SAT Lawyer

You'll want to do online check-in at lan.com for the LA segments from MEX-SCL and vice versa as soon after the opening of the online checkin window -- 48 hours before the departure time of the LA segment -- as you can, to grab a seat. On these itineraries, your online check-in window for the LA segment will likely open up before the check-in window for your AM segment does (24 hours out for AM international), but lan.com won't let that stop you for checking in for your LA segment.

RustyC

Well, I'm heading down there later this week on an earlier LA deal MEX-IPC (5 days)-SCL (4 days)-MEX at $545 a-i ($75 of that to add SCL), so uall can say u got a better deal. Guidebook sez Jan.-March is the peak season and especially that festival in February, so that may be the reason April & May are cheaper (May supposedly wettest month). Hard to argue with highs & lows both in the 70s, though. Elimination of the reciprocity fee is great news as well.

dogcanyon

Thanks, SAT Lawyer.

zig2

has anyone tried Q class AS mile accumulation with LAN?

FlightWhite

So I have a quandary...

I am planning my repo to MEX, and I really want to fly the AM 787 (# AM 409) from JFK-MEX.

Problem is, estimated arrival into MEX is 7:25, and my plane MEX-SCL leaves at 8:25.

It looks like both AM409 and LA621 arrive/depart from terminal 2, so I won't have to clear immigration.

I have no experience transiting MEX, hoping somebody else can help!

SAT Lawyer

Unfortunately, even on a Terminal 2 to Terminal 2 international connection at MEX, you will have to clear immigrations and customs, then take an escalator upstairs and clear security for transiting passengers, so that connection would be super risky, especially on a separate ticket. I would strongly recommend against it.

FlightWhite

Thanks for the info. I am going to try to avoid this. Too bad the MEX-JFK 787 is at 7:30 AM!

ianmanka

Also a note for those traveling the first weekend of April -- LA had a schedule change and reduced the connection time in SCL by an hour... to an hour. I wasn't confident about making the connection in time, based on the Flyertalk posts I searched.

After about a dozen calls to Expedia, they rebooked me on MEX-LIM-SCL-IPC. Check your tickets and evaluate if you want to risk the connection.

Edit: LA has changed their schedule for SCL-IPC, making it once again a legal connection.

RustyC

Greetings from Santiago! Am just about to head back after a great 5 days on Easter Island & 4 here in SCL (can't ask for better weather in SCL now). Here's some stuff that's hopefully of use:

* Anything in guidebooks about dollars being preferred on Easter Island is outdated. Everything's in pesos now...they'll take dollars, but most commonly at 500 to 1 or even 450 to 1; at 500-1 you get nicked around 10%, so it's best just to get some Chilean pesos.

* There are only two ATMs on the island and only one, Banco Santander, is likely to be useful (with a very steep CLP 3000 ATM fee).

* Expect to see lots of stray dogs.

* Connections in MEX can be a pain, as was mentioned. They run you all the way through immigration and customs even if you don't have to change terminals (DL, AM and LA are among those in terminal 2). I hit this at a bad time with a long line at immigration...YMMV.

* In SCL the idea of a bag-recheck counter after customs is apparently too much of a gringo thing, so expect to head up to departures and the IPC check-in counter.

* The cash exchange at SCL (AFEX, or something like that) was at 554 to the $1 when official rate was 571, with $1.50 flat commission.

* Reciprocity fee signs are changed and the fee is indeed gone for U.S. passport holders.

* Don't forget the electrical adapter (3 prongs straight across)

* Crowds probably won't be a problem in April or May, but tour groups tend to hit the same sites at roughly the same times, so if you rent something to get around, it's better to zig while others zag.

...almost forgot...

* Bring money. Not as bad as Tahiti but can make Hawaii look inexpensive.

Really beautiful place. Enjoy.

ianmanka

Some discussion regarding the flight time change (and subsequent attempts to rebook) for MEX-SCL-IPC is in the LA forum:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/lan-l...impressed.html

BeatTheHeat

Not sure how to edit the wiki either, but I'll be there April 5 and will meet up

WhIteSidE

Just on the final leg back to SEA of a 2-night stay at IPC. Met with BeatTheHeat and met two other FTers on flights back to MEX from SCL.

A couple of follow ups to RustyC's notes

* The Banco Santander ATMs are open all the time, but the bank itself is only open for a few hours in the morning. I actually got hit for CLP 4000 fee at the ATM, but it was still a better rate than the AFEX at SCL.

* The stray dogs are much friendlier than I expected.

* Ice is a problem, if you like your beer cold. We went to all three markets on the island that were supposed to have ice and got skunked everywhere.

* The island is definitely more expensive than I was expecting Chile to be, but I don't think more expensive than, say, Hawaii.

* We were offered a tour for 70,000 pesos per person (~$130ish). We declined, and chose to rent a car for about 95,000 for two days. As we ended up splitting this 5 ways, however, it was quite reasonable on a per-head basis. The tours looked utterly miserable (a bunch of people getting ferried around in a mini-bus), and as it can rain, spending that much money on a fixed price tour on a rainy day would really stink.

* There seems to be some prevarication at some restaurants about whether they're serving "fresh, local" fish or imported fish. Only Kaleta (down on the pier) told us "we don't have any local fish today". On the other hand, on the days they *did* have local fish, their ceviche rapa nui was a transcendant experience (yes it's $20, but it's amazing).

* Cafe Hitu (on the road in from the airport) has good empanadas available every morning (baked).

* The best empanadas on the island, by far, are at a little shack facing the soccer field on the south side. It's the second window back from the road (their chalkboard's all said "one love" on them, but I'm not sure if that's the name). Their menu has a picture of an underwater moai on it. They have very good empanadas on the menu, but for the mind blowing experience ask for steak and cheese (carne y queso). They also have sandwhiches the size of your head, and a generator so they can keep serving when the power is out.

* The food at cafe pea is so-so, but they have the coldest beer we found.

* Main takeaway: Don't worry to much about planning. Bring some cash and things will work themselves out.

jorelcuomo

So I have to cancel my reservation from MEX- IPC-EZE-MEX it was $550 total. Leave in 2 weeks. Anyone know if Lan allows you to credit unused flights (or dollar amount) towards future Lan flights like all North American airlines?

ianmanka

I used this deal two weeks ago, but forgot to post until now. My thoughts about Easter Island:

• ATMs in SCL - There are two sets of ATMs in SCL. Immediately after you exit customs/immigration on the first floor and turn right, there are six ATMs (I think all Santander bank). On the second floor in the middle of the departure hall, there were four more. I tried using my Ally Bank card on the ATM in the departure hall, but it kept giving me errors, no matter which one I attempted to use in the set of ATMs on the floor. Other travelers attempting to use them had similar issues. I went downstairs and used an ATM on the first floor (also Santander) to get Chilean pesos. Ally reimbursed the Chile-side transaction fee ($7.32!) but charged a small conversion fee (~1.02%). Not bad, considering cash is king in Easter Island.
  
• AFEX in SCL - I also exchanged some money here in between remembering about the ATMs on the arrivals floor. They are very, very, picky about any currency you exchange. All bills must be crisp and not ripped.
  
• Electrical adapters - If you have purchased the Apple World Travel Adapter Kit, the Continental Europe adapter will work for your Apple laptop. If you still need an adapter, you can pick one up for ~$7 at the end of the national terminal, near gates 25/26.
  
• Purchasing bottled beverages in SCL - Since you can bring liquids through security for domestic flights, I recommend purchasing water from Farmacia Cruz Verde, which had bottles of water pre-security for decent airport prices (~$1 for a 500 mL bottle of water). As you walk towards the domestic terminal, it's to the right-hand side, one of the last shops on the right. Post-security, the price triples.
  
• Post office in SCL - There's a post office box in the same corridor next to Farmacia Cruz Verde, at the end of the semi-circular hall. It was closed very early in the morning, but if you forget to mail any postcards, this is your last chance to send them.
  
• SCL-IPC seat assignments - For the flight to IPC, get a window seat on the right side to see the island on the way in, and fly on the left when leaving the island.
  
• National Park Ticket - The airport-only discount rumored on other threads, reducing the price from $60 US to $50 US seems to have ended. Expect to pay the full $60. However, despite losing my national park ticket within a few hours of arrival, I never had to show my national park ticket. Maybe I was just lucky.
  
• Hotel reservations upon arrival - Per the advice of others on this thread, I decided to book/negotiate my hotel upon arrival. Unfortunately, I can't recommend the one I ended up with -- Hostel VaiHere. The owner/operator is a very nice woman, but the room I ended up in wasn't great. The location was very good -- a few minute walk to the main road of the town.
  
  The hostel is pretty much a personal home divided in half: half residence, half hostel. The room for my first night had only two light bulbs, and no fan. There were two doors connecting to the room, but they were blocked, as it led to the private residence. It was quite warm. Never underestimate the benefit of having a fan in the room! My second night, I spent in a room with a nice large window, which was a welcome benefit, but the bathroom was shared (despite my insistence I'd have a private ensuite bathroom).
  
  I really shouldn't complain for the rate I received (20,000 pesos per night, or $35), but the two rooms I stayed in were rather uncomfortable. Other operators at the airport were offering rooms at 30,000 pesos per night.
  
  
• Car rental - Again, based off of other reports, I decided to wait to book my vehicle by walking down the main road to the various car rental places. The rate I was quoted at the airport was 55,000 pesos/day (~$98) for an automatic transmission. After visiting four car rental places on the main road (I later learned there's a fifth if you go uphill from the post office), the best price I could find was 50,000 pesos/day (~$90, cash only), a discount off of the 85,000 pesos/day (~$153) credit card price for a 4WD pickup truck. The price should have been around 30-35,000 pesos, but my hostel owner was unable to negotiate such a rate.
  
• The only gas station - There's only one gas station on the island. And there's only two choices of gas: diesel or unleaded. You can pay for gas with a credit card... provided that the convenience store is open. The convenience store was closed all day Sunday and most of Monday morning.
  
• Currency denominations - According to multiple people on the island, small denominations of currency are scarce, since everyone comes to the island with 10,000 peso notes. Which might explain why everything on the island seems to be 5,000 peso increments.
  
• Sunday on the island - Don't expect anything to be open before the early afternoon. And due to the rainy conditions, I figure a lot of owner/operators decided to stay in and not open their business. Then there was a power outage Sunday evening, further limiting the operating hours.
  
• Businesses with backup generators - The two supermarkets on the main road, the pharmacy, maybe others, but if the power goes out, not much will be happening on the island.
  
• The moai - I don't regret going to Easter Island, but it reminds of a destination like Niagara Falls. Once you've seen it, you're kind of done with it (a Japanese tourist I encountered on the island: "I don't care about statues any more!"). And since most of the moai are toppled, it's hard to distinguish which piles of rocks have significance, and which ones don't (or at least, without a tour guide). Although I preferred my self-guided, self-paced tour compared to the large groups being herded around the island. It's still a really cool place to visit.
  
• Stargazing - One thing I cannot recommend strongly enough is to go stargazing at least one of your nights out on the island. Drive only 15 minutes away from the town on the island, and you'll see tons of stars with the naked eye. I saw at least a dozen meteors, and my visit didn't even coincide with a meteor shower. The Milky Way is also visible, and very awesome to look at. I doubt you'll find a cab driver to drive you to a remote part of the island in the middle of the night, so this is another reason to rent a car.
  
• If you bring items to the island - If you do decide to bring items to the island, be it food or something else, I recommend taking your trash with you back to the mainland. I'm not an environmentalist, but when I thought about where all the trash from the island ends up, I decided to cart out all of my trash to a place that probably has substantial recycling facilities. There's trash/recycling cans as soon as you disembark in SCL, so it's pretty easy to do.
  
• I was one of the people who met WhIteSidE on the flight from MEX back to LA. First time I've ever met a FTer!

RustyC

I ate over at Kaleta twice, basically stumbling across it the first time (not lots of signs or anything). Not a big place, but one of a handful of ones with a good sunset view. Their chef also did a few good Italian dishes, and the pricing wasn't quite as steep as other options nearby. The pisco sour was also excellent.

Cars or other vehicles can be really expensive to rent, especially if you need an automatic but also for a manual. Was skeptical at first about it, but the Yamaha Grizzly 4-wheel ATV I got (the kind they use in riverbeds in Alaska) actually worked pretty well (though light traffic helped greatly).

Anakena Beach was wonderful, BTW. Definitely a must-see.