Hotel Rokamar

Tipping

by kiwigal_1

In Chile the standard tip in a restaurant is 10% which is sometimes added onto the bill but more often than not you need to leave behind on the table. If paying by credit card you can ask to add the tip to the bill and indicate the standard 10%.

Do not tip taxis.

If you drive a car in Chile, in particular Santiago then there are places where you can park for free but there may be a man or woman "helping" you to park. This person works for tips. They can wash your car while you are away usually also. The tip you pay them should be anything from 200 pesos or more depending on the length of time you stay. I usually pay around 500 pesos.

In supermarkets the people who pack your bags only work for tips. They are not paid by the supermarket. Depending on the amount of groceries you could tip anything from 50 cents up to around 500 pesos. The 10% rule is not hard and fast here, just whatever loose change you have.

Walking around

by filipdebont

Best way to discover Vina del Mar is on foot, with a street map it is pretty easy, also because the city is formed by straight streets forming square blocks, so it is pretty easy to find your way, and on the map the horizontal streets were all named Norte with a number (from 1 Norte up to 15 Norte), and the vertical streets were named Poniente with a number (like 1 Poniente up to 6 Poniente), and further on there was the same system wit a number of Oriente streets.

So it was not possible to loose tracks over here.

Vergarra Pier

by filipdebont

As we walked further on along the sea shore, we arrived at Vergarra Pier.

This really looked like industrial archeology.

Vergarra pier was inaugurated in 1938. At the beginning was a coal loading area. Later it was used by CRAV (The Sugar Refinery Industry).

It was rebuilt in 1983. The aim of this was to promote the tourism in the place. It is located between two beaches, Playa Acapulco and Playa el sol.

The beach with super rippin undertoe!

by rkearns

"beach is long"

vina del mar is about a 10 minute busride from valparaiso, and a really nice juxtaposition to the dusty port city that is filled with the smell of fishmarkets and debrit from cargo ships. vina has a nice long wide beach, busy with children and tourists but easy access from buslines and major hotels and b&b's within the area. the waves are safe and the objective seems to be to let the undertoe grab you off balance and laugh as you fall into the water! good times.

"hang out with the locals for the sunset"

well, i don't know if the locals hang out for the sunset, but whoever stays for this show, know it's worth a rest on the beach. what colors! (photo is taken looking toward the south in the direction of valparaiso)

"liquor stores are open late"

so if you run out of beer or the bars are closing, continue the party early into the morning. it's cheap and convenient!

VINA DEL MAR

by swesn

... +| Part of RTW 2002-2003 |+ ...

For more details of my VINA DEL MAR Travelogue , please visit :

TRISH VS THE VOLCANO
( .. Castro .. Villarrica .. Santiago .. Vina del Mar .. )

To SAN PEDRO DE ATACAMA next...

... +| Part of SA 2005 |+ ...

For more details of my VINA DEL MAR Travelogue (SA 2005), please visit :

10) IT’S CHILE HERE
( .. San Pedro de Atacama .. La Serena .. Vina del Mar .. Valparaiso .. )