From Princess ship into Valparaiso on our own?

Hi! We will be flying into Santiago, then doing a Princess transfer to our Princess ship in Valparaiso and hopefully will be there mid-morning. Since our ship doesn't leave until late afternoon, it would be great if we could see a little of Valparaiso between the time we check into the ship and the time we must be back on. Has anyone else done this? Is it possible to walk right off the ship and be in the city and is it safe for wandering around on our own? Or does it necessitate finding a taxi or someone possibly offering a tour since we can't book a Princess tour for our embarking day (we're coming on in the middle of a cruise that began a few weeks earlier for the first passengers so some of those passengers will be on the ship and some will be off exploring.) Thanks for any help!

At Valparaiso, the ship will dock in a busy commercial port. The port provides a shuttle bus to the cruise terminal, which is 2 or 3 km to the east along the shore. (You are not allowed to walk inside the port area.) From the terminal, it is possible to walk south (inland) into the city -- the National Congress building is about 1/2 km inland from the terminal. On one of our arrivals into Valpo (Feb. 2010), we walked to the National Congress and somewhat beyond. We felt safe enough as far as the Congress Bldg and surroundings, but got a bit nervous when we walked further inland from there. However, the majority of the interesting (to us) sights are to the west, closer to the dock. Unfortunately, one cannot get directly from the dock to that interesting area--as far as I know, it is necessary to first take the shuttle to the cruise terminal, well to the east.

On our 2nd arrival at Valpo (Feb. 2013), we arranged to be picked up at the cruise terminal by AboutChile tours. They provided an excellent and reasonably-priced private tour of the more westerly area, by van and on foot, before taking us on to Vina del Mar and to Santiago. They (and other tour operators) do the same tour in reverse, from Santiago or Santiago airport to Vina and Valpo and then to the cruise terminal. If you are not already irrevocably committed to the Princess transfer, I recommend considering a change to such a private transfer/tour. Depending when you must be aboard and your specific interests, it might be better to ask the tour operator to skip Vina del Mar and spend as much time as possible visiting Valparaiso, which is interesting and colourful. Many people who take these Santiago-to-Valpo transfer/tours stop at a winery en route from Santiago to Vina and Valpo (we have also done that), but of course any winery visit will cut down on the time available to see Valpo.

If you are not already planning to do so, I strongly recommend flying in to Santiago a few days early, if you can. We found it to be a very interesting city, and it is easy and relatively safe to get around on your own.

John

We booked a Transfer/Tour from Santiago to Valparaiso which gives us city tours plus a winery. We're doing this with SouthExcusions but I did find several other guides also... Leo Cuzman, Hector Medina, Chilegetaway. All had similar pricing.

Hi! Or does it necessitate finding a taxi or someone possibly offering a tour since we can't book a Princess tour for our embarking day (we're coming on in the middle of a cruise that began a few weeks earlier for the first passengers so some of those passengers will be on the ship and some will be off exploring.) Thanks for any help!

Hi., I just got back from my South American cruise and loved Valparaiso…its a magical city fully of really great public art and a walk along the waterfront right along to where the ships dock is an interesting walk however…..

most of the cities charm is in the hills right behind the city. They can be reached by the ascsensors which rise up from the flat area into the hills for only a few cents per ride. I had a guide from rutavalapraiso who I couldn't recommend enough. they were very economical and were able to tailor a tour to fit my times and what i wanted to see. It was a very good value for money few hours and will i guarantee afford you with some memories of a lifetime. I would have missed a lot of the city without their help.

I would love to go back and spend some real time in the city,

If you are interested in public art….its worth the visit…..and although I dont use guides a lot, worth while having one here.

you can see my blog of the city on http://roscoesseafever.blogspot.co.nz under " South American Phoenix" if you are interested.

Have a great trip..hope you enjoy the city as much as I did

regards roscoe

Check out 'Tours4Tips" in Valpariso, meaning free except for the tip you give the guide. I believe they are offered each morning and each afternoon. They get great ratings on Trip Advisor.

We just got back 2 days ago from 16 days on the Crown Princess, Valpariso to LA, and spent a night precruise in one of the boutique hotels up on one of the hills that comprises much of the city. Charming city!

Our hotel arranged for our transportation from the airport in Santiago to Valpariso with Aragon Taxi service (aragonsa dot cl), and our wonderful driver, Aldo, shared a lot of info about Chile as we made our way to Valpariso. He also included an abreviated city tour once we got to Valpariso. He also came back to the hotel the next morning and transported us to the pier. I would not hesitate to recomment their services.

We love valpariso, have been there twice. I would highly recommend taking the time to do a walking tour of the city. I posted some pictures on my my family blog.

http://karanandmichael.blogspot.com/2013/11/south-america-ole.html

It's a shame about Valparaiso loosing all those historical buildings due to the fire... It will be years until it recovers.

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