Traveling Chile: The Ultimate Backpacking Guide
- Two Travelers Beyond
- Mar 14
- 10 min read
Chile Travel Guide
So you’re planning on backpacking Chile, huh? I hope you're ready for Chile to blow your mind—because once you trek through Patagonia’s wild landscapes, wander the volcanoes of the lakes region, and soak in Santiago’s vibrant culture, there’s no going back!
After traveling through Chile for one month, we have learned so much! Keep reading for an overview on the costs, transportation, go-to destinations, and other things we found during our one month in the longest country in the world.
3 IMPORTANT THINGS TO TAKE NOTE OF:
Safety !
Many people make South America out to be this dangerous region of the earth, where your safety is always at risk and you always need to keep your head on a swivel. While we vouch for keeping your head on a swivel whilst traveling no matter where you are, we have a bold news flash: Chile was incredibly safe.
We felt safe nearly all the time in Chile, and the locals couldn’t have been more welcoming! Chileans are incredibly friendly, often eager to chat with tourists in English (they love the practice!), and are always ready to share their favorite hidden gems and recommendations or point you in the right direction if you’re looking a bit lost.
Chile was the first destination for our South American backpacking trip. Before we left, it felt like everyone was warning us of imminent robberies or even death, but upon our arrival it felt as though a massive weight was lifted from our shoulders when we realized the safety concerns are all dramatized - even though we almost got scammed at the Santiago airport on day 1. Which brings us to our next important thing to know…
Airport Scams !
This is one of those stories we can laugh about now—but trust us, airport scams are very real, and the warnings you hear about them are not exaggerated.
If you’re anything like us, you probably trust a little too easily and always hunt for the cheapest option. So, the moment we landed in Santiago, we were on a mission to save money - which for us, meant finding the cheapest means of transportation to our accommodation.
Inside the Santiago airport, there are all sorts of taxi booths and communal vans or buses for you to take. We took one glance and decided that surely there was a local taxi out there offering a cheaper price (keep in mind we made this assumption without even looking at the prices of the official transportation options) - so outside we went, to where the taxis were parked.
Sure enough, a local man approached us and offered us a great price for a taxi! We of course ate this up, and allowed him to lure us back inside the airport towards an.. Elevator? An elevator away from where the rest of the taxis were parked?
We knew this was a red flag, but we followed him anyway, and sure enough when the elevator door opened there were two police officers on the other side. The officers took one look at us and asked our “taxi” driver for his ID. They then told us (in English) not to leave with the man as he was going to scam us, to which the man just shrugged his shoulders, and said “sorry” in a way that seemed like he was a student being caught doing something bad by a teacher.
Needless to say, if those officers didn’t save us, we would have easily been scammed on day 1 by a fake taxi driver. We learned our lesson quite quickly upon our arrival, and from that point on we’ve only taken transportation that is public and official - in all South American countries (outside of hitch-hiking, of course). We suggest you do the same (and we also do recommend hitch-hiking in Chile)!
Immigration Papers (PDI) !
Upon your arrival to Chile, immigration will provide you with a “PDI form,” which many locals will tell you to hold onto for dear life.
When Will and I arrived in Chile, we went through immigration together, got both of our passports stamped, and we only were given.. One PDI form?
It seemed that the lady running the booth didn’t give me a PDI form (but she did give one to Will), which had me stressing out quite a bit considering many locals told us that we were going to be stuck in Chile and not allowed to leave without this silly little piece of paper, despite having our passports stamped. One friendly local gave me advice to find a PDI office, which seemed to be the equivalent of a police station. He assured me that they would give me a new PDI form so that I could safely exit Chile.
We marched right up to the PDI office and we were promptly told that we did not need the paper to leave Chile, and that we would be just fine with the passport stamp. Now, we dug deep on the internet and found mixed reviews. The general consensus from the locals seemed to be that you really, really needed the form. Yet this PDI office refused to provide us with one.
So we decided to say f*** it and cross the border into Argentina on a whim. We border hopped via bus from Punta Arenas, Chile to Ushuaia, Argentina. When we left Chile I was asked for my PDI form, I said “I don’t have it,” they stamped my passport, and I moved on into Argentina. No hassle whatsoever. It felt like the PDI form was more of a guideline than a real rule.
So the real answer to this complicated equation is: you do not need the PDI form, but I would suggest holding onto yours for some peace of mind. Just know if you lose it, or if they forget to give you one, that the world is not going to end.
OUR GO-TO DESTINATIONS FOR TRAVELING TO CHILE:
I’ll preface this by saying that we unfortunately did not get to experience Chile’s Atacama deserts - which we are quite bummed about. We’ve heard nothing but otherworldly things about that region, however, we just didn’t have time during this trip. We plan to circle back after we hit Bolivia!
Despite missing out on the sandy abyss of deserts, we made it from Santiago all the way down to southern Patagonia - where we saw some of the most beautiful landscapes and experienced the many fruits of Chilean culture.
We loved each place that we visited, so I’ll provide a list with some photos and brief overviews of each place instead of getting into the nitty gritty - but if you have any questions, you can always shoot us an email or DM us on socials and we’re happy to help you with planning your next adventure to Chile or elaborate on any of the places we visited.
NON-PATAGONIAN CHILE -
SANTIAGO -
Santiago, Chile’s vibrant capital, is a dynamic mix of modern city life and stunning natural backdrops. Nestled between the Andes and the coast, it offers bustling markets, historic neighborhoods, and a thriving food scene.
VIÑA DEL MAR -
Often called the “Garden City,” Viña del Mar, Chile’s glamorous coastal getaway boasts beautiful parks, golden beaches, historic castles, and a lively boardwalk perfect for sunset strolls. We stayed in a fantastic hostel called “Little Castle,” which we cannot recommend enough - amazing hospitality and a friendly owner, with views overlooking the whole coastal city.
VALPARAÍSO -
Valparaíso, another coastal city right next to Viña del Mar, is a colorful maze of steep hills, vibrant street art, and historic funiculars. This coastal gem is perfect for a day trip, rather than staying somewhere in the city. It is deemed to be quite unsafe at night compared to the surrounding areas - however, it is easily accessible and worth the day trip to explore the Italian-esc hills and coastal views.
VALDIVIA -
Nestled along the banks of the Calle-Calle River sits Valdivia, a laid-back city known for its scenic waterfront & sea lions (we kayaked with the sea lions - which was quite a cool experience). Valdivia is a hot spot for local markets, which we enjoyed thoroughly as we are avid local food consumers.
NORTHERN-PATAGONIAN CHILE -
PUERTO VARAS -
Puerto Varas, the jewel of Chile’s Lake District, is a picturesque town where German heritage meets breathtaking natural beauty. Sitting on the shores of Lake Llanquihue with the snow-capped Osorno Volcano as a backdrop, it’s the perfect spot for adventure and relaxation alike. Puerto Varas offers many buses to surrounding destinations to hike volcanoes, explore lush waterfalls, and so much more. We cannot recommend Puerto Varas enough.
CHILOÉ -
Chiloé, Chile’s mystical island, is a land of rolling green hills, and colorful stilt houses that offers a magical and off-the-beaten-path experience unlike anywhere else in Chile. We stayed in the larger central city, called Castro, where we attended a local food festival and got a taste for the remote culture that this island has to offer. We also took a quick day trip to Ancud, where we experienced an excursion to view rare breeds of penguins from a boat (for only $20) !!
PUERTO MONTT -
Puerto Montt, the gateway to Chilean Patagonia, is a bustling port city where adventure begins. Overlooking the Pacific Ocean and surrounded by volcanoes, it’s the starting point for exploring the fjords, lakes, and islands of southern Chile. Our time here was short as we were rushing to beat the worsening weather in the main Patagonian region, but we liked what we saw of this adorable city!
CHILE'S MAIN PATAGONIA REGION -
PUERTO NATALES -
Puerto Natales, the closest town to Torres del Paine (TDP), is a charming Patagonian town surrounded by jaw dropping nature. With its colorful buildings, cozy cafes, and breathtaking waterfront views, it’s the perfect base for adventurers heading into Chile’s most iconic national park. Whether you're gearing up for the legendary W Trek (which Will did!!), taking a boat to see massive glaciers, or just soaking in the rugged beauty and interesting wildlife, Puerto Natales is pure Patagonian magic!
PUNTA ARENAS -
Punta Arenas, the southernmost city on mainland Chile, is a windswept point to get to Antarctica as well as Patagonia. This historic port has inviting walkways and parks, with colorful European-style architecture! Our stay here was quite short - but we heard you can see some cool penguins from here as well.
TRANSPORTATION:
Believe it or not, getting around Chile was incredibly simple - and the locals are always willing to point you in the right direction!
TRAINS - Trains only really exist in larger cities, in fact we didn’t experience trains outside of Santiago. But fear not, the buses are actually quite simple, cheap, and comfortable.
BUSES - We found that there are many tiers of buses to be found. From double deckers, to spooky local buses where the drivers seem to be in some sort of trance to race from point A to point B - every bus that we took was affordable and efficient. You can use web platforms like Rome 2 Rio, or BusBud to find bus rides that might be longer (I would link these websites but we aren’t yet sponsored by these companies and I don’t want to get copyrighted); for example we took a 12 hour bus from Viña del Mar to Valdivia which had reclinable seats, a bathroom, and stopped plenty of times for us to grab a bite to eat or stretch our legs. Longer bus rides typically didn’t exceed $50 (equivalent to $50,000 Chilean pesos) - whereas intercity, shorter bus rides were never more than $5 (or $5,000 Chilean pesos). We certainly recommend getting around Chile via bus.
FLIGHTS - Domestic flights were also quite affordable - and we discovered a secret hack (or at least a hack that seemed to blow our minds) - you can travel with liquids of any size! We had full bottles of water and contact solution and security didn’t even seem to bat an eye at us. Coming from the US, this was hard for us to wrap our heads around. We only took one domestic flight in Chile, which was from Puerto Montt to Puerto Natales so that we could beat the colder season in the southern Patagonia region - but the airports were both very speedy, and the flights were no more than $120 each.
HITCH-HIKING - We dabbled into some hitch-hiking in the more touristy areas and got picked up quite quickly and easily! We only seemed to get picked up by fellow tourists who were renting cars, which was cool to get to know other travelers from around the world, but as we continue doing this throughout the rest of South America we hope to get picked up by some locals, too!
COST:
Chile was incredibly affordable while we were there (January, 2025) - we were blown away with how far our dollar could go in this beautiful country. Here is a brief overview of how cheap it can be when you travel like us (in hostels, cooking, etc) - we did stay in B&Bs, and we did eat out as well, but we primarily try to cook and stay in the cheapest accommodation (which was almost always clean, but certainly a little janky in some places)!
Costs for 1 day/night in Chile:
Groceries - $2-6/person
Accommodation - $5-15/person
Eating Out - $8-12/person
Transportation - $1-5/person
Activities - $5-15/person
For activities, we like to keep it free of charge by going out in nature or finding things that are free for tourists. In Patagonia, activities can be a bit more expensive as they have to collect money to put towards preserving nature down there - which is fair and the money is worth the experience that you’ll receive. Tickets into Torres del Paine for more than 3 days were about $50 per person, or $50,000 Chilean pesos.
CHILE TAKEAWAYS:
Backpacking through Chile was an adventure we’ll never forget—filled with breathtaking landscapes, welcoming locals, and lessons we’ll carry with us forever. From navigating budget-friendly travel to discovering hidden gems, we hope this guide helps you plan your own unforgettable journey through this incredible country. Whether you're trekking through Patagonia, exploring coastal cities, or indulging in Chilean cuisine, one thing’s for sure—Chile will leave you wanting more. So pack your bags, embrace the unknown, and get ready for the adventure of a lifetime.
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