Santiago: how to get there and around
Airports, stations, ports, where the hotels are and what the numbers say, from public data rather than a brochure.
Santiago is the capital of Chile (Santiago Metropolitan), 556 m (1,824 ft) above sea level. The nearest large airport is Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (SCL), 15 km (9 mi) from the centre. It has 1 railway station on record, including Estación Matucana. Our booking partner lists 2,634+ places to stay.
Key facts
Daylight in Santiago runs from about 9 h 59 min a day in late June to 14 h 25 min in late December (computed for -33.46° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.
Getting there
Santiago is served by one airport with scheduled flights. The closest large one is Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (SCL), 15 km (9 mi) from the centre, whose 12,303-ft runway is long enough for long-haul wide-body aircraft.
Flights to Santiago: every airport, routes and times
By rail: stations on record include Estación Matucana. Trains to Santiago
Buses to Santiago · Driving and car hire
Where to stay
Our booking partner lists 2,634+ places to stay in Santiago (statistics below are from the first 1,000). Of the 636 with a star rating, the largest group is 3-star (395), and 23 are five-star. Across 361 properties with at least 50 reviews, the average guest score is 8.6 out of 10. Guests have left 486,143 reviews in total.
Hotels in Santiago: the full picture, and book
Our booking partner lists 64 hostels in Santiago, out of 2,634 places to stay of every kind — 2.4% of everywhere it lists in the city, around the middle of the range for the cities we hold figures for. Across 26 hostels with at least 50 reviews, the average guest score is 8.5 out of 10, level with the city’s hotels. Guests have left 29,985 reviews across them.
Hostels in Santiago: the full picture, and book
Nearby cities, and how to get between them
- Puente Alto, 18 km — tours
- Maipú, 13 km
- Viña del Mar, 97 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Valparaíso, 103 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- San Bernardo, 16 km — tours
- Peñalolén, 11 km
- Rancagua, 80 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Quilicura, 12 km
- La Pintana, 14 km
- Talca, 237 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
Twin towns and sister cities: Beijing, São Paulo, Madrid, Ankara, Kyiv, Riga, Minneapolis, Santiago de Querétaro, Tunis, La Paz, Manila, San José, Buenos Aires, Hefei.
Common questions
Which airport serves Santiago?
Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (SCL), 15 km (9 mi) from the centre.
How big is Santiago?
About 4.8 million people live in Santiago, across 838 km² (GeoNames and Wikidata).
What time zone is Santiago in?
America/Santiago, currently UTC-3.
What currency is used in Santiago?
The Peso (CLP). Traffic drives on the right.
Are there hostels in Santiago?
64 of them, bookable on this site. Hostels in Santiago.
How many hotels are there in Santiago?
Our booking partner lists 2,634 or more places to stay in Santiago, bookable on this site.
Which cities are near Santiago?
Puente Alto (18 km), Maipú (13 km), Viña del Mar (97 km), Valparaíso (103 km), San Bernardo (16 km).
Where these facts come from
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
- Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
- OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
- Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines
Data compiled 14 September 2026. Hotel and hostel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.