Local and Practical Information
Useful Information
Travelling to ESO/Vitacura and Viña del Mar
Public Transportation: Santiago and Viña del Mar
- Metro The closer station from the ESO office in Vitacura (Santiago) is the metro station 'Tobalaba' (Línea 1), this is, if you like to walk! Otherwise, exit the Tobalaba station at Luis Thayer Ojeda street and walk until the bus stop no. 405, go off in Vitacura with Alonso de Cordova avenue and walk until the ESO office.
- Buses. Transantiago is the public transport in Santiago. In order to travel by Metro and buses in Santiago, you must have the BIP card (tarjeta BIP) that can be acquired in the Metro stations.The cost of the card will be CLP$1200 and you may load it with at least $1000 more which will cover at least two trips that do not take more than 90 minutes in total.
- Taxis. The black cars with their yellow roofs can be hailed anywhere. In Santiago, there is a base price of 200 pesos (USD$0.33) plus around 100 pesos for each 200 m driven (or per minute when waiting). The rates are posted on the windscreen; the meter has to be where you can see it. For longer hauls or cross-country, you can negotiate a price beforehand. Tipping is not customary.
- Public transport in Viña del Mar. There is no public transportation in Av. San Martín. If you wish to go downtown Viña del Mar (Valparaíso street) or to Valparaíso, you should walk 8 Norte street until reaching Libertad avenue. (see map). Prices may vary, so you should say 'local' to the driver if you just go downtown Viña, or 'Puerto' if you are heading to Valparaíso.
You can also take the Metro Valparaíso. If you go 'local', go off in Arlegui, close to Plaza Vergara (Vergara square) and go to Viña del Mar station (see map).
This is an example of a trip from Tobalaba station (Line 1 subway) to Alonso de Cordova with Vitacura avenue.
In the main page of Transantiago, click on the box 'De donde Para donde' (From... - To...).
You will get a page where you will be able to write your starting point, in this case Metro Tobalaba and your Destination point (Alonso de Cordova intersects with Vitacura).Click on 'Planifica tu viaje' and you will get several options.
You can also click on 'Ver Mapa'. The starting point and destination point can be seen clearly if you click on the + sign in the map.
Please be aware that like in many other big cities, you have to be careful with your belongings, specially cameras and money. Wear a money belt, or cross your purse strap across your chest. Do not wear jewelry if you plan an excursion inside town, and never change money on the street, but do it in the established exchange offices or banks.
Reciprocity tax at the Santiago airport
All those travellers with passports from Australia, Canada, United States and Mexico, have to pay a reciprocity tax before entering International Police.
- Australia: US$61.00
- Albania: US$30.00
- Canada: US$132.00
- Mexico: US$23.00
- United States: US$131.00
How to get Chilean money
- At the airport: you will find ATMs at the first and third level, International Central Hall. They accept Mastercard, Visa, Visa Electron, Cirrus, Plus and Maestro.
There is also an office of the Santander Santiago bank, located at the second level, International Central Hall. It opens from 09:00 - 14:00 hr.
Finally, the exchange office AFEX is opened 24 hours a day, and is located at the first and third level, International Central Hall. - Most internationally recognized currencies can be exchanged at commercial banks and foreign exchange agencies. Credit cards are accepted in most hotels, restaurants and shops. Banks are opened from Monday to Friday, from 9:00 to 14:00 hr.
The exchange rate for Chilean Currency is approximately:- 1 USD = 480 Chilean pesos
- 1 € (Euro) = 653 Chilean pesos
Weather in Santiago / Viña del Mar
Santiago, due to its position in the central region, has a Mediterranean climate with well-defined seasons. Between March and May, the temperature diminishes gradually. It can reach around 25°C (77º F), cooling down at night.
Viña del Mar, situated at the coast, may get cooler in the evenings, but still quite agreeable, 18-22°C.
You can check the weather on the Weather Channel or weather-chile.
Chile's standard time zone is UTC/GMT -4 hours.
Daylight savings, UTC-3, from the second Saturday in October to the second Saturday in March.
