Useful Information

Travel to ESO Vitacura Office, Santiago

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Sightseeing in Santiago

Sightseeing, museums, shopping malls, picturesque quarters are described here.

Transport from the airport

The ESO office is located in Alonso de Córdova 3107, Vitacura, Santiago. Shuttle vans run from the airport to various locations in the city door to door. Most of them have a desk in the baggage hall and on the arrivals level. About taxis, it is recommended to agree a price with the driver before using the taxi (a common fare between the airport and the Vitacura area is around 18000-20000 CLP, EUR 28.00 - 31.00). For more information, check here.

Public Transportation in Santiago

• Metro The closer station from the ESO office in Vitacura (Santiago) is the metro station 'Tobalaba' (Línea 1). 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$1350 (EUR 2.11) 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 250 pesos (USD$0.39) plus around 120 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.
  
  

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 Albania, Australia, Canada, Mexico and United States,, have to pay a reciprocity tax before entering International Police.

• Albania: US$30.00
• Australia: US$95.00
• Canada: US$132.00
• Mexico: US$23.00
• United States: US$160.00
  

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 = 508 Chilean pesos
  • 1 € (Euro) = 699 Chilean pesos

Weather in Santiago

Santiago, due to its position in the central region, has a Mediterranean climate with well-defined seasons. During November, the temperature can reach around 24-26°C (75-78º F), cooling down at night.
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.

Currency converter

Santiago Metro

Restaurants in Vitacura

There is a number of restaurants and small places to eat around the ESO office. You can find more information here.