We landed in Iquique just prior to 2:00. Iquique´s airport only has three gates and the gates are for general airline use (as far as I can tell there are 3commercial airlines serving Iquique). We went downstairs and the bags were already coming out on the carousel.

Unfortunately, the airport is about a 25-30 minute drive from town and is only served by two transportation companies. One has lower rates if you are willling to share a van, and one has lower rates if you want a private car. They have desks in baggage claim. You get handed a coupon for the company you choose and then a driver takes you outside. You pay the driver when you reach your hotel. We took a private car for 17500pesos or about $36.

We chose the Holiday Inn Express Iquique because the Hotel Terrado Suites did not have any rooms available, and let me tell you, the Hotel Torrado Suites would definitely be my only option the next time...more on that later.

Anywho, we arrive at the Holiday Inn at 2:40, only to be told that check-in is not until 3pm and we have to wait or pay extra. Look, I get it, I have no status with Priority Club and they don´t want or have rooms available at 10am in high season. But this was 20 minutes before the official chck-in time. Whatever, we sat in the lobby sipping on overpriced sodas from the Holiday Inn Sundries Shop ($1400pesos for a coke or $2.86). At 3pm we were checked-in and assigned an ocean-front room on the 3rd floor. The room was spotless and totally to Holiday Inn standards but there is a very busy 4 lane highway between the hotel and the beach and it seems the hotel has no soundproofing as the noise was very loud, even late at night/early morning.

We walked a block from the hotel to Jumbo and purchased sodas and bottled water at a far more reasonable rate than in the hotel.

At 8pm we headed to dinner at Tres Ojitas, a lovely restaurant in a garden setting that was just wonderful. Mrs. Dcstudent had a vegetarian curry and I had a noodle dish with chicken, plus appetizers and drinks for only 28,000 pesos or $38. Not bad for such a good meal, in a resort town, in high season.

After dinner we went back to the hotel where we relaxed until falling into a peaceful sleep.

Ok, so why the Hotel Torrado Suites. Unlike the Holiday Inn, the Torrado is oceanfront right next to the swimming beach, Playa Cavancha. The Torrado is not on the main road (it is on a quiet side street) and all rooms have balconies, with nothing between the ocean and the hotel. It also has much better pools than the Holiday Inn.