Useful Information

Here we gather all sorts of useful information that is supposed to make your stay in Concepcion as uncomplicated and enjoyable as possible, such as where to find restaurants and bars and how to travel within Concepcion with public transportation.

Visa, Fees

Generally, Chile is a very welcoming country and most participants from Europe or Northern America can simply arrive in Chile and enter the country as a tourist. However, visitors from countries like Canada or Australia have to pay an entrance fee at the border, which is the same amount their country charges Chileans to enter (gasto de reciprocidad). BUT: There are still countries which have to apply for a tourist visa to enter Chile at their local Chilean embassies or consulates. Please, if in doubt have a look at this list or contact the nearest Chilean embassy or consulate.

Money

As Chile is still not a favorite holiday destination, banks in Europe, the US or China will not have Chilean pesos (CLP) to exchange. And paying with USD or Euros in restaurants or shops is impossible. The only exception from this rule are hotels, which accept USD in cash to pay for the hotel bill and avoid sales tax - foreign passports only. But, you should not worry, almost everywhere in Chile you can pay with credit (e.g. Mastercard or Visa) or debit card (Maestro, Visa and sometimes Cirrus). Also, almost all cash machines give you cash using foreign cards (e.g. already in the airports). As a general advice: please consult your local bank that your cards are working in Chile. Many banks today restrict the use of cards abroard to minimise fraud. So you might have to announce to your bank that you are travelling to Chile. Better be safe than sorry!

Bars and Restaurants

Many small restaurants have space for about 20 persons. It is hard for them to accomodate large groups. Anyway, we will stop the programme punctual at 12.30 h. You should start to go to the restaurant of choice immediately as by about 13.00 h those places might get crowded.

There is a number of good bars and restuarants in Concepcion. Many of them are conveniently located near the Plaza Peru. Prices for a meal range from approximately 2000 Chilean Pesos (CLP) for a burger at a cheap place to 10000 CLP for a main dish at a rather expensive place.

It has become common to pay a tip of about 10% the price of what you have consumed, except when you go to a place with self service. However, the tip (called propina in spanish) is quite often already included on the bill, especially when the people realize that you are foreigners. Thus, you should check your bill before you tip twice. Please: Do not over-tip!

Smoking and Drinking laws in Chile

It is not allowed to drink alcohol in public - you can get heavily fined. This also includes the university grounds, all streets and public places.

Chile has a very strict anti-smoking law. You are not allowed to smoke inside of any public building. This includes all bars and restaurants. To smoke you have to go outside.

Below we give a list of bars and restaurants in Concepcion. They can all be found on this navigable map.

Around Plaza Peru and the University

The best option for having lunch is one of the many restaurants around the university campus, as they are relatively close to the venue of the conference. Most of them are found on Plaza Peru, which is located at the northwestern edge of the campus, just outside the university ground. Thus, if you are coming from the venue of the conference and make sure that the campus is always to your right, you cannot miss Plaza Peru.

In the evenings, the bars on Plaza Peru are the ideal place to sit outside, have a drink and enjoy a warm summer evening. Below are some of our favourites. The list is by no means exhaustive; there are many more places on and around Plaza Peru. Have fun discovering!

-1- Pizzeria La Roma

Offers good Pizza and Italian/Chilean set menues for lunch and is really the closest place to have lunch to the venue of the conference. It has space for approximately 40 person.
Here is the restaurant on facebook.
adress: Vitoria 300.

-2- Como Agua Para Chocolate

Just about 100 m from the Pizzaria. Offers two different (executivo for about 5000 CLP or student for about 3500 CLP) set menus for lunch and has a French chef. They can only host about 20 persons at a time.
Here is the restaurant on facebook.
adress: Victoria 1275.

-3- Al Sur

Offers salads and two different set menus (3800 CLP / 5300 CLP) for lunch (also provides a vegetarian option). Serves snacks, drinks and great beer from a local micro brewery in the evening. Has sufficient inside and outside seating but is also popular.
adress: Paicavi 221.

-4- La Cocina

Offers set menus in form of a buffet for lunch and snacks, beer from a local brewery and drinks in the evening.
adress: Paicavi 246.

-5- Aura

Serves set menues for lunch (3800 CLP) including a vegetarian option together with Chilean art.
adress: Ongolmo between Chacabuco and Victor Lamas

-6- Vivo

Serves set menues for lunch and is a bar with roof terrace (smoking area) in the evening
adress: Orempello next to filling station on San Martin

-7- Diagonal street

Cafe Diagonal - set menues for lunch and coffee

Fusion - set menues for lunch, Sushi and Easter Island cuisine

Baruch - set menues for lunch, sandwiches and drinks in the evening

Piedra Santa - Serves italian food. Has a pasta set menu for lunch.
Here is the website of the restaurant and here is the restaurant on facebook.

Anos Luz - Coffee and sandwiches with antiquities

El Mago - sandwiches

Burger Bar - Serves burgers as the name suggests, but also wraps, salads, filled potatoes etc.
Here is the website of the restaurant.

30 Express - Empanadas

-8- Plaza Peru

XXX - Mexican Food

Mai Thai - Serves Thai food and also beer from a local brewery.
Here is the restaurant on facebook.

Tijuana - Serves Mexican food.
Here is the website of the restaurant and here is the affiliate of the restaurant at Plaza Peru on facebook.

Wayas Gyros - Gyros wraps and local beer

Wok and Bowl - Chinese Food

-9- Al Turko

Turkish (original) Doener Kebeb shop. Also serves Falafel for vergetarians. Cheap and fast!

-10- Fina Estampa

Closest 'real' restaurant. Serves very good Peruvian cuisine. Prices are in the order of 10,000 CLP.

-11- Mall de Centro

has a Food Court in the top floor with all your favourite American and Chilean Fast Food chains

Beyond Plaza Peru

A selection of restaurants that are not in the immediate surroundings of Plaza Peru are given below. And there is much more to discover in Concepcion.

Las Americas

Serves peruvian food. Good vine and Pisco Sour.
Here is the website of the restaurant.
adress: San Martin 514 (at the intersection between San Martin and Rengo).

Quijote

Serves chilean food.
Here is the website of the restaurant.
adress: Barros Arana 673 (between Anibal Pinto and Caupolican, at the Plaza de Armas).

Toto's Pizza

adress: Barros Arana 729 (between Colo Colo and Anibal Pinto, in the pedestrian area).

Rincon Marino

Serves chilean food.
Here is the website of the restaurant.
adress: Colo Colo 454 (between Bernardo O'Higgins and Barros Arana).

Hamburguesa Rich

Serves burgers.
Here is the website of the restaurant.
adress: Colo Colo 325 (between San Martin and Bernardo O'Higgins).

Fusion Resto-bar

adress: Castellon 336 (between San Martin and Bernardo O'Higgins).

Fina Estampa

Serves peruvian food. Somewhat on the expensive side; a typical main course costs close to 10000 CLP.
Here is the restaurant on facebook.
adress: Angol 298 (At the intersection between Angol and O'Higgins).

Torreon Restaurant

Serves chilean food.
Here is the website of the restaurant.
adress: Freire 1743 (between Ainavillo and Lientur).

La Parrilla de Don Talo

Serves chilean food with a strong emphasis on meat - no surprise, "parrilla" means barbeque in spanish.
Here is the website of the restaurant.
adress: Baquedano 216. This is somewhat outside the center of Concepcion, near the football stadion and the bus terminal Collao.

La Parrilla Punto Com

Another place for meat lovers.
adress: Bandera 1334 (at the intersection between Bandera and Paicavi). This is also somewhat outside the center of Concepcion, we recommend to go there by bus or taxi.

Travelling within in Concepcion

Sometimes a distance you have to cover is just too long to simply walk there, especially if you first arrive in Concepcion with all you luggage, but perhaps also when you want to go from your hotel to the conference or to some restaurant . Unless you have your own car, you then have three options for getting to your destination: By taxi, by local bus or by colectivo. We first give some general information on how to use public transport in Concepcion. Further below, we give some information on how to get from the airport or the long-distance bus terminals into town, and how to travel within Concepcion with public transportation.

General information

Taking a taxi

Taking a taxi works the same like pretty much anywhere else in the world: You get into the taxi, you tell the driver the adress you want to go to (or show him a piece of paper with the adress on it if you don't speak any spanish) and you pay him once you arrive. Some taxis do not have a meter or are off-duty. Then you negogiate the price before you start the journey. Within the city centre you should not pay more than 3000 CLP.

Going by local bus

Going by local bus is way less expensive than going by taxi (around 500 CLP per trip), but also bit more complicated. In order to catch a local bus, you go to a bus stop and wave at the driver to stop if you want to get in. The name and the number of the bus line is displayed in the front window and on the side of the bus. Also the fare for the bus ride is displayed in the front window. You pay each ride directly at the driver every time you take a bus; there are no such things like multiple tickets or tickets that are good for a whole week.

The driver usually lets you out anywhere you want along his route, unless that's virtually impossible (like on a four-lane highway, but you never know...) For this reason, it is useful not only to know the bus line that brings you close to your destination, but also which intersection along the route of the bus is the closest to your destination. For instance, if your destination is on Colo Colo and you are on a bus that travels along Bernardo O'Higgins, your best option is to get off the bus at the intersection between Bernardo O'Higgins and Colo Colo. You thus tell the driver "Hasta Colo Colo, por pavor". The bus driver will then stop for you there if he can, and he will do his best to tell you that you have reached your destination - especially when he realizes that you are new in town.

Taking a colectivo

Colectivos are kind of a crossover between taxis and local buses. They are black sedans like taxis, but they travel along fixed routes like the local buses. The number of the line and also the mayor roads of the route are shown on a sign mounted on the roof of the colectivo. The prices for a ride with a colectivo are very similar to that for a bus ride (i.e. about 500 CLP), and like with the buses, the fare for a ride is displayed in the front window.

In order to get into a collectivo, you wave at the driver. He will stop when he still has room for you, you pay him and he will drop you off wherever you like as long as this is along his route.

You can find some useful colectivo lines and where they take you on our navigable map. More information on important colectivo lines is given further below.

Getting into town when you arrive

From the airport

The most convenient, but also the most expensive way to get from the airport to your hotel is to take a taxi, which will drop you off in front of your hotel. The price for a taxi from the airport into town is 8000 CLP. Again ask the driver about the price before you get in. Or already book the taxi inside the airport (at the baggage claim area).

Much less convenient, but also less expensive (by a factor of 15 or 20) than taking a taxi is to catch the local bus which starts at the roundabout in front of the airport (about 500 m walk). The name of the bus line is "B02 Biobus". It travels along Paicavi and then turns onto Bernardo O'Higgins, which goes right through the center of Concepcion. All hotels are just a few blocks away to either side of Bernardo O'Higgins. Usually, the bus driver will stop for you at any given intersection along his route if you ask him to ("hasta *your intersection*, por favor), even if this is not an official bus stop. However, if you are not sure on which intersection you want to get off the bus, go to Plaza de Armas, the central square of Concepcion, where the bus will most likely stop anyway and from which most hotels are just a couple of hundreds meters away.

From the long-distance bus terminals

Long-distance buses are a cheap and convenient way of travelling within Chile. If you come to Concepcion by a long-distance bus, you will arrive at the Terminal Collao (most probably) or the Terminal Camilo Henríquez.

If you arrive at Terminal Collao, you can get into the city centre by taking the local bus "21B Riviera Bio Bio". This bus travels all the way down along Bernardo O'Higgins, which goes right through the centre of Concepcion. All hotels that we suggest are just a few blocks away to either side from Bernardo O'Higgins. Usually, the bus driver will stop for you at any given intersection along his route if you ask him to ("hasta *your intersection*, por favor), even if this is not an official bus stop. However, if you are not sure on which intersection you want to get off the bus, go to Plaza de Armas, the central square of Concepcion, where the bus will most likely stop anyway. Most hotels are just a couple of hundred meters away from Plaza de Armas.

If you arrive at Terminal Camilo Henriquez, you can get into the city centre by taking the local bus "62N Mi Expreso". This bus travels all the way down along Bernardo O'Higgins, which goes right through the center of Concepcion. All hotels that we suggest are just a few blocks away from either side of to either side of Bernardo O'Higgins.

Travelling within Concepcion by public transportation

During your stay in Concepcion, the most important means of public transportation will probably be the Colectivo lines 6, 21, 22 and 29, as they travels between the hotels in the city centre and the venue of the conference. Below, we provide some detailed information on how to get with these colectivos from your hotel to the conference and back.

Blue line is the route of the collectivos to the conference (dashed line on the way back). Red line is the shortest route if you decide to walk.

From your hotel to the conference:

Hotels El Dorado", Alborada and El Araucano: Go to Rengo and take the colectivo lines 6, 21, 22 or 29 "Hasta Victoria". You can thereby avoid walking a distance between one and two kilometers.
Hotel "Diego de Almagro": Go down Chacabuco and cross Rengo and take the colectivo lines 6, 21, 22 or 29 from there "Hasta Victoria". You can thereby avoid walking a distance of about 1.5 kilometers.
Hotel Germania, Apart Hotel Don Matias, Hostal Concepcion: Go to Chacabuco, cross it and then get into colectivo lines 6, 21, 22 or 29 "Hasta Victoria". You can thereby avoid walking a distance between couple of hundred meters and one kilometer.

From the conference to your hotel:

Hotels "El Dorado", "Alborada" and "El Araucano": Get into the colectivo lines 6, 21, 22 or 29 from where the driver dropped you off in the morning and go "Hasta Barros Arana". Note that most streets in the center of Concepcion are one-way streets. Thus, the driver will not drop you off at the same place where you got int the coletivo in the morning, but on the parallel street one block further away from the university.
Hotel "Diego de Almagro": Get into the colectivo 6, 21, 22 or 29 from where the driver dropped you off in the morning and go "Hasta Chacabuco con Lincoyan". Note that most streets in the center of Concepcion are one-way streets. Thus, the driver drpos you off one block closer to home than where you got into the colectivo in the morning .
Hotel Germania, Apart Hotel Don Matias, Hostal Concepcion: Get into the colectivo 6, 21, 22 or 29 from where the driver dropped you off in the morning and go "Hasta Tucapel" if you stay at Hostel San Martin, "Hasta Castellon" if you stay at Hostel Concepcion, "Hasta Colo Colo" if you stay at Apart Hotel Don Matias and "Hasta Anibal Pinto" if you stay at Hotel Germania. In either case, turn right from Chacabuco in order to get to your hotel.