A typical first trip here runs about $650 to $875 per person for 7 days at a mid-range style, before flights. Get your own number from the Budget Calculator.
- Cazuela, hearty stew with beef or chicken, potatoes, and corn
- Empanadas de pino, stuffed with beef, olive, egg, and raisins
- Completo, Chilean hot dog loaded with avocado, tomato, and mayo
- Seafood is excellent: conger eel, locos (abalone), and centolla crab
- Carménère wine, Chile's signature red grape, lost in Europe after phylloxera
- Fiestas Patrias (September 18–19), national holiday with cueca dancing and empanadas
- Tapati Festival (Easter Island/Rapa Nui, February), remarkable indigenous cultural competition
- Grape Harvest Festivals (March) throughout wine regions
- Atacama Desert stargazing, Chile has the world's clearest skies for astronomy
Spanish (Chilean variety is famously fast and slang-heavy). English is spoken in Santiago and Patagonia tourist areas.
Chile stretches 4,300 km north to south, culture and landscape vary enormously between regions.
- Chileans are more reserved than other Latin Americans, give personal space
- Punctuality is more important here than elsewhere in South America
- Cueca (national dance) is danced with handkerchiefs on national holidays
- Tipping 10% is standard in restaurants
Latest for Chile
Updates for Chile will appear here as they are published. Every update cites official sources, so you can plan on it.