Green Toad Bus Chile Bus Passes

Travel by Bus to/from Santiago

Santiago, situated between the snow capped Andes and the Pacific Ocean, has grown to be an impressive city of lively contrasts, with an abundance of parks, refurbished artsy neighborhoods and plenty of world-class museums, galleries and cafes. With Chile's economy doing well,  it's capital Santiago is certainly experiencing a boom in stylish renovations which are enticing tourists to hang around and enjoy the cities urban life a bit longer, rather than travelling onto some of Chile's other better known backpacker haunts.

A visit to Santiago may as well start where the city itself started -  the Plaza de Armas was established in 1541 on the orders of  conquistador Pedro de Valdivia, and he continues to  keep an eye on the plaza from a statue in his honor found at it's centre. The plaza hosts throngs of preachers, entertainers, pigeons, loiterers and palm trees and is bordered by government buildings and a solid cathedral serving as an impressive backdrop. Later, take a stroll through Bellavista, a colourful  quarter littered with art exhibits, stores and watering holes where young people, bohemian types, the fashionable, and local celebrities loosen up at night. You will also be able to find the late Pablo Neruda's home in Bellavista, now turned into an museum.  

But not all of Santiago's charm is in its night life, during the day head to the city's long boulevards, hillside paths and leafy parks, which ornate the city with green areas for outdoor enjoyment. The Green Toad Bus offers biking tours as your included activity if you pass through or end in Santiago. These three-hour biking tours skillfully mix the new outer neighbourhoods together with the central city zones while also narrating some of the turbulent not-so long ago history of Chile's capital. Don't miss the views from on-top of San Cristóbal, the giant hill towering above the city, where you will enjoy the panoramic scenery of a city in the shadows of the snowy Andes. Jump onto the cable-cart from Bellavista for the ten minute journey to the peak, and observe up close the seventy two-foot sculpture of the Virgin Mary whom maintains watch across Santiago.

And while you are in town look out for Cafe' con Piernas, literally meaning coffee with legs which are unique Santiago cafe's whereby patrons get served coffee by scantly clad locals. Also try what seems to be Chile's adopted national food: the hot dog, yes that's right - hot dogs - there are restaurants devoted to them everywhere and the people like to smother them in everything including a tasty avocado mush. Also look out for street-carts selling mote con huesillo, a peach juice drink together with a wheat  mix that quenches your thirst and tickles your sweet tooth. Finding good Santiago hostels and a fun crowd to explore won't be hard in Santiago as it is a backpacker hub, it's more difficult to decide which direction to head next; choose your bus pass north through the coastal desert towns towards Peru; east into Argentina or South to explore Patagonia.