Valparaíso is a city about 120km (75 miles) from Santiago. Plenty of people usually go on a day trip and come back, others choose to take more time and spend a night there for a more paced journey. Here we give you the best activites you can do in this colorful city. Remember the hills are part of the show here, so you’ll be walking up and down a lot: get those legs ready!! But first, we need to get there…

By Bus

One of the most popular choices for independent travellers, you’ll have to board in the Alameda Bus Station (which is accessible by subway). The bus will drop you off at the Rodoviario of Valparaiso, about 15 blocks away from some of the typical landmarks in the city. Several companies operate this route, which takes about 1.30hs to take you to your destination. Buses run with a frequency of approximately 15-20 minutes (no buses during night time).

There’s also another bus station where you can board in Santiago, it’s called Pajaritos (literally, Little Birds), also connected by subway.

A Tip to have in mind, between December-March (Summer) is high season, so if you’re going during the weekends or bank holidays, it’s smart to book your return ticket, as they might be sold out and you will find yourself going back to Santiago much earlier (or later!) than you expected.

By Car

Through Route 68, it will take a bit less than the bus, and there are tolls to pay.

By Private Tours

Most companies offer a full day tour from Santiago, transport included of course, and some others throw in the mix other points of interest, such as Viña del Mar. A day tour like this could take between 8-10 hours, depending on the activities planned. Another possibility is to go to Valparaiso on your own and then take a tour there of approximately 2-3 hours.

From Santiago International Airport

You´ll have two possibilities here: by transfer from the Airport directly to Valparaiso (some have intermediate stops), or you can go from the airport to Pajaritos bus station and from there take the bus as described before. If you go by transfer consider approximately 1.15 hours for the journey.

Remember that also your hotel in Santiago will surely be able to help you organize your trip, so don’t hesitate to ask for any help you need. Some even can allow for you to do the purchase right there from the hotel. And of course, there’s plenty of activities available so don’t forget to check our article here!

BONUS TRACK

You can buy the tickets for the bus directly at the station. But as mentioned, if it’s a busy time of the year and you want to get them in advance, there are several websites selling tickets for the Santiago-Valparaiso roundtrip. We let the link to one of them here.

Map from Santiago de Chile to Valparaíso