|
Viña del Mar, a coastal city located in the central zone of Chile near the coast of the Pacific Ocean, is a popular tourist site. It has a mild weather and moderate seasons; Viña del Mar is visited annually by thousands of tourists that enjoy the pleasant mixture of a peaceful beach town and the services and infrastructure of a major city.
For its strategic location, Viña del Mar offers access to beautiful beaches, nice parks, patrimonial and historical architecture, excellent wines and gastronomy and rich cultural and artistic activity. |
| |
| There is an enormous variety of attractive settings in Viña del Mar and its surroundings. Rural life, famous vineyards, Pablo Neruda's houses, the magic of the port of Valparaíso, a world heritage city, make Viña del Mar an exceptional city. |
 |
| A five-star hotel, Sheraton Miramar Hotel, is the venue of the Congress. This hotel is in an exclusive location, near Caleta Abarca beach on a coast of amazing natural beauty. The hotel has a gourmet restaurant just in front of the sea, a bar and a unisex beauty shop. The hotel is about 10 minutes of the Casino of Viña del Mar. |
| |
| AIRPORT AND CUSTOMS |
| Citizens of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador can travel to Chile carrying only their national identity document, but citizens of other countries will need a valid passport. A visa is required to entry in Chile and for stays between 30 – 90 days. Check the following list to see if your citizenship needs a Visa to enter Chile and for further information visit the following websites www.minrel.gov.cl or www.aeropuertosantiago.cl |
| |
VISAS ARE REQUIRED FOR VISITORS FROM THE FOLLOWING COUNTRIES |
|
| Afghanistan |
Eritrea |
Maldives |
Saudi Arabia |
| Albania |
Ethiopia |
Malí |
Senegal |
| Algeria |
Fiji |
Marshall Islands |
Seychelles |
| Armenia |
Gabon |
Mauritania |
Sierra Leone |
| Azerbaijan |
Georgia |
Micronesia |
Solomon Islands |
| Bahrain |
Ghana |
Moldova |
Somalia |
| Bangladesh |
Guinea |
Mongolia |
Sri Lanka |
| Benin |
Guinea-Bissau |
Morocco |
Sudan |
| Bhutan |
Guyana |
Mozambique |
Swaziland |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina |
India |
Myanmar |
Syria |
| Botswana |
Irak |
Namibia |
Tajikistan |
| Brunei |
Iran |
Nauru |
Tanzania |
| Burkina Faso |
Jordan |
Nepal |
The Gambia |
| Burundi |
Kazakhstan |
Nicaragua |
Togo |
| Cambodia |
Kenya |
Niger |
Trinidad and Tobago |
| Cameroon |
Kiribati |
Nigeria |
Tunisia |
| Cape Verde |
Kuwait |
Oman |
Turkmenistan |
| Central African Republic |
Kyrgyzstan |
Pakistan |
Tuvalu |
| Chad |
Laos |
Palau |
Uganda |
| China |
Latvia |
Papua New Guinea |
Ukraine |
| Comoros |
Lebanon |
Philippines |
United Arab Emirates |
| Congo |
Lesotho |
Qatar |
Uzbekistan |
| Cote D'Ivoire |
Liberia |
Romania |
Vanuatu |
| Cuba |
Lybia |
Russia |
Vietnam |
| Djibouti |
Macedonia |
Rwanda |
Yemen |
| Dominica |
Madagascar |
Samoa |
Zambia |
| Ecuatorial Guinea |
Malawi |
São Tome and Principe |
Zimbabwe |
| Egypt |
|
|
|
|
| |
| Due to a reciprocity system, the Chilean Government levies a special tax that must be paid in cash (American dollars) to an immigration officer when entering the country. Participants holding passports from the following countries must pay the tax: |
|
· AUSTRALIA
· CANADA
· USA
· MEXICO
· PUERTO RICO |
| |
| CUSTOMS |
| International travelers must clear customs upon entrance. Electronic items such as video cameras, personal computers and others must be declared on arrival as temporary entrance objects. |
|
| Foreign tourists do not usually have any customs problems when traveling with their personal belongings, but are not allowed to carry: |
|
• Fruits, vegetables, seeds or unprocessed goods of animal origin.
• Firearms, ammunition or explosives.
• Illegal drugs. |
| |
| SANITARY CONTROLS |
| Animal products and vegetables can only be allowed to enter the country with prior authorization from the Agricultural and Cattle Raiser Service of Chile (Servicio Agrícola y Ganadero de Chile). |
| |
| MONEY |
| Chilean currency is the peso. Notes are of 1.000, 2.000, 5.000, 10.000 and 20.000 pesos. Coins are of 1, 5, 10, 50, 100 and 500 pesos. |
| |
| USE OF FOREIGN CURRENCY |
| Cash in foreign currency is not generally accepted, except at some hotels which offer discounts on taxes for foreigners paying in cash with US dollars. |
| |
| CREDIT CARDS |
 |
Credit cards are widely accepted including Visa, MasterCard, Diners Club and American Express. |
|
| |
| EXCHANGE |
| As not every shop or commercial locals accept foreign currency, we recommend that you exchange currency in banks or money exchanges. You will find these exchange houses at the Airport, around your hotel, near the Congress Venue, or in the streets Av. San Martin or Av. España (see map). We also highly recommend that you not exchange currency with people on the streets or late in the afternoon, except in the exchange houses of commercial malls. Nowadays, the exchange rate is USD 1.00 = $ 550 Chilean pesos (January 2009) |
| |
| AUTOMATIC TELLER MACHINES (ATM) |
 |
It is easy to find automatic teller machines (REDBANC), which dispense Chilean pesos. They can be found in commercial areas and many gas stations. These 24-hour cash machines accept local bank cards as well as banking cards in financial networks such as Cirrus, Plus, and Maestro. |
|
| |
| TAXES AND TIPS |
| Value-added Tax (VAT) is 19% and is normally included in the price. It is usual to leave 10% of the amount of the service in Cafeterias and Restaurants, and to tip valet services. Taxi drivers do not receive tips in Chile. |
|
 |
INTERNET
Most hotels offer Internet services on their business centers. Also one may check email accounts or surf the Internet from the many Cyber cafes in the city.
MOBILE PHONES
Cell Phones can be rented at the Business Center of hotels. |
|
| |
| INTERNATIONAL TELEPHONE CALLS |
| Chile has one of the most modern telecommunications networks in the world. This system has been completely digitized for several years. International phone calls from Chile are cheap and have efficient service. All of the downtown malls have calling centers where one may obtain information about telephone services, make phone calls, including collect calls, purchase prepaid calling cards, and select a carrier. |
| |
 |
NATIONAL TELEPHONE CALLS
There is a complete distribution of public phones around the city. In order to use them we suggest that you buy a phone card or carry $100 coins. If you want to call a cell phone from one of these public phones, a minute will cost $200, the same as if you want to call long distance within the country. |
|
| |
| WEATHER |
| The weather is mediterranean. The proximity to the sea and the ocean currents regulates the temperatures during the Spring-Summer season (September to March) and Fall-Winter season (March to September). Main daily temperatures vary between the 10 and 22 Celsius degrees. |
| |
| CLOTHES |
| We suggest that you to bring spring clothes, a jacket or coat for mornings and evenings and formal clothes for the meeting. |
| |
| COMMON OPENING HOURS |
| In general, commercial malls, restaurants, public offices and public transportation have the following working hours: |
| |
 |
| Banks |
Mon to Fri |
9:00 AM - 2:00 PM |
| Supermarkets |
Mon to Sun |
8:30 AM - 10:00 PM |
Shops |
Mon to Sat |
10:00 AM - 8:00 PM |
|
|
| |
| DIETARY REQUIREMETS |
| Vegetarian meals as well as other dietary requirements can be obtained upon request. |
| |
| HEALTH |
| It is recommended that visitors get their own Medical Insurance Program to cover those expenses during their stay in Chile. |
| |
| TIME ZONE |
Chilean Continental standard time corresponds to the time zone UTC-4:00 (Universal Time Coordinate; formerly, Greenwich Mean Time).
Chile uses a 24-hour military clock (e.g. 3:00 PM is 15:00 hours).
Chile uses the European format for noting dates (Day, Month, Year, e.g. 19 November 1997 is 19-11-1997). |
| |
| UNITS |
| In Chile, metric system and the Celsius scale are used. |
| |
 |
ELECTRICITY
Electrical voltage in Chile is 220 volts, 50 cycles (220V 50 Hz). All electronic devices designed for 110V require a transformer. All portable appliances, including portable computers, usually have transformers of high voltage (110V-240V) which are adaptable to the Chilean electrical system. Some hotels have 110V lines. |
|
| |
| WATER |
| In general, Viña del Mar's tap water is completely safe for drinking. For people who are generally more susceptible to changes in their environments, we suggest drinking only bottled mineral water (you can choose between effervescent or carbonate water, "con gas" and water without gas, "sin gas") during your first days in Chile. Mineral water is commonly found in supermarkets, corner stores and restaurants. |
| |
 |
FOOD SAFETY
Eating raw vegetables is not recommended, especially those that grow at ground level (e.g. lettuce, carrots, berries, etc.), unless you buy them at established supermarkets, as they can vouch for the origin of their products. |
|
| |
| PERSONAL SAFETY |
| Viña del Mar is known as a safe city for foreign visitors, more so than big cities in Latin America. However, we always recommend that you take normal safety measures, avoiding contact with unknown people and keeping your valuable personal objects out of sight, or leaving them in the safe box at your hotel. In the same way, avoid walking alone at night in unknown places and locations too far from the hotel where you are staying. |
| |
|
| |
