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3 days precruise-stay in Santiago all 3 or 2 SCL and 1 Valparaiso?

3 days precruise-stay in Santiago all 3 or 2 SCL and 1 Valparaiso?

Old Jun 7th, 2017, 09:56 AM
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3 days precruise-stay in Santiago all 3 or 2 SCL and 1 Valparaiso?

I will be flying into SCL on Feb. 11, a Sunday, for 3 days/nights before a Cape Horn cruise that departs from Valparaiso on Feb. 14. Arrival time is the typical early morning, 8:30am. I am trying decide between spending all 3 nights at Travesia B&B in SCL and then join others on my ship for a Vina del Mar/Valpo transfer tour that ends at the ship on Feb. 14. Or stay 2 nights in Santiago, bus ourselves to Valparaiso and one night at Azul B&B on Feb. 13. Self tour in Valpo Feb. 14 and board the ship by 5:00 pm.

Is it worth changing hotels to have more time in Valparaiso or is Santiago interesting enough to stay there all 3 nights?
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Old Jun 7th, 2017, 02:02 PM
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Is that B&B Costa Azul? If so it isn't in a good neighborhood for most tourists. If up in the hills I would want to be in Cerro Allegre or Concepcion. I would either keep looking up there or just book into the Ibis if you are on a budget.

And yes, I do think Valparaiso is worth at least a day. Street art, colorful houses, and good seafood.

I think I've mentioned the Tours4tips people before, the 3pm general tour that starts at Plaza Sotomayor is a good one. You can easily walk there from the Ibis. Also any of Neruda Houses are worth a visit if you have time. (There is also one in Santiago). I've been to Santiago and it isn't the most interesting city I've ever been to. The weather can be quite HOT and smoggy. Valparaiso is a bit cooler.

What is on the transfer tour? Vina isn't much, and the scenery between the two places isn't spectacualar. I assume it's basically a winery tour.

I think I've linked to my Cape Horn Trip Report a few times.
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Old Jun 8th, 2017, 03:43 PM
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Sunday nights are not very lively for eating as most people have a big Sunday lunch. You would have to cross the river, past the Baquedano metro station, to Bellavista. The Patio Bellavista has several decent restaurants open Sunday evening. It runs between Pio Nono and Constitución. Definitely take a taxi back to your lodging. A restaurant can call for radio taxi or, if you use it, Uber exists here.

It is unclear if you are joining other cruisers in Santiago or Viña del Mar. I would spend a night in Santiago and then head for Valparaíso. As said, find somewhere on Cerro Alegre or Cerro Concepcion. Book as soon as possible as February is the busiest month for local holidays, cruises and other visitors.
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Old Jun 20th, 2017, 11:01 AM
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I have decided to stay all 3 nights in Santiago. I found a local Valpo man who organizes private transfer tours. This is what is suggested:

1. Pick up at the B&B in Santiago around 9 a.m.
2. Drive into the famous Casablanca valley with the option to visit one winery, probably EMILIANA because of the nice settings.
3. Sightseeing in Vina del Mar mostly driving (highlights of the city)
4. Tour in Valparaiso as a combination of walking, car & public transportation. That means we will use at least 1-2 of the famous cable cars on our way through the city.
5. Drop off at the cruise terminal in the afternoon.

The cost for the service is 110 U.S. Dollar per person.

I know I can change some of this if there are specific things I want to see. Does this sound like a fair price for a tour?
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Old Jun 20th, 2017, 12:33 PM
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It sounds extremely reasonable.
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Old Jun 20th, 2017, 05:44 PM
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Hope it is not Michael the German Pirate?
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Old Jun 20th, 2017, 06:43 PM
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Yes, avoid the German Pirate like the plague?
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Old Jun 22nd, 2017, 11:36 AM
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It is Michael the German Pirate. What is the problem with him? If you can't discuss here please PM me susiesan8 at gmail.com.

If he is unreliable or a scammer then I will cease communication with him and look for someone else to do a cruise transfer tour for me.
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Old Jun 22nd, 2017, 12:00 PM
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Unreliable and unprofessional. See:

https://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com...-the-not-good/
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Old Jun 22nd, 2017, 03:29 PM
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Are you not able to join some others as you were first thinking of?

If you are afraid to take the public bus to Valpo, then maybe the cruise line's transfer service is the way to go. Or your hotel in Santiago may have a recommended transfer provider.

I would then go to Valpo a day early and you can either book a private tour from Valpo where they can use a vehicle. Or if you can walk, do the Tours4Tips which gets top marks.

Don't fret about missing the winery tour. I didn't think Vina had much to offer but if you go there a day early and book a private tour I'm sure you can include a stop.
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Old Jun 23rd, 2017, 09:52 AM
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mlgb: I am able to join others but the tour already organized has an emphasis on wineries at Vina del Mar and less on Valparaiso.

I am not afraid to take the public bus. I just don't want to mess around with taking cabs and busses with large luggage. I will look into other companies recommended by cruisers doing this transfer tour. Suggested vendors are:
South Excursions
Stamps Tours
Chile Private Tours

thursdaysd: thanks for the warning. I see your experience was many years ago and Michael the Pirate is getting good TA reviews now, but personal experience means more than an anonymous internet review. Did he ever respond to your criticism?
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Old Jun 23rd, 2017, 10:19 AM
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No. I wouldn't have said five years was "many" years ago, and I thought I heard that he was getting good TA reviews then. I would take the reviews with a very large grain of salt - and I see that some of them are for Boris, not Michael. If it is the same Boris, I had a good walking tour with him.

Why risk it when there are alternatives?

If you don't want to take the bus with a lot of luggage, why not just get a transfer to Valpo, spend the night, and tour the town the next day? Vino del Mar is really not that interesting. I preferred Valpo to Santiago, but maybe you need to get over jet lag.
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Old Jun 23rd, 2017, 10:40 AM
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If your focus is on Valpo I don't see the point of taking the schedule you laid out, which spends time at wineries and Vina del Mar (a high rise beach resort like many others, with little character).


Is your desire to spend the time in Santiago based on the lodging or wish to see Santiago? I think you should be able to find similarly charming lodgings in Valpo if you don't wish to stay in the Ibis.

Have you joined up on Cruise Critic? There might be others willing to share just the private transfer the day before. Although I would guess many will be going directly from the airport to Valpo.
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Old Jun 23rd, 2017, 10:50 AM
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Here's an example of a B&B in Valpo that I would look at

http://www.puertaescondida.cl/

They are next door to an excellent restaurant, Sabor Color (so good I ate there twice).

They are also on booking.com,etc but I might write direct to the lodging to be sure to get the type of room you prefer.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...so_Region.html
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Old Jun 24th, 2017, 10:44 AM
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This is my thinking of a Santiago plan:

arrive SCL @8:00am on Sunday Feb. 11, cab to Travesia B&B. Drop off bags or check in and walk around Santiago. I expect lots will be closed since it is Sunday so we'll do outside sights and museums if open.

Monday Feb. 12 all day tour out to the Andes for a hike there.

Tues. Feb. 12 either a bicycle tour or cooking class and any SCL sightseeing we missed Sunday afternoon.

Weds. Feb. 14 transfer tour to Valparaiso for tour and cruise.

If I were to leave for Valpo on Tuesday, most of the day would be used up with packing up, checking out, and driving to Valpo. This would chew up half a day leaving only the morning to finish up in SCL. And it would require changing hotels for just one night which I hate to do.

I did find someone else to do a transfer tour, Chile Private Tours, Thomas Proussard. If I want more time in Valpo then I can ask for a SCL pick up, straight there and skip Vina del Mar. They are asking $145pp if 2 people, $125 pp for 4 people in the car.

I still have a B&B reservation in Valpo for Feb. 13, haven't cancelled that yet, while I decide exactly how to spend my 3 days in Chile.
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Old Jun 24th, 2017, 11:41 AM
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mlgb: I looked at Puerta Escondia B&B. Location is perfect. I would switch my reservation to there but it does not have free cancellation on booking.com

Do you know of any other B&B's in that neighborhood that are moderate in price? I f I do stay in Valpo for the one night I want a location that enables us to walk to most sights on Feb. 14. I don't want to waste time trying to figure out public transportation. I know that wherever we stay we will have to take a cab to the cruise ship pier since we will have luggage. Right now I have a Reservation at Costa Azul B&B that I am looking to change due to the location up in the hills.
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Old Jun 24th, 2017, 01:19 PM
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I assume you are able to walk if you are hiking in the Andes. Valparaiso has a flat part near the harbor, and the two hills Cerro Alegre and Concepcion are popular with the walking tours, inluding graffiti tours. This really isn't a place where you take taxis or cabs to tour. I think I mentioned Tours4Tips which has a brief outline of what their tour covers.. Either take the Tours4Tips tour or hire them or someone else for a private tour if you won't be able to arrive at the starting point by 3pm the day before your cruise.

https://tours4tips.com/tour/valparaiso-highlights/

I don't understand your comment "I don't want to waste time trying to figure out public transportation." They have taxis in Valparaiso.

The B&B you first picked in Valparaiso is not in a good neighborhood.

I assume you don't want to book yet because you keep changing your mind about your itinerary.

If you use the booking.com map view, you can find other lodgings near Templeman which are highly rated (over 9) and have free cancellation. Just use the drop down list on the left side. Be sure to exclude the ones that don't show availablility.

BTo ehW a Hostal is a small inn, not a youth hostel.
T
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Old Jun 24th, 2017, 01:26 PM
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Sorry about the problem with my typing/keyboard.

Wouldn't you better to do biking on Sunday which would be a better day for that in Santiago, assuming there is less car traffic. Have you checked to see what is open on Sunday? It isn't clear what exactly you planned to see in Santiago.
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Old Jun 24th, 2017, 03:24 PM
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We arrive in SCL after over 22 hours of traveling door to door. Unless there is a bike tour in the afternoon I doubt we will be doing that on Sunday. We won't be jet lagged as there is only a 1 hour time zone change but we will be tired from traveling so long.

I'm not keen on using taxis when traveling due to the potential for being ripped off, I much prefer public transport where available.

I haven't dome much research on what I want to see in Santiago other than some articles about it being an undiscovered city. I know I want to try for a hiking tour in the Andes foothills. You are right, I do keep changing my mind. The cruise is not for 8 months so I have plenty of time to plan my exact itinerary.
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Old Jun 24th, 2017, 05:36 PM
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Museums are open on Sundays and closed on Mondays. Sunday lunch is very popular but many places are closed in the evening on a Sunday.

In Santiago the Patio Bellavista will have open restaurants in the evening.

In Valparaiso:
http://www.hostalmorgan.cl
You would need to book now as it is popular.
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