How safe is Chile for travelers?

Street crime, which is the real risk

• Phone snatching is endemic in central Santiago and in Valparaiso. Do not walk along holding a phone, and do not put it on a cafe table.
• Backpacks come off in the metro and in restaurants and go on your lap or between your feet.
• The classic scams are a spilled liquid, a dropped wallet and a punctured tyre, all designed to make you put your bag down.
• Bellavista and Suecia in Santiago have documented drink-spiking incidents. Watch your glass.
• Do not resist a robbery. Phones are insured; people are not.
• Valparaiso is beautiful and has a genuine street crime problem away from the two tourist hills. Take a taxi after dark.

Protests

• There is a risk of violent protest in Santiago, particularly on Friday afternoons and evenings, and around Plaza Baquedano.
• Three dates are reliably difficult: 11 September, the coup anniversary; 29 March, the Day of the Young Combatant; and 1 May.
• Police use tear gas and water cannon, and being caught in a protest as a foreigner can mean deportation.
• Avoid the area entirely rather than watch.

Earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanoes

• Chile has serious earthquakes and modern buildings are built for them. Stay inside, away from windows, and do not run for the stairs.
• On the coast, a quake strong enough that you cannot stand, or one lasting more than a minute, is your tsunami warning. Walk inland and uphill immediately; do not wait for a siren or an official alert.
• Evacuation routes are marked in every coastal town with green signs. Look for them when you arrive, not afterwards.
• Active volcanoes - Villarrica, Lascar, Copahue and others - close parks at short notice. Follow SENAPRED and CONAF alerts.
• Wildfires are severe in January and February, closing parks and roads. Open fires are illegal in national parks and the enforcement is real.

Regions and outdoors

• The FCDO advises caution in the Araucania, Biobio and Los Rios regions, where there have been attacks connected to land disputes, mostly on forestry and state targets rather than tourists.
• Tell someone your route before hiking, register at the CONAF station where one exists, and expect rescue to be charged for.
• Patagonian weather changes in minutes and the wind is the hazard people underestimate.
• The Atacama sun is at extreme UV and 3,000 m of altitude removes any margin. Hat, sleeves, factor 50.