Yes, TUI Fly is the only airline that offers flights from UK to Chile. Bear in mind, the direct flights to Chile are not so frequently operated and thus, availability is occasional. Prior bookings are facilitated in this regard.
There are seven international airports in Chile. Most international airports serve cities that have a couple of thousands of residents. That is because of the dimension of the country; at places, it is only 5 kilometres wide but stretches to 4,270 km from north to south. However, Santiago has a population of 5 million and has the busiest international airport.
Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport serves the city of Santiago, the Capital city of Chile. The airport has twin runways both 3.8 kilometres long and able to support larger planes. In 2017, Santiago airport was host to 21,426,871 passengers. The airport is approximately 16 kilometres away from Santiago city centre.
The British passport holder can stay in Chile for 90 days without applying for a visa beforehand. Upon arrival, an officer of the Interior Ministry would provide you with a ‘Tarjeta de Turismo’ or a Tourist Card. Please keep this paper with you at all times and in a safe place, you would be required to produce it on your way back. In case you wish to stay in Chile for more than 90 days, please contact the Departamento de Extranjería y Migración in San Antonio, Santiago or on this link: http://www.extranjeria.gob.cl/ingles/
The best time to visit Chile is from October to March. The temperature throughout the country is generally tolerable in that part of the year, throughout Chile. Northern Chile is more hospitable when it comes to weather. The region is warm and there are few rainy days.
Southern Chile or Chilean Patagonia can get extremely cold. So if Southern Chile is your destination wear layers and a windbreaker. The area is closer to Antartica than any other continent.
Buy tickets in the low season might give you an edge. The low tourist seasons are between May and June. Obviously, booking the ticket ahead of time would get you a cheaper price as well.
The country is like no other, purely because it stretches from the equator to the edges of Antartica. Within the country, every city has a climate dissimilar to any other city along the Chilean sliver of land. It has been exposed to different foreign cultures but the pride of the native is unshakable.
- Topping the list is the Easter Island. The statutes and Moai totems standing tall on the shores of the island are world famous. The dark minimalist figures have been guarding the island for approximately for 700 years. There are 900 of these statues, some restored others still peering out the ground, heralding the golden era of an extinct civilization.
- The El Tatio geyser field is among the largest geyser fields in the world. Steam continues to jet into the air, as it is heated by the magma deep underground. The best time to visit the El Tatio geyser field is in the evening when the sunlight scatters over the plume of dense clouds spitting out of the geyser.
- Laguna San Rafael National Park’s main attraction is the San Rafael Glacier, in Chilean Patagonia. The UNESCO Biosphere Reserve has a surface area of about 760 kilometres square. The giant blue wall of ancient ice at the edge of the glacier growls and cracks in the night are the tourist camps for the night.
The festivals of Chile are an amalgamation of the Native Mayan cultures still thriving in some way or form and the Christian culture of the Spaniards, who ruled Chile for more than a century.
- The El Carnavalón is a festival that gives thanks to the Mother Earth or ‘Panchamama’ and Father Sun or ‘Tata Inti’. It is celebrated along Lent, as the way to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ and 'Ño Carnavalón' - a symbolic representation of joy, to relinquish the party-goers from the blues of yester year.
- The Indigenous New Year is celebrated on the winter solstice, on the 24th of June each year. This is the time for the land to rest and revitalized after the harvest. This is the time when the Aymara, Quechua, Rapa Nui and Mapuche native nations of Chile give thanks to Nature and celebrate ‘We Tripantu’, the return of the sun.
- The dance party to dispell the demons starts from the 12th to the 17th of June each year. Fiesta de La Tirana festival has become the most famous festival throughout Chile. The festival began at Tirana, a small town. Through the days, processions from the native religious tribes and the Catholic ‘virgin of mount Carmel’ intertwine to develop a new synthesis of Chilean culture.
Transportation in Chile is mainly through roads. The southernmost tip of Chile cannot be accessed without travelling through Argentina. There is a total of 80,000 kilometres of roads in Chile. Unfortunately, there aren’t any mass transit systems in Chile due to the fact that underground tunnels might collapse in case of a major earthquake. There is a total of 7000 kilometres of railway tracks laid for transportation of goods. Additionally, Chile depends upon the 12 seaports it has for cargo and tourism cruises.
There are many five star hotels in Chile. They offer exquisite service and make you feel right at home.
- W Santiago
- Hotel Santiago
- The Ritz-Carlton, Santiago
- Hotel Cumbres Puerto Varas
020 3137 1339
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