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Travel guide
Chiloé
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: December to March (the southern summer)
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Welcome
Chiloé, in a few days
Half an hour by ferry from the mainland, the Chiloé archipelago has the stilt houses of Castro, sixteen UNESCO-listed wooden churches and a west coast pounded by the Pacific. More than 2,000 mm of rain a year explains the larch shingles, the dense forest and curanto, cooked underground on hot stones.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · The palafitos of Castro free · about 1 hWooden houses on stilts in the fjord mud, painted on the street side and standing in the water behind, survivors of the 1960 tsunami.
- Afternoon · San Francisco Church, Castro free · about 45 minA yellow and lilac wooden church on the main square, clad in metal sheeting, with a larch and cypress vault shaped like an upturned hull.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Palafito 1326€115 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Curanto en hoyo · 2 to 3 hThe islands' signature dish: shellfish, chicken, smoked meats and potato breads cooked in a pit of red-hot stones under nalca leaves and earth.
- Afternoon · Dalcahue market free · about 1 h 30On Sunday mornings, weavers from nearby islands sell hand-spun wool, hats and blankets by the jetty, beside family kitchens serving curanto and seafood empanadas.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hotel Unicornio Azul€80 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Achao and Quinchao Island free · about 2 hTen minutes by ferry from Dalcahue, Achao has Santa María de Loreto, built around 1740 with larch and wooden pegs, the archipelago's oldest church.
- Afternoon · Chiloé National Park · about 2 hValdivian rainforest, peat bogs and dunes on the Pacific side, entered from Cucao, where the El Tepual trail runs on boardwalks through moss-covered trees.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hotel Diego de Almagro Castro€90 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Muelle de las Almas · about 1 h 30A wooden pier ending in mid-air above the Pacific at Punta Pirulil, a 2005 sculpture inspired by a Huilliche belief about souls awaiting a ferryman.
- Afternoon · The penguins of Puñihuil · about 45 minThree rocky islets 27 km from Ancud where Humboldt and Magellanic penguins nest side by side, seen from boats pushed off the beach by hand.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hotel Esmeralda€75 a night
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
Some links are partner links: we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Empanadas de pino: beef, egg and a single olive, baked.
- Pastel de choclo: sweetcorn baked over minced beef, served in a clay dish.
- Ceviche and shellfish straight out of the Pacific.
- Completo: the Chilean hot dog, buried under avocado and mayonnaise.
- Central valley wine, and pisco from the north.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Pickpockets work Santiago and Valparaiso: bag in front, phone away.
- The distances are enormous. Fly between the north and the south.
- Book Torres del Paine months ahead in high season. The refuges fill first.
- The north sits high. Climb to Atacama slowly and drink more water than you want.
Getting by
Words that help
English ↔ Spanish
| English | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Hello | Hola |
| Thank you | Gracias |
| Please | Por favor |
| Yes | Sí |
| No | No |
| Excuse me | Perdone |
| Goodbye | Adiós |
| Do you speak English? | ¿Habla inglés? |
| I don't understand | No entiendo |
| How much is it? | ¿Cuánto cuesta? |
| Where are the toilets? | ¿Dónde están los baños? |
| The bill, please | La cuenta, por favor |
| Help! | ¡Socorro! |
| Cheers! | ¡Salud! |
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyChilean peso (CLP)
BudgetAbout €95 a day, mid-range
Best seasonDecember to March (the southern summer)
PlugC/L · 220V
Tap waterSafe to drink in the cities
TippingAround 10%
Emergency133 / 131
EntryVisa-free for 90 days for EU, UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports.
HealthNo vaccination required. Keep tetanus and polio up to date; hepatitis A is worth considering if you eat well outside the tourist trail.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/chiloe
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.