DO YOU KNOW THE WAY TO SANTIAGO?

There is the shorter non-stop air route from Toronto to Santiago at a mere 11 hours and then there is the two day odyssey from Chicago that goes to Houston and then Buenos Aires, before finally reaching Santiago. This takes over 24 hours but, surprisingly, is not too bad if you sleep on the long overnight flight from Houston to Argentina.

But, why should you care about going to Santiago, Chile? Well, it is the gateway city for a number of luxury cruises that begin and end at the port of Valparaiso, Chile, approximately an hour and a half drive from Santiago’s International Airport.

A popular cruise route is from Valparaiso to Buenos Aires and vice versa. It offers a chance to visit the beautiful fjords in Southern Chile with its lakes and glaciers. You have an opportunity to get very close to the glaciers aboard small, local boats and sail among blocks of ice that have broken off into the water. It is a remarkable experience.

Continuing down around the southern part of Chile and up the coast of Argentina or over to Uruguay before reaching Buenos Aires, you see many natural scenic areas in sparsely populated zones of Chile and Argentina. It is an interesting journey and one well worth taking.

Santiago is also the starting point for some small group luxury land tours, as well, that travel to southern Chile and cross over into Argentina by the lake and mountain route, while visiting picturesque small villages en route. They explore several areas of Argentina including Buenos Aires before continuing on to Iguazu Falls and Brazil.

Important Note: After landing at Santiago Airport, all passengers with passports from the U.S., Canada, Australia, Mexico, and Albania must pay a reciprocity fee or tax of $160 per person before passing through Immigration and entering the country.

One fellow, who was only going to be in the country for 4 hours, tried to negotiate a reduced rate but was turned down. The good news is that he, like everyone else, can return to Chile and not pay the fee again as long as his passport remains valid.

Anyone with a passport due to expire in a year or two might want to renew it before traveling to Argentina, Brazil, and Chile, since all three countries now charge substantial visa or reciprocity fees which are only levied one time on each valid passport.

Are you planning to travel to South America soon? Which countries will you visit?