My wife and I will be visiting Chile from 26 December for about 10 days. We
would like to hire a car and drive out to Valparaiso and then down the coast
to Isla de Chiloe and Puerto Montt and then back to Santiago. I have several
questions about this:
1. Since we are from Australia where we drive on the left hand side of the
road we would prefer not to drive in areas where traffic is very heavy or
overly reckless. We have driven in Europe and North America and have made
the transition reasonably well to the right (wrong?) side of the road but,
for example, Rome was a nightmare. How might we cope in Chile?
2. Any tips on a good car hire company? We would rather hire in Chile than
from overseas as we have found that this normally results in cheaper prices.
Will we have any trouble getting a car in late December?
3. Should we hire in Santiago or go by bus to a quieter town out of the city
and start from there?
4. Does our itinerary (mentioned above) sound OK? Where else should we go if
we have 7 to 10 days?
5. How busy will places be over the Christmas/New Year period? Is this a bit
quieter than later in January?
And one final question ... we will be arriving in Santiago at about midday
on 26 December after a very long flight. Can anyone recommend a well located
and comfortable hotel which would also do airport transfers and could be
booked on line? Cost isn't too much of an issue after such a flight, maybe 4
star is about the level we are after.
Many thanks in advance for all advice and tips.
Regards
Ted
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