Santiago - Getting around

Before you exit the customs area into the public areas of the airport, you will see desks for reserving different types of transport to the city. There is one for taxis. You pay there, get a ticket and your driver meets you as you emerge from customs. It should be about US$30 to the Radisson. You do not tip the driver. In general you do not tip taxi drivers, just round off the fare.
There are also shared transfer vans available but they charge per passenger and you will not save that much with two of you.
At the cruise port there are also secure taxis for your use if you wanted to go somewhere for a meal. There might be tour opportunities as well. I would not go walking around by yourselves in Valparaiso if you do not speak the language. Sundays the city can tend to be a bit empty in parts and taxis on the street are not common.

Thank you very much Huentetu.

The metro in Santiago makes getting around easy (though it is an easy city to walk around). From the airport, there is a bus to the nearest metro station. The bus between Santiago and Valparaiso takes about an hour.

With luggage, don't consider a bus. And don't accept unsolicited offers from people in the airport for taxis.

The airport bus/metro combination is fine if your hotel is near a station. Otherwise it is not worth the saving.
Valparaíso is 1.5 hours away.
Always take a 'taxi oficial' booked inside the customs area at the airport.

I live in Buenos Aires Argentina; I travel to Chile 3 to 4 times for year by businesses. In each visit in Santiago, I use Enaturchile, they are very responsible and precise with the schedule, and they have adjusted to my necessities and respond each one of my questions in less than 24 hours.
With my wife made a trip to the crown in 2005 arranged our travel with them, we were happy for your services
I will be happy for helping with doubts on these cities

I'm assuming you're from the US. First thing to consider is that before you clear Chilean Immigration you each have to pay US$131.00 for a tourist visa. They call it a reciprocal fee because the US charges Chileans entering our country that for their visa. It's good for the life of your passport, so if you return to Chile you don't have to pay again. They accept US dollars, Visa and Master Card.

When you clear customs, look for the Tur-Bus desk, they have shared vans for US$11.00 per person. The people are friendly and the vans are new and clean. Your hotel will probably the first stop since it's near the freeway from the airport to downtown.

You won't have much time in Santiago, so I'd recommend a city tour that the hotel can arrange for you. For a romantic dinner on Saturday night, go to the Giratorio.
It's a revolving restaurant on the 18th floor with a great view of Santiago. Great atmosphere, food and prices. It's just a short cab ride from your hotel and they can make a reservation for you.

As for exploring Valparaiso, are you sure you have enough time? Your transfer from the hotel probably won't leave until around 11:00 and will take close to 2 hours. The ship boarding process will take at least 2 hours and they usually want you on board 2 hours before departure. That said, the dock is right downtown and it's an area you can easily explore in a short time. It's tourist oriented, lots of open space and as safe as any city can be.

Be sure to try Chile's (and Peru's too) national drink the Pisco Sour. I'm drinking one right now I made with the Pisco I smuggled back to the US from Santiago last month. Not as good as they make, but brings back a lot of memories. If you like them, I'm sure they are available on the ship.

Thank you everyone for all your help in this city. These are the first 2 days of a 24 day excursion and I've saved this city's planning for last.

Countryroad -
Glad I bumped into you. First off, thank you.

I've had a list of things to see and do in Santiago. Got marks in the margins of my books. Want to hit Lomits for lunch and try the Barros Lucos. We also want to catch a cab to Pueblo Los Dominicos:
http://www.pueblitolosdominicos.com/
I was also planing on catching a cab to the Precolumbian Art Museum and take us on a walking tour from there.

I had not heard of the Giratorio restaurant but it is closer to our hotel than the other two top contenders I had before, It appears to be fairly reasonable in price if my rough translation of the menu is close, and it DOES give me the feel of a very nice romantic evening to start things off right on the continent.

Also I had not had anyone tell me of the pisco sour. Resemble a limoncello at all?

Since posting this (and immediately wishing I could change the first letter to an "M") I have long since thrown out the notion of doing anything in Valparaiso.

Anything else you - or any of my other friends - remember or wish to share abotu this city would be greatly appreciated.

Todd, do check the price of the van vs the official taxi. For 2 people it is often virtually the same price as the vans charge per passenger.
I had never heard of anyone bookmark Lomit's before! It is a local fast food place. Domino's is another. You will find both Barros Jarpa (hot ham and cheese) or Barros Luco (hot steak and cheese) at several places. They usually offer different bread to have them on. You want 'pan frica' (freak-ah). Sort of like a hamburger roll but bigger and better. Another option is a 'vienesa' (hot dog). There are dozens of variations but I like an Italiano (chopped tomato, avocado and mayonnaise).
A pisco sour is cousin of the whiskey sour if you have ever had one. It is a cocktail made with fresh lemon juice, sugar and pisco (similar to French marc). Pisco sours are both delicious and deceptive. Watch out!
You can get a cab all the way to Los Dominicos or take line 1 of the metro to the last station, Escuela Militar and a short taxi ride from there. There is green hording around some of the park beside it as a new metro station is being built. This somewhat blocks the view of the Dominican church with the mountains behind it. The church has been there since the 1700s when it was countryside.
The metro will take you close to the pre-columbian museum too. Closed on Mondays but open Sundays. If you use the metro during off-peak hours, it is a good way to get around.
http://www.allsantiago.com/

Thanks for the great site Huentu!!!
I was thinking that the difference of US$8 for a taxi (just the two of us) would be nicer than a shared bus and I will definately check both out. Also, glad to amuse with the Lomits idea. We have a friend who visited us at the beginning of the summer who used to live in Santiago years ago. She was talking about the steak sandwich at Lomits one evening as I was reading in one of my books something about how it is one of Santiago's institutions. I remember vaguely something about red coats and locals being treated much better than tourists. I remember thinking "we'll just sit and observe a while".

The bus thing, not being there to see yet, is still very confusing. Hopefully the hotel desk can guide us on that one before we take off? Are there schedules or maps that are easy to understand? I was thinking Saturday about hitting Pueblo Los Dominicos right after checking in on Saturday. Probably having lunch there, and then heading straight to the Precolumbian Museum, and then around the city on foot from there. Probably hitting Lomits on Sunday early afternoon before heading towards Valparaiso.

Oh, and yes we've had the whiskey sour. Anytime anyone offers a new alchohol suggestion my wife and I are extremely grateful. Any excuse to "have" to try something hard is always welcome with us :')

I wonder if Lomit's is open Sundays. A lot of food places in Providencia cater to the office crowd during the week but shut weekends. I'll try to find out for you. I don't want you leaving Chile without your Barros Luco! Here is a virtual one to be going on with:
http://www.bradanovic.cl/barrosluco2.jpg
There are a couple of little places to eat in Los Dominicos. You can get empanadas on weekends.
By the way, Los Dominicos is a neighbourhood not just the craft fair. It's proper name is Los Graneros del Alba (which no one uses). If you take a cab, you want 'la iglesia Los Dominicos' giving the church as the reference.
You can click around on here for maps of the country and the major cities:
http://www.turistel.cl/secciones/mapas/index.htm

I have good news! I phoned Lomit's and they are open 10 am to midnight on Sundays.

You speak of a bus between Santiago and Valparaiso to join the ship. Where do you book this?

You cannot book them. You either get a ticket at the bus station or on the bus. It is an intercity run done by several bus companies.

Your hotel is in/near Providencia, which is a nice area to walk around - and had the only Starbucks I found between Antarctica and Lima!
You can take the funicular up Cerro San Cristobel and on a sunny day get a beautiful view of the city. Lots of people hike/bike it but it's a long way up. You can buy ice cream, etc at the top. At the bottom, Pio Nono, in Bellavista, has restaurants but is mostly better after dark for clubs/bars.
Mercado Central is fun to check out food and stuff.
Museo del arte precolumbino is also good.
Paseo Ahumada is a pedestrian street in centro. It is a fun place to walk. Lots of shops and street entertainers, bands, etc. It intersects with another pedestrian street, Huerfanos, where you can find banks, etc. You can walk right to the Plaza de Armas, lots of street sellers and families hanging out.
Pisco sours are wicked though I've only had them in Peru.
The tourist entry visa charge is a killer.
It's always nice to learn some Spanish (or local language wherever you go). You will get friendliness returned in spades and it will make your life easier. Buen viaje!

SBuyckjs
The bus I booked from the Radisson to the port was booked through my travel agent and through Royal Caribbean. I stayed in one of their hotels to get this transfer package. The passengers of the Norwegian Sun were also there getting transfers to their ship.

Thanks for your response. So the only way we can secure this transportation to Valparaiso is to stay in a "Royal Carribean" hotel?