Santiago With Kids
A capital with the Andes standing right behind it, a clean metro, a mountain in the middle of town and snow an hour from the hotel. Santiago is the easiest big city in South America to do with kids.
Nicole Damiano, ASTA Verified Travel Advisor with FG Luxury Travel
Is Santiago good for kids?
Yes. A cable car over the city, a zoo on a hill, a hands on science museum, big parks and snow an hour away. It is one of the easiest cities in South America to do with children.
How many days do you need in Santiago?
Three nights covers the main sights and one day trip. Four lets you do both Valparaíso and the Andes.
When is the best time to visit Santiago?
October to April for warm, dry weather. June to September if you want snow in the Andes. The seasons are the reverse of North America.
Is Santiago safe for families?
The hotel neighborhoods of Providencia, Las Condes and Lastarria are comfortable for families, day and night. Watch bags on the metro and in Plaza de Armas, and use ride apps late.
Can you see snow from Santiago with kids?
Yes. Farellones is about an hour and a quarter from the city, with a snow play park for tubing and sledding from June to September and ski lessons at El Colorado next door.
Santiago Is The Gateway, And Worth Three Nights
Chile is 2,600 miles long and every trip through it runs through Santiago. Most families treat it as a layover. Three nights here, done right, means the kids see the Andes up close, ride a cable car over the city, eat empanadas in a park and still have energy for Patagonia.
The city is modern, safe in the hotel neighborhoods, and runs on a metro that is quicker than a taxi. Pick Providencia or Las Condes, use Line 1, and build the days around the hill, the tower and one trip out.
Getting Around
The metro is the way to move. Line 1 runs from the old center through Providencia to Las Condes and the Costanera Center. Taxis and ride apps for the hill stations, a driver for the mountains and the coast.
Neighborhoods worth basing in
Lastarria and Bellas Artes
The old center’s prettiest corner. Cafes, the Bellas Artes museum, Cerro Santa Lucía to climb and the river a block away. Walkable, central, a little noisy at night.
Providencia
Leafy streets along the metro line between the center and the towers. Parks, bakeries, mid range hotels and the cable car station at the top of the neighborhood. My default base.
Las Condes and Vitacura
The modern end of town. Big hotels with pools, the Costanera Center mall, Parque Bicentenario and the fastest road to the mountains. Quietest for families with little kids.
Mandarin Oriental Santiago
A tower in Las Condes with a lagoon pool, a waterfall and gardens the kids can lose an afternoon in. Connecting rooms, a big breakfast and the metro a short walk away.
Hotel Cumbres Lastarria
In the middle of Lastarria with a rooftop pool over the old center. Rooms fit four, and everything on foot is a few minutes away. Easy for a first night off the overnight flight.
Ibis Santiago Providencia
Plain, clean rooms a block from the Line 1 metro. Family rooms sleep four, and the money you save goes to the mountain day.
The Three I Build Every Santiago Trip Around
Cerro San Cristóbal
The hill in the middle of the city, 1,000 feet above the streets. Ride the funicular up from Bellavista, see the zoo partway, stand under the white statue at the top with all of Santiago and the Andes laid out, then take the cable car down the other side into Providencia. Clear mornings are best, the smog builds by afternoon.
Sky Costanera
The observation deck on the 61st and 62nd floors of the Gran Torre Santiago, the tallest building in South America. Glass walls, the whole city and the mountain wall behind it. It sits on top of a huge mall with a food court, which makes it an easy rainy day or a late afternoon. Go an hour before sunset.
Snow at Farellones
An hour and a quarter up a road of 40 switchbacks and you are in the Andes at 7,800 feet. In winter, June to September, Farellones has a snow play park with tubing and sledding, and the El Colorado ski area next door for the kids who want lessons. In summer the same road brings you to hikes and the zip line. Go on a weekday and leave early.
Family Time, Built In: Santiago With Kids
Santiago with kids is parks, views and one big mountain day. Nothing here is hard, and the metro turns the city into a game. These are the pieces that work.
The funicular and the cable car over the hill
The zoo halfway up Cerro San Cristóbal
Flamingos and paddle boats at Parque Bicentenario
Empanadas at a market stall
PARK & DOWNTIME PICK
Parque Bicentenario in Vitacura. Lawns along the river, a pond with flamingos and black necked swans, big playgrounds and a cafe. Families spread out here every weekend, and the Andes sit at the end of the park.
Five Things To Eat In Santiago
Empanadas de pino
Completo
Pastel de choclo
Ceviche
Alfajores with manjarNicole’s Perspective
The country you teach with a ruler
Chile is the one I used to draw on the board to make a point about geography. Desert at the top, ice at the bottom, mountains the whole way down, and a capital sitting right against them. Kids who fly into Santiago see that map come true from the airplane window before they even get off.
I plan Santiago as the opening three nights of a Chile trip. Patagonia and the Atacama are the reason families book, and the city is where they get over the flight, see the Andes up close and eat well before the long drives start. Skip it and you skip the easy part.
The Day Trip: Valparaíso
An hour and a half west, Valparaíso is a port city stacked on 40 hills, with hand painted houses, street art on every wall and century old funiculars called ascensores rattling up between them. Ride a couple, walk Cerro Alegre and Cerro Concepción, eat lunch with a view of the harbor, and stop at the beach in Viña del Mar on the way back. Hire a driver so nobody has to park.
Things I Would Tell A Friend Before They Booked
How Many Days
Three nights covers the hill, the tower, a park and one trip out. Four adds both the snow and the coast.
Cerro San Cristóbal on the first morning, Sky Costanera and a park on day two, Valparaíso or Farellones on day three.
Add the other day trip, so the kids get both the snow in the Andes and the painted hills of Valparaíso.
Fly south to Punta Arenas for Patagonia, or north to Calama for the Atacama Desert. Ten days covers Santiago plus one of them.
Santiago With Kids, Answered
Is Santiago good for kids?
Yes. A cable car over the city, a zoo on a hill, a hands on science museum, big parks and snow an hour away. It is one of the easiest cities in South America to do with children.
How many days do you need in Santiago?
Three nights covers the main sights and one day trip. Four lets you do both Valparaíso and the Andes.
When is the best time to visit Santiago?
October to April for warm, dry weather. June to September if you want snow in the Andes. The seasons are the reverse of North America.
Is Santiago safe for families?
The hotel neighborhoods of Providencia, Las Condes and Lastarria are comfortable for families, day and night. Watch bags on the metro and in Plaza de Armas, and use ride apps late.
Can you see snow from Santiago with kids?
Yes. Farellones is about an hour and a quarter from the city, with a snow play park for tubing and sledding from June to September and ski lessons at El Colorado next door.
Ready To Put Santiago On The Calendar
Send me your dates and your kids’ ages and I will set the base, pick the right day trip and line up Patagonia or the Atacama after it.
Keep exploring from Santiago
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