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It's been one week that I'm back to France. Strange feeling after having lived almost 10 months in Spanish speaking countries. Well, I retained 10 important things that everybody should know before visiting Chile.
1- Santiago and Chile in general ISN'T dangerous
It's ridiculous, but as a lot of european people, i always thought that Latin America were a pretty dangerous place where people could be kidnapped, tortured or found themselves in the middle of a shooting of two drugs rival gangs.
No seriously, I was a bit scared.
First day I arrived in Santiago, I didn't carry on my wallet and my credit card. I only took few cash on me and i was looking people very bad in the street ("First one who talk to me, i'm gonna kill him").
To be honest, everything has changed when i took the metro the second day. I just noticed that Paris was actually even more dangerous than Santiago. Of course, It's like all capitals in the world, there are places where it's not recommanded to walk around.
Finally, I didnt feel insecured one second. And BIG IRONY, I've been victimed of pickpockets in paris few days ago and they stole my credit card..... hum hum...
2- Chile is VERY expensive for tourists
It's been a big surprise for me. Chile is as expensive as France : food, drinks, clubs, buses, museums, planes, activities ... evrything is very expensive. I felt it even more because just before going to Chile, I was living in Malaga for 9 months and I get used of cafe from 1€, pizza at 2,5€ etc...
You also have to know that there is a different price between tourists and locals. Tourists pay in general 2 or 3 times more than the locals, especially for the entrances in national parks. So yeah.
3- Think of sharing everything (Taxi, food, rooms..) for saving money
As I wrote previously, Chile is expensive. Too expensive... except if you have an unlimited budget, this section might interest you. The first week we were in chile, we spent more money than the other weeks. Normal, we didn't know some tips. In chile it's very easy to share a lot of things.
For example, the taxi : Taxi compartido. It's gonna help you to save a lot of money, you can find them on internet, at the airport and even in some specific stops in the street. Just ask the locals.
4- There is huge difference of temperature between the day and the night....and between the north and the south of the country
It's not a suprise, the geography of Chile is special. So the south is the antartic, the north is the desert and in between it's very varied.
I've been in summer, so my advice is to bring with you a big luggage and separete it into two parts : warm and light clothes. Let your big luggage in Santiago and use your backpack with clothes depending where you are going.
In the south you will need warm clothes and even more. In the north, light clothes but don't forget your sun protection.
BUT, even if during the day the temperatures are very very high, it usually changes around 20h for getting pretty fresh, so always get on you a vest or something. It's very easy to get a cold.
5- Chilean people are not the nicest people in Latin America (at the first impression)
Okay I didn't mean to hurt anyone with that part but its important to underline it. Chilean people are, on first impression, a bit cold. But as i wrote, it's only a first impression. As soon as you talk with them, they are absolutely adorable and friendly. I met some Chileans, they told me that compared to Argentinians for example, Chileans are more quiet and it can be seen as "cold".
The only advice to give is to break the ice and to not hesitate to speak, especially in spanish even if you think that your spanish is shit.... just talk.
6- Using the bus isn't the cheapest way to travel (not always)
We thought naively that buses will be always cheaper than planes. Actually it's not always the case, especially if you want to travel in Cama / semi Cama (bed or half bed). It's actually very expensive and sometimes even more expensive than the plane. The only case were buses can be very competitive is when you buy your tickets online and very in advance. But don't forget that the distance in Chile are huge, you need 6 hours for exemple between Calama and Iquique and 3 hours between Punta Arenas and Puerto Natales. It's up to you..
Concerning the planes, SKYAIRLINES is pretty cheap and the first low cost company in Chile. If you also buy your tickets in advance, you can have very attractive prices with LAN. If you want to go to Eastern Island, check in advance the prices calender with skyscanner and you can find tickets around 550€ round trip.
7- Chilean language isn't spanish
I really tried to understand chilean. But I couldn't.... Some words mean other words, they have their own words, own pronunciation, own expressions. Even if your level of spanish is very very good, catching some words during a conversation is already an exploit. Don't hesitate to ask them to slow down and to talk more spanish from spain ajajaja ¡ Good luck !
8- There are BIG parties everywhere
AH my favorite part :)
Indeed, there are parties everywhere and when i say everywhere it's like in the desert, in every cities, in Eastern Island, in Torres del Paine .... EVRYWHERE. Advice : Meet some chileans and follow them, chileans are always in to party.
Big mention for Santiago that never sleep, there is always something to do.
!!!! Dont miss :
- The sunset verano every thursday at Espacio Riesco,
- The summer time Miercoles De Verano at the Castillo Torreón Victoria, cerro San Cristóbal, every wednesday night.
9- People in Eastern Islands are amazingly beautiful
First of all, yes there is people living there and yeahhhhh they are incredibly beautiful. Don't know what happened here, i guess it's because there isn't a Macdonal's, but people are very good looking : Strong, tall, beautiful face and beautiful curves. Especially during the festival Tapati, where the men are wearing just a little traditional thong and that's it .... Thanks for my eyes everyone !
To know more about the Tapati festival :
10- It's maybe the travel of your life
Not maybe, IT ACTUALLY IS the travel of your life. Chile isn't very accessible to everyone : it's far, it's expensive and it's very intense but ... you will have the best memories of your life, you will meet amazing people and true friends and you will see some pure and untouched landscapes that it will be hard to find somewhere else.
If you still hesitate to go to Chile, I juste have to tell you : BOOK YOUR FLIGHT RIGHT NOW.