Santiago: By Bus

• Sights
• Restaurants
• Hotels
• Entertainment
• Shopping
• Travel Tips
• Features

By Bus

All the country's major highways pass through Santiago, which means you won't have a problem catching a bus to almost any destination. Finding that bus, however, can be a problem. The city has several terminals, each with buses heading in different directions. Terminal Los Héroes is on the edge of Santiago Centro near Los Héroes Metro station. Several companies have buses to points north and south from this station. The other three stations are clustered around the Universidad de Santiago Metro station. The modern Terminal San Borja has buses headed north and west. Terminal Santiago is the busiest, with dozens of small companies going west to the coast and to the south. Terminal Alameda, which handles only Tur-Bus and Pullman Bus, is for coastal and southern traffic. Terminal Los Héroes and Terminal Santiago also handle a few international routes, heading to far-flung destinations such as Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, and Lima.

Several bus companies run regularly scheduled service to the Andes in winter. Skitotal buses depart from the office on Avenida Apoquindo and head to all of the ski resorts except Portillo. Buses depart at 8:45 AM; a round-trip ticket costs 10,000 pesos. Also available for hire here are taxis -- (65,000 pesos) and 12-person minibuses (90,000 pesos). Manzur Expediciones runs buses to Portillo on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday for about the same price. Buses leaves at 8:30 AM from the Plaza Italia in front of the Teatro Universidad de Chile.

Bus service to the Cajón del Maipo is frequent and inexpensive -- Manzur offers a round-trip ticket to Lo Valdés Mountain Center for less than 8,000 pesos. Only the 8 AM bus makes the two-hour trek to Baños de Colina, however. Sit on the right side of the bus for a good view of the river.

Bus Companies

Manzur Expediciones (Sótero del Río 475, Santiago Centro. 2/777-4284). Pullman Bus (Terminal Alameda, Estación Central. 2/779-2026). Skitotal (Av. Apoquindo 4900, Las Condes. 2/246-0156). Tur-Bus (Terminal Alameda, Estación Central. 2/270-7500).

Bus Depots

Terminal Alameda (La Alameda 3750, Estación Central. 2/270-7500). Terminal Los Héroes (Tucapel Jiménez 21, Estación Central. 2/420-0099). Terminal San Borja (San Borja 184, Estación Central. 2/776-0645). Terminal Santiago (La Alameda 3850, La Alameda. 2/376-1750).