Now that you have decided you want to visit Chile, the country at the “fin del mundo,” you’re probably trying to figure out how to get here. You have several options but all involve flying, so if you have a fear of airplanes…well, let’s just say it’s going to be a looooooong drive.
If you want to fly directly in to Santiago, without stopping off for any traveling beforehand I recommend LanChile and CopaAirlines. I have flown back and forth from the US to Chile more than 20 times in the past 3 years and have tried at least 7 different airlines. LanChile is not always cheap, but if you check their homepage they lower their prices for special promotions pretty regularly and then you can get tickets at a steal!
Here are a few reason why I love Lan:
1. Their Lanpass program is great. It’s one of the few frequent flyer programs I’ve used that makes truly really easy to accumulate miles (actually they say “earning kilometers,” get ready for the metric system!). If you fly from the US to Chile on Lan, by the time you get here you’ll already have so many kilometers racked up that you’ll be able to get sweet deals by redeeming them for flights within Chile. What tourist doesn’t want easy and cheap transportation within the country they are visiting?!?
2. Their airplanes are REALLY nice. Their seats are spacious, which is a huge plus when you’re flying 10+hours. They have individual screens and you can pick between several movies, tons of TV shows, games (tetris, Who Wants to Be a Millionnaire, Poker), they even have programs that teach you different languages so if you want to brush up on your Spanish on your way down, you’re all set. But, there is a trick to getting on one of their new planes…When you purchase your ticket make sure that while you’re choosing your flights you pick one with a flight number starting with LAN. Because Lan merged with American Airlines, when you buy a tickets from their site, you could end up on a Lan flight or an AA flight. AA planes are smaller and older. So make sure not to choose a flight number starting with AA, stick with LAN and you’ll be golden.
3. Because of their merge with American Airlines, they are able to offer flights out of more cities in the US. I usually fly out of Miami because it’s cheapest.
How much should you expect to pay for a plane ticket to Santiago from the US? It depends on what city you are flying out of and when you plan to travel. The high season for traveling to Chile is for South American summer, December-March. Tickets during those months generally start at $1,000 USD. But, if you come during off season it’s possible to find a flight for $500-$700 USD.
If you plan on traveling on your way down to Chile, I reccomend TACA. They offer flights that let you stop off at any city that is in their “route.” So you can add multiple destinations to your travel plans, and they don’t charge extra. I once flew (one way) from Santiago, to San Jose, Costa Rica, to Miami for less than $400USD. I have to say though, you get what you pay for. The airplane food was disgusting, there were really long lines to check in, and the flight was iffy. I once talked to a pilot who told me that within the airline industry, TACA is referred to as Take A Chance Airlines. YIKES!
If you don’t speak Spanish, on all my flights there have always been bi-lingual flight attendants, so don’t stress about that!
Other websites that I have used to find cheap tickets to Chile, are Sidestep and Best Travel Store.
