What to Do in One Day in Santiago Chile
Is Santiago, Republic of chile worth the stopover? Yes, practise it!
We had one mean solar day in Santiago during our x days in Chile and information technology was a proficient introduction to run across the state.
As the capital, you'll experience Santiago'south large city vibe from the large crowds to the shopping centers with high-end section stores along with trying local Chilean restaurants and attractions. Some people may not savour Santiago equally information technology doesn't have the "hustle and bustle" such as Singapore or Sydney, Commonwealth of australia . Information technology's more than relaxed, like San Jose, California. However, we had a wonderful stay in Santiago.
Due to our limited time, nosotros're sharing our one day itinerary in Santiago, including free things to do in this city. You'll get a snapshot of the offerings available for a quick visit. Don't forget to see the beautiful views of the snow-capped Andes Mountains wherever y'all're in the metropolis.
After your Santiago exploration, caput to Valparaiso for 2 days, Concon for 1 day, or to Easter Isle to extend your South America adventures. Read more than about our adventures at these places by clicking on the links.
This one day itinerary in Santiago volition cover:
- How to become to Santiago
- Transportation in Santiago
- Accommodations in Santiago
- Free things to do in Santiago
For our return trip to Republic of chile, these places are on our list: San Pedro de Atacama, hire a motorhome to road trip throughout Chile and stop by Patagonia to hike at the Torres del Paine National Park.
Read More: Visit Marble Caves in Republic of chile
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How to Get to Santiago?
Depending on your divergence location, anybody will fly into Santiago de Republic of chile Airport (drome lawmaking: SCL). The airport is easy to navigate through as signs are available in English.
Check out this listing to decide if you need a visa to enter Chile. U.S citizens do non need to obtain a visa prior to inflow.
In one case you lot become through immigration, at that place are several ways to caput to the Santiago downtown area.
one. Have a taxi to head to the downtown expanse of Santiago.
Taking a taxi volition be an expensive option equally the airport is about 16km from downtown.
2. Pre-book a one-way transfer to your hotel.
We know. After departing a flying, yous want to head to the city equally chop-chop as possible. Reserve this transfer choice prior to your inflow.
iii. Take a shuttle motorcoach.
Go for the cheaper option by taking the Centropuerto or Turbus shuttle bus to go downtown and vice versa. Nosotros're e'er seeking out affordable means to travel through the urban center. Get out the Arrivals door and find the signs for the Centropuerto or Turbus. Each of the routes has several stops where y'all can continue on to have the metro to your destination. It'll take around 45 minutes (or more depending on the traffic).
- Centropuerto stops at Metro Barrancas, Pajaritos, Las Rejas, San Alberto Hurtado, Universidad de Santiago, Estación Central, Unión Latinoamericana, República, and Los Héroes. Departs every 10 minutes from the airport from 6:00am to 11:30pm. Cost is 1,900 CLP ($2.xl USD) (one way) or three,400 CLP ($4.30) (round trip) which you can pay at their kiosk outside of the passenger vehicle. Cash merely.
- Turbus stops at Pajaritos, Las Rejas, Universidad de Santiago, and Estación Central. Cost is the same as Centropuerto for 1,900 CLP ($2.40 USD) (ane way) or three,400 CLP ($four.30) (round trip) which you can pay at their kiosk outside of the passenger vehicle. Greenbacks only.
We took a ane-way route with Centropuerto from the drome to downtown and took a Turbus from downtown to the airport. Both were very easy to apply.
Tip: If y'all have a lot of luggage, you may not want to consider taking these routes every bit in that location isn't enough room for luggage storage. Some knowledge of basic Spanish will be helpful.
How to Get Around in Santiago
Public transportation in Santiago is convenient and easy to use. Check out the options beneath.
ane. Walk
One of the all-time ways to travel throughout Santiago is by walking. The entire city is walkable. You accept more control over what you can encounter and can scan through various neighborhoods (ie: Bellavista). Plus, it's healthy to walk.
2. Metro & Coach
We beloved using the Santiago Metro during our travels. The metro organisation is piece of cake to employ every bit the routes are in various colors. Plus the metro saves carbon emissions and is cheaper to apply. We used it oft during our twenty-four hour period trip in Santiago.
If you're staying in Santiago for a longer menstruum of time, consider purchasing the Tarjeta bip! card. You can apply the card for both the metro and the coach (Transantiago). Load funds to the carte and tap the carte du jour prior to entering the station. It's convenient to use and then you don't accept to worry about buying tickets every time.
As with the buses, we didn't employ the Transantiago during our visit. To detect routes, use the Ruby Metropolitan Mobility Network site to determine your starting and ending destinations and it will tell you which bus y'all can accept.
three. Taxis & Rideshare
Taxis are bachelor but will be more than costly. Remember to either have a metered taxi (xanthous and black taxis) or negotiate a apartment fare prior to departure.
During your one day in Santiago, Chile, consider using the metered xanthous and black taxis every bit your mode of transportation. Isn't the view of the Andes mountain range astonishing?!
If you like ride-hailing programs, Uber is available in Santiago, Republic of chile. We read that it'southward illegal in Santiago, but we didn't have any bug with using it. Download the app for iOS or Android . Nosotros love the cashless transaction and knowing that we won't get ripped off with the ride as foreigners.
Where to Stay in Santiago
There are so many places to stay in Santiago from hostels, guesthouses, to the hotels. Nosotros suggest staying shut to the local attractions and nearby local transportation, such equally the metro.
For cheaper options, consider these options:
- Gnomo Hostel in Bellavista area – What's non to love well-nigh staying in a vibrant place close to bars and restaurants?! Continental breakfast provided for free. Check availability and reserve a room at the Gnomo Hostel.
- Ecohostel Chile in the in the historic city middle – With friendly staff members and breakfast provided for complimentary, consider staying here! Reserve a room at Ecohostel.
If you lot desire to splurge, nosotros recommend the Courtyard by Marriott . It'south in the Las Condes area so information technology'southward non quite in the master downtown expanse. However, information technology'southward a ten minutes walk to the metro station (Manquehue station) where we can head to all of the attractions. We loved staying here even though breakfast was non provided in the room cost. Rooms had a dainty view of the city and large size. During our visit, we loved receiving our gift – moai shaped chocolates. Information technology was such a coincidence since our plan was heading to Easter Island the day after Santiago visit. (Annotation: Nosotros used Marriott points to stay here.) Reserve a room at Courtyard here .
Cheque availability and reserve accommodations in Santiago here .
Free Things to Do in Santiago, Chile During Your One Mean solar day
What to do in Santiago? With i day in Santiago, y'all won't be able to see everything. We narrowed down the top attractions to bank check out and the best part is that these are free things to exercise in Santiago!
1. Take a free walking tour.
We love taking free walking tours . It's the risk to learn about historic places from locals, meet other tourists in a large grouping setting, and besides view the Santiago attractions on foot. Everything is compacted into three-4 hours. Although we didn't get a chance to take the bout, hither are some options for yous to consider: Strawberry Tours or Free Bout Santiago . Don't forget to pre-register ahead of fourth dimension and give your guide a tip at the end of the bout for his/her service.
If y'all prefer a private tour group setting, reserve this one (extra fee required).
ii. Hike the San Cristobal Hill.
A trip to Santiago is incomplete without seeing the iconic statue of Virgin Mary . The statue is located on San Cristobal Hill (Cerro San Cristóbal). This hill is the second highest peak in the city and is a part of the Metropolitan Park (Parque Metropolitano). The park is over 1780 acres and has the Chilean National Zoo, a botanical garden, and a children's park.
How did we go hither? From the Courtyard hotel, we took the metro at Manquehue station and exited the Baquedano station (you can have either from the cherry or light-green line).
We walked about twenty minutes to achieve the bottom of the hill and going through the Academy of San Cristóbal and Lover's Locks on the bridge. It'due south the same concept as in Paris where you write the names or a honey message and secure information technology to a section of a bridge. Don't have a lock? You tin purchase one from a local vendor along the same bridge area.
Where accept you places a love lock during your travels?
Once we reached the San Cristóbal expanse, there were 3 options to get to the top of the hill:
- Have the funicular/cablevision car in the Barrio Bellavista surface area to the top of the San Cristóbal Hill. No walking necessary and with an boosted fee .
- Hike the clay path, or
- Walk forth the paved road that cyclists, runners, and drivers used.
Equally you know, we're into the active and adventurous route. We took option #2 and went forth the dirt path for do and to view the urban center better. The dirt path was safety and wasn't likewise muddy. Some areas were steep. Hiking shoes are non necessary but can be helpful. Don't forget to bring these must-have hiking essentials with you.
It was a peaceful walk through forest areas and we had some corking views of the city. It took around twoscore minutes to achieve the meridian.
We made it to the summit at 880 meters (2,887 feet). Afterward walking around the surface area to see the Virgin Mary statue we headed dorsum down the clay path. It was much smaller than expected and so we didn't spend as much time up in that location – around x minutes. There is a souvenir shop and a identify to purchase refreshments at the pinnacle.
Hither is the famous Virgin Mary statue at the summit of San Cristobal Colina.
3. Visit Barrio Bellavista for Street Fine art.
Located at the lesser of San Cristobal Loma is Barrio Bellavista. The expanse is known for bright and colorful street art/graffiti. We saw amazing street art in Valparaiso, and the ones in Bellavista were just as skillful. Most of the shops were airtight at 10am and the surface area was tranquillity. Thus, it was peaceful to snap photos of street fine art. If you demand a break from the street art, there are plenty of bars and restaurants along Pio Nono Street in the area.
Nearby Bellavista is Barrio Patronato , which is Santiago's Koreatown. We passed past a local Korean church building and some Korean restaurants.
four. Visit the historic areas of Santiago.
Plaza de Armas is the principal foursquare for the metropolis and has historic buildings and compages. It's a lively place equally people hang out in that location and also sells stuff. There were a lot of people in the area. Like whatever urban place, just be cautious for potential pickpocketers. In the same area are other historic buildings such equally the Metropolitan Cathedral of Santiago, Central Post Function, Royal Court Palace, and museums. You can easily hang out on the exterior of these places to admire the compages or sit down downwardly on a bench to people-watch.
Photograph credit: Simon via Pixabay
About 800 meters (.5 miles) from the Plaza de Armas is the La Moneda Palace (besides known as the Presidential Palace) is where the President and cabinet ministers offices are located. It was a former mint from 1814 to 1929. You can't get inside due to the heavy security officers in front of the edifice. The building itself looks squeamish, still we didn't stay long to look suspicious.
Photo credit by PatricioHurtado via Pixabay
5. Explore the Central Marketplace.
The Central Market (Mercado Central) is a vibrant scene with the smell of seafood in the air. It'south a great place to wander around especially at the moisture fish market to browse through the fresh seafood.
Hungry? Yous won't be disappointed with the offerings at Cardinal Market. At that place are enough of restaurants to choose from. If y'all eat towards the center of the restaurant, the prices are higher with the tourist prices. The best area for more local and affordable restaurants are on the outer edge of the marketplace area.
Ane place that we would highly recommend is Tio Lucho . It was a modest eating house that serves a variety of seafood. The menu was in Spanish, then we picked two items – cold seafood soup (mariscos especiales) and seafood platter (jardines de marisco). We didn't realize that the dishes had similar shellfish.
When the seafood platter came out, we glanced at each other and knew that we were in trouble. The seafood platter was HUGE and could feed four people. No wonder everyone around u.s. stared at our meal. We typically don't consume besides much shellfish and this platter had a mound of shellfish and fried fish and empanadas to residue the repast.
The seafood was very fresh as the clams and scallops were still moving on our plate. Yet, westwarde were scared for lives consuming this much raw shellfish in a foreign land and we luckily didn't get nutrient poisoned.
It was a delicious feast, although we were scarred from eating shellfish for almost a twelvemonth later on the experience!
Seafood galore when you're eating at the Fundamental Market place
Other Places to Consider to Visit in Santiago
There is so much to do in the Santiago expanse. If we had more fourth dimension to explore, nosotros would love to encounter these places or visit these day trips from Santiago.
1. Hike up Santa Lucia Hill (Cerro Santa Lucía).
It's a pocket-sized hill in the central park of Santiago and nearby the Plaza de Armas. We're suckers for adept views of the cities, and this is a recommended place to see Santiago. The meridian is lower than San Cristóbal Hill at 629 meters (2,063 anxiety).
two. Hike Cerro Manquehue.
Equally avid hikers, we would love to come up back to Santiago to tackle the Cerro Manquehue. It'due south a doable day hike with an superlative of 1700 meters (5577 anxiety). Plus, we can't forget the stunning panoramic views of the expanse. Photos from other hikers show that the road is moderately challenging with some scrambling on rocks. It's our type of take chances!
Our ane day in Santiago, Chile is finished! Santiago is a great city to explore and has a trivial scrap of everything from the historical aspects to exploring nature. We simply scratched the surface with the local attractions here. We'll definitely be dorsum.
Have y'all been to Santiago, Republic of chile? What interested yous during our one day itinerary in Santiago? Where are some places we should visit during our next visit?
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Featured photo credit: diegograndi via Depositphotos.com
Source: https://lifeofdoing.com/exploring-santiago-chile-one-day/