Cost of staying in Iquique
 

Has anyone been to Iquique, Chile? How much would it cost to stay there cheaply, say for a week? I'll be staying in Bolivia but want to check out the beach. I would like to sleep and eat as cheap as possible

We were in Iquique last year. We were travelling on a budget but Iquique was one of the places we splashed out. You can get a dorm room for around $15 pppn, and probably around $30-40 pm for a double. We stayed opposite a place called Backpackers Hostel Iquique which looke quite nice and was in a good location.

We enjoyed our time there and the Malecon and beach areas seemed very nice although, being winter we didn't venture too far onto the beach.

There are a couple of photos and some more info on Iquique on my blog entry for our time there
http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blo...9365/tpod.html

Awesome! thanks. Was it worth the splurge? It's just me and I am also on a budget. I was planning on spending about 6 days there....too long? I would like to hit up Luaca and Sajama Parks on the way back...have you been?

Also, when would be the best time to take advantage of the beach?

We haven't been to Luaca or Sajama parks so can't help with that. We were there in Sept which wasn't the best time for the beach as it was overcast for most of our time there.i think the Chilean summer, say Jan-March is probably the best time but do check one of the weather sites. we spent 4 days there before heading up to the Peruvian border via Arica. that was about right for us but could have stayed longer if the weather had been better.

and no, the hotel we stayed at wasn't worth the splurge!

Thank you for all your help. I read your blog, sounds great. Looks like I would be there middle of March (Iquique) but I guess with any travel it will be played by ear anyways :) I will definitely do a trip report due to all the help I've gotten on this site...