Chile Budget

Total Amount Spent in Chile: 1,373,536 Chilean Pesos + $263.96

Exchange Rate: $1 = 630-660 Chilean Pesos
(So the 1,373,536 pesos translates to between $2081.12 and $2180.22. For simplicities sake, and as a means of overestimating costs rather than underestimating, I will be using the exchange rate of 630 whenever I make the commutation into dollars.)

Number of Days Spent in Chile: 30 (Nov. 6-20; Nov. 24-Dec. 2; Dec. 21-26)

Average Per Day Spending: $81.47 (using the lower exchange rate of 630 pesos)

BREAKDOWN BY CATEGORY

• Transportation: 260,350 pesos + $132.96 ($546.21)

• Accommodations: 556,000 pesos ($882.54)

• Food: 280,996 pesos ($446.03)

• Activities: 232,600 pesos ($369.21)

• Shopping: 21,760 pesos ($34.54)

• Communications (Phone & Internet): 1,830 pesos ($2.91)

• Laundry: 20,000 pesos ($31.75)

• Travel Formalities: $131*

*Chile charges Americans a $131 “reciprocity fee” when you enter the country by air. The fee did not seem to be charged at land crossings. Because Jeff has a Swedish passport, we only had to pay the fee for Theresa.

SAMPLE PRICES

• Santiago Metro: 380 pesos

• Double Room with Shared Bath: 13,000-15,000 pesos

• Half-Day Hydrospeeding: 20,000 pesos

• Half-Day Canyoning: 29,000 pesos

• Full-Day Bike Rental: 6,000 pesos
• Stargazing Astronomy Tour: 12,000 pesos
• Admission to Torres del Paine: 15,000 pesos
• Valles de la Luna & Tatio Geysers Combo Tour (2 days): 18,000 pesos
• Dinner at Trawen: 10,300 for the two of us (Aside from a fancy Thanksgiving dinner out, this was about the upper limit of what wour most expensive meal was about $13)

• Large lunch-size empanada: 480 pesos

• Kilo of strawberries at street stand: 500 pesos

• Flight from Puerto Montt to Puerto Varas on LAN: $61.48
  (Note that this was a roundtrip ticket but we only used it one way. For some reason, the cost of a one-way ticket was over $200.)

• Semi-Cama Bus from Santiago to Pucon: 11,000 pesos