Visited Santiago all too briefly in November, but not enough time to get out to the coast. My Footprint handbook indicates a variety of buses leaving from the main terminal on O'Higgins by the Central Station, which is on the main metro line. There are frequent services to the coast, at very cheap fares ($5 to $10), but price varies based on quality of buses. There is also supposed to be a train -- from the same station -- but I wasn't able to track down any details.

As for hotels in Santiago, I can recommend the Crowne Plaza as an excellent centrally-located hotel. I had an upgrade coupon for the club level and was treated very well by the helpful staff. When I mentioned to the check-in clerk that I wanted to visit Paulo Neruda's home -- it is a short walk from the hotel across the river as I was to find out -- two staff members called my room within minutes proferring directions and tips. (His other home and grave are on the coast.) The room was on the top floor and had a grand view of the mountain across the river. It is near the artisan's market and a short walk to lots of little eating spots.

For a different district, Los Condas, with lots of mid and up scale outdoor cafes and a short walk to both the metro or river (and the US Embassy), try the InterContinental. Again, friendly and helpful staff, and the usual high standard of accommodations one expects from InterConti.

Both are in the $180 a night range, which if you are on vacation may be a bit more than you want to pay. In that case, try l'Espanoles, a small property across the river but a short walk to another club and restaurant district and the metro. It is affiliated with Best Western, and runs about $80 a night for a spacious, well appointed room. That includes a typical breakfast of cold cuts, cheeses, rolls, cerial and exquisite cafe au lait.

Arrival tips: Be sure to have $50 in US cash to pay for the entry visa. Few guide books mention this factoid, and it can prove stressful trying to find enough cash to pay it. There are no ATMs accessible on this side of immigration, and they take neither Chilean money nor credit cards. I managed to scrape together just enough British, Canadian and Australian cash (left over from previous trips and kept for just such emergencies abroad) to be escorted by a guard to the Currency Exchange booth where it was all converted into American money. (Canadians and Australians must pay $60!) Avoid the choas of the arrivals terminal and go directly to the pre-paid taxi booth at the extreme left when you leave the secure area. Then take a taxi into to the city from the airport, to any of these destinations for about $20. Once you're settled into your hotel, get yourself oriented and use the metro and bus system to get almost anywhere you want to visit, in addition to plain old walking. There are very pleasant tree-lined walks between the major places you'd want to visit.

I do want to get back soon -- my visa is good for the life of my passport, which is just another year -- but I covered a lot of ground over 4 days (with a side trip to Buenos Aires splitting this up). I'll be interested in how you do get to the coast, since I will venture that same way on my next visit.