Visit Vina Del Mar Chile
Vina Del Mar in Chile is one of the beautiful places to visit in the world. This is the third post in a series about our travels in this part of the world were we worked for 8 months. Vina is on the west coast east of Santiago Chile and just north of Valparaiso Chile. Valparaiso is an old shipping port for Chile. Vina Del Mar is where the residents of Santiago spend their summers relaxing along the ocean.
There are many condo’s and homes along the hills in front of the beach with funiculars to take you up and down to your condo. Funiculars are really outdoor elevators running on tracks up and down the side of a steep hill. They can be a little unnerving at times as they creak and shake up and down the side of a cliff, however they are quite safe. They are unique to South America.
Fog on the Beach
There is nothing better than to leave the big city, Santiago, drive for an hour and be at the ocean for the day or the weekend. We learned that the locals only arrive at the beach around 2 pm. Prior to that the fog is pretty heavy along the water and it is actually quite cool. In the summer the air is very hot, but the water in the Pacific in this area is cool creating the perfect conditions to produce a lot of fog. It takes the hot sun until 2pm to burn this fog away and then it becomes a glorious day at the beach!
There are walking paths, restaurants and bars along the beach and tourists from all over the world take advantage of the great weather. We found that people were really friendly and always wanted to chat with us since we were obviously not from Chile. One bar owner sat with us for a while.
It turned out that he had lived in Canada, in Edmonton for several years as part of the staff with the Edmonton Oilers hockey team. He told us many stories about his time with the hockey team and also treated us to several rounds of drinks as well. Nice people!
Parking at the beach
We have to talk about this subject since it is prevalent all over Chile and this was pretty typical. We were driving along the road looking for a place to park and spied one that was available. The problem was that we could not turn left to get into the spot due to the traffic on the road. As it turned out this was really no problem. Every where in Chile people are working and making jobs as best they can. Many people work as parking attendants. They help people get in and out of parking spots and other parking related issues.
The parking attendant for this section of the beach leaped out into the traffic holding up his hand to stop the traffic. He stopped the traffic to allow us to turn and get into the spot we had seen to park our car. This fellow keeps an eye on your car while you are gone. He helps you back out your car again when you leave. He stops the traffic in both directions so that you can safely get back onto the road. Of course we tipped him for his help. This is why he does this since the actual parking is free along this part of the beach.
We recommend a visit to Chile anytime, but the best time is in their summer which is Jan – March. It is a very nice country and safe to visit. All you need is a little Spanish to help you get around and order meals and drinks! We welcome your stories about your visits to Chile and comments on this post. Please ensure they are helpful and meaningful comments that our readers will enjoy.
For more posts about South America places to visit, click here.
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June 18th, 2012 at 2:28 pm
I have also been to Vina in Chile and strongly recommend it as a place to go. Great beach, great people and cold beer. What more can you ask for for a day at the beach. It is only an hour away from Santiago, chile and a great vacation spot.
September 3rd, 2012 at 7:57 pm
Friends of ours are there now and really enjoying their time their on the beach and the local life. summer is coming in south america and vina is the place to be in Chile