Santiago to Lima

[Cor]

Hi! Anyone know of a better way to get from Santiago to Lima without having to spend 30 hours on the bus or $700-$800 on a one-way plane ticket? Would love any South American airline recommendations I might be missing. I've checked out the LAN, SKY, Aerolinea, TAM, TACA, AeroSur, anything else? Otherwise, I'll just have to bear it!

 

[TheBigDaddy]

Depending on how fast you need to get there you could break the trip up and spend a day or so in some different cities along the way. La Serena in particular I had a great time and found the people much nicer than regular Chileans.

 

[va2ba]

Does it have to be one way? One way tickets are always much more expensive than paying for a round trip ticket. I would suggest buying a round trip ticket and just not using the return ticket.

 

[buddha]

This is only a suggestion as I don't have any experience or first hand knowledge but here is what I was told. I was in Santiago this last weekend and did a tour of the Andes with a great young lady from Lima. She said the bus ride from Lima to Santiago is one step short of hell. She has done it once and will not do it again. She said people get sick and vomit all over due to altitude sickness. She said it was one of the worst experiences of her life. When she goes back to Peru she flies and will not take the bus again.

This is her opinion as I said, I don't have any first hand knowledge.

 

[Cor]

Oh jesus, thank you for letting me know. That sounds like an awful ride!!

 

[BXpat]

Do you have the frequent flyer miles? Those really help when you are in a pinch!

If you don't have any than I would 2nd the R/T and just don't return.

 

[arlean]

i have made the trip by bus a couple of times between Chile and Lima and did not see anything like what that girl described. The only thing, it is BORING. I would not look forward to it with anticipation by a long ways. The Atacama really is desert! Totally agree about La Serena. I'd stay there any chance I get.

If you are interested in anything like this, the air in La Serena is so free of moisture that there is a space observatory outside that you can go by tour. It is pitch black there, incredible, they turn on no lights so your eyes are used to the dark and use flashlights to get you inside. A friend who was with us had a bright idea of putting her digital camera to the eyepiece of the telescope and taking a picture of Saturn with its rings. Looked like it came out of a science book.

 

[Travelling gypsy]

Hi,

On a slightly unrelated note, I have ten days left to make the most of being in Argentina until I fly to brasil on 10th october so just wondered if anyone could recommend a good itinerary for me to make the most of my time left here. I am staying in buenos aired and I am happy to get on buses around the country.. I would like to get to Uruguay and iguazu definitely and anywhere else that is on the way to or way back from these places?