Editor’s note, August 2023: This blog post was first published in 2020. It’s about what we experienced during the 2020 protests in Chile, so it’s not a true picture of how it is to visit Chile today.
The protests in Chile has been ongoing since 2019, but is it safe to visit Santiago as a tourist in 2020?
In January 2020, I arrived in South America for the very first time! Me and my boyfriend touched down in Santiago, Chile, and I remember feeling anxious about our safety.
I knew there was a civil unrest, and that the population were protesting against the government. But I didn’t really know what that would mean to our safety as tourists who just wanted to explore incredible Chile.
So in this blog post, I want to share my personal experience and answer the big question: Is it safe to visit Santiago during the protests in Chile?
But before I begin this blog post, I’d like you to remember that civil unrest and protests can occur in all countries – not just here – and since this is my experience from 2020, the scene in Santiago might look completely different today. Now, let’s begin!
Why are they protesting in Chile?
The protests in Chile began in October 2019 and have been ongoing for a long time. It all started with the Ministry of Transportation’s proposition to raise the subway prices in Santiago. This escalated into many protests in Chile’s capital.
The government withdrew the proposition to raise the metro prices but it was too late. A movement had begun throughout the country of Chile.
The people no longer just fight for the metro prices in Santiago. They want less income inequality, a new constitution, less police brutality – generally speaking, many Chileans protest for a better life.
Since we left Santiago back in February 2020, we have no idea how the situation looks like today. It’s limited what the international media tells about the situation in Chile – So, we simply don’t know how safe it is to visit Santiago in Chile right now. We also don’t know what the outcome is, and whether the people finally gained anything from their protests.
All we can share is what we experienced during our time in Santiago.
What did we experience as travelers?
We stayed in Santiago for one week between January and February in 2020. Our apartment was located in the city center, meaning we got to see and hear a lot of protests.
We quickly learned that the protests often escalated into violent riots during the night. Protesters burned fires in the streets and broke windows, we heard the hard clashes between the protesters and the military, and at one point I got teargas in my eyes from standing on my balcony watching the scene from the 10th floor.
I must say, it became pretty intense after dark.
We also learned that when we heard people whistle it meant that the protesters were close by and we should stay away from the scene.
I know that all of this may sound daunting, but in my opinion it really shouldn’t keep you from going to Santiago. Even though I felt a bit anxious at times, I quickly learned that I was completely safe in Santiago as long as I took some precautions.
How to stay safe during the protests in Santiago, Chile
Rule number one, if you find yourself somewhere and it looks like tension is rising among a group, just LEAVE.
As a tourist, you are here to see and taste beautiful Santiago, these protests are not your fight. Also, if you get hurt during a political protest, your travel insurance might not cover you. So just leave if you find yourself in the beginning of a protest or a riot.
That being said, we never had a problem with exploring Santiago during the day. We even filmed two travel vlogs while going around the city center of Santiago with our Sony a6300 and its big camera lens, and we felt safe. Honestly, we didn’t encounter any protests in the city center during the day.
So, how did we avoid the protests? We simply didn’t go out after nightfall.
When it turned dark, it often turned violent. So my best advice to other visitors would be to just stay indoors after dark. This doesn’t mean that you can’t go out during the night, but if you do, I would take a taxi home just to be on the safe side.
The protests also move very quickly around the city, meaning it is not only taking place in one spot during the night.
But all in all, I felt very safe in our apartment in Santiago.
Also, not all protests were violent.
One of the nights we saw a bicycle-protest from our balcony. Hundreds of bicyclists were riding around the city center ringing their bells and protesting in a non-violent way. This was very fascinating to watch, I have never seen a protest like this before.
Explore Plaza Italia “Ground zero” of the protests in Santiago
If you visit Santiago, and you want to learn about the protests, then you can go see where it all started. I remember thinking that it was so interesting that I actually got to witness the history of Chile evolve!
Plaza Italia, also known as Plaza Baquedano, is where more than a million people gathered to protest in October 2019. The plaza is completely transformed today!
If you go to the Metro station Baquedano next to the plaza, you’ll see how it’s been destroyed. The station is fully painted in many colors and has slogans and graffiti all over. We didn’t feel unsafe going here, on the contrary – it was actually quite fascinating.
Normally, I am NOT a fan of people destroying things, but this metro station had become a historical symbol in Chile. It almost looked like an artwork.
Throughout the capital of Santiago, I also saw many slogans saying that “Chile is awaken”, “the revolution is alive” and slogans about “murderers” pointing to police brutality. For me, it was very interesting to see because I have never been part of any revolution, movement, protests or whatever you want to call it. I’ve never been fighting for a cause like this, so witnessing the protest sites were really interesting to me.
My final comments about safety in Santiago
I think my final words will be: DON’T let the protests scare you away from visiting incredible Chile!
If you are nervous about visiting Santiago, then contact your consulate, embassy or whatever formal instance of your country you can go to in Santiago. They will most likely advice you.
But then again, just try to enjoy the city, we really didn’t have any problems as tourists here. We actually discovered that we had many tourist attractions all to ourselves, like the amazing Gran Torre Santiago – only a handful of tourists were there!
I’d like to repeat that this was our personal take on whether it is safe to visit Santiago in Chile during the protests in February 2020. The situation changes all the time, so keep yourself updated online as good as you can. Do some research before you go, so you don’t end up in a bad situation. I really don’t recommend you to go if you feel it’s unsafe. Then stay at home and go some other time instead.
So to return to my main question: Is it safe to visit Santiago in Chile during the protests of 2020? Yes and No. It all depends on how you act as a tourist. Keep yourself safe and stay away from the protests, then there is a big change that you’ll be safe and have a good time. I felt safe, but you may not feel the same.
I hope you enjoyed this little blog post about my personal experience of whether or not it’s safe to visit Santiago during the protests in Chile in 2020. The situation obviously changes all the time (and this was just one personal experience out of many), so please do your own research before visiting.
You can also read my blog post about general safety in South America here: Is it safe to travel in South America?
If you have any questions about safety in Chile, or general questions about visiting Santiago, then don’t hesitate to leave a comment. I think that Chile is one of the most beautiful countries in the world, and I hope you get to visit it some day. Thanks for reading and happy travels!
