Santiago eSIM — plans from ₹349.00

Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (SCL) sits north-west of the city and handles nearly all international arrivals to Chile. Operator counters in the terminal sell prepaid lines and Chilean registration is comparatively painless, but the queues still form around the morning bank of arrivals from Europe and North America, and the whole exercise costs you the first hour.

There is no metro to the airport, which is the detail that catches people out. The Centropuerto and Turbus coaches run to Los Héroes and Pajaritos on Metro Line 1, and Uber, Cabify and DiDi all operate in Santiago with designated pickup arrangements at the terminal. Choosing between them at the kerb, finding the right level, and then working out whether your flat in Providencia or Barrio Italia is nearer a Line 1 or Line 5 station is all much easier with data already running.

Install the eSIM at home; it starts at the first Chilean network connection. Browse Chile plans.

Entel, Movistar, Claro and WOM all operate nationally, and Santiago is one of the better-connected capitals in the region, with 5G across Providencia, Las Condes, Vitacura, Ñuñoa and the Centro, and strong 4G throughout the rest of the basin.

The metro is comprehensively covered, with service in stations and running tunnels across the network, including the newer lines. Congestion shows around Plaza Baquedano at rush hour and during large events. The surrounding day-trip belt splits sharply: the motorway to Valparaíso and Viña del Mar holds signal the whole way, the Casablanca wine valley is fine, and the Cajón del Maipo canyon and the ski roads up to Valle Nevado lose coverage in the steep sections and above the last village.

Download offline maps for the city plus the Andean canyon roads, because the switchbacks are where navigation matters and where the network gives out. The Bip travel card is a physical card topped up at stations, so it works without data, but ride-hailing, restaurant bookings and translation do not.

Café and hotel Wi-Fi in Providencia and Las Condes is reliable, and Santiago is easy to work from. Hotspot for a laptop works on most plans. Summer heat encourages long indoor stretches, so battery drain is gentler than in tropical cities, but a power bank helps on a day combining the funicular, a vineyard and a late dinner. See South America destinations for multi-country routes.