Travel in Chile

Visiting Chile (or, really, anywhere)

I went to Chile to not see the Sun for two and a half minutes, during the July 2019 Solar Eclipse. The eclipse was a great excuse, it got me to a place I might not have otherwise gone.

Take opportunities.

And as always, prepare before your visit.

I bought the latest Lonely Planet at the local bookstore, and I'm glad that I did so I didn't worry that I didn't have current information. But...

The 2018 edition lists Santiago hotels with suites running US$ 375 per night. Spas. Ski lodges and other resorts with multiple massage offerings. Places I visited, like Rancagua and Talca, appear, if at all, as items on a list. Talca is mentioned only briefly, Rancagua not at all.

The 2009 edition, which I picked up at a library book sale, has reasonable detail on Rancagua and Talca.

The 1999 edition, which the local public library has on the shelf, seems to have been written by an anthropologist or historian who had lived in Chile for several years. There's very little on the basic lodging it describes, of which there are few choices and little details to report, leaving much more space for descriptions of what you will see and experience, and who you will meet.

The older Lonely Planet guidebooks have far more useful information about the background of what you can see and experience.

Visit your library. Find the old editions. Learn about where you're going.