When you’re travelling to more than one city or country, you realise your opinion of each one is formed based on the previous destination. You can’t help but compare the food, the price and even the people. So naturally, travelling from Bolivia to Chile made the latter seem especially European -  the sudden use of traffic lights on the roads a welcome culture shock.  But, these "luxuries" comes at a price, so be prepared to spend in South America's most expensive country.
 

Visas

We didn’t need a Visa to enter Chile and the immigration process was fairly quick when entering the country from Bolivia by land. There is a very helpful site where you can check if you need a Visa or not. You can also see other important information for visiting Chile (e.g. a passport valid for 90 days is required to enter the country).

Visa information on Chile can be found on this link.

 

Accommodation

We had to stay in dorms in Chile, as was the case in most of South America, due to the relatively high costs for private rooms on a RTW budget. Although they are more expensive than many other countries, the dorms here were generally of a high standard, with all day cleaners in the hostels and good, filling breakfasts generally included in the price.

 

The prices below are in EUR per night, total price per person:

€11 in San Pedro de Atacama for 1 dorm bed in a 5 bed room. (no breakfast included). This was a small budget hostel near many restaurants and bars with good value for money. It worked out a lot cheaper than other hostels, and has a spacious kitchen. (Corvatsch hostel).
€11 in Santiago for 1 dorm bed in a 5 dorm room. (We also moved to a room with more beds, which worked out slightly cheaper). This was one of the best hostels we have stayed in this year, with a huge kitchen, an excellent breakfast included in the price and a cute bar that is a great place to hang out in Santiago. Many guests brought friends back to drink after 11, when the city seems to die down a little. The neighbour hostel, which is a 15 minute walk from here, also has a pool that can be used for free. This is the website for this small chain of hostels. There was a great energy about this place, and I would defintely recommend it to anyone in Santiago looking for a hostel.

€11 in Punta Arenas for a private room with shared bathroom in a hostel. This was one of the only budget options in Punta Arenas, and is somewhere I definitely recommend as a base to trek around Torres Del Paine. The name of the hostel is "Hostel Independencia" and can only be reserved via email: pamelita3473@hotmail.com

 

Food and Drink

The food in local restaurants throughout Chile is generally of a good standard, with plenty of "higher end" restaurants for those willing to pay more.

A set menu for lunch can cost around 4,000 - 5,000 Chilean Pesos (CLP) or €5 - €7 in the centres of each town and is filling enough to make you want to skip dinner (sometimes portions are even big enough to share). Spanish style soups are usually served as a starter, with a meat dish or a big salad as a main.

 

With good kitchen facilities in the hostels we stayed in, we cooked most of our meals which saved us a lot of expense. Wine from the supermarket is also very cheap, which makes "eating in" more interesting! Empanadas are a great budget option if you're really short on cash, with each one costing around 900 CLP or €1, although these are not the healthiest way to eat! It's also worth bearing in mind that restaurants here are a lot cheaper than Europe without the quality being compromised, so if you can afford to eat out, it'll be worth it - especially so you can wash down the meal with some pisco sours!

 

Excursions

These are things we saw and did in Chile:

 

Santiago
Pablo Neruda House: An expensive excursion, but worth it if you're at all interested in the life of Chile's most famous poet. 5,000 CLP
Valparaíso: Buses to Valparaíso can be caught from the bus terminal. The "Condor" bus company was the cheapest at 5,200 CLP for a return journey.
I would advise against the tours, as the town of Valparaíso is easy enough to get around if you don't mind walking.

 

Punta Arenas

Torres del Paine: This was the 4 day trek that we did, detailed here. We did the "W" circuit, a part of the longer circuit (known as the "O") which would require around 8 or 9 days to complete. The "W circuit" can be difficult if you are camping for the whole trip, as carrying your tent and kitchen equipment as well as food can get heavy when going uphill!

 

For those who really want to avoid camping, there is an option to stay in the "refugios" or mountain loadges dotted around the circuit if you can afford to spend around 50 USD a day per person on accommodation, with food bringing the bill up to 100 USD. (There is no cheaper option in terms of accommodation / food once you're there). These hotels are also likely to run out of space around November, so try and reserve in advance wherever possible. If you can take cooking equipment and food with you, you can stay in these places without eating there, which might be a happy medium if you're on a budget but don't want to camp.

We did the cheapest option available, which was camping for the entire 4 days, without staying in Puerto Natales (by catching the bus there and going straight on to Torres del Paine) and by eating only the food we carried with us (Oatmeal, fruit, bread rolls, instant soups, rice and noodles, snack bars etc.) The prices for all of the rental equipment we needed for this is detailed below:

Bus from Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales (return journey): 11,000 CLP  (booked through our hostel, Hostal Independencia) which works out cheaper.
Bus from Puerto Natales to Torres Del Paine (return journey): 13,000 CLP
Torres del Paine National Park Entrance: 18,000 CLP
Tent (for 2 people) per day: 2,500 CLP (from Hostal Independencia)
Sleeping Bag (per person, per day): 2,500 (in Puerto Natales)
Sleeping Mat (per person, per day): 2,000 (from Hostal Independencia)
Cooker & Kitchenware: (per day) 1,500 CLP (from Hostal Independencia)
Campsite in Grey with clean, hot shower and bathroom (end of 4 day circuit, no free campsite available): 2,350 CLP
Catamaran from Paine Grande to Salto Grande, where the connecting buses to Puerto Natales can be caught: 15,000 CLP (bought at Grey campsite)

Total cost for 2 people camping / 4 days / W circuit: €215 or 158, 256 CLP.
 

Transport

As in most Latin American countries, there is a very good bus network in Chile although the sheer length of the country means that changes often need to be made. Buses tend to run frequently, and prices are fixed. Buses in Chile generally felt safe, although it's still a good idea to be on guard and always sleep with your valuables on your person or as close to you as possible. The bus terminals often have many different companies doing the same route, so compare prices before commiting. Our main journeys are listed below:
 

San Pedro de Atacama to Antofogasta: 7,000 CLP

Antofogasta to Santiago: 25,000 CLP

Santiago to Punta Arenas: €170 (Flight; this was booked in advance. We found that internal flights in Chile were fairly expensive, as the price for tourists is different to the one for locals)

Punta Arenas to Ushuaia (Argentina): We ended up doing this route by hitchhiking, a safe option in Chile, as the tickets cost around 30,000 CLP

 

Money makes the world go round

The national currency is the Chilean Peso (CLP). The exchange rate when we visited Chile was about 736 CLP for 1 euro.
 

So how much?!
Visas: €0 (See link at top of page to see if a Visa is necessary for your country).
Accommodation: €11 a night on average(in dorms, per person) see more detailed breakdown and accommodation section above.
Food and drink: €15 - €20 a day (per person) eating out in nice restaurants on occasion, but mainly cooking our own food.
Transport: €131 per person(excluding domestic flight) in total - incuding 19 days of public transport and tours - see specific routes above.