Valparaiso or Santiago pre cruise?

We are joining our South America cruise in December, sailing from Valparaiso to Buenos Aires, and have booked flights to give us a few days free before the cruise departs. The original intention was to stay in Santiago, but now Valparaiso seems very interesting instead. Is this a good idea, or a bad idea? There are not many hotels in Valparaiso, but I have found one I like the look of, so we are definitely tempted. Has anybody done this- a stay in Valparaiso before cruising rather than Santiago?

All advice and comments gratefully received. Thanks in advance,

Corina and John

(Placed this message yesterday on General Questions, had one interesting and useful reply, but now decided to place it here to see if we get more of you interested!)

We did the SA cruise starting from Valparaiso in Feb of this year.We spent a couple of days in Santiago which was enough to see some of the sites the city has to offer and then we spent one night in Vina Del Mar.The port is about 70 miles from Santiago and to get to it you travel through the Casablanca Valley where all the wineries are so we booked a private car to take us from Santiago to a winery then a tour of Valparaiso and on to Vina Del Mar,the next day we booked a taxi for the short drive to the port.This worked very well for us.Santiago is the usual big city,as it is in a valley there can be a smog in the air sometimes blocking the view to the mountains.I think because of this the locals take their summer vacations at places such as Vina Del Mar,and that is what we found when we got there,packed beaches,and the locals having great fun.It is quite a small place so I think one or two days would be quite enough.We stayed at the Hotel San Martin right in the middle of Vina Del Mar with views of the ocean,this hotel was very reasonable and had all the basic amenties one would expect.

Hi there, and thanks for the reply. Still can't make up the mind, and you have now added an extra thought- Vina Del Mar. I think we may end up having a couple of nights in Santiago, doing the transfer something like you did, and then a couple in Valparaiso. But Vina Del Mar.... I wonder! Probably just wait a little while to see if we get any other replies, then BOOK IT! (whatever 'it' turns out to be).

Ciao, and have a nice Sunday, Corina and John

I have always heard of Vina and now we are cruising Star Princeess ex Valparisoin Feb'08...I wanted to arrive SAntiago at noon and somehow get to Vina...any suggestions...also what are the fanciest Vina hotels.

corindli...please recap your trip..is it the "Star"

Vina is the "fancy" resort area-Valparaiso is the port and the blue collar area.

They basically adjoin each other. From the port in Valparaiso to the resort hotels in Vina is about a 5 minute drive (via taxi).

You can rent a car-Advantage rental car, USA website, from Santiago airport with drop off in Vina. The road is a 4 lane toll road-easy drive. The wineries are mostly off that main road. There are maps available all over and there is even a Mickey D's in the toll plaza. Don't forget peso's for the tolls. They don't take American dollars. Cost is about $80.00 per day.

Or you can take the local bus or arrange a tour. There are many options.

One day in Santiago is probably enough. As a frequent South America business traveler, I find Santiago just another big city. A few cathedrals, a couple of museums and art galleries, the market most tourists go to is VERY commercial.

The scenery between Santiago and Vina looks almost EXACTLY like the area south of Watsonville, California on US 1. Mountains on one side, the coast on the other and lots and lots of grape fields.

The scenery around Vina/Valparaiso is really great-IMHO, much better than Santiago. Get up high in the hills and enjoy the mountain/ocean views. The cruise buses can't take the little road that give you the best views.

Enjoy!!!

Having been to both of these locations if you arrive in Santiago late morning I would try to visit and see the sites the first afternoon and the next morning and then head towards Valparaiso. I agree, I would stay in Vino Del Mar where there are now some very nice resorts off the coast. It is a beautiful area. I would stay there and not directly in Valparaiso.

Keith

We stayed 2 nights in Santiago. There is a fair bit to see there. Then we had our private guide take us to Valparaiso. We stopped at Veremente winery, Vina del Mar, Renaca and a bit of a tour of Valparaiso before going to the ship around 1 pm. I f I were to do it again. I would split the 2 nights 1 in Santiago, 1 in in Vina del Mar or Renaca, but wouldn't stay in Valparaiso, mostly an industrial port city.

We stayed 2 nights in Santiago. There is a fair bit to see there. Then we had our private guide take us to Valparaiso. We stopped at Veremente winery, Vina del Mar, Renaca and a bit of a tour of Valparaiso before going to the ship around 1 pm. I f I were to do it again. I would split the 2 nights 1 in Santiago, 1 in in Vina del Mar or Renaca, but wouldn't stay in Valparaiso, mostly an industrial port city.

eh2zed, are you able to give us your private guide's details. We would be looking for travel from Valparaiso to Santiago but would like to see something of the area in between.

We, too, are looking for specifics as to which driver/guide you used to get yourselves from Santiago to Vina as we will be doing this the end of next year. If you cannot give us specifics on this board perhaps you can reply to us individually?

Thanks!

Hello all of you, many thanks for the very interesting replies.

IIcaptain: we are sailing Infinity from Valparaiso to Buenos Aires departing Dec.22

Keith and greatam, very interesting about Vina del Mar. One (or two) nights Santiago then two (or three) nights Vina del Mar sounds good. Sheraton in Vina Del Mar? Trip advisor gives plus and minus, but it seems like best bet.

IIcaptain you are asking about Valparaiso hotels: Only one we found we liked the look of was Robinson Crusoe Inn boutique hotel. But the advice around this thread is that Vina del Mar is a better 'stay' option than Valparaiso.

And- thanks for the advice about vineyards on the way from Santiago to Valparaiso.

And another question surfacing: If we stay in one of the 'name' hotels in Santiago is it OK to book a car/taxi from concierge for the drive to Vina del Mar via vineyards, or should this better be booked in advance?

Thanks again all,

Corina and John

We were on this cruise 2/07 and it was fantastic! We stayed at the Santiago Park Plaza after reading reviews through trip advisor. Great choice, walking distance to lots of places and even one of the main attractions which is the cable car and funicular. The hotel arranged our car to the port, and it was a larger, new car and the cost was even less than the cruise transfer would have been.

If you can find it, the travel channel, Samantha Brown is currently doing a show on Chile, a 30 minute show, it is on Valparaiso, and Vina del Mar. It was a great show, and I am sorry we didn't have time to stay there. She also did the winery tour. Valparaiso is a port city, and not the tourist attraction as Vina del Mar. Enjoy the tropical weather of Santiago as it gets cooler and cooler until you get back up towards Buenos Aires, so pack some warm clothing! Great trip...Enjoy;) ;)

I have travelled fairly extensively throughout So Am and now live in Rio. Next week I leave for a Skorpios cruise from Puerto Montt, Chile down through the lakes region to San Rafael glacier - an little known, upscale adventure that more Cruisecritic readers should consider.

I spent a month in Vina back in 1999 and returned for a short stay a few years ago to hop a cruise ship. Sleep in Vina as opposed to either Valparaiso or Santiago (a distant 3rd). The casino in Vina will offer entertainment to supplement the beach. Do not miss the Pablo Neruda museum in Valparaiso and plan to spend an entire day walking the streets to get to see the town and ride some of the tram cars. There is also another Neruda museum/home about an hour away on the coast. Makes for a nice do it yourself excursion via bus/rental car or find a tour.

As for the allure of Santiago, I will never forget the chance encounter I had in a Santiago street cafe with the former US consul stationed there. He said a couple of things that stayed with me. We were discusiing my travel plans and he volunteered that Santiago is "a 6 day city" - all you need is 6 days to fully explore it and thereafter it's not much good. I stayed 4.

A second thing he said which I found amusing was that Chile has great fruit and grapes for wine making, a rich soil that yields other great produce and meat, and an amazing sea coast that offers unlimited seafood, but the one culinary element that Chile lacked was a ...palate. And I found that to be generally true. The cuisine is kind of disappointing given the fabulous ingredients available.

Don't forget to take in a tango show while in Buenos Aires. And defer your shopping until you arrive there - it's one of the few places where the US dollar can still go a long way.

Another thank you to all helpers! Great information still flying in. I'll check out the Park Plaza (thanks mes531). Recommendation regarding Vina for a stay rather than Valparaiso again (thanks to owl61). Thanks also mes531 about the hotel arranging the car for onward travel. Another question dealt with. Can't watch your travel channel though, we live in Switzerland.

And no chance for the tango show in Buenos Aires, sorry to say, we fly out evening of the day we arrive. Got to get back home and start work again. Some you win, and some.....

Ciao, info. suppliers, keep it coming. We are enjoying reading it.

Corina and John

Thats it. Hotel bookings done. Fly in and two nights in Santiago at Park Plaza then two in Sheraton Vina da Mar before we cruise.

All advice gratefully received. Some more of it will be used when we are in Chile.

Ciao all. Corina and John

Last year we did the SA cruise starting from Valparaiso to Bs Aires with Holland America. We hired a transfer company to take us for a tour in Santiago and Valparaiso, we think Santiago is like all the other big cities, so just couple of hours touring there is enough. Valparaiso and Vina del Mar in the other hand is very nice, a lot to see, good see food, Wine and much more, even if we didn't stay i would love to go back and stay for a couple of days. We love wine so we went to Casablanca Valley, stoped in a vineyard call Veramonte and then we went around Valparaiso and Vina del Mar. We have some friends that stayed at the San Martin Hotel in Vina del Mar, they said that is very good, perfect location to go out and good prices, recomend you to check that hotel. Our tour company there was also very good, the guide with a very good english level and a confortable vehicle. I think the name was MDT&CO they can probably pick you up every day, the wb site is www.mdtco.cl

Have a good time there

Alex and Inger