Which is better Post Cruise? Valparaiso or Santiago?

[Pack My Bags]

Hello all.

We booked the Mariner OTS repositioning Los Angeles to Valparaiso, Chile. We need to fly out of Santiago. The ship offers a tour that ends up in Santiago (eliminating the need for the 1 1/2 hr. transfer!) but that would eliminate Valparaiso for us entirely. Do I want to do this?

We are looking to do a 3 day add-on post cruise stay -- Preferably a beach style resort where we can take a day trip & sightsee. Has anyone been to both cities & knows which one has more to offer in this respect?

 

OMG I'm confused!???! LOL! Any help would be fantastic.

Thanks.

[kuldalai]

Valparaiso is the Port City and has a lot of charm , whereas Santiago is a big metropolis .

 

If you want a break and some local rustic charm you can self explore then go for Valparaiso . If you want go and excitement then make it Santiago .

[Peregrina651]

Hello all.

We booked the Mariner OTS repositioning Los Angeles to Valparaiso, Chile. We need to fly out of Santiago. The ship offers a tour that ends up in Santiago (eliminating the need for the 1 1/2 hr. transfer!) but that would eliminate Valparaiso for us entirely. Do I want to do this?

We are looking to do a 3 day add-on post cruise stay -- Preferably a beach style resort where we can take a day trip & sightsee. Has anyone been to both cities & knows which one has more to offer in this respect?

 

OMG I'm confused!???! LOL! Any help would be fantastic.

Thanks.

If the key word is beach, then choose Valparaiso or Vina del Mar. Santiago is inland and has no beaches; it is about an hour and a half drive from Valparaiso.

 

There is no way to eliminate the hour and half transfer to the airport or Santiago. One way or another, you will have to get from Valparaiso to the city or the airport. The tour that the ship offers makes a day-long tour out of that trip and is a pleasant way to spend the day for those who have late night flights--and sure beats sitting in the airport for 12 hours. There are private companies that offer the same kind of service. Just search this forum to learn more; a number of companies have been suggested and discussed.

 

[Pack My Bags]

Thanks so much... I have been reading so much port info & guidebooks, etc.. I'm dizzy. (And I'm a Student Tour Operator! ) Sounds like a plan. Will look into Val & Vino del Mar & then get a local transfer thru the forum for Santiago.

Ria

[Fattony]

Valparaiso is charming, with historic buildings on hillsides. A lot smaller than Santiago, which has many museums, historic churches and other buildings, restaurants, shops, etc. If you want to stay by the beach, it's easy, since Santiago isn't on the ocean, but ideally I'd stay in Valparaiso for a night and then take a tour to Santiago, perhaps stopping at vineyards on the way, then stay there for a couple of nights (you can get aroun on your own or take a day tour). If you want "resorty" experience by the ocean, Vinha del Mar or further away could be best, though I don't know that either that or nearby Valparaiso would be centrally-located enough for good day tours (Santiago would have much more of a selection, due to its location and the size of the market). The cruise line's tour would, I assume, let you off in downtown Santiago, not the airport.

[lizp70]

We had a tour around Valparaiso and i wish we had booked a hotel to stay there fore a day or two. Santiago is just another capital city it has its obvious highlights but Valparaiso is far more cultural and interesting.

[emtorg]

If you enjoy the beach Vina del Mar, just a short distance from Valparaiso, would be the best choice. Have you looked into one way car rentals? It is cheaper than the ships transfer if there are two of you and allows you to take a leisurely trip back to Santiago stopping at vineyards or even some Santiago sightseeing on the way back to the airport. We did this but in reverse arriving 2 days early in Vina del Mar, dropping the car at the port in Valparaiso on the second day and staying in a nearby hotel for the night before boarding the ship.

[greatam]

If you enjoy the beach Vina del Mar, just a short distance from Valparaiso, would be the best choice. Have you looked into one way car rentals? It is cheaper than the ships transfer if there are two of you and allows you to take a leisurely trip back to Santiago stopping at vineyards or even some Santiago sightseeing on the way back to the airport. We did this but in reverse arriving 2 days early in Vina del Mar, dropping the car at the port in Valparaiso on the second day and staying in a nearby hotel for the night before boarding the ship.

 

BRAVO!!! Someone after my own heart who actually want to SEE something. There is so much to see between Santiago and Vina/Valpo. So many miss a lot of it with the cruise ship transfers, the cliche "tours".

[stereo]

I plan to spend 3 nights 4 days in santiago--have read that the bus to Vina is $7 us and plan to take a day trip --youi could so the opposite also

[travelberlin]

Hi,

we are arriving early in the morning in Valparaiso from Vina del Mar. Our cruise leaves at 9.pm. Does anybody know if it is possible to leave the luggage at the port in order to spend sometime visiting Valparaiso? I guess we can board the ship at around 12.00. Do you know if it is possible to leave the ship after boarding in the afternoon to tour Valparaiso?