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Cars 4 Rental Guide To Travel In Chile

International Airports

Santiago (SCL) (Arturo Merino Benitez) (website: www.aeropuertosantiago.cl). The airport is 17km (11 miles) northwest of Santiago (travel time – 30 minutes). Bus services to the city centre operate 24 hours a day. Return is from the underground stations Los Hroes, Estacin Central and Las Rejas or Moneda/corner of San Martn. Taxis to the city are also available. Official taxis are blue with official documentation. Airport facilities include bar, bureaux de change, restaurants, car hire, post office and tourist office.

Air passes: The Mercosur Airpass: Valid within Argentina, Brazil, Chile (except Easter Island), Paraguay and Uruguay. Participating airlines include Austral (AU), LAN-Chile (LA), LAPA (MJ), Pluna (PU), Transbrasil Airlines (TR) and VARIG (RG), with the subsidiary airlines of Nordeste (JH) and Rio Sul (SL). The pass can only be purchased by passengers who live outside South America and who have a return ticket. Only eight flight coupons are allowed with a maximum of four coupons for each country and is valid for 7 to a maximum of 30 days. At least two countries must be visited (to a maximum of five) and the flight route cannot be changed. A maximum of two stopovers is allowed per country.
The Visit South America Pass: Must be bought outside South America in country of residence and allows unlimited travel to 36 cities in the following countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile (except Easter Island), Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. To be eligible, passengers must fly with Lan airlines (LanChile, LanEcuador or LanPeru). A minimum of three flights must be booked, with no maximum; the maximum stay is 60 days, with no minimum, and prices depend on the amount of flight zones covered. There is no discount for children, although infants travelling without need of a seat may do so free of charge. For further details, contact one of the participating airlines.

Departure tax: US$26 for distances over 500km.

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Air Travel

Chile has one privately owned national airline: LAN-Chile (LA) (website: www.lanchile.com), which deals with international flights. Its subsidary, Lanexpress (LU) (website: www.lanexpress.com), deals with domestic flights.

Approximate flight times: From Santiago to London is 16 hours 30 minutes.

There are frequent services to main towns. The southern part of the country relies heavily on air links. Reservations are essential. Internal passenger air services are operated by the domestic subsidary of LAN-Chile, Lanexpress (LU), as well as by a number of air taxi companies. Services connecting the main towns are frequent during weekdays, and are fairly regular. There are 1-month ‘Visit Chile’ tickets available from Lanexpress and LAN-Chile covering the north and the south of the country. Air passes sold in conjunction with LAN transatlantic flights cost US$250 for the first three coupons and US$60 per additional coupon (up to a maximum of six). A coupon is worth one sector of a flight. When travelling long haul with another airline, the costs are US$350 and US$80 per additional coupon. Passes must be obtained abroad and it is advisable to make reservations well in advance. Once purchased, reservations can be changed at no additional cost; but for re-routing, a charge of US$30 is made for each change. There are regular flights by Lanexpress from Santiago to Easter Island, which stop at the island en route to Tahiti. The flights are twice-weekly from November to February, once-weekly at other times; it is essential to book in advance throughout the year. The flight takes 5 hours. Discounted flights to Easter Island can only be purchased in conjunction with LAN long-haul flights. An air taxi runs a daily service during the summer months to the Juan Fernndez Islands from Valparaso and Santiago.

Departure tax: Peso4,521 or 3,444. For distances under 270km, the departure tax is peso1,781.

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Travel By Water

The principal port is Empremar in Valparaso. Important shipping lines are Compaa Chilena de Navegacin Interocenica (CCNI) (website: www.ccni.cl); Compaa Argentina de Navegacin Dodero (CADND) (from Buenos Aires); Compaa Sud Americana de Vapores (CSAV) (from New York and European ports) (website: www.csav.cl); Delta Line Cruises (from the USA via the Panama Canal); Holland America Line; Norwegian Cruise Line; and Silversea Cruises.

Coastal passenger shipping lines are unreliable and infrequent. Boat services run from Valparaso to Easter Island and Robinson Crusoe Island (part of the Juan Fernndez Islands) once a month. Contact local travel agents on arrival for details.

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Rail

Some rail connections with neighbouring countries use buses for part of the journey. There are trains running between Arica and Tacna in Peru and La Paz in Bolivia.

The state railway (run by the State Railway Company, website: www.efe.cl) runs between Santiago and Temuco. Services are limited by the geography of the country, but there is one daily train each way at 2000, with sleeping and restaurant cars, and some air conditioned accommodation. Principal trains also carry vehicles. Children under 1.20m in height travel free. Train fares are from £10-53. For details, contact SERNATUR (see Contact Addresses section).

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Travel By Road

The Pan American Highway enters Chile through Arica. TEPSA buses come to Chile from as far north as Ecuador. There are also services from Argentina and Brazil to Santiago.

Chile has about 80,000km (49,460 miles) of good roads. The Pan American Highway crosses the country from north to south (a total of 3455km or 2147 miles) from the Peruvian border to Puerto Montt. It is advisable in remoter areas to carry spare petrol and an additional spare tyre. Tyres should be hard-wearing. Traffic drives on the right. Bus: Intercity buses are cheap and reliable. There is a luxury north–south service running most of the length of the country. Most long-distance coaches have toilets and serve food and drink. Sometimes a lower fare can be negotiated. For details, contact SERNATUR (see Contact Addresses section). Taxi: Most have meters, but for long journeys fares should be agreed beforehand. A surcharge of 50 per cent applies on Sundays after 2100. Taxis in Santiago are black and yellow. Tipping is not expected. Car hire: Self-drive cars are available at the airport and in major city centres. They are hired on a daily basis, plus a mileage charge and 20 per cent tax. A large guarantee deposit is often required. The Automvil Club de Chile, Andrs Bello 1863, Santiago can supply road maps (tel: (2) 431 1000; fax: (2) 431 1160; e-mail: acchinfo@automovilclub.cl; website: www.aclub.cl). Documentation: An International or Inter-American Driving Permit is necessary.

URBAN: Santiago has three metro lines, as well as bus, minibus and shared ‘Taxibus’ services. A fourth and fifth metro line is under construction. Fares on the metro depend on the time of day in which travel occurs. 10-journey tickets (carnets) are available. Taxis are plentiful, the number approaching 1 per 100 inhabitants, an extremely high figure. They can be flagged down in the streets. The different tariffs are displayed in the taxis. Taxi drivers do not expect tips. The buses and minibuses have flat fares. There is a higher rate for shared taxis. There are bus and taxi services in most other towns.

TRAVEL TIMES: The following chart gives approximate travel times from Santiago (in hours and minutes) to other major cities/towns in Chile.

Air Road Rail

Arica 2.40 28.00 -

Concepcin 1.30 9.00 7.00

Portillo 2.30 - -

Puerto Montt 1.45 11.00 17.00

Punta Arenas 3.25 120.00 -

Via del Mar - 2.00 -

Easter Island 5.00 - -
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Cars 4 Rental Guide To Travel In Chile

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