Transfer from ship to Santiago airport

[Xoe]

We are considering HAL'S Veendam from Buenos Aires to Santiago and seek some "been there done that" advice on getting from the ship to the airport at the end. How far is it, how long does it take, does one use a cab or other transport, what would one budget for the cost? We are debating buying HAL's air and letting them handle the transfers vs. trying for mileage air tickets which would mean we'd need to handle transfers on our own.

 

Also, any information about reasonably-priced pre-cruise hotels in Buenos Aires or post-cruise hotels convenient to the Santiago airport would be helpful.

 

We'll greatly appreciate any feedback from those of you with experience. This will be an entirely new part of the world for us. Thanks.

[Bobocasey]

WE used Aboutchile for a transfer from Valparaiso to Santiago in Dec. The airport in SAntiago is about (I think ) 90 minutes away. Since we docked at 5:00 am and our plane didn't leave until 10:30 pm we wanted something other than a cattle call for spending the day in Chile. About Chile met us the pier and our guide stayed with us the entire day dropping us off at the airport about 6:30pm(What a zoo) Since there were only 9 of us on the tour it was perfect. Price was really reasonable. Much better than the ships that is overpriced. Based on the number of people on the tour. I have heard that they will help you find others if need be for the tour so the price will drop. We were able to get a group together from CC. Much better that the ships transfers that drop you off at the airport by 4:30 with nothing to do until the ticket offices open about 7:00pm.

[Keith1010]

As noted, it is around a 90 minute drive from Valparaiso to Santiago.

 

I would consider taking the ships transfer.

 

Keith

[Xoe]

We did actually book this cruise today -- for JANUARY 2012. Talk about "into the future". It's what will work with other things in our schedules, and it gives us LOTS of time for pre-planning and reading and dreaming . . .

 

Has anyone taken the ship's transfers with a pre-cruise night in a hotel in Buenos Aires? That has some appeal as it would create time/space for some exploration of B.A. -- AND a cushion in case there are snafus in air travel getting there, always a possibility in winter flying out of SeaTac. Would appreciate any input folks have on that, also any further thoughts about arranging the transfers and reserving hotels on our own.

 

I am so grateful for these boards and all the marvelous information found here.

[cathi]

Xoe - you really don't need to do the ship's transfers in Buenos Aires but I would make sure you do at least one night pre. Not only will it give you some time to see Buenos Aires, it will ensure your flight isn't held up for some reason and you miss the boat. The docks are really close to any of the major hotels in Buenos Aires. We actually used a cruiseline hotel and transfer to the ship that included a tour of the city. We went past our hotel 5 times getting to the ship that was about 10 blocks away!!! Taxis are quite reasonable and there are some very nice hotels at reasonable rates. I have sent clients to one called the Park Central Unique Hotel and they all have loved this "unique" hotel. It's certainly not a cookie cutter hotel but, as described by clients, very clean and comfortable. Most of their rates include breakfast and a tango show which is a bonus.

In Santiago, I would try to find people on your roll call to put together a group as you will find it a more enjoyable day (nearly all the flights leave very late in the day) than the cruise ships transfer to the airport. It is about 90 min. away through some very nice countryside. If you are a wine person, this is where the Chilean wine industry is based so several nice wineries.

 

Hope you enjoy your trip

[Xoe]

that's just the kind of information I'd hoped to receive, including the recommendation of a specific hotel.

 

We always book air to arrive a day early -- you never know what might happen, and that plan also gives a day to explore the port city of departure and time for a bit of a rest as well. I'll guess there will be a roll call board once we're closer to the time of the cruise, and we will then see about organizing a shared private transfer from ship to airport. Who knows, we may even decide on a post-cruise stay for a day or two.

 

Appreciate your input!

[Lynda S]

Xoe, wow, I thought I planned ahead! 2012 - actually I had no idea the cruise lines came out with them this early.

 

We are on the Veendam on that cruise Dec 8, 2010, as well as a few others on this board, so you will find plenty of 'been there' / done that' this Dec - I'll make sure to report back in Jan 2011.

 

I can briefly tell you of our plans of pre & post if it helps for ideas, but it is probably way too early for you to book hotels or transportation for Jan 2012.

 

We booked our own air, tried for points, but as it was around Christmas - total blackout, so no luck. You might have better luck on this being so early. The air we were quoted by HAL was $ 400.00/per person more than what my TA found on her first go-around, so we booked our own. We ended up booking Alaska /LAN in the end, and I can't really compare the price as we decided to book business class.

 

I was shocked at the cost of the transfers from HAL, wow, too expensive to be herded around like cattle with 50 other people, not my 'pleasure' that's for sure! So we dropped those too, both in BsAs and Santiago.

 

For BsAs we are booked into a small B & B - very unlike us, we've never done this before, but I read someone's report & it sounded so cool, we just had to do it. (the fact that they have 2 resident cats is what really attracted me to it!). It's called Casa Rosa, web site is

http://sites.google.com/site/jardindeltango/Home

 

It is a faboulous deal, and centrally located, so we opted to arrive a full 3 days early to explore BsAs. It was too cheap not to! This B & B has arranged a remis (a private taxi) to pick us up from the airport for an extra $35 on Sunday morning when we arrive. Too good to resist!

 

We then hired a private guide for 2 full days, Monday and Tuesday - Marcelo Mansilla of Ciceroneba (that's the name of his company I believe). On Wed we booked the remis again from the B & B to take us to the cruise ship and away we go!

 

For Santiago, we booked Christian the Van Man, for the transfer from the ship to Santiago. The van holds 10 passengers, one of the other couples from the cruise roll call is coming with us - the price was not too bad at all - cheaper than the ship's transfer. Lunch is at our own cost on this transfer. We booked one night into Hotel Orly in Santiago - and then booked a private tour of Santiago with Christian the next day.

 

I'll let you know how it all turns out after Christmas!

[Xoe]

Thank you, Lynda. Every bit of your information is relevant and helpful for us to have now as we consider options. Since our cruise will be after the holidays, we figure that if we try for mileage tickets the day our dates open up, we should have a good chance of getting what we want, which is why it's worthwhile learning all we can well in advance so we can decide whether we want to fly in/out 1 or 2, maybe even 3 days early.

 

I am holding your information in a safe place and will have fun adding to it, and will be eager to hear back from you after your adventure. Any and all information will be appreciated, including shore excursions that are marvelous (or not), any private guides you may find especially good, etc.

 

THANK YOU!

[Berwin]

We completed this trip this past January on the Norwegian Sun. Buenos Aires was great and we stayed 5 nites at the Howard Johnson Botique Recoleta which was excellent. My wifes cousin who lives in BA recommended a guide to us who was excellent, great english and inexpensive. In Santiago, the Hotel Orly was also great, very courteous and enjoyable but we prefer botique hotels.

Our only negative was Christian the Vanman who never showed up at the Santiago Airport to pick us up. He also messed up the tours we were to take with him in Santiago. What you have to remember is that Christian is very busy and subcontracts out most of his jobs so he is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you will get.

 

You may want to rethink Christian, unless you are very daring.

[Lynda S]

Thanks, Berwin, I do appreciate your thoughts on this. I had read your review on trip advisor, as well as here, prior to booking Christian the Van Man - sometimes things just happen though. I have his cell phone number, and I'm sure everythying will work out just fine for us.

 

We are also booked into the Hotel Orly for one night, good to hear that it is a nice hotel.

 

Xoe, I'll post on this thread as I go along with any other thoughts and plans so that you can put them on your list too! Or - better yet, go into our roll call (Dec 8th Veendam) & read along, you will see lots of good planning advice there!

 

So far I have only booked one excursion. As we got older, and had gone further around the world, we found ourselves liking the 'bus herding/hour long washroom line up' less and less, and just wandering around many ports on our own - shopping, talking to locals, eating, having a drink, or just 'whatever'. Or, going the privte tour route, even if it was more expensive (which it often isn't). But - for the Falkland Islands, if you want to see penguins (we are wildlife enthusiasts) it is necessary to book a shore excursion. I tried the private route - but we will tender in - and of course we will have to wait until the shore ex booked people get off first which shortens the time, so time became an issue. In the Falklands the land the penguins are on is privately owned, and the owners of the land have sewn up the tours for the ship only. The only exception is Volunteer Point - but it is a long trip (3 hrs there, 3 hrs back) so the very few private guides on the island did not want to chance such a long trip with such a short shore time. We may be booked in for 8 hrs, but subtract a couple of hours for tender time waits & transit & you are left with too short of a time.

 

So, I booked a HAL shore ex at this port. I hummed and hawed & tossed & turned trying to decide between the Rockhoppers (so cute!) and a variety of penguins at Bluff Point. They were appx the same price & the same time, which would also allow us time to walk around the town & soak up the lifestyle or culture there - ot local cuisine. In the end those cute little rockhoppers got my vote (& $$$) For details on what is available there is a thread in this forum on the Falkand Islands - actually there are two really good ones that discuss what penguins you will see wehre & what's rough to get too, etc. (very long - but really informative!)

 

I'm thinking of booking a private tour guide in Puerto Montt, I have emailed them (GV Tours) but haven't heard back from them yet. They go in vans of 6 people each & are quite a bit less than the ship's tours, so it sounds like a good deal to me!

 

I'll keep you posted!

[Xoe]

Reading these posts is creating great anticipation -- can I manage to be excited for 18 months???? I will start spending time on your roll call message board, and after your return will be eager to read all about it, every last detail.

 

I am a wildlife enthusiast also, and probably will do the same hemming and hawing trying to choose which tour at Falkland Islands, wishing to do both.

[Clay Clayton]

XOE

Just wanted to warn you about one problem with planning so far ahead. We booked our SA adventure on Sun 15 or 16 months ahead of time and I really enjoyed the anticpation, planning , comraderie with other roll callers, etc...but the last day of the cruise was AWFUL. It reminded me of how I feel after working all day on Thanksgiving dinner and then in 15 minutes everyone eats and its suddenly over. :eek:

[Xoe]

Great analogy between the let-down at the end of a great travel adventure, and after the Thanksgiving feast.

 

What saves me from that kind of a moment is the joy I find in downloading and editing and organizing trip photos, then creating an on-line album. Doing that keeps me there on the trip, on the ship, for a couple weeks after returning home, and by then I'm usually re-engaging in my "real life". The other salvation is again sharing my days with my wonderful dog Xoe (I borrow her name as my board name) for our daily hikes in the woods and training sessions and trialing/titling.

 

In any event, you have offered good advice -- I'll try to keep the lid on my anticipation even while having the fun of planning this journey.

[polySeraph]

I'd definitely recommend flying in at least a day early. We stayed at the Marriott in BA to use up points. It was one of the grand old ladies among Buenos Aires hotels that Marriott had purchased and it was fine. Others on our roll call stayed in various places throughout Buenos Aires and everyone seemed satisfied. You can find a list of hotels that our group used HERE.

 

In Santiago, we opted to take the (overpriced) ship's excursion (wine, horses, and the airport) and again, it was fine. Our reasoning was that we wanted the ship to have a financial incentive to get us off the ship and on our way smoothly. As it turned out, things worked out in the port fairly smoothly anyway, despite the recent earthquake and despite another cruise ship disembarking at the same time. In retrospect, we could have booked with a private tour, saved a few $$ and met our flight.

 

What saves me from that kind of a moment is the joy I find in downloading and editing and organizing trip photos, then creating an on-line album. Doing that keeps me there on the trip, on the ship, for a couple weeks after returning home . . .

 

Definitely agree! Swapping photos with others from our roll call also prolonged the glow. Using Shutterfly, I created a calendar with photos from our South American cruise. I came back from SA in March, organized the photos in April, and the 1st month of the calendar is May. (The July 2010 picture is a wonderful image of Petrohue Falls in Chile.) Before I run out of months on my SA calendar, it'll be time for my next cruise (because the only REAL antidote to the post-cruise blues is another cruise).

[Xoe]

I just transferred the Buenos Aires hotel list to my South America information gathering/planning document and will be referring to it when we get into the appropriate time frame.

 

PolySeraph, I appreciate your report on the ship tour from the dock and ending at the airport on the day the cruise ends. Sometimes that's the safest choice, especially in a final port where the distance from dock to airport is rather long. Not sure yet how that will play out for us -- lots of time to gather information and consider options. Thanks for your help!

 

We will be on HAL's Maasdam 35-day Voyage of the Vikings July 17-August 21, so unless my netbook works better than I expect it to on the ship, I may find myself out of this exchange for a while. Part of the reason it's "bearable" for me to wait EIGHTEEN MONTHS for this greatly anticipated South America cruise is that I have 3 others planned between now and then: the 35-day Boston to Europe and back; a 13-day in October, the Mediterranean on Celebrity Equinox with two days in each of two long-yearned-for destinations, Egypt and Israel; and a river cruise next spring, Budapest to Nuremberg. Then will begin the countdown for South America in January 2012. I'm working on my "bucket list" of places I've always wanted to see, a very fun project (and hardly "work" of course)!