Peru - Lima to Santiago overland - prices? links?

I've tried to get information about getting from Lima to Santiago overland. I'm assuming private bus would be the cheapest.

Does anybody have any info about travel time, safety, cost, bus companies?

That's a very long bus ride. Have you tried pricing out airfare on LAN Chile? It's been a couple of years but I remember some very reasonable flights.

Anyway you'll have to bus to TACNA, http://www.turifax.com/pau1eng.htm

Use a cab to cross the border over to Arica and pick up a bus from there, http://www.pullman.cl or http://www.turbus.com

CVGHostage post is accurate. Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree South America forum has lots of previous posts on this subject.

I have heard the Arica to Santiago trip by bus is very long and boring. Maybe do the bus to Tacna, then a flight from Arica to Santiago. Cheapest fares on Lan require a 21-day advance purchase. If you do take the bus on the Chilean side, IME Pullman offers the same or better service at a cheaper price than Turbus. Prices will vary depending on service (I recommend semi-cama or cama) and meals.

In Peru, watch closely the bag you carry onto the bus. Thorn Tree is again a good source of info on this unfortunate problem. Chile, usually not a problem but I would still keep your bag close and not use the overhead storage.

Thanks CVGHostage & Viajero Perpetuo -- handy advice.

I 2nd that thank you to CVGHostage & Viajero Perpetuo . This advice will be essential when I actually do it.

I priced out a fare of $65 total on some pretty nice buses. Travel time: 18+6 hours, not including the cab across the border. This sounds fun!

Those buses seem awfully nice for that part of the world. ;) I imagine I could take local buses for half the price and twice the travel time. I don't mean to give offense - just that those bus companies are probably geared towards the middle class in Peru and Chile. It's the same story pretty much everywhere in less developed countries where you can see such a large gap between the poor and middle class. Then again, I've never been to Peru or Chile, so I might be wrong.

In Morocco, for example, there was the middle class bus company that charged more and was geared towards tourists and wealthier locals, and then there were the companies that the masses used. Obviously, there was a world of difference between the two. The latter provided a much more "interesting" experience, if I could put it that way :)

I imagine I could take local buses for half the price and twice the travel time. I don't mean to give offense - just that those bus companies are probably geared towards the middle class in Peru and Chile.
As I responded in the Budget Travel forum, Arica-SCL is a 30 hr bus ride, putting base travel time at 50hrs. As for cheaper "local" options, in my experience there weren't many cheaper options in Chile - fares were determined on class of service/time of departure (night buses have a premium) The buses are by no means unpleasant, but passing so many interesting places on the way to Santiago seems a crime.