Attend LACORO 2023

LACORO 2023 will be held as a live event (onsite only). Some presentations might be held online.

Chile, between wine, desert and glaciars

Valle Arcoiris at Río Grande, northern Chile.

CC BY-SA 4.0 by Diego Delso

About Chile

Chile extends over 4.300 km (2.672 mi) from north to south. This narrow country has the driest desert up north, enormous forest, and rainy weather down south, ending in eternal glaciers at Patagonia. The World Travel Award has recognized this diversity with beautiful landscapes as the 2019 winner of the World's Best Green Destination and the World's Best Adventure Tourism Destination.

The country's heterogeneity supports a broad and expanding set of exported Chilean products recognized by their quality, such as wines, seafood, fruits, wood, lithium, and copper as the most relevant outcome.

For more information about Chile, visit the official webpage.

Currency

Peso is the official currency in Chile (CLP from Chilean Peso). Images of bills and coins. The exchange rate is around 1 US dollar = 820 pesos, see a current estimate on https://si3.bcentral.cl/Indicadoressiete/secure/Indicadoresdiarios.aspx).

While most places accept credit cards such as Visa, Master Card, Diners Club, and American Express, the use of foreign currency is unlikely in almost every place except for some hotels. Cash can be retrieved from ATMs, banks or money exchange houses. However, exchanging some cash (Chilean pesos) is recommended before travelling.

Taxes

All goods in Chile include a value-added tax (VAT) of 19%, with a minor set of goods having higher specific taxes, such as cigarettes and gasoline. Shops or restaurants generally advertise prices including tax, at least explicitly stating otherwise.

Foreign visitors can ask for a VAT exemption for accommodation in regular hotels. As a requirement, the hotel will ask for a valid passport with the stamps from Immigration and Customs.

Tipping

Tipping is a customary practice, sometimes added by default as an extra item onto the invoice. In supermarkets, where single-use plastic bags are not handed over, small tips are given to people in charge of packing (a few hundreds of CLP). Tipping is not customary for taxi drivers.

General Tips for the Traveler

Chile is a safe place for living and travelling. Walking during both daylight and nightlight is safe for both nationals and foreigners. Still, you must be aware of your personal belongings as pickpockets, and opportunistic thieves are in the biggest cities, such as Santiago and Valparaíso. So, be aware of where you are carrying and leave your smartphone, laptop, photographic cameras, purses, or wallets.

VISA

To enter Chile, you must present your identification documents, like your passport. Moreover, depending on your country of origin, a stamped VISA. The following map presents the VISA policies per country.

VISA policy of Chile.

CC BY-SA 3.0 by Numberguy6

Citizens from South America can use their ID cards. Citizens from the European Union, the USA, Canada, Mexico, and Australia do not need tourist VISAs. Australian citizens can use their passports and pay a reciprocity fee at the Airport. Please check with the corresponding embassy or consulate for your particular situation.

VISA information per country can be found here (2018), published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile, where columns details country, consulate/embassy, temporary resident fee, work permit fee, student visa fee, tourist visa requirement, simple tourist visa fee, maximum stay length for the simple tourist visa, multiple-entry tourist visa fee, and maximum stay length for the multiple-entry tourist visa. Current year information, in lower resolution, can be found here.

For those needing a VISA, please keep in mind that the VISA process takes about 20 working days, and applications not presented at least that time in advance are rejected. You should start the process 90 days in advance. Here is a list Chilean embassies and consulates worldwide https://chile.gob.cl/en/consulados/.

To apply for a Tourist VISA to enter Chile, you must:

• Open an account on the following website: https://tramites.minrel.gov.cl/Solicitudes/visa.aspx.
• Once you have opened an account, you must complete the VISA Application provided online (Register request / Type of application / VISA)
• Then, you must scan and upload all the necessary documents (please specify document file names, e.g., "BankStatement.pdf"). Below is a list of documents which are required:
• Itinerary and flight reservation
• A Hotel Reservation (covering the entire length of stay), or, a Letter of Invitation (must be authenticated by a Notary Public in Chile)
• A Bank Statement (from the previous three months to the date of application)
• A Valid Passport, with at least six months remaining validity (scan of the pages with VISAs)
• One passport-size photograph (scanned)

Weather in January in Santiago, Chile

Power & Connectors

Chile uses the power plug & outlet type L, and power plug & outlet type C connectors and 220V, 50Hz mains power.

Power Plug Type L

CC BY-SA 3.0 by Marco Gilardetti 2009

Europlug – Power Plug Type C

Public Domain by SomnusDe 2010