How Much Does It Cost To Live In Chile For 10 Weeks?
This travel budget post is another of the ‘cost of living‘ in different countries of the world that we have visited here at EO. It is solely our own interpretation and should be by no means taken as a guide to what YOU may or will spend during any of your visits to the places we mention.
If we were to spend the same time here again, I’m sure that our budget would be different as well. It will however give you a rough estimate on what to expect.
How much does it cost to live in Chile for 10 weeks?
All up we spent $4538 for our 10 week stay (72 days) in Chile between 20th December 2014 until 1st March 2015.
Accommodation
We spent a day in Arica the very north of Chile, which was our first experience in Chile as part of our 16 night cruise to South America from Fort Lauderdale. The cruise then made its way to Valparaiso which was our disembarkation point before the Celebrity Infinity continued on around Cape Horn towards Buenos Aires.
Our 10 day stay in Valparaiso was awesome and we really enjoyed it there, but had to move to Vina del Mar over New Year as the first AirBnB apartment was already booked out for New Years.
Finding accommodation in Valparaiso or Vina del Mar over Christmas & new years can be challenging and expensive. My advice is start looking as early as you can and lock in some dates and prices. Be aware that some places will hike up the price for New Years eve to ridiculous amounts, don’t get caught out.
If the booking system doesn’t allow you to search that far in advance, send an email and enquire.
Our apartment stay in Santiago was also found on AirBnB, however not booked through them. We had to make a very nervous booking with the ladies who rent out that place.
Let’s break it down;
- Arica $0 (only a day visit)
- Valparaiso $551 (9 nights) = $61.22 per night
- Vina del Mar $512 (3 nights) = $170.67 per night
- Santiago $1620 (59 nights) = $27.46 per night
As you can see, the longer you stay the cheaper it gets. Note that the New Year stay was more than double any other price per night.
All up, a total of $2683 for 71 nights accommodation in Chile, which worked out to $37.79 per night for the two of us. When you consider that it includes Christmas and New Year stays it’s really not bad at all.
Eating Out
Our eating out habits really depend on what facilities we have in our apartment and also the food available and the price. Under the umbrella of eating out we include everything, from all meals, alcoholic & soft drinks, teas & coffees, ice creams and any snacks in-between.
During our time in Chile we didn’t eat out much at all, compared to our eating habits in Colombia where we ate out nearly everyday. As our eating out expenditure in Chile is low the amount we spent on groceries is higher, which reflects the amount of cooking and eating at home in the apartment while in Santiago.
We had a well equipped kitchen and access to fresh fruits and vegetables from the local market which was in easy walking distance.
All up, our cost for eating out in Chile was $445 which equates to $6.18 per day for the two of us.
Groceries & Household
Under this category we include all items of food & drink bought for cooking & consumption at home. It also includes items like toilet paper, cleaning liquids etc that are required at home.
Considering that we ate nearly everyday at home in Chile, we spent a total of $908 on groceries & household, which is $12.61 per day and is very cheap.
Combining both eating out with the groceries and household purchases we ended up eating and keeping us and the apartment clean for under $19 per day, less than 10 dollars per person a day, now that is great value.
Other Items
Correos Chile – Santiago Post Office
In this category we include things like postage to Australia, printing, washing, hair cuts, local phone SIM & credit, clothing etc.
As a rule, we don’t buy much stuff, through lack of space or just no desire to clutter ourselves with items. The total amount spent on other items was $345 which is reasonably high. This is due to the fact that we did sent a parcel back to Australia of unwanted items at this particular time and some keep sakes. Post from Chile to Australia was very expensive. 6 kg cost $140.
Transport
Taxi rank at Santiago bus station in Chile
Under transport we include all modes of transport used for getting around within the country. This could be car hire, bus, metro, taxi etc. This does not include large travel items like a cruise or flight, these are totaled separately. A total of $157 was spent on transport getting from ship to apartment, Valparaiso to Santiago, and buses or taxis in-between.
Entrance/Souvenirs/Tours
This includes any entrance to place or event, any souvenir, any organised tour etc. We didn’t have any cost in this category.
The Wrap Up of our expenditure in Chile
As you can see, we spent $4538 for our 10 week stay (72 days) in Chile. This works out to be $63.03 per day, only $31.51 per person each day. With our aim of trying to stay and live for under $50 per person per day, our 10 week stay in Chile allowed us to comfortably achieve this.
All dollar values used here on the EO blog are Australian currency, not US dollars, and are worked out using the XE rate of the day
Have you spent some time in Chile? How did your budget work out, can you live in Chile for under $50 a day?
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