Entry requirements | Organizing your trip | Visiting | Eating | Paying | Speaking |

Entry requirements

Passport and visa service

World Travel Guide

Diplomatic representations

Chilean  Embassy in Brazil
Chilean Embassy in the USA
Chilean Embassy in New Zealand
Chilean Embassy in the Netherlands
Chilean Embassy in Japan
Chilean Embassy in France
Chilean Embassy in Spain
Chilean Embassy in Canada
Chilean Embassy in Venezuela
Chilean Embassy in Argentina
Chilean Embassy in Mexico
Chilean Embassy in Australia

For more information

Embassy of Chile in Greece
Vassilisis Sofias 25
10674, Athens
Phone: 0030 210 7252574, 2107292647
Fax: 210 7252536
embachilegr1@ath.forthnet.gr

Organizing your trip

Means of transport recommended in town

Recommendation

Taking the bus in Santiago is an adventure in itself. More restful, the colectivo is a car like a taxi but with a sign on the roof indicating its number and destination. The route is fixed in advance and it drops people off all along its itinerary. It is a little more expensive than the bus. Taxi fares are reasonable and most of them have a meter.

Maps of urban networks

Maporama
UT Library on line
Mapblast

Means of transport recommended in the rest of the country

Recommendation

There are only a few train lines in operation. In the North: the line Calama Uyuni, Arica Tacna and in the South the lines Santiago-Temuco and Santiago-Concepción are the ones most used. Buses are efficient, fast, popular and mostly cheap. All the cities are served daily by many companies, the two main ones being: Tur Bus and Pullman Bus. The airplane is a practical means of transport but more expensive than the bus and the train. It is best to reserve 7 days ahead of time to get an economical rate.

Rail companies

Empresa de los ferrocarriles del Estado

Flight from Greece

The aircraft companies Air France, Luftahansa, Iberia and Swiss Air operate regular flights from the Athens international Airport to Santiago de cile. To find out air connections from Greece to Chile, please click here.

Traveling by yourself

Recommendation

The road network is in good condition. However you should avoid leaving the main roads with a regular vehicle and take gas reserves if you plan to go for long journeys. There is a very dense and effective network of buses throughout Chile.
Public transport: is dangerous because of the fierce competition between the companies which pushes the drivers, who are under pressure, to drive dangerously.
The Metropolitan network is  little developed but reliable and clean.

Road maps

Maps of Chile

Find an itinerary

lonely planet

Visiting

Different forms of tourism

Historical

Lost in the middle of the Pacific, 3 800 km from the coast of Chile, Easter Island attracts visitors from all over the world, intrigued by the mysterious megalithic statues left by a fascinating people.

Valparaiso, 120 km north-west of the capital, Santiago, is one of Chile's main cities; its elegance and charm as a colonial city of the XIXth century have made it eligible to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

 

Cultural

Religious traditions, carnivals, oral traditions, folklore, crafts, visual arts, audiovisual arts, choreographic arts, scenic arts, literature, music

Nature

"Salto del Laja", the famous waterfall.

Puerto Montt, in Patagonia, where land and sea merge in a maze of islands, fjords, rivers, lakes and mountains covered in ancient trees.

The Atacama Desert.

Religious

These festivals or celebrations help maintain local traditions linked to religious beliefs:

Easter of los negros, Assumption, Corpus Christi, the May Cross, feast of St Peter, feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Our Lady of the Transito, Candlemas, Epiphany, Saint Rose of Pelequén, Saint Sebastian of Yumbel

Thermal

Another tourist attraction is Puyehne, in Orsano province, hot springs, hot water swimming pools, a lake strewn with beautiful islands.

Beach

Vina del Mar is a glamorous seaside resort, with a long, wide sandy beach and many restaurants and bars along its lively shopping streets.

Winter sports

The skiing season runs from mid-June to mid-September. The ski resorts with the finest ski slopes are located near Santiago.

Outdoor activities

Rafting, trekking, horseback riding, sandboarding

Shopping

The pedestrian streets in the center of Santiago are overflowing with boutiques for tourists. Santiago hosts many Chilean craft fairs.

Tourism organizations

National Chilean Tourism Board
Chilean Tourism Promotion Corporation
Turismo Chile (Tourism Guide)

Eating

Food specialties

Cazuela (chicken stew with rice, corn, potatoes), Empanada (sort of fritter stuffed with meat, poultry or fish with onions, eggs and olives), alpaca steak (Altiplano), mutton, fish and seafood on the coast, local wines, pisco (brandy), chicha (fermented corn). There are numerous markets where it is possible to eat.

Drinks

The most common drinks are water, fizzy drinks, fresh fruit juices, mote con huesillo (made from husked wheat and sun-dried peaches), tea, coffee and maté (a stimulating infusion of the dried leaves of yerba mate).

Dietary taboos

There are no dietary restrictions in the country.

Paying

Domestic currency

Chilean Peso

ISO Code

CLP

To obtain domestic currency

The currency is the Chilean peso (CLP). It is issued in coins of 1, 5, 10, 50 and 100 pesos, and in bills of 500, 1 000, 5 000 and 10 000 pesos. You can change euros easily in Santiago and in most regions of Chile. Some banks or bureaux de change in remote towns still sometimes prefer the dollar. For shopping, restaurants and small hotels, it is usual to pay in local currency. Bureaux de change are generally closed on Saturday afternoons and Sunday. They also change traveler's cheques without commission. Banks are open in the week from 9 am to 2 pm. Exchanging money on the black market is not advisable.

Possible means of payment

Mastercard and Visa are quite usually taken in top of the range establishments. The American Express card is not very widespread. Withdrawing cash with a credit card is widespread and very easy.

Exchange rate on

Automatic Teller Machines (ATM)

To find out the locations of ATMs in in Chile, click on the link to your credit card: Visa, Mastercard or American Express

Speaking

Official language

Spanish.

Other languages spoken

Indian dialects

Business language

Spanish, English

Getting some knowledge

Yes = Sí
No = No
Thank you = Gracias
Hello = Hola
Good day = Buenos días
Good afternoon = Buenas tardes
Goodbye = Adiós
I don't understand = No entiendo
How much does it cost? What is the price? = ¿Cuánto cuesta? ¿Cuál es el precio?
I would like to buy ... = Me gustaría comprar ...
Do you take credit cards ? = ¿Aceptan tarjetas de crédito?
Where is  ... ? = ¿Dónde está ...?
The post office = la oficina de correo
The bank = el banco
The police station = la estación de policía; la comisaría de policía
The pharmacy = la farmacia
The airport = el aeropuerto
The train station = la estación del tren
A ticket for .... please. = Un boleto (billete) para ..., por favor.
Do you have any rooms available for tonight ? = ¿Tiene habitaciones para esta noche?.

Free translation tools

Babel Fish - Free English-Spanish-English translation of texts and web pages
Systran - Free French-Spanish-French translation of texts and web pages
Dictionarios.com - Free Spanish-Catalan-English-French Dictionary
Word Reference - Online dictionnary
sensagent - Free Greek-Spanish-Greek dictionary
hexagone - Not Free Greek-Spanish-Greek translator

We can translate your foreign-language documents.

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