What does Fantasilandia Mean?

The name Fantasilandia is derived from the combination of two parts: Fantasi, comes from fantasía, meaning fantasy.

The -landia ending is one commonly used by Chileans to mean “the land of”. One of my favorite uses of this term is that of describing the United States as Gringolandia or “Land of the Gringo.”

Where is Fantasilandia?

Fantasilandia is located in Santiago’s second largest public park, Parque O’Higgins, in the center of the capital city. You can easily get to the park via the Autopista Central (Central Highway) or the Parque O´Higgins stop on the Santiago Metro subway.

When is Fantasilandia Open?

Fantasilandia is typically open on all school and public holidays and during summer vacation (December – February). The rest of the year, the park is open only on weekends.

What to do at Fantasilandia

Fantasilandia has a good mix of rides for the whole family. The park groups its attractions into these categories: family rides, kids zone, adrenaline rides, terror, paid rides, and competition games. As you can imagine these are the typical types of games and rides you’d see at other amusement parks.

Adrenaline rides include large and modern roller coasters.

Terror attractions include haunted house-type experiences and even a “Pirates of the Caribbean” ride.

Competition games are a good way to win that large stuffed animal or simply try to impress your friends. Be prepared to pay extra for these types of games.

How Much does Fantasilandia Cost?

As is typical with amusement parks, ticket prices vary based on the day of the week, season, and your age. Fantasilandia tickets will cost between $8,000 – $9,000 pesos for adults ($16 – $18 USD) and $4,400 pesos ($9 USD) for kids.

More Details

Fantasilandia has a website that is up to date with schedule, pricing, and attraction information. For more information about the park, visit:
www.fantasilandia.cl (site is in Spanish).

Picture by Violeta Z

Remember that you might need both a voltage converter and a plug adapter for your time in Chile.

Chile Voltage Converter

If your electrical appliance doesn’t run on 220 Volts and 50 Hz, you will need a voltage converter. This will keep you from frying and burning out your appliances that aren’t rated to work in Chile.

Before you plug anything into the electrical outlet in Chile, double check its power requirements.

When traveling with electronics like laptops, iPads, DVD players, etc., check the power cable and power supply for the fine print.

These devices often tell you what voltage they support. On laptops, for example, look for the little box on the power cord between the computer and the plug. The label will show you the acceptable voltage inputs and outputs. If it includes 220 Volts at 50 Hz, you don’t need a voltage converter.

As a rule of thumb, look for a label or tag on the power cord to see what your device will support. Get a voltage converter that supports your device’s power needs and will handle Chile’s 220 Volts.

Chile Plug Adapter

Power outlets in Chile accept one type of plug with two or three in-line, round pins. You’ll see these adapters sold as types C and L. These are types commonly found in European countries so if you have an adapter from there, you might be fine.

You can find wide selection of electric plug adapters on amazon.com for only a few dollars each.

If you can’t buy an adapter before your trip or you forget, don’t worry. You can buy a plug adapter cheaply in Chile at almost any shopping mall. Look for a Sodimac or Easy brand store or even a generic electronics vendor will carry them.

Make sure you check your appliance’s plug to see if both prongs are the same size and that they will fit the adapter you are purchasing.

With a voltage converter and plug adapter in hand, you should be able to safely use any of the electronics you bring with you to Chile.

If you are ever in doubt of how you should pay for something in Chile, remember that cash is king.

The official currency in Chile is the Chilean Peso and is accepted everywhere from taxis to small corner stores to large shopping malls.

Chilean Pesos come in various denominations of bills or banknotes.

Starting With Large Bills

When you exchange your foreign currency for Chilean Pesos, you’ll likely receive Pesos with large face values like $20,000 pesos (about $40 USD) or $10,000 ($20 USD) pesos.

Try and ask for small bills ($1000, $2000, or $5000) at the exchange house as those will be easier to spend.

Who Has Change?

“Change” is called sencillo in Chile when referring to the cash you get back when you pay for your purchase. Don’t try to say cambio – the literal translation of change – as it doesn’t really make sense in this case.

The likelihood that a vendor will have change for a large bill is often related to how large the vendor is. You’ll have no trouble spending a $20,000 peso bill at a sprawling shopping mall even if you are buying something for only a few hundred or thousand pesos.

However, if you try to buy an empanada from a street vendor for a few hundred pesos and hand over a $20,000 peso bill, he might not have enough change to give you.

Which Size Peso Bill Should I Use?

Here are the rules I typically follow for paying in cash in Chile:

Carry small bills to pay street vendors, small shops, and exact fares to taxi drivers. While they may have change, you don’t want to inconvenience them by requiring all of it just for your transaction.

Pay with large bills when the price of your purchase is large or at big supermarkets, stores, restaurants, etc.

Even if a vendor has change for your large bill, paying with smaller bills or a bill whose value is closer to the amount due shows your mastery of the local currency. Instead of blindly handing over a large bill, you should know how much things cost and how much change you should get back.

Be prepared with small bills and you’ll be able to pay for purchases just like a local.

What has your experience been with large peso bills and paying for purchases in Chile?

The Oncol Park, created in 1989, preserves the native Valdivian forest along the Valdivian coastal mountain range. The park is green and lush all year and feels like a tropical rain forest. The park boasts a wide variety of trees, many that are massive in size. The wet and fern covered undergrowth enhances the rain-forest feel of the park.

When you visit Valdivia, in southern Chile, definitely schedule time to drive over to Oncol Park and enjoy the natural beauty and sites the area offers.

Exploring the Oncol Park

You can climb to the top of a view platform on the summit of the Oncol hill (about 715 meters or 2345 feet tall). From the top of Oncol hill, you can enjoy unobstructed views for miles around, including the Pacific Ocean and distant volcanoes.

Oncol Park has several hiking trails that will let you explore the native plants and animals. Camping is also available.

If you’re feeling adventurous, you can even do a canopy tour via a zip line for about $8000 pesos ($15 USD).

The Oncol Park is open all year but you’ll find the most activity and people during the summer months. Don’t expect a canopy tour to be running in the middle of winter.

What to Expect in the Park

Here is a video (in Spanish) about Parque Oncol:

How to Get to the Park

The Oncol Park is about 20 miles (32 km) northwest of Valdivia. The road to the park is mostly dirt and gravel but is manageable without a 4×4 in good weather. Nevertheless, if you want to explore with confidence, I’d recommend a 4×4 which would also let you continue on to the beautiful Pilolcura beach which sits down from the park on the coast.

You can see more that the Oncol Park has to offer on their official site (in Spanish): Parque Oncol’s website

Picture credits: Cristián C.M., Marcos Escalier T.

If you go to any restaurant in Chile, you’ll need to answer the question: “how much should I tip the waiter?”

Regardless of the standard in your home country, the accepted norm for waiter tips in Chile is 10%.

In fact, the bill you get will often suggest the tip or propina of 10%.

The challenge for you may be even getting the check. In Chile, it is customary to ask for the check. If you wait around thinking that the waiter will bring you the check, you’ll be waiting a long time.

Flag down the waiter and request la cuenta, por favor and they usually will deliver it promptly.

Chileans are fond of eating and then staying to socialize for quite some time. Thus the waiter isn’t sure you are done until you actually request the check.

One caveat in tipping is if you are eating at a restaurant that is used to foreigners. In that case, they may be expecting a bigger tip since foreigners will typically follow the cultural norms from their homeland and give a 15-20% tip. Nevertheless, you now know the rules and can tip accordingly.

It is interesting to note that tipping waiters is different from taxi drivers. Remember: you don’t have to tip taxi drivers in Chile.

Picture by Paul Lowry

You’ll encounter this receipt bureaucracy as you travel around the country. Some smaller vendors will realize that you are a foreigner and won’t bother with the receipt but that is usually the exception rather than the rule.

Typical Chilean receipts are called boletas, or literally “tickets”. Many are hand written on carbon copy paper that has the store’s address and even an official looking embossed stamp on them. Boletas show you the total amount you paid for the merchandise and usually a date. There is often no itemized record of what exactly it is that you purchased.

When you go to larger stores like a supermarket, you actually have a choice of what type of receipt you want.

This can be confusing because you’ll see signs on the checkout lanes that say boleta and others that say factura.

As a tourist, you probably don’t care about factura. These are itemized receipts with a print out of everything you’ve purchased. Unless you really need this for some type of business deduction or reimbursement, you can just get a boleta.

Enjoy the extra paperwork you’ll get while in Chile. Think of the boletas as extra Chilean souvenirs. You’ll likely collect multiple versions that all have unique shapes, colors, and sizes.

Picture by Beatrice Murch

From my very first moments in Chile, I had kids coming up to me in the street and asking which soccer team I liked.

A great Chilean souvenir that you can get for your friends, family, or yes, even yourself, is a Chilean soccer jersey.

The question will be: which Chilean soccer jersey should you get?

Most stores and vendors have jerseys from the big three soccer teams in Chile: Colo Colo, la Universidad de Chile, and la Universidad Catolica.

Although these are the most popular teams in Chile, there are seemingly countless other teams as well. You’ll find their respective jerseys for sale as you look but keep in mind that they aren’t always as easy to find.

Most Chilean soccer jerseys have a very large and prominent logo or name of the sponsor on the front. Many jerseys have Cristal emblazoned on the front. This is the unofficial national beer of Chile. You’ll see this logo (and associated beverage) everywhere you go.

If a store sells soccer jerseys, it will also likely have ones from the Chilean national team, affectionately known as La Roja or “The Red.” These uniforms seem to change every year so you might be able to get a training jersey or last year’s version cheaper than the current, official shirt.

Good luck in your soccer jersey hunt. If you buy a Chilean national jersey, be sure you practice yelling your Chilean cheer: CHI CHI CHI LE LE LE, Viva Chile!

Picture by Pato Berroeta

This market represents the traditional flavor of a typical Chilean street market combined with the fresh seafood harvested by local fishermen from the nearby Pacific Ocean.

Pick up some fresh flowers for your sweetheart or some exotic looking seaweed called cochayuyo .

Take a look at the fresh seafood stands that back up to the river. At the rear of these stands you’ll find workers preparing the recently caught fish for sale. These men and women are really artists. Watch as they quickly and methodically slice and fillet fishes. Sometimes you can’t even see their hand as it moves so fast.

Just feet away from those chopping up the fish for sale, you’ll find those eagerly awaiting something to eat. These visitors are huge sea lions that wait to snatch up any scraps that the merchants throw to them. Take a few moments to watch these massive animals and you’ll even see a spark of personality.

The market runs through the morning but closes by 3:00 pm. So if you try to visit in the late afternoon, there will be nothing there. Even the sea lions will have left.

Pictures by Nora Elizabeth Gebauer Silva and Alvaro Herrera

If you look closely, however, you’ll notice that not every vehicle has these generic white license plates. The white plates are for private vehicles.

Radio taxis sport an orange license plate. You’ll notice them because they contrast nicely with the black paint on most taxis.

Blue license plates are diplomatic plates.

Red license plates are from the Zona Franca, a tax free zone that you’ll find at the extreme ends of the country, Punta Arenas in the South, and Iquique in the North. Because these cars are purchased at a discount (no tax), they can only be outside of the zone for a limited time. There are hefty penalties and regulations around the sale and use of these vehicles purchased in the zona franca.

Look around you as you drive across Chile or sit in traffic on a busy street. How many different license plates can you find?

Picture by Beatrice Murch

The flower clock was designed by Oscar Martinez Amaro and originally built in 1962 at the start of the World Cup games in Chile. The clock mechanism is Swiss and the arms are over 9 feet long (3 meters) each.

You won’t be the only tourist taking pictures with the flower clock. In fact, you’ll likely be surrounded by Chileans taking pictures too.

Flower clocks aren’t unique to Chile or Viña del Mar. In fact, the idea for the flower clock was brought over from Europe. However, the temperate Mediterranean climate means something is almost always in bloom in this coastal city.

Your best time for pictures will be in the late afternoon when you can have the sun to the west and clearly illuminate your smiling face and that of the flower clock.

Stroll up the hill behind the flower clock to get a glimpse of a very nice Chilean neighborhood. In fact, the Viña del Mar flower clock is in the same neighborhood as the Cerro Castillo Presidential Palace.