inor

I am in the stages of planning a trip to Chile. I'm not sure when we are going or for how long, but I know we want to go to Santiago, Valparaiso and Santa Cruz, but I'm not sure how we should get to Valparaiso and Santa Cruz. We definitely do not want to drive ourselves.

How expensive would it be to hire a taxi or private driver?

I have read that there are buses. How easy and safe are these to take if we don't speak Spanish? We will only have one roller bag and one shoulder bag each.

To get to Santa Cruz, we wouldn't mind taking a tour from Santiago (either day trip or overnight). We plan on taking a wine/food tour once we get there anyway.

Any recommendation you have will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you, Inor

thursdaysd

Easy enough to take the bus to Valparaiso, have no idea about Santa Cruz. And my Spanish is essentially non-existent.

inor

Thank you thursdaysd. Which bus line did you use?

thursdaysd

I don't remember. It was too short a ride to matter.

Huentetu

There are buses leaving from different stations for Valparaiso at about 15 minute intervals all day from 6 am until about 10pm. All of them will go through the Pajaritos metro/bus station on the outskirts of the city or just go to the Metro station called Universidad de Santiago on line 1. The Turbus and Pullman buses leave from the station upstairs.

Santa Cruz can be a bit more complicated by public transport. There are buses from Santiago direct to Santa Cruz or buses to San Fernando and you get another bus from there to Santa Cruz. You could look out for a tour on the Ruta del Vino website as they often have ones which include transport from/to Santiago:
http://www.rutadelvino.cl

Turistik, the people who do the hop on/off bus in Santiago also do tours to vineyards but you would have to check which ones. I don't know if they go as far as Colchagua.

inor

Dear Huentetu,
Thank you, these are two great sites. Regarding the bus to Valparaiso and safety. Are all the stations and bus lines relatively safe during the day?

Also, we'd like to find a gourmet lunch or dinner at one of the vineyards near either place. Do you have any recommendations for that?

Thanks, again Inor

Huentetu

The bus stations are safe enough but, like all bus stations everywhere, pickpockets love them. Watch your things and don't take your hand off your bags. There is a place to store luggage under the bus and you will be given a receipt. There isn't much difference between lines for such a short (1.5 hrs) trip.

Viu Manet vineyard in Colchagua. The Tanino restaurant at Viña Casas del Bosque vineyard.

There are others in both valleys and I don't think you would be seriously disappointed at any of them.