Chile | Some Tips and Recommendations Rupert Woods | 25 Jan 2024

I arrived in Santiago in December. Very friendly city but it is quite expensive compared to other South American cities and as a nation is consistently more expensive (a beer is 3/4 quid, pizza 10 pound, budget hostel £10 a night). Can find some amazing deals (5L of wine for £3) but need to search. I stayed in Hostal Provedincia, good central hostel where you meet lots of people. Make sure to get a Bip card for the metro (bit of a pain to get but well worth it). Be a little wary on a night out but if you follow the advice of your hostel you will be fine. ATM's are very easy to use but bear in mind you will be charged 8,500 pesos each time you use so withdraw large amounts. Some ATM's didn't work for me so be prepared to have to go to another one. Can pay some hostels in Dollars but would recommend getting Pesos as they tend not to accept dollars or give you a bad rate. You will be given a PDI document when you arrive - don't lose it as this is needed for hostels and exiting the country. Need a return flight to enter the country (same as rest of South America) but if you want an open ticket can use a sight to buy fake tickets. Been told that bestonwardticket.com is good but I would recommend doing your own research.

Places to visit:

Pichilemu - incredible surfing and beautiful beach place. Taxis will rip you off so hitchhike there. Hostel Isolente is amazing and would really recommend.

Pucon - Austrian style ski resort but incredible hiking, white water rafting and skydiving over an active volcano. Chili Kiwi is main hostel.

Antartica: I didn't but a friend of mine went to the Southern most point and took a research vessel to Antartica. Cheapest way is to just go there and ask but it will be expensive either way.