How do I get from the airport to Santiago?

Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport sits in Pudahuel, about 17 km northwest of downtown Santiago along Ruta 68. The Centropuerto bus is the move. It costs 1,800 CLP ($2), leaves from outside the arrivals hall every 10 minutes between 5:30am and 11:30pm, and drops you at Terminal Los Héroes on Alameda in 25 to 40 minutes. Los Héroes sits at the intersection of Metro Line 1 and Line 2, so you can connect to Providencia, Las Condes, or Bellavista without leaving the system. Buy a Bip! card from the machines at the Los Héroes metro entrance for about 1,550 CLP, then load 3,000 to 5,000 CLP for your first few rides. The bus itself is air-conditioned, with luggage racks under the cabin. You'll feel the cool, diesel-tinged air of the Pudahuel highway corridor for the first 15 minutes before the view shifts to dense, low-rise neighborhoods. Pay the driver in cash or tap a contactless card.

TurBus runs a similar airport express for 1,900 CLP, but its final stop is Estación Central, one metro stop south of Los Héroes, which adds a transfer if you're heading east toward Providencia. Transvip and Transfer Delfos operate shared minivans from booths inside the arrivals hall. Expect 8,000 to 9,000 CLP ($9-10) per person, with 40 to 50 minutes of door-to-door service that zigzags through other passengers' hotels before reaching yours. Worth it if you're landing with heavy bags and a hotel in Vitacura or Las Condes, where the metro doesn't reach conveniently. Uber and Cabify work at SCL, though the pickup zone is on the upper departures level, not the arrivals curb. Walk up with your luggage, request the ride from there, and budget 15,000 to 20,000 CLP ($16-22) to Providencia.

Skip the official taxi counter near baggage claim. Transvip's fixed rates run about half of what the taxi quotes, and ride-hail apps undercut both. That counter lists 25,000 to 30,000 CLP ($27-33) to downtown, a premium that buys you nothing beyond a slightly newer sedan. After the last Centropuerto departure, Transvip's overnight desk stays open and Uber surge pricing tends to hold below 22,000 CLP on most nights. If you arrive during Santiago's winter (June through August), the cold, hazy smog sits heavy in the basin and the Andes vanish behind grey until midday. That's normal for the Central Valley. Grab a local SIM from the Entel or WOM kiosk near arrivals. Expect about 10,000 CLP ($11) for 10 GB over 30 days, enough to keep maps and translation apps running from your first ride.

Santiago's airport has ATMs from Banco de Chile and BancoEstado on both sides of customs. Withdraw Chilean pesos there rather than exchanging at the currency desks, which charge 5-8% spreads on a rate near 913 CLP to the dollar as of late August 2026. Mind the rush hour. If you land on a weekday between 7:30am and 9:30am, Ruta 68 backs up near the Costanera Norte interchange, and your bus ride can stretch past 50 minutes. A Sunday morning arrival, by contrast, might take 20 minutes, with dry, eucalyptus-scented air rolling through Pudahuel's farmland before the grey apartment blocks of Estación Central fill the windows.