Santiago (SCL) Stopover Tips

[RooFlyer]

Re Citibank in Chile. They are branded Banko Eduardo ( IIRC) and I always got charged a fee, even using a Citi card.

 

[SydneySwan]

Mr SydneySwan Junior got to Vina Del Mar safely. I think he ended up picking up a sim in the city.

As for ATMs, he has found the fees eye-watering. Chile could be a world-leader here. It seems Chilean ATMs charge either 6k or 6.5k Chilean pesos per withdrawal regardless of size. At current exchange rates that is $12.90 to A$14. If that wasn't enough in addition there seems to be a $2.50 International ATM withdrawal fee! Fortunately he has an ING card and all these fees are being rebated. Allowing for this, he ie essentially withdrawing cash very close to XE.com spot rates.

 

[juddles]

Mr SydneySwan Junior got to Vina Del Mar safely. I think he ended up picking up a sim in the city.

As for ATMs, he has found the fees eye-watering. Chile could be a world-leader here. It seems Chilean ATMs charge either 6k or 6.5k Chilean pesos per withdrawal regardless of size. At current exchange rates that is $12.90 to A$14. If that wasn't enough in addition there seems to be a $2.50 International ATM withdrawal fee! Fortunately he has an ING card and all these fees are being rebated. Allowing for this, he ie essentially withdrawing cash very close to XE.com spot rates.

I loved when ATM's became available worldwide, but for Chile I now tend to actually take AUD cash over - I seem to get a very good rate from all the money exchanges. I use formal commercial ones. I suspect a reason they give good rates is that Chile is currently absolutely chockers with Haitian immigrants - they are effectively to Chile what the Mexicans are to the USA. They do all the cough jobs, get paid mainly in cash, and go into the money exchanges to "send" this cash back to the homeland - so maybe the exchanges have a need to convert the Chilean cash into foreign currencies.

BTW, many of the smaller exchanges won't do aussie dollars, but enough do it that it is no problem for me.

 

[juddles]

This reminds me of another detail in Chile. Quite often you can be exempted from paying a local 19 % GST tax if you pay for a hotel room in USD. This technically should be doable with a foreign credit card, but some places I have been to only do this if you pay in physical USD.

 

[Boca68]

This reminds me of another detail in Chile. Quite often you can be exempted from paying a local 19 % GST tax if you pay for a hotel room in USD. This technically should be doable with a foreign credit card, but some places I have been to only do this if you pay in physical USD.

From my experience @juddles it's worth it to ask. But be very careful. Chile, might be ok, but in Peru I had the extraordinary experience of one very high end hotel in Urubamba asking I pay for the room in $USD and the extras in $PEN. When I questioned why I can't have the account in one of either currency, was told due to "taxes"
I found it incredibly strange. So, I took a minute or 2, read the invoices, did some conversions. It was looking dodgy already. There is an old scam around done by restaurants/hotels, where they charge you the 18% on the services, which is usually much smaller, rather than on the room rate. Which is were it should be applied, if applicable at all. The scam was uncovered by people getting random unpaid tax invoices from hotel stays in Lima for accounts which had been settled.
Anyway, just be careful. Probably not , but possible. The hotel in question Casa Andina Valle Sagrado near Urubamba, quickly withdrew the request when I seriously questioned what the purpose was. I just said, I don't care but I want one account only, in total in either USD or PEN. But its the only time I've encountered it.

 

[juddles]

.......

Food:..... I hang out in the LATAM lounge. The food is the major detraction for the lounge – it is great for wine and cheese and small snacks, but nothing really substantial. I hang out in a quiet back area on the second floor, and they have hot soup there – not flash, but I like that more than the usual cheese and snacks that get so tedious.......

Wow!! I hadn't flown through SCL outbound for a few months, but today I see they have completely revamped their food at the Latam lounge! There is hot food, and choices!! Will try to get some photos......

 

[juddles]

I hang out in the top floor in a corner, so these photos are of their new offerring up there - didn't look in the main area down below. But anyway:

Now they have hot offerrings - was a chicken dish, a pasta dish, and a vege dish.

 

[juddles]

And also now a make-your-own fresh salad thing:

 

[juddles]

With the snacks/cheese/etc and wine/spirits offerrings, the daybeds, space, etc, Latam SCL has finally caught up a tad to provide a really solid lounge experience.

And with self-made salads they can cater to even the most onerous, difficult, finnicky guest - say someone who can't even eat cucumber!!

@JohnM

 

[Bitten]

Hello anyone travelling through SCL airport. I will write a fairly detailed list of various opinions and tips as I travel through here a lot (am here right now) but some of my experience is limited because I just do the same things each time. I am not a tourist. This is lengthy yet incomplete. In no particular order –


Reciprocity fee:

This is a special fee charged to Australians – follow Rooflyer’s details on how to pay. It only applies to Australians arriving internationally at SCL airport – if you arrived on a cruise, crossed border by vehicle, etc it does not get charged. I have to pay this blooming thing and it annoys me but they only do it to “us” because “we” charge Chileans for their entering Australia – hence the name. It lasts for 3 months, and for multiple entries (ie if you are doing a Sth America holiday and start in Chile, if you come back through Chile within 3 months you do not have to pay again).


Uber:

Rooflyer uses taxis, and I completely agree with that for anyone who does not speak Spanish. Uber exists in Chile, but it is still technically “illegal” and the police have continuous blitzes on it. I use it, as the fares are about half what a taxi charges (last night was 13,000 pesos ($26 AUD) airport to central Santiago, and this morning 12,000 pesos ($24 AUD) returning. The driver’s are always great and the cars very good. BUT, invariably if getting a pickup at the airport they will try to phone you to explain the pickup point, which if you don’t speak Spanish is going to be tough. Really it is very simple – if you look out from the terminal towards the Holiday Inn opposite, to your left there is a lift/ramp/stairs that take you down to a short-term parking area – this is invariably the pick-up point (and drop off). Basically the car park allows first 15 minutes free, and is anonymous for the uber drivers. Likewise, if you request an Uber to take you to the airport, especially in the day when there is more blitzes, you may find the driver reluctant to accept the destination (he may know through their comms that the blitzes are happening) – what most will do is drop you off in the short-term carpark (2 minute walk to terminal), or at one of the longer term carparks which have free shuttle buses to the terminal (5-20 minutes wait/transit)

Uber in the rest of Chile is great – still not approved but no real focus on it.


Customs/Immigration:

When arriving in Chile (not in transit – actually entering country), customs can be a bit harsh with any major electronics appliance (eg a drone) or anything else of possible major or commercial value – they may try to charge you import tax. I have managed to talk my way out each time this has occurred to me, so haven’t had to do the formal process, but what I understand the ideal procedure is, (1) bring with you a receipt or something that proves value of item, (2) on arrival find a “temporary import” form (I do not know what the real name is) which you complete, and then I think you need to show on departure from the country. Sorry I do not know the specifics, but just be aware that it can be an issue, and I highly recommend researching the “latest” via official customs sites, etc if you are travelling with anything more special than a mobile phone or camera.

If you are connecting to a domestic flight you will still have to collect your bags, go through customs, then make your way to the domestic checkin desks. (More below on “orientation”)

As for immigration itself, upon entry you get a little printout slip of paper – which they do not tell you, but you HAVE to hand this back to them on exiting the country! If you lose it you have to go see a special immigration area.


Smoking:

For those evil smokers, SCL is a completely smoke-free airport now. Back in the old days yes even the LAN lounge had a smoking area, but that is long gone. Then there was a small restaurant that managed to keep a little open air smoking area for a couple of years, but trust me, there is NOWHERE airside that you can smoke. If you are landside you can smoke anywhere outside the doors. See more below regarding Holiday Inn:


Food:

SCL is just like most airports in the world. It is almost like God’s 11th Commandment was that “All airport food shall be expensive and bad”.

International airside there is an assortment of stuff, but this is not my area of knowledge, as I hang out in the LATAM lounge. The food is the major detraction for the lounge – it is great for wine and cheese and small snacks, but nothing really substantial. I hang out in a quiet back area on the second floor, and they have hot soup there – not flash, but I like that more than the usual cheese and snacks that get so tedious.

Domestic airside there are a few shops with different snacks, and a McDonalds.

Landside there are a variety of restaurants and cafes, but nothing stands out to me. If I am landside and hungry I usually walk over to the Holiday Inn and eat there – if you say you are not staying but want to use the restaurant, they note your passport number and let you in. Food is good there but obviously hotel standard pricing. They have a normal restaurant menu, and also a bar/snack menu that includes edible pizzas.


Hotels:

I have no recommendations for hotels in the city – have no experience there as I stay with friends. But it is now only about 20-30minutes to get into town due to excellent roads they have put in over the years. (can be longer in peak traffic times)

For a stop-over hotel for the airport, there are two options – the first is the Holiday Inn, which is literally just across from the entrance doors to the airport. Literally a 2 minute walk checkout hotel to checkin airline. The other option is a cluster of hotels about 5 minutes from the airport. (No, you cannot walk – this is highway time) These are half the cost of the Holiday Inn. They are also good, but you just cannot beat the ease of a truly airport hotel like the Holiday. To get to those other ones will involve you trying to work out which “shuttle” to get, which is not clear. It is not like each of hotels has a clearly labeled own vehicle. You could get a taxi, they will tell you that as it is “outside the airport zone” you have to pay the “standard tariff” which is the same as to the CBD – so about $40+ AUD, for a 5 minute cab ride. And they have no access to shopping, etc, they are just isolated in an industrial area cheaper than the actual airport.

Holiday Inn:

Although it costs a lot more than other options, I often stay there for sheer convenience. For those overnighting in SCL like me who have to catch the 1:30pm QF28 back to Sydney the next day, it works well. Sleep in till 10am checkout, have a coffee or two, then stroll over to be through checkin/immigration/into lounge in 5 minutes. (*note see below re QF28 SCL-SYD)

The staff are consistently good in my experience, the food is fine, rooms immaculate. I really like the small outdoor area from the restaurant/bar. (Yes, I smoke, so this is a haven for me). But even when not actually staying at the hotel, I much prefer to sit in that quiet space and have a nice meal in the open air than amongst multitudes within the terminal restaurants.

Unfortunately for Aussies, due to the reciprocity fee it is not really a sound option to pay this AND the $200 or so for a room at the Holiday just to get some decent sleep between two international flights. Much better to just stay in the LATAM lounge and use their day beds if you have lounge access.

Two side funny comments regarding the Holiday Inn –

1.- I quite like their pizzas as a light meal (with a bottle of wine of course) They are pretty simple pizzas, just a couple of basic varieties. I always get the Pepperoni. But, as one of the waiters explained to me one day, their Pepperoni pizzas do not have Pepperoni – they have a mild salami thing instead. He divulged, exasperated at his fellow countrymen, that too many Chileans had complained that the Pepperoni pizzas had PEPPER in the meat!!!!!!!!

2.- Amongst some, the Holiday Inn is known as Guantanamo Bay. This is not a reflection on the hotel or anything. It is just that many companies when holding seminars / meetings, etc in Santiago would deliberately keep the attendees at this hotel so it kept them far, far away from the evil temptations of the city J


QF28 SCL-SYD:

Just a couple of details here. The first is that QF28 is the only Qantas metal flight on any given day, so they only have staff at checkin desks from about 3 hours prior to flight. At the moment QF28 has a departure time of 13:30 hrs, so what that means is if you try to check in before about 11am they may not be there yet. Pain in bum if you are stuck with luggage. But at least throughout the airport, baggage trolleys are free and available everywhere. And there is (as per orientation guide below) a paid luggage storage area – but at the opposite extreme of the airport.

If you are transitting internationally through SCL onto QF28, and need a boarding pass, the Qantas checkin desks are next to a couple of Latam booths on the same level as you walked from the plane (ie one level above immigration which you go down stairs to get to). This is also where if you are in transit you go through security screening before going up into the airside departure level. But they are only manned a few hours before the flight. See below in orientation scenarios more info re this….

Boarding is always a bit of a scrum in a sense – the usual departure gate is 15, which is on the outside corner of the L-shaped concourse, so when you get a full 747 load of pax cramming into a corner it gets a bit crowded. Usually (for those with status or higher cabin class), the priority boarding queue is to the right – it can be hard to see this due to the crowding, and the fact that about 100 of the pax on a 747 qualify for premium boarding thru seat or status.

There will be a check between the gate and the plane for liquids – so don’t try to board water etc.





Toilets:

Unpleasant topic, but anyway -

Chile, like much of South America, does not have much of an emphasis on the provision of clean, easily available, public toilets. As an international airport, SCL obviously does have these, but the experience of using them can be yuck. Part of this problem is that users of same treat them badly, especially the landside areas. Chileans, as many south americans also do, have a culture of not putting toilet paper in the toilet, but rather in a little bin next to it. This has been hammered into them since many decades ago. It is so entrenched in their behavior that many, in the absence of a bin, will put it neatly on the floor in the corner! Add to that sick travelers, people who do not care, and not too frequent cleaners, and peak travel times, and you end up with a situation where entering a toilet can be a far from pleasant experience. See below in “orientation” for more detail, but SCL has a landside 2nd floor which is between 1 arrivals and 3 departures. This sublevel has a few assorted admin / offices, etc, and is a much more quiet level to get away from the crowds, or use a toilet! But the best toilets are across the road at the Holiday Inn. As I have said, if I have landside time at SCL I always go to the Holiday Inn to eat something. And at their restaurant their toilets are absolutely, always, immaculate. If I am airside, then I stay in the lounge.

If you are away from the airport, public toilets essentially do not exist outside shopping malls – but many small shops, etc will offer these as a paid facility – ie you pay them (around 500 pesos - $1) and they let you in to theirs. These are usually very clean. Look for a small card / handwritten sign that says something like “Bano $500”. The word “bano” is pronounced “bun-yo”.

Last word on toilets – as any experienced world traveler learns very early on – you assume that even if you find a toilet, it will not have toilet paper. So you carry this on you, always. In Santiago airport there should be toilet paper, but especially landside, it may be all gone. In a shopping mall there should be paper, but there may also be a permanent person in the toilets who gives you some as you go in (and give them those 500 pesos or whatever rate may be suggested)


Lounges - Domestic:

First thing about lounges, if you are in the domestic area there is only one lounge, and it is one that you will not be able to access. (This info is from my last experience a couple of months ago – may have changed)

I cannot believe it but LATAM have gone so LCC-model within Chile they do not even have a domestic lounge in Santiago. Incomprehensible. The physical lounge that is there went for a time to a typical independent thing (ie Priority Pass, etc), but last time I tried to go in it was now only for holders of certain Chilean bank credit cards. I cannot see that being sustainable, but in my opinion, forget domestic lounge access – even when it is there it is coughpy.

If you have several hours in the domestic area, and want to attempt a nap, after you go through security on entry, you go down stairs or escalator, keep going straight ahead, past shops, gates, McDonalds on your left, and at the end there is a small area in the corner that has an actual padded bench seat sort of thing. Usually a quiet area, and I have slept many a time on this J


Lounges – INTERNATIONAL:

Obviously, being Chile, it is the LATAM lounge that reigns supreme. It is a very very good lounge, but has major faults. Food is cough, wine is great, space is great, nap area is great, view is great, childrens area is cough.

There are a few other lounges in the airport – the two old LAN/LATAM ones now are rebadged as Admirals Club and something else – I have not entered then since the change, so do not know how they are. Then there is a lounge that is the independent one taking any credit card or Priority Pass. Haven’t been there since they banned smoking a few years ago. Finally there is the Avianca lounge. That is pretty new. In the food stakes it is on par with the Latam lounge – ie they have managed to design a menu of snacks and light things equally unappetizing to me as the LATAM stuff – even though it is different. It is a small lounge with some wines and basic spirits.

It is bizarre but both LATAM and AVIANCA, independently, managed to make both their lounges hard to find. The Avianca lounge is “down a floor” from the main departures area. It is somewhere between gates 15 (the corner one) and 14 I think. And the Latam one is “up a floor”. There are stairs or two lifts from somewhere sort of in the centre of airside duty free – very close to Victoria’s Secrets and Britts shops.


Chemist:

In case someone is landside and needs a chemist, just a tip to help you avoid a hiccup I had. There is a good chemist at the very southern end of level 1 domestic departures – past the shops and cafes. But when you go in, you will see that there are a few people at the far counter, but what is not obvious is that you have to take a number! The number dispenser is near the paying counters, but to the left.

This is also a place you can purchase re-charges for you Chilean mobile service if you have one.





Flying domestic:

I only fly Latam domestic. Sky, and anyone else, make Jetstar seem like Emirates First Class by comparison.

The Latam website has more glitches than Qantas. Depending on the alignment of the stars and moon, it may allow a OneWorld member such as QF status pax to pre-select seats, but likely as not you need to call them to do this.

If you have it, your QF (or One World) status means you can get free best seat selection, and an extra bag or whatever. But please be warned – Domestic LATAM flights are effectively Low Cost Carrier experiences. They do not offer business class. I am LATAM Black, which is Oneworld Emerald (QFF WP level) but if I want water I have to pay for it!! At least Qantas sells itself in two brands – Qantas and Jetstar. LATAM international is QF, LATAM domestic is Jetstar.

One thing they do do is enforce priority boarding – so if you are One World Sapphire or Emerald you get to board first. Actually LATAM has 4 boarding priority groups.

First is people with babies.

Second is people with status.

Third is anyone with only small articles on them.

Fourth is the rest who have cabin “baggage”

Works very well.



Orientation:

Despite the fact that I have used SCL over a hundred times, the layout is still a challenge to me.

In reality it is not that complicated, but due to this untidy layout, the signage, the different levels, etc, it is extremely non-intuitive, and hard to get a grasp on.

I will try to describe it in simple terms so that some can orientate themselves a little bit, or get a base from which to start.

Basics –

-essentially SCL is a combined international/domestic terminal.

-Landside is in a north/south roughly straight line configuration

The International part is the northern end, Domestic is the southern end.

When you stand outside in the street, looking at the airport, you are facing east, so international is to the left, domestic to the right.

It has 5 floors, or levels.

Level 1 is arrivals. Level 2 is admin. Level 3 is departures. Level 4 is Premium Checkin / Lounge. Level 5 is top level of lounge.

At level 1 arrivals the domestic arrivals are at the southern end. International arrivals are about the middle.

At level 3 departures, international checkin is in the middle, international entrance (immigration) is at the north, domestic checkin is towards the south, and domestic entrance (security) is at the far south.

At level 4, which exists only at the northern end of the terminal, there are escalators up to some restaurants, but at the far northern end of this level is the actual Premium checkin for Latam and Qantas. And within this premium space at the extreme northern end is the entrance to Premium Immigration. (TIP: You do not need to be flying LATAM/QF premium to use this premium Immigration – I use it when flying Avianca also)


So, to give a few pertinent examples of possible scenarios.

(1) International to domestic transfer. You will arrive in Level 1 at about the middle of the terminal. You will go through Immigration, along to bag pickup and customs, then head out to the right to exit (which is north), brave the people trying to offer cabs, take the first lift you find to Level 3 Departures. Wherever you appear on Level 3, aim right (south) until you find the checkin spots for your airline. Checkin. Then continue south, at the end of the checkin counters there are a couple of shops on either side, then an entrance on your left to domestic security.

(2) International to international, without going landside. You arrive on a sublevel (2?) Keep walking with the rest till you see stairs going down. Do not go down the stairs, this is towards immigration. Instead, opposite these stairs, still on level 2, are a couple of LATAM and QF counters. If you need the next boarding pass, go to these, otherwise go past them into a security screening point, them up escalator or lift to level 3 to the main airside departure gates / shops area.

(3) TIP: THE BIG LIFT If you are just staying airside, international flights, but need to get your next boarding pass from Qantas or Latam, you will have to do this at these counters at the Level 2 area. If you arrive way earlier than the Qantas desk opens (three hours roughly before next flight), you can still go up to the main departure area in Level 3. For shops, food, lounge, etc. The security point at level 2 does not ask for BP or anything. But the trick is getting back down. To go up from the security point is an electric escalator, or a giant lift. To get back down, the lift is the only way. So find that giant lift (somewhere near gate 17 roughly??) and you can get back down, walk back through the security point (they do not mind this) and to the QF counter. I have arrived many a time at the LATAM lounge without my ongoing BP – I carry a printed itinerary of my upcoming QF flight and they let me in despite lack of BP.

(4) Domestic to International: You will arrive at the far southern end of Level 1. Possibly after getting bus from plane’s remote bay. If you need to collect luggage, check the screens carefully – there are two distinct baggage collection areas, and the poor signage makes it easy to get lost. Exit and find lift to Level 3. Upon arriving Level 3, if you are flying Premium Latam or QF or have OW status, head to the far left (north). Otherwise head for the middle. For premium, keeping heading north until you can go up escalator or lift to get to Level 4 where the premium checkin is. After checkin use the premium immigration which is adjacent.

 

[Bitten]

Hi experts. I'm panicking- don't want to start a holiday stranded in an airport. You'll be able to help me I'm sure.
Flying into Santiago with Qantas later this month. arrive 1100hrs.
Need to get a connecting flight with SKY ( I know- NOW) at 1400hrs- to go to Lima
Please give me clear directions of what to do when I land so I don't muck this up.
Also- I need to be carrying food for my diet- is this likely to get confiscated
Appreciate your invaluable insights

 

[RooFlyer]

After exiting the plane, pay the reciprocity free at booths which will be obvious, situated before the escalators down to immigration. They take credit cards.

Down to immigration, pick up bags and clear customs, fairly standard. Exit to landside, then re enter terminal to domestic check in area.

Assuming you are within the check in period ( usually 3 hours) check in. Security off to your right.

Can't help with the food question, sorry. If it's commercially packaged I imagine you should be ok, but if it's critical, you should have plan B as officials anywhere can sometimes be unreasonable.

 

[JohnM]

My query on this is: do you need to enter Chile? It would be good if QF could interline your bag to LIM, which is what would occur if you were flying on to LIM with LA. Under that scenario, you would just transit, which is well-signed and is just a standard security procedure.

I did exactly that last year.

You would avoid the reciprocity fee and the concern about finding where to re-check - but it’s straightforward like @RooFlyer says.

If you do need to enter Chile, only to exit immediately, the only thing I would say is don’t get too confronted by the scrum of people and taxi touts as you exit. Just focus on looking up at the signs and moving through the crowd to clear space.

 

[Bitten]

After exiting the plane, pay the reciprocity free at booths which will be obvious, situated before the escalators down to immigration. They take credit cards.

Down to immigration, pick up bags and clear customs, fairly standard. Exit to landside, then re enter terminal to domestic check in area.

Assuming you are within the check in period ( usually 3 hours) check in. Security off to your right.

Can't help with the food question, sorry. If it's commercially packaged I imagine you should be ok, but if it's critical, you should have plan B as officials anywhere can sometimes be unreasonable.

 

[Bitten]

After exiting the plane, pay the reciprocity free at booths which will be obvious, situated before the escalators down to immigration. They take credit cards.

Down to immigration, pick up bags and clear customs, fairly standard. Exit to landside, then re enter terminal to domestic check in area.

Assuming you are within the check in period ( usually 3 hours) check in. Security off to your right.

Can't help with the food question, sorry. If it's commercially packaged I imagine you should be ok, but if it's critical, you should have plan B as officials anywhere can sometimes be unreasonable.

Thanks RooFlyer. Is Lima considered domestic? You mention I need to exit landside and re-enter to domestic.

 

[RooFlyer]

Arrrgh! Sorry. Of course international. Hence JohnM' comment about interlining. But as I'm almost certain QF won't check your bags to Lima, you will have to enter Chile, get your bags exit landside and re check in at International.

I'll call on SCL expert @juddles to check here, even though it will cost me no end of him rubbishing me

 

[JohnM]

Is there a reason you chose SKY over LATAM?

If you can get your bag interlined, then no problem. If not, and you chose SKY to save a few $$ over LATAM, it may prove a false economy once you cough up USD117 for the reciprocity fee.

Much better to stick with the OWA if transiting SCL IMO.

 

[Bitten]

Is there a reason you chose SKY over LATAM?

If you can get your bag interlined, then no problem. If not, and you chose SKY to save a few $$ over LATAM, it may prove a false economy once you cough up USD117 for the reciprocity fee.

Much better to stick with the OWA if transiting SCL IMO.

Thanks. The times were suitable. I will have to stay in Chile on my return so if I understand correctly if I pay the fee now it will cover me on my return. Is that correct?

 

[JohnM]

It is valid for 3 months - they staple the receipt into your passport.

 

[juddles]

Arrrgh! Sorry. Of course international. Hence JohnM' comment about interlining. But as I'm almost certain QF won't check your bags to Lima, you will have to enter Chile, get your bags exit landside and re check in at International.

I'll call on SCL expert @juddles to check here, even though it will cost me no end of him rubbishing me

ow

I would never rubbish a fellow AFF'er

Now, to try to assist the op........