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El Tatio geysers San Pedro de Atacama
2 Reviews Be careful when walking in between the many thermal sources and boiling water holes in El Tatio geothermal field: the ground crust is quite breakable and thin around most of the holes, since it is not...
See All 18 Warnings Or Dangers in San Pedro de Atacama
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Even if Chile is a very safe country comparing to the majority of destinations, you nevertheless keep the golden rules of travellers. The first one is "Don't be an obvious target!" So keep your money invisible ! Never take out the whole pack..! Keep it in a pouch on your body. That's all you need here. And common sense, of course ...The same applies to any destination nowadays...
Do not wear gold necklace's as they often stolen by the street kids, this can happen anywhere in small towns or big cities. Also make sure camara bags and hand bags are put over your head to make it harder to take, keep closed when not in use. Do not leave your bags unattended, if you do not want to carry bags around with you put them in a bag storage place at the bus station.
Chile's police maintain a fairly obvious presence but have a reputation for being courteous. We certainly found them so, despite getting a pretty firm reprimand for driving too fast on a highway access ramp - and getting a parking fine in Curico! A Sunday encounter in Santiago was much more relaxed - to the point of photos being taken of MrL wearing a police hat and posing with a very big police dog!They are a paramilitary force and do have considerable authority and a role to play in the country's security. They maintain the guard at the Palacio de la Moneda in Santiago - watching the Changing of the Guard Ceremony there will give you a pretty good indication of the military aspect of the force. The carabineros may ask for your identification at any time. Photocopying your passport identity page and Chilean entry stamp will mean you can carry that and leave your passport safely locked...
Chile loves their four-legged friends, but one has to watch where you walk in order to avoid certain "evidence" of their presence. When I took my daily walk, the dogs would be out for their morning exercise, as well. Most were happy fellows, eager to greet you with a wagging tail. In my travels through Chile, I marvel at the street smarts of the dogs and cats here. I've actually seen dogs waiting at lights to use the cross walks. People are always amazed when I mention this! Whether traveling in Santiago or venturing out in the country, you'll see dogs running loose everywhere! They are conditioned to the traffic and walk along the roadways completely oblivious to the noise from wheeled vehicles. Occasionally, one will stray too far into the roadway, but this doesn't seem to happen very often.
Valparaiso is a city rich with history and also was once home to the famous poet, Pablo Neruda. Unfortunately, it has become a very dangerous city. It is still the major port city of Chile, but is VERY "rough". Even during broad daylight, the cops cautioned us to keep our purses close to our sides and never take out a cell phone even! We made sure that we left this city before the sun set. We stayed close together and I would highly recommend that no one, especially women, travel alone in this city! There are lots of pickpockets and thugs in the city.
We booked our passage to Chile about 6 months in advance on Lan. They are partners with American and the first leg of our trip was from Chicago to Miami on American. American changed their flight times on the way out and never informed Lan. After several harrowing minutes, Ameican put us on a later flight that did not have a legal connection with our Lan flight from Miami to Santiago. Lucky for us, there was a second flight leaving an hour later. However, when we were put on that flight by American, Lan showed us as a no-show on the original flight and cancelled the rest of our entire itinerary. It took all day the first day (a Sunday, go figure) and a call to American in Peru to finally clear things up. It was, however, obvious that neither Lan nor American wanted to fix the screw up. The alternative was to lose all our in Chile flights and have to rebook a walk up rate back to the...
If you are relying on getting across the Channel on the Ferry at a specific time DONT. Due to changable weather condtions (especially strong winds) the Ferry crossing may be closed. The day we crossed we waited at the crossing for 6 hours. Instead of arriving in Ushuaia from Punta arenas at 10pm we arrived at 2.00am
Crime and personal security are not the major issue in Chile that they are in some South American countries, but that doesn't mean to say you should not be aware that pickpockets and purse snatchers are always on the lookout for a careless tourist. We had an encounter with a fairly inept such thief in Valparaiso - we were walking down a very empty street in El Plan, over towards the harbour, when - out of nowhere - this fellow made a grab for Mr L's back pocket. MrL is big and, being very, very well-travelled, very aware of the need for being aware of such incidents - his response was so fast our poor little thief didn't have a hope and he scuttled away with no wallet and a very large flea in his ear. We were remiss for being perhaps a little complacent - but we did learn from it and , although we didn't become too paranoid about it, we were just that little bit more careful from then...
On a trip to one of the pueblos around San Pedro we stopped for lunch. The rice was cold...and the chicken lukewarm. We were ravenous and ate it anyway. We're not sure what type of food poisoning we had, but...since I got sick within 8 hours of my travel partner and we ate the same things...we can only assume it was something bad. Insist that your food is hot when you eat it!
If you venture into the remotest areas of southern Chile (Talca to Patagonia) and Argentina, you should be aware of the possible presence of HANTA VIRUS, a lung disease transmitted by the feces of wild long-tailed carrier rats ('ratones colilargos', NOT the domestic or Norwegian ones). This disease was brought into America by returning US soldiers from Korea War in the 50's (the illness is named after Hanta river, where it was first found) and then travelled south from US west coast on cargo ships.Although cases are very rare, you should avoid to camp near tall straws and grass, and check for rat's feces around your tent, which must be able to be closed completely and hole-free. When entering into anything closed for a long time (warehouse, stable,shelter) check for rat feces and let the place to be aired by opening doors and windows for at least 30 minutes, trying not to breath the...
Radisson Plaza Santiago Hotel Santiago
6 Reviews and 187 Opinions We stayed in Santiago last Nov, for our first night and our last night (before a morning departure)....
explora Rapa Nui - Posada de Mike Rapu Easter Island
49 Opinions
Robinson Crusoe Inn Valparaíso
4 Reviews and 30 Opinions Avoid this hotel at all cost. It was a disaster. We arrived at 8PM. It was the least friendly...
Reviews and photos of Chile attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Chile sightseeing.
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Q: Hi, I am hoping to catch the night bus to Puno from Santiago. My flight leaves gets in at noon and I hear the bus usually...
A: You aren't going to Puno if you are going south from Santiago, maybe Pucón? Take an airport bus to one of the bus stations, Terminal Santiago will have the most buses...
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