How to Find a Cheap Flight to Santiago de Chile

As obvious as it sounds, it needs to be said: the best thing you can do is book your tickets in advance. The best deals can be found about two months before the departure date.

To find the cheapest flights, avoid flying during high seasons. There are two high seasons in Chile: Ski Season -July through September- (although skiing is available nearly all year long) and Summer Season -December through February.

In general the best deals are found on the internet. You can go to travel agencies but, if you aren't buying a hotel package, they often charge commission fees and use internet sites that you can access yourself. The best way to get a cheap flight online is to play around with the dates. Oftentimes a flight can be hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars cheaper if you leave or come back a day or two before or after.

What are the best sites for discounted flights to Chile?
Well, there are a lot of them and they are not all quality sites. In fact, some can be downright frustrating and slow, while others really do help you find the best deals. We've been through quite a few of them, and decided which ones we like the best. Here are a few airline ticket sellers worth trying out:

Cheap Tickets
These guys allow you to research prices on loads of airlines, not just the major carriers, and has the clearest breakdown of all your flight options. Prices include all taxes and fees, so you immediately know what your total is going to be. The flights they offer usually only have one or two connections, and the routes make sense. You don't have to spend two days and make 20 connections for a trip that should take less than 24 hours.

LAN Chile
Many of the flights to Chile are on LAN airlines. Go directly to the source and discover one of the cheapest international airlines around. It's easy to buy tickets to Chile from LAN and navigate their website, which is offered in several languages, and prices tickets in various foreign currencies.

Copa Air
Copa Air is a good choice for cheap flights if your dates are flexible. The airline also routinely offers great promotional deals, like a four day layover in Costa Rica for no extra charge- and who doesn't want to spend four extra days in Costa Rica? But, side trips aren't always feasible, and dates aren't always flexible. A good option is also to contact Copa Air by phone, the agents of Copa Air can sometimes find cheaper flights.

Taca
One of the staff of CHIP who recently flew on Taca now has a new name for this airline - Caca. The website is built as if its designers had just discovered fire. The flight between Chile and San Francisco cost nearly a thousand dollars, and magically grew an extra leg (instead of three, it was four!) That said, Taca Airlines does offer multi city flights for the same price, so you can hang out in Costa Rica or wherever if you like, for only about $10 more.

Trip Advisor
Trip Advisor doesn't actually find you flights - it finds you other booking sites that can. Trip Advisor's thing is that you only have to enter your trip information once, which saves you time and the annoyance of retyping your trip details over and over. Unfortunately, this nifty feature doesn't always work properly. But the site can still help you find deals through the other major booking sites including Hotwire and Expedia.

If you want to check out other airline sites directly, or have a carrier preference, the following airlines generally offer cheap flights to Santiago, Chile:
LAN Air, Copa Air, American Airlines, Delta, Continental, Mexicana, Aeromexico, Taca.

To get to the airport, it is cheaper to take a radio taxi than to hail a taxi on the street.

Minibuses are more inexpensive than taxis, but you should not expect punctuality. The driver may have to pick up a number of customers before he picks you up. There is a list of minibus companies below.

To take the airport buses, it is best to wait at the airport bus stop at the corner of Alameda with Calle Tucapel Jimenez, a block west of Metro Station Los Heroes. This way you can take the first airport bus that passes. You can also catch the Tour Express bus on the corner of Moneda and San Martin.

Centro Puerto
Airport Bus
Alameda w/ Tucapel Jimenez Street
Santiago Centro
(2) 601-9883

Tour Express
Moneda 1529
Santiago Centro
(2) 601-7380
Metro Station La Moneda

Aero Express
Manuel Rodríguez 846
Saniago Centro
(2) 696-9609, (2) 695-8056
Fax: 696-3428
Metro Station Santa Ana

Photo courtesy of Iván Utz

Tour Express
Manuel Rodríguez 846
Saniago Centro
(2) 601-9573, (2) 695-8056
Metro Station Santa Ana

Navett
Sazie 2635
Santiago Centro
(2) 227-2996, (2) 695-6868
Fax: (2) 689-0697
Metro Station Unión Latinoamericana

Transfer
(2) 777-7707

Delfos
Primo De Rivera 180
Maipu
(2) 226-6020, (2) 766-2290
Fax: (2) 766-2303

Try not to exchange money at the airport. You can get much better rates at exchange houses and through Redbank ATMs.

Click Here for more information on money exchange in Chile!