An offbeat walk where the only thing that will be to the beat is the sound of our feet. Together we discover Santiago’s fresh fruit, veg, fish (and everything inbetween) market. Our feet bounce off the tourist path and we will interact with true Chilenos as they hustle over the capital city, tasting, smelling, bartering and bantering. Are you a wanderer with an inkling for excitement and enthusiasm for culture? This tour will fill your inner desires. This tour’s grand finale is a visit to El Cementerio General (Santiago general cemetery)… We told you this is not your average tour! But we’d be loco not to share this wonder with you. A tour where you should expect the unexpected and discover what it is like to be a Santiago local. Charge your camera and slap on some sunscreen friends! A personal tour for life’s cultureseekers!
Why take THIS tour, and why with us? This is Santiago’s number 1 pay-what-you-like tour according to tripadvisor! What could be better than to pay what you feel is fair? We like how tripadvisor user Hector S put it that “the idea of a free tour it’s really nice, you give what you want, obviously the experience of touring for free it’s amazing, walking on the city without a bus / speaker makes a different kind of tour”. Our Wally’s are selected on the basis of how much they love Santiago and have a passion to share it with you. We keep our tours up close and personal, ensuring never to have more than 22 travelers per Wally. Matjnewton describes his wally as being “perfect balance of information and humor”. Do you wish for an experience more unique and memorable than the other generic tours? Then jump on board!
Who should avoid our tours? We wrote a post on the 7 people that shouldn’t take a tour with us. Number #4 reads “Does your Tripadvisor profile have more 3 and 4 star reviews than 5? We are an economic tour company that is more about authentic tours and showing you guys the real Santiago. In our eyes Santiago is 5 stars along with its rustic quirkiness, just like our tours. Your perfection and overall unhappiness will be carried over into the tour. Anxiety and pessimism aren’t welcome; we all left stressful jobs to make less and love more”.
Tour Details
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Start Time10am
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PricePay-What-You-Like (Prefer private?)
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Duration3 hours
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AvailabilityEvery SINGLE day!
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Start LocationMeet in front of Museo Bellas Artes
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Finish LocationQuita Penas Bar and Restaurant- Beside the cemetery.
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Distance6-8 km walking
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What to BringOnly yourself and comfy clothes, some spare change for the subway and maybe slap on some sunscreen!
Tour Itinerary
Esmeralda Neighborhood
10:am Find your Bilingual Wally’s waiting for you outside the front entrance of Museo Bellas Artes (in line to the street side). Wally wears a white and red striped T-shirt (in Santiago this is easier to find than the fun kids books). We spend a few minutes in Parque Forestal getting to know each other. You’ll also learn about the Museum itself, before heading off.
10:30am Esmeralda Neighbourhood learning how the city's heart beats. Then we donder on to “La Chimba” (the other side) of the river. By now we will most likely have one of our lovely tour dogs as a companion.
Mercado Central and La Vega
11:15am Next, we follow our senses to the markets where your mouth will begin to water and your belly flutter with excitement. We start with Mercado Central where you will meet some of our favourite vendors and they will show you their catch of the day. We then follow the rainbow of colours of Santiago’s famous market, La Vega. Here, you will discover fruits and veg that you have never even seen before. La Vega is a place that“really only locals use and they sell amazing fresh food at cheap prices” says tripadvisor user Ivan.
General Cemetery
12:00pm Just around the corner from here you will discover Patronato. This is Santiago’s Middle Eastern, Korean and Peruvian district. After learning of Asian influence buried in Santiago’s centre, we head off to another kind of burial… the General Cemetery (excuse the awful pun). We take the metro together heading 2 stops east to estacion comentarios. The cemetery is a contrast between burial grounds fit for kings and small graves stacked on top of each other. We have stories to tell of the people buried here and funeral traditions. Here you will realise that this is more than a place of grief. It is also a place of discovery and where some people like to enjoy their Saturday afternoon.
After the Tour - Hit the Bar or Have Lunch?
1:00pm The tour ends on a high. By 1pm it’s time to hit a bar… that’s an acceptable time for a drink right? Well it is in Chile, so take in ALL the culture my friends. Here we finish off the tour and your Wally will offer up his best advice and recommendations over a drink. Feel free to ask any questions. The bar serves up a cheap and delicious lunch which often people like to have after the tour. Don’t forget this is a pay-what-you-feel tour, the enjoyment levels are on and the pressure level is off! A tour for tips also with tips, the best ones you can get of Santiago!
