In 2019 our plans to visit Santiago, Chile were thwarted by the “Estallido Social” – the mass protests that broke out across Santiago, sparked by a rise in metro fares. It was impossible to get to the city from the airport (not that we really wanted to) and so we pivoted and went to Buenos Aires instead. We had a great time in Argentina but the Chile itch never really went away.
Six long and eventful years later, we finally made it to Santiago – and out of the airport even! In the early 2000s, Chile was considered a stable economy and one of the safest cities in South America, but up to and through the protests in 2019, growing economic disparity between classes caused crime rates to creep upward. Whether the crime rate was further exacerbated by covid, I couldn’t say. But the reality is that when we were planning our trip, we came across a lot of information online that made us wonder how safe we would be.
Were Our Fears Founded?
Short answer: no.
However, we took all the precautions that people recommended to us and that probably helped us to avoid any problems. We did encounter some pickpockets in the Plaza de Armas area but they weren’t targeting us. (Don’t worry, they were fended off by their would-be victims!)
What Can You Do to Stay Safe in Santiago?
A “normal” traveler is most likely to encounter crime in the form of pickpocketing, having your phone stolen, being robbed of other valuables, etc. Unless you are staying in seedy districts, out really late (past 11pm and beyond), trying to hook up with women, men, or drugs, you’ll not likely encounter violent crime. So, that’s a positive start already!
Here are a few things you can do to avoid being targeted at all, because while having your phone stolen is definitely preferable to being killed, it is still on par with having a limb cut off.
Sun Up – Okay; Sun Down – Stay Away
This sounds dire, but is advice we actually heard repeatedly from folks while we were there. In general, most places are safe while it’s daytime but even those places pose some danger when the sun sets. Don’t be caught walking around late at night. If you go out to dinner, take an Uber or the metro home instead.
No Papaya Please
The phrase “don’t show your papaya” means don’t be flashy. Papaya in this case would be fancy jewelry and especially apple products, which are very, very expensive in South America. iPhones are more precious than gold, and we didn’t see an apple watch on anyone’s wrist. We were told specifically to keep our phones put away when walking. Don’t hold your phone in your hand and don’t text while walking or you risk having it snatched away.
I will add that we saw plenty of locals doing just this and no one seemed worried about it at all. I didn’t stare though, so maybe they weren’t iphones.
Look Suspicious to Avoid Being Targeted
That is, don’t be afraid to look like you’re expecting to be pickpocketed. Speak up if you think you or someone around you is being targeted. Pickpockets’ optimal conditions are anonymity and stealth. So if you look alert, hold your bag firmly, and aren’t afraid to offend someone by sidestepping around them, you take away a big advantage for pickpockets. Sure, if you announce out loud “Hey, watch out for pickpockets” you may offend someone. But between that and losing your credit card, it’s a small price to pay.
Carry Just the Essentials
When we were exploring, I brought along my phone for photos and directions, some pesos, and an emergency credit card. I kept my credit card separate from my phone to avoid possibly losing both at once. There is no need to carry your passport around with you. Leave that in the safe in your hotel or at your vacation rental! For added insurance, take a photo and email it to yourself. This way you’ll have access to it on your phone and on the web. We also set our phones to auto-wipe after a set number of unsuccessful password attempts.
At Santa Lucia Hill there was a sign-in book that did ask for our passport number. I wrote down as much of mine as I could remember and we carried on with our visit. That’s the only time I ever “needed” it.
Is the Santiago Metro Safe?
The civil unrest in 2019 kicked off because of a hike in transport fares. This prompted protests, fare evasion, and vandalism in the metro. Given that history, we wondered about its current state. However, any concerns we had were unfounded. The Santiago metro was generally clean and felt safe. We didn’t notice anything out of place or see any remnants of the destruction. (Six years and it’s already fixed!? Austin’s city government could learn a thing or two from Santiago…)
Somewhat uncomfortably, we found the metro to be inexpensive. A one-way fare costs just under $1, as compared to a ticket on the NYC subway which is an extortionate $3.25. (A $1 fare on a local income tilts the extortion ratio towards Santiago though.)
Compared with the NYC subway, we didn’t find it to be too crowded. There were definitely people using the subway and many of the trains were standing room only. However, there was still plenty of breathing room and unlike our former commute on the L in Brooklyn, I never once worried about actually running out of oxygen.
Santiago Barrio Breakdown: Our Two Pesos
Your mileage may vary, but here are our two cents on some of the barrios in Santiago. It’s not comprehensive because we didn’t experience all of them but for a visitor looking for a lay of the land, it covers the main points!
Providencia
In my opinion, this is the best location to stay. It’s very nice and feels super safe. There are tons of restaurants, including Fuente Alemana, which serves up a helluva Chacarero.
Sky Costanera looms over Providencia, offering a tower for views and a huge shopping mall that includes a very well stocked grocery store. Metro access is also super easy from this neighborhood so it’s simple to get anywhere else in the city.
Las Condes & Viticura
This is another very nice area although further from things than Providencia and without great metro access. Viticura is also supposed to be really nice, although we didn’t experience it personally.
Bellavista
Bellavista has a ton of restaurants and bars and a lot of nightlife, but can be sketchy at night. During the day it feels totally fine. The famous Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda, had a house here called La Chascona. Today it is a museum open for visitors from Tuesday to Sunday. From this neighborhood you can also take the funicular up to San Cristobal Hill, the top of which has gardens, a sweeping view of the city, and a beautiful sanctuary dedicated to the Immaculate Conception.
Lastarria
Lastarria felt a little more commercially busy than Bellavista. There is a huge, bustling hospital just to the south. Santa Lucia Hill borders the west side.
This hill is much smaller than San Cristobal hill. A gently sloping brick walkway will get you most of the way to the castle at the top. Some very old, narrow, stone stairs take you the rest of the way up. If you are mobility impaired you’ll be able to use the path up to these stairs, but won’t be able to access the very top. From the path though, you can still catch beautiful views, and it’s a very nice journey up.
In the grand scheme of “things to do” in Santiago, Lastarria is close to a lot of them. However, given the ease with which you can take the metro around, I wouldn’t opt to stay in this part of town. It might be suited to travelers who like a more packed pace, but it felt a little overly busy for our tastes.
Barrio Italia
We walked around this barrio but it didn’t seem to be super exciting. There were some restaurants and some stores. We did buy an amazing imported dijon mustard from a specialty shop here, which turned out to be a highlight of our evening cheese plate. 🙂 This area seems like a cool place to live, but not a great area for tourists who want to visit sights and explore more of the city.
Downtown/Plaza de Armas
Like any big city, Santiago’s downtown is where a lot of the weekday hustle and bustle happens. There are several things to see and do here including the Palacio de la Moneda and the Metropolitan Cathedral of Santiago. On a weekday the streets are full of locals shuffling between work and lunch and errands.
On weekends, the downtown area becomes a ghost town. We spent very little time here because at the end of they day, Santiago’s downtown is like a big city downtown that you’d find anywhere. It had some nice architecture and a few places to visit like the Cathedral and Palacio de la Moneda. But overall, it seemed less like a space for tourists and more like a perfunctory place of daily business.
Final Notes
Santiago did not feel unsafe but neither did it feel particularly exciting. We spent four full days here which was fine for our pace of travel. However, you could see the city’s main sights in just two days and save some days for other areas, like Valparaiso, the Casablanca valley, or Viña del Mar.
Santiago’s airport is a large international hub which makes it a great place to fly in and out of. It’s a good city to spend a couple of days in before heading to other places but I’m not sure it warrants more time than that. We’re glad we saw it though, and glad we lived to tell about it. 😉
