a dangerous city and to be very careful when walking around. They recommended to never have your phone out as people would grab it out of your hand and as well as your sunglasses off your head. Keep all purses and backpacks in front of you to avoid pickpocketing. They also said to never be out walking at night. Nice thing about traveling in December (which is their summer) is that sunset wasn’t until 9pm! Our favorite neighborhood, Bella Vista, was suppose to be one of the most dangerous according to our bartender. So we were just extra vigilant, but we did feel safe the whole time. As always, just be careful in any city and stay with the crowds instead of walking down empty alleyways. Tourism is also low due to post covid and riots that have taken over the city the past two years. The whole town is covered in graffiti and a lot of places are still boarded up.
PERSONAL SANTIAGO ADVICE:
Phones: We still have our American phone numbers with T-mobile. They offer free international usage in over 200 countries and it’s such a breeze to be able to land in a new country and instantly use our phones. I believe Verizon has a $15 USD a day rate to travel overseas with your phone.
If you live in South America, you already know this, but if you are coming from United States - Download WhatsApp. You use your own cell number. It is the most used form of communication in South America. You can text restaurants, taxis, guides etc.
Transportation: We were able to easily get an Uber from the airport to our hotel (since our phones instantly worked). Almost every place we visited took credit cards. There is a metro that is easy to use in Santiago, but walking is also very easy and a fun way to get to see the city above ground.
Money: We never travel with a lot of cash since our ATM cards through USAA work at most ATM’s. Just make sure you choose/find the international option. There were also a ton of Cambios to exchange your money if you do travel with cash. Most places we went to i.e. restaurants and stores accepted credit cards.
14 DEC 22 - SANTIAGO // DAY ONE: Self Walking Tour
We arrived to Santiago late afternoon and checked into our hotel, grabbed some dinner (see below for separate food posts) and went to bed early so we could get up for our self walking tour the next day. I put this walking tour together based on other blog post recommendations. So you can pick and choose what sounds fun to you. Often we will do a hop on hop off bus (called Turistik in Santiago) the first day to get a feel for the city and see what places we want to explore further. However, I had already visited Santiago so I already knew what I wanted to show my friends.
10 AM change of guard at the La Moneda Palace (Presidential Palace)
Plaza de Armas to check out the beautiful buildings and get a photo at STGO sign.
Santiago Metropolitan Cathedral (opens 12:30)
Post Office Building (has a fun mural to take a photo with inside)
Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino
Other museum options:
Lunch Central Market for seafood. We walked to this location, but got hassled too much inside and nothing looked appealing so we ended up walking back to Plaza de Armas and got lunch in the square there while we people watched.
After lunch we continued walking through the random street markets and made our way back to our hotel to our last stop:
Santa Lucia Hill for views of the city. When doing research on this I was torn between this hill and the famous San Cristobal. So we decided to do both and honestly, I would recommend doing both if you have time. They were both beautiful in their own way. For Santa Lucia we started at the bottom (stopping to shop in the small cave located on the left hand side that was selling artisanal crafts - but I am not sure if it is there year round). We walked up to the Neptune Fountain and followed the path to the very top to get 360 views of the city. I really enjoyed the casual walk up this hill, where we took the funicular up Cristobal.
Return to the hotel for a siesta (we actually met our friends at Crowne Royal Plaza and enjoyed their nice pool to cool off) before 7:45 dinner reservations at BocaNariz.
“When I travel I use only my iphone and a very small point and shoot camera, because this forces me to really enjoy the moment and not try to “capture” the most perfectly staged or candid photograph”
15 DEC 22 - SANTIAGO // DAY TWO: Self Walking Tour
Many people that visit Santiago choose to do a full tour to the local beachside town of Valparaiso on day two. However, I had already been to this city last time I was in town and our friends had little interest since we were heading to an island next. So after walking 10 miles the first day we decided to keep this last day a bit more on the mellow side.
Cerro San Cristóbal for more views of the city. We arrived at the Funicular right when it opened at 10 AM to avoid crowds.
You can get your tickets in advance, but we had no issues buying them there.
After getting of the funicular walk to the top to sit on the steps and soak up views of the city.
La Chascona - take a tour of Nobel Prize winner Pablo Neruda’s House
This house was amazing and is one of three of the homes he owns in Chile. You are not allowed to take photos inside the home, but it is totally worth the visit.
Lunch at El Meson Nerudiano
Other lunch options
Stroll through the famous Barrio Bellavista to see the buildings covered in artwork
Late lunch ice cream at the best local spot Heladería Emporio La Rosa (12:00 - 8:30PM)
Try the roses flavor or honey
You pay for your ice cream first and then show ticket behind counter to pick out your flavors.
Take some time to shop at the local Galeria Artesanal
So many little shops with local + Peruvian gifts so of course I bought a nice rug!
6 PM Dinner reservations at Chipe Libre
It doesn’t look like you can go wrong picking any restaurants on this street!
Back to hotel to pack for early morning departure to Easter Island!
WHERE TO EAT IN SANTIAGO, CHILE
Let’s face it, Travis and I LOVE to spend our money on good food, drinks and artwork! So Travis always tries to find some of the best places to eat when we are on vacation. Our price range will vary and we choose three different spots for dinner our three nights in Santiago. We made reservations for all these places as it was recommended in order to get a table. Some simple iphone photos to show you what we ate and links to all three places so you can decide if it’s a restaurant you would want to visit! My ratings are based on overall experience, how good the food/drinks were and if I would return.
Peumayén Ancestral Food
A restaurant inspired by the native people with the option of four tasting menus (sea, land, vegetarian or mixed). They also had an extensive menu of Chilean wines and Pisco Sours. It was a true food experience. We started off our meal with a small toast of a local aperitif and different potato dishes starting from the north of Chile moving down south. A very creative way to get a taste of local food. Rating 5/5
BOCANARIZ
An extensive wine bar with many tastings as well as food pairing. You can even choose the wine and food pair option on the menu! We decided to do a sort of tapas style and get a bunch of dishes so we could try everything. We ordered: oysters, ceviche, empanadas, tuna tartar, buffalo mozzarella. For our main dish we got the fish and lamb dish (which I forgot to photograph because we were enjoying the food too much)! Everything was fantastic! We also did the coastal red wines. Rating 5/5
CHIPE LIBRE
Known for their wide range of Pisco Sours! This restaurant had the same vibes as BocaNariz and was right next door to it, which makes me wonder if they have the same owners. We did a very early dinner and kept it light for our last evening in Santiago. Continuing with our two favorite local dishes of empanadas and ceviche. Of course we got Pisco Sours and our friend got a sangria. We were seated at the nice back patio. Rating 4/5
After two days in Santiago - which gave our friends traveling from USA a few days to unwind - and us an opportunity to see the highlights of the city and eat some ahhmazing food we returned to Santiago Airport to adventure to Easter Island (RAPA NUI)!!!
As always, Feel free to contact me if you have any questions on planning your trip to Rapa Nui and I can try to help.
Our Santiago dates were 13-15 December 2022. THE ABOVE INFORMATION IS PROVIDED BASED ON MY OWN EXPERIENCE. THESE ARE MY PERSONAL OPINIONS AND ALL FACTS, DETAILS AND INFORMATION ABOVE COULD CHANGE WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE IF COPYING THIS ITINERARY DOES NOT GO EXACTLY AS PLANNED OUT. SOME LINKS ABOVE ARE AFFILIATE LINKS WHICH MEANS IF YOU CHOOSE TO MAKE A PURCHASE I MAY EARN A SMALL COMMISSION. AFFILIATE LINKS COST YOU NOTHING AND HELP KEEP THIS CONTENT FREE. THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!