La Serena

Table of Contents: Travel to La Serena, visa requirements Buses to La Serena By air / Get around / La Serena attractions and sightseeing / City tours / Shopping, La Serena souvenirs / Good restaurants and cheap meals / La Serena nightlife, bars, clubs and pubs. / Hotels, youth hostels, lodging / Get out More from Chile: Central (Chile), Chiloe Island, Extreme South (Chile), La Serena, North (Chile), Pucon, Robinson Crusoe Island, South (Chile) More from South America: Amazonia, Andes, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Falkland Islands, Guyana, Los Roques, Pantanal, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Tierra del Fuego, Uruguay, Venezuela

La Serena is a town in the north of Chile. It is a perfectly charming Chilean town. There is lots to see and do nearby.

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Travel to La Serena, visa requirements

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Buses to La Serena

Buses leave several times every hour from Santiago to La Serena. The trip takes 7 - 8 hours. Companies include Pullman Bus, TurBus and Flota Barrios. Available are regular buses, semi-cama and the first class salon-cama. Prices vary greatly. For booking and timetables you can see here

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By air

LAN [1] flies three times daily from Santiago to La Serena at 10:50, 14:00 and 19:00. Flight duration is 1 hour and costs $168 US one way, $305 return.

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Get around

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La Serena attractions and sightseeing

• In the museum there is the only rapa nui head to have left the island.

• The nearby observatory is also open to the public.

• If you are around in early Spring you might be lucky enough to see the desert in bloom. It happens in occasional years and is stunning.

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City tours

• Beaches - La Serena has some of the country's longest stretches of beach. You can take a whole day walking from one end to another.

• Observatory tours. The Elqui Valley outside La Serena has some of the best conditions for observing the sky, hence the many observatories, some open to the public doing tours from La Serena city at night.

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Shopping, La Serena souvenirs

• Papaya Juice - Sold all over the city but especially at markets, the papaya is grown locally here

• Pisco - The national drink of Chile is brewed in the nearby Elqui Valley and is a must-try for every traveller, enjoyed either as a Pisco Sour (Pisco with lime juice) or Piscola (Pisco with Coke)

• Handicraft - Nice handicraft markets are held every summer

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Good restaurants and cheap meals

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La Serena nightlife, bars, clubs and pubs.

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Hotels, youth hostels, lodging

• Residencial Jofré, Regimiento Coquimbo, Central La Serena. Has excellent rooms with private bathrooms, hot water, shared kitchen facilities, TV room and free internet. US$23/double..

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Get out

• A few hours to the south is a Cloud Forest National Park. Highly recommended!

• Take a bus inland to taste some pisco sour at a distillery and stay the night. You might see UFO's.

• Just north is a coastal town with a penguin population worth seeing.

More from Chile: Central (Chile), Chiloe Island, Extreme South (Chile), La Serena, North (Chile), Pucon, Robinson Crusoe Island, South (Chile) More from South America: Amazonia, Andes, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Falkland Islands, Guyana, Los Roques, Pantanal, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Tierra del Fuego, Uruguay, Venezuela

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