Travel Information, visa and health formalities

The ESO offices in Chile are located in Alonso de Córdova 3107, Vitacura, Santiago, Chile. Vitacura is located in the north-eastern part of Santiago. Please check the details how to Travel to ESO Vitacura Office, Santiago.

Visa requirements

Citizens of most Latin-American countries can enter Chile without a visa. Notable exceptions are Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Suriname and Venezuela. Information on visa requirements per country are given in the following official document by the Chilean government: Cuadro de aranceles y vistos de turismo. The second column (REQ. VISTUR) shows if a visa is required to enter Chile.

Acceptance and invitation letters will be sent to those participants who need them for visa applications.

Health requirements & COVID-19 restrictions

According to the protected borders plan ("plan fronteras protegidas"), travelers have to comply with certain measures, such as presenting a negative PCR test, filling out a "Sworn Declaration for Travelers" ("Declaración Jurada Para Viajeros") at www.c19.cl before the trip, counting with a health insurance with a COVID-19 coverage of at least USD 30.000, etc. Up to date information on the state of the boundaries and the health requirements is available in the following government website (in Spanish): https://www.chileatiende.gob.cl/coronavirus/viajes-y-estado-de-frontera

If at the time of the workshop there is a new virus outbreak, the workshop will be postponed, as in-person attendance to the workshop is deemed essential.

Travelling by air

Arturo Merino Benitez Airport, located 17 km north-west of Santiago. Being the airport of the capital of Chile, it serves many direct connections to Latin American cities. Please note that airfares to and from Chile have increased significantly in the past year and can get especially expensive when booking less than 3 months in advance.

Transport from the airport

The workshop plans to organise transportation from and to the airport for those participants flying into Santiago. The following information is therefore only given as a reference.

The fastest way to get to the ESO Vitacura office from the airport is by taxi. The journey takes approximately 30 minutes. ESO guests normally use the Transvip service, a private company located in the baggage claim area and also on the first floor of the airport. The current cost from the airport to the ESO Vitacura office by taxi is CLP 28.400 (EUR 33).

A cheaper, but slower way to get to the Vitacura Office is to take a transfer bus to the Metro network. The larger transfer companies are Tur-Bus or Centropuerto, both connecting with Line 1 of the Metro network (see below). The estimated cost is CLP 2300 (~2.7 EUR).

Public Transport in Santiago

In order to travel by metro or bus in Santiago, you must have the BIP card (tarjeta BIP) that can be acquired in the Metro stations. The cost of the card will be CLP$1550 (EUR 1.80) and you may load it with at least $2000 more which will cover at least two trips that do not take more than 90 minutes in total.

  • Metro The closest station from the ESO office in Vitacura is metro station 'Tobalaba' (Línea 1). Exit the Tobalaba station at Luis Thayer Ojeda street and walk until bus stop (paradero) PC207 and take bus line (recorrido) 405 direction / hacia "Cantagallo". Get off at bus stop (paradero) PC213 which is at the intersection of Avenida Vitacura with Avenida Alonso de Córdova. From there walk along Alonso de Córdova to the ESO office.
  • Buses run thoughout the city of Santiago and are provided by Red Metropolitana de Movilidad, the public transport in Santiago.
  • Taxis The black cars with their yellow roofs can be hailed anywhere. In Santiago, there is a base price of 300 pesos (EUR 0.4) plus around 130 pesos for each 200 m driven (or per minute when waiting). The rates are posted on the windscreen; the meter has to be where you can see it. For longer hauls or cross-country, you can negotiate a price beforehand. Tipping is not customary.

Please be aware that like in many other big cities, you have to be very careful with your belongings, specially cameras and money. Wear a money belt, or cross your purse strap across your chest. Do not wear jewelry if you plan an excursion inside town, and never change money on the street, but do it in the established exchange offices or banks.


Keywords: Very Large Telescope Interferometer | infrared interferometry | data-mining | high-resolution imaging | VLTI instruments

Workshop email: vlti-how@eso.org*