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Banks
Hours: Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 14:00 hours, Banco de Chile, (cnr Del Salvador &Santa Rosa)
Important numbers
Ambulance 131
Fire Brigade 132
Police 133
Hospital (65) 239100
Airport (65) 294159
ATMs
Available in the most important points of the city: banks, supermarkets, pharmacies and gas stations. Foreign credit cards are widely accepted. In some cases you have to use te option for foreign accounts to withdraw the money
Money Exchange
Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 13:00 and 15:00 to 19:00 hours.
Weekends: service in shopping malls.
Taxi
Black and yellow or blue cars with a white sign. The fare is negotiable or the use of taximeter. Moreover, in Puerto Varas and Puerto Montt there is a special public service called colectivo (a sort of taxi, usually with the number or the name of the destination) that carry passengers through the local routes within the town and along the waterfront. You can get on a colectivo at any moment, just hail it. Fares are 350 pesos (day) and 550 (night).
Radiotaxi
Shuttle door to door in and out of Puerto Varas.
Buses
Small minivans (micros) travel between Puerto Montt and Puerto Varas, among other towns, every few minutes (700 pesos). Waiting time is a bit longer (between 10 and 20 minutes) for minivans to the towns of Frutillar, Llanquihue and Ensenada.
Car rental
Available at the airport, in the city or ask at our hotel. An international driving license is required, especially for visits of more than 3 months (except for argentinean driving license which are recognised in Chile). Car rental agencies require a valid driver license along with a passport or an ID and an internationally recognized credir card. The rental must be at least of 24 hours. Minimum age requirements vary from 21 to 25 depending on the agency. If you choose to cross the international borders you must notify the agency with as much anticipation possible in order to complete the necessary forms.
Driving in Chile
Speed limit on a motorway is 120 kmh while on single lane motorways 100km/h. Within the city limits teh speed is up tp 60 km/h.
Shopping
Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 13:00 hours and 15:00 to 19:00 hours
Saturdays from 10:00 to 14:00 hours
Tourist Information
Open from 09:00 to 21:00 (Dec-Feb), from 10:00 to 14:00 (Mar-Nov)
Internet Resources
www.puertovarasvirtual.com
Phone calls
From a cell phone to another cell phone dial the number, from a fix phone to a cell phone dial 09 and the number, local calls to a fix number dial the number, outside Puerto Varas (Puerto Montt, Frutillar) dial 065, from abroad to a chilean cell phone dial 0056 9 and the number
Meals
There are three main meals per day: breakfast (desayuno), lunch (almuerzo o colación) and dinner (cena). A light snack meal once (eleven) is popular in the afternoon.
Typical dishes and specialities
Thanks to its cost, Chile offers a wide variety of fish and seafood. One of the most common ways to eat seafood is in soups such as caldillo -usually made with congrio (conger eel), potato chunks, spiced up with lemon, cilantro and garlic. Chupe is a thick stew cooked in butter, with bread crumbs, cheese and spices. Paila marina is a delicious fish and shellfish chowder. Ceviche is "raw" fish "cooked" or marinated in lemon juice served cold. Fish can be prepared al vapor (steamed) or a la plancha (grilled) on request.
As for meat dishes, the most common one is lomo a lo pobre (literally "poor man's steak) prepared with abundant quantity of beef topped with fried eggs and French fries, chorillana (fried steak strips, potatoes, eggs and grilled onions), parillada (different cuts of beef, usually a very large portion), empanadas (especially empanada de pino: minced meat, hard-boiled egg and olives), pastel de choclo (a maize casserole filled with vegetables, chicken and beef) and finally humitas, sticky corn tamales, a good vegetarian option. Curanto, a merge of shellfish, chicken, pork, lamb, beef and potatoes is a specialty of the island of Chiloé and is served with chapalele or milcao (a sort of potato breads).
The strong German influence left delicious desserts in the form of strudels, Kuchens and cheesecakes.
If you like spicy food, try ají (chili), a vegetable with various contentration of the spicy component, or salsa de ají (hot sauce or chili). It is advisable to ask before ordering whether the dish had been prepared with little or a lot of ají.
Beverages
There are a variety of natural juices (jugos), licuados (smoothies) and a Chilean specialty mote con huesillo (rehydrated peaches in nectar with barley kernels).
Lovers of alcoholic drinks drinks should not miss the famous bitter - pisco sour (pisco, lemon juice, sugar and egg white). Other drinks are typical piscola, chilcano (pisco with ginger ale), capitán (pisco with vermouth), chicha (fermented cider), cola de mono ("monkey tail"), a popular, sweet Christmas liqueur. The most popular beers are Escudo, Cristal, Kunstmann and Becker. Draft beer is called a schop and is usually cheaper and better than the bottled options.
Chile is a paradise for wine. Cabernet sauvignon is the most planted grape with producers such as Perez Cruz, Los Vascos, Concha y Toro.
To learn more about the Chilean food visit
www.gochile.cl / Food / FoodEnt.asp
Motorways
The toll fee is payable only in cash and only in Chilean pesos. Credit cards or cheques are not accepted.
Payments by credit card
All services can be paid with a credit card in U.S. dollars or Chilean pesos.
Foreigners who pay in dollars in hotels have a 19% discount on all services. Our hotel has this option and an export invoice is given on request.
When paying by credit card in Chilean pesos (in hotels, restaurants, etc..) a 19% tax is added. There is the option of choosing the currency to pay, the current alternative being the payment in U.S. dollars which is the extent of the tax.
Climate and clothing
In this part of Chile, the weather is very changeable so it is highly advisable to carry all kinds of clothes and shoes, sunglasses and a raincoat or an anorak. The seasons in Chile are: summer from December 21st to March 20th, autumn from March 21st to June 20th, winter from June 21st to September 20th and spring from September 21st to December 20th.
Electricity
Electricity appliances operate on 220 volts and 50Hz cycles. Te majority of transformers accept standard North American plugs. Laptops usually do not require transformers. Adaptors for 3 to 2 prongs plugs are locally sold.
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