Around the Horn B.A. to Valpo with Port Information

On March 27, 2016, we disembarked the Rhapsody of the Seas in Valparaiso, Chile at around 7:30 AM. After taking a rather long shuttle bus to the port terminal and going through customs and immigration, we took a taxi to the Valparaiso bus station where we boarded a TurBus at 8:00 AM for the 1 and 1/2 hour ride to Santiago where we were renting an apartment for three nights post-cruise.

Since we were due to meet our landlady at the apartment at 12 noon, we decided to have breakfast at the Alameda Station (the main Santiago bus station where we were dropped off). Later, we took a taxi to the apartment, called Welen Hill Downtown Santiago Apartment. Out wonderful landlady, Marcela, met us there, showed us how everything worked, gave us the key, and left. She had lots of sightseeing information available and even a well-stocked kitchen, which we did not expect. The apartment was beautiful, in a new building, and across the street from a small park and the police station. We felt very safe there, and since it was only about six blocks from the main street in Santiago, Avenida Bernardo O'Higgins, also known as "La Alameda", we were able to walk to all of the main tourist sights. We were very close to Santa Lucia Hill (which in the original native language was called "Welen", and thus the name of the apartment).

There were also many restaurants and small grocery stores within walking distance, and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Santiago. On the day we arrived, we walked to the beautiful old church of San Francisco, and walked around the old neighborhood of Paris / Londres.

The next day, after a typical Chilean lunch at a restaurant about 1/2 a block from our apartment, we walked to Santa Lucia Hill, climbed to the top to see the beautiful statues and fountain, and then walked quite a long way to the Plaza de Armas where we saw the Santiago Cathedral, the old Post Office (in a beautiful building), and my husband's favorite, the Santiago Chess Club with over 50 people playing chess in the park. We then walked home, and admired the view of the Andes from our balcony.

The following day, around 8:00 AM, we walked to the famous Palacio de la Moneda in the Plaza de la Constitucion where we admired the architecture in the area and saw many famous statues, notably one of Salvador Allende. I also met two wonderful friendly dogs. I was sitting on some steps, and they came up to me very nicely, laid down next to me, one on each side of me and fell asleep. It was very sweet!

Later, we walked back to the Plaza de Armas and bought tickets for the hop-on-hop-off bus which we boarded around 10:30 AM. This was an excellent tour of Santiago, and the one thing that we saw (which our landlady had mentioned) was the Gran Torre Santiago, a skyscraper built in 2015, which is the tallest building in South America and contains the Sky Costanera at the top. Besides many office buildings, there is a huge shopping mall inside. We decided to get off there and see this for ourselves. After lunch at the massive food court, we took the elevator to the top of Sky Costanera for an amazing view of Santiago and the Andes. Later, we took our bus back to our Santa Lucia neighborhood and walked back to the apartment. It was a very busy day, and we were very tired, but satisfied with everything we had seen and done.

The next day, March 30, 2016, was our last day. Our landlady had arranged for a private driver to pick us up at the apartment and take us to the airport. We flew on American Airlines from Santiago to Houston, and then had a connecting flight to Miami.

It was definitely a trip of a lifetime, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is considering a South American cruise.

On March 27, 2016, we disembarked the Rhapsody of the Seas in Valparaiso, Chile at around 7:30 AM. After taking a rather long shuttle bus to the port terminal and going through customs and immigration, we took a taxi to the Valparaiso bus station where we boarded a TurBus at 8:00 AM for the 1 and 1/2 hour ride to Santiago where we were renting an apartment for three nights post-cruise.

 

Since we were due to meet our landlady at the apartment at 12 noon, we decided to have breakfast at the Alameda Station (the main Santiago bus station where we were dropped off). Later, we took a taxi to the apartment, called Welen Hill Downtown Santiago Apartment. Out wonderful landlady, Marcela, met us there, showed us how everything worked, gave us the key, and left. She had lots of sightseeing information available and even a well-stocked kitchen, which we did not expect. The apartment was beautiful, in a new building, and across the street from a small park and the police station. We felt very safe there, and since it was only about six blocks from the main street in Santiago, Avenida Bernardo O'Higgins, also known as "La Alameda", we were able to walk to all of the main tourist sights. We were very close to Santa Lucia Hill (which in the original native language was called "Welen", and thus the name of the apartment).

 

There were also many restaurants and small grocery stores within walking distance, and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Santiago. On the day we arrived, we walked to the beautiful old church of San Francisco, and walked around the old neighborhood of Paris / Londres.

 

The next day, after a typical Chilean lunch at a restaurant about 1/2 a block from our apartment, we walked to Santa Lucia Hill, climbed to the top to see the beautiful statues and fountain, and then walked quite a long way to the Plaza de Armas where we saw the Santiago Cathedral, the old Post Office (in a beautiful building), and my husband's favorite, the Santiago Chess Club with over 50 people playing chess in the park. We then walked home, and admired the view of the Andes from our balcony.

 

The following day, around 8:00 AM, we walked to the famous Palacio de la Moneda in the Plaza de la Constitucion where we admired the architecture in the area and saw many famous statues, notably one of Salvador Allende. I also met two wonderful friendly dogs. I was sitting on some steps, and they came up to me very nicely, laid down next to me, one on each side of me and fell asleep. It was very sweet!

 

Later, we walked back to the Plaza de Armas and bought tickets for the hop-on-hop-off bus which we boarded around 10:30 AM. This was an excellent tour of Santiago, and the one thing that we saw (which our landlady had mentioned) was the Gran Torre Santiago, a skyscraper built in 2015, which is the tallest building in South America and contains the Sky Costanera at the top. Besides many office buildings, there is a huge shopping mall inside. We decided to get off there and see this for ourselves. After lunch at the massive food court, we took the elevator to the top of Sky Costanera for an amazing view of Santiago and the Andes. Later, we took our bus back to our Santa Lucia neighborhood and walked back to the apartment. It was a very busy day, and we were very tired, but satisfied with everything we had seen and done.

 

The next day, March 30, 2016, was our last day. Our landlady had arranged for a private driver to pick us up at the apartment and take us to the airport. We flew on American Airlines from Santiago to Houston, and then had a connecting flight to Miami.

 

It was definitely a trip of a lifetime, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is considering a South American cruise.

Good stuff. Thank you again for posting.

Sent from my K00L using Tapatalk

On March 27, 2016, we disembarked the Rhapsody of the Seas in Valparaiso, Chile at around 7:30 AM. After taking a rather long shuttle bus to the port terminal and going through customs and immigration, we took a taxi to the Valparaiso bus station where we boarded a TurBus at 8:00 AM for the 1 and 1/2 hour ride to Santiago where we were renting an apartment for three nights post-cruise.

 

Since we were due to meet our landlady at the apartment at 12 noon, we decided to have breakfast at the Alameda Station (the main Santiago bus station where we were dropped off). Later, we took a taxi to the apartment, called Welen Hill Downtown Santiago Apartment. Out wonderful landlady, Marcela, met us there, showed us how everything worked, gave us the key, and left. She had lots of sightseeing information available and even a well-stocked kitchen, which we did not expect. The apartment was beautiful, in a new building, and across the street from a small park and the police station. We felt very safe there, and since it was only about six blocks from the main street in Santiago, Avenida Bernardo O'Higgins, also known as "La Alameda", we were able to walk to all of the main tourist sights. We were very close to Santa Lucia Hill (which in the original native language was called "Welen", and thus the name of the apartment).

 

There were also many restaurants and small grocery stores within walking distance, and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Santiago. On the day we arrived, we walked to the beautiful old church of San Francisco, and walked around the old neighborhood of Paris / Londres.

 

The next day, after a typical Chilean lunch at a restaurant about 1/2 a block from our apartment, we walked to Santa Lucia Hill, climbed to the top to see the beautiful statues and fountain, and then walked quite a long way to the Plaza de Armas where we saw the Santiago Cathedral, the old Post Office (in a beautiful building), and my husband's favorite, the Santiago Chess Club with over 50 people playing chess in the park. We then walked home, and admired the view of the Andes from our balcony.

 

The following day, around 8:00 AM, we walked to the famous Palacio de la Moneda in the Plaza de la Constitucion where we admired the architecture in the area and saw many famous statues, notably one of Salvador Allende. I also met two wonderful friendly dogs. I was sitting on some steps, and they came up to me very nicely, laid down next to me, one on each side of me and fell asleep. It was very sweet!

 

Later, we walked back to the Plaza de Armas and bought tickets for the hop-on-hop-off bus which we boarded around 10:30 AM. This was an excellent tour of Santiago, and the one thing that we saw (which our landlady had mentioned) was the Gran Torre Santiago, a skyscraper built in 2015, which is the tallest building in South America and contains the Sky Costanera at the top. Besides many office buildings, there is a huge shopping mall inside. We decided to get off there and see this for ourselves. After lunch at the massive food court, we took the elevator to the top of Sky Costanera for an amazing view of Santiago and the Andes. Later, we took our bus back to our Santa Lucia neighborhood and walked back to the apartment. It was a very busy day, and we were very tired, but satisfied with everything we had seen and done.

 

The next day, March 30, 2016, was our last day. Our landlady had arranged for a private driver to pick us up at the apartment and take us to the airport. We flew on American Airlines from Santiago to Houston, and then had a connecting flight to Miami.

 

It was definitely a trip of a lifetime, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is considering a South American cruise.

Good stuff. Thank you again for posting.

Sent from my K00L using Tapatalk

You're welcome!:)

Hi I was wondering if you used local $$ or is the credit card accepted in places? Should we bring local money with us?

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Before our cruise, we went to a local currency exchange here in Miami and exchanged USD 200.00 for Argentine pesos and exchanged another USD 200.00 for Chilean pesos. We also took USD cash and a Visa card with no foreign transaction fees. We also took some leftover UK pounds that we had.

When we got to the airport in B.A., we went to the currency exchange there and exchanged our UK pounds for Argentinian pesos. We stayed three days pre cruise in B.A. and three days post cruise in Santiago.

We paid for our hotel in B.A. using our Visa card, and paid for our apartment on Santiago in USD cash (to avoid a 19% VAT tax).

We never used an ATM, and never used our credit card for anything except the B.A. Hotel and onboard expenses on the cruise.

When we got to Punta Arenas, we went to a currency exchange place and exchanged our remaining Argentinian pesos for Chilean pesos.

Just wanted to thank you Relax At Sea for the super job you've done with the account of your South America cruise. We're doing a back to back in March 2019 which brings us through the Panama Canal to Miami from Valparaiso. So we're keen to check out possible excursions along the way. This has certainly given us good ideas to start.

By the way, I hope you didn't get too badly stung changing your UK£ for Pesos. Our money is looking a little sorry just now. Mind you that does give everyone a reason to visit; it's much cheaper than 2 years ago!

Just wanted to thank you Relax At Sea for the super job you've done with the account of your South America cruise. We're doing a back to back in March 2019 which brings us through the Panama Canal to Miami from Valparaiso. So we're keen to check out possible excursions along the way. This has certainly given us good ideas to start.

By the way, I hope you didn't get too badly stung changing your UK£ for Pesos. Our money is looking a little sorry just now. Mind you that does give everyone a reason to visit; it's much cheaper than 2 years ago!

Thank you! I'm so glad I was able to be helpful. I've gotten so much good information here at Cruise Critic over the years, and I am happy to help others.

By the way, it looks like we are doing the 2nd leg of your back to back, but ours will be in Feb., 2018. We will fly to Santiago, take the TurBus to Valparaiso, stay there for four nights, and then board the Norwegian Sun back to Miami via the Panama Canal. A few years ago we did a "partial transit" of the Panama Canal round trip from Miami. We sailed through the locks as far as Gatun Lake, then turned around and came back. Our cruise in February will be our first complete transit of the Canal, so we are looking forward to it.

I don't remember about the exchange rate from UK pounds to Argentinian pesos at the time we did it, but we felt we got a pretty good deal. I guess things have changed some now.

Thanks for reading!

Barbara

Thank you for the detailed information! We do a combination of days on our own, private tours and ship tours when on a cruise depending upon the location, activities available, etc. I do a lot of research (cruise critic and elsewhere) to determine what we will do in each port and your posts are some of the best I have seen. Thanks again!

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Thank you for the detailed information! We do a combination of days on our own, private tours and ship tours when on a cruise depending upon the location, activities available, etc. I do a lot of research (cruise critic and elsewhere) to determine what we will do in each port and your posts are some of the best I have seen. Thanks again!

 

 

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You're welcome, and thanks for the kind words!

We found a private tour service that arrange all leaded by LIZ Andrea (liz2arg@yahoo.com). Hall of Fame in Trip Advisor. Highly recommended focus her offices in Buenos Aires. http://www.lizflor2.blogspot.com

We found a private tour service that arrange all leaded by LIZ Andrea (liz2arg@yahoo.com). Hall of Fame in Trip Advisor. Highly recommended focus her offices in Buenos Aires. http://www.lizflor2.blogspot.com

Never heard of hall of fame on trip advisor....what does that mean?

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We did same trip and Ushuaia was our favorite place.

We walked San Martin street also. We went into a "thematic Museum" wich was fabulous about the history of the expeditionaries around that southamerica land.

We also saw many penguins !!!! lovely!!!! prepare a nice jacket waterproof and windstopper. sunscreen.

Our tour guide in Buenos Aires told us about little things to do as she was travelling around the world.

If you will stop in Buenos Aires I highly recommend her:

liz andrea

liz2arg@yahoo.com

join a group as she can do a small group tour in buenos aires with her excellent know how and english

we found her in trip advisor as one of the top guides in buenos aires for private tours.

Enjoy it!