Please sign in to post.

Valparaiso, Chile - been there?

Posted by (Seattle, WA, USA ☔️) on

Anyone here been to Valparaiso, Chile?

I'm looking at options for a short side-trip from Santiago, Chile, on the way back from a visit to Easter Island. Our trip is in November 2025 (so Spring in the southern hemisphere). We are doing Easter Island first then we have just a short time (2-3 days) for one location on the mainland before flyinghome. Our international flights go through Santiago (of course) so it would be less complicated if we just based ourselves there for a few days, but I've been toying with a short side-trip to a coastal location.

Valparaiso (and nearby Viña del Mar) have always looked intriguing, and I'm very tempted. But now as I drill down into planning details, I'm seeing a lot of, lets just say "mixed" reports of things in Valparaiso - while extremely scenic, with plenty of charms and lots of "faded glory" (which I love), it also appears pretty grungy and in places pretty run-down. Looking for a good neighborhood for a couple nights, I'm seeing lots of  "crime is completely out of control!", "it's unsafe!" and urgent warnings to "just stay away!"  I know that many places get a bad rep because they're not sanitized and spiffed up for tourists (Naples or Palermo, for example), and some folks are completely put off by that. I actually like going places that have some rough edges - but I have my limits...for example, I loved Bogota and Medellin in Colombia, both places where I saw some of the same "don't go there, you'll be mugged!" warnings (I did go and I wasn't mugged...I was careful and liked the vibe).

Valparaiso looks quite interesting but I'm somewhat wary that it could be a bit "too interesting".

Have you been there? Any insights/opinions as to the risk level there these days? Thanks.

Posted by
1750 posts

David,
Use your time to see Santiago. See my reply to your earlier post about Chile. There is more than enough to do in 2-3 days.

Posted by
1637 posts

I liked Valparaiso and Vina Del Mar and I do remember the gritty parts and like you, I don’t stay away just because places have rough edges. Santiago is another big city but Valpo has character

My caveat- my experience is from more than 10 years ago so don’t know what the safety situation is like now

Posted by
37 posts

We went to Chile last July - including a few days in Santiago and a few days in Vina Del Mar - and a day trip to Valapariso. We loved Santiago - and thought Vina Del Mar was very nice (relaxed, casual, great views, etc.). Valapariso didn’t feel unsafe - but it definitely felt grittier and dirtier and more crowded.

I don’t know if you’ve been to Italy but Valapariso did feel a bit like Naples - for better or for worse. It is definitely not sanitized for tourists,

Vina Del Mar also didn’t feel sanitized for tourists - but more like a suburb or vacation spot for people from Chile (not tourists).

We were also in Lima last year and many people (including my son who lives there) were like “put away your phone or it will get stolen” and I never had that feeling in Valapariso (although we also only did a day trip so it’s possible the vibe is worse at night). We walked regularly at night in Vina Del Mar and never felt unsafe at all.

Posted by
7501 posts

We took a day trip by local bus to Valparaiso from Santiago in 2014. It’s pretty much as you described it. We walked around the central market (Mercado El Cardonal) area then over towards Turri clock tower and along the beach (Muelle Barón). The day we were there the funiculars were all closed for maintenance so we ended up walking up one of the hills.

At that time there was a lot of petty crime and a couple locals came up to us warning not to set anything down or leave anything unattended. While the town is gritty, run down, and past its prime, we enjoyed the day trip. It is much like so many South American cities. Using your words, rough edges is a nice description.

In the link, the Valparaiso photos are further down the page. The remainder are of Santiago and a couple wine tours we arranged through the hotel. We had no problems in either Valparaiso or Santiago.

Add Reply

Please do not reply to violations of our Community Guidelines.