Casa Newen offers travelers and tourists our fun santiago tours for the summer of 2010! We organize and arrange private and group tours to the must see attractions that Santiago and Chile has to offer. The tours are with experienced bilingual guides and can be personalized to fit your needs.
There are 10 tours throughout Santiago and central Chile catering to every want imaginable! If you fancy the beach and coastline we offer tours to the iconic port city of Valparaiso and the resort city of Vina del Mar as well as the enchanting fishing town of Zapallar. The Isla Negra and Pomaire tour will take you on a journey into the life of Chile’s Nobel Prize Winner Pablo Neruda, visiting the poets home and Pomaire, the traditional potters village known for it’s handmade arts and crafts.
If you love Chilean wine then the tours in Chile offer a smorgasbord of lush green valleys and vineyards. The Wine Train Tour is a popular tour in Santiago and features an original steam train and a trip to the Colchagua valley. There are also wine tours to the Maipo Valley featuring the vineyards of Concha y Toro, Undurraga. The Colchagua Ranch Tour is a unique experience of Chilean wine and culture with a traditional folklore dance and rodeo as well as visit to the Colchagua Museum.
If you are the outdoors type then a tour of Cajon del Maipo and San jose is a sure bet. Here you will find various activities at your disposal. Trekking El Morado National Park to the San Fransisco Glacier is unforgettable as well as a visit to Colina Thermal Baths, a natural wonderland with the Andes Mountain range as your backdrop.
And finally the Dinner and Show tour highlights the best attractions that Santiago has to offer! The cultural center that is Santiago’s main square, the majestic Cathedral of Santiago and the resilience of the Presidential Palace. Finally a traditional restaurant of Santiago will introduce you to Chile’s typical dances, wines and gastronomy.
Visit our website at www.casanewen.com and view our Tours section for more info. You can also book a tour by clicking on “bookings and enquiries” or by Clicking Here you can also reach us by sending an email at contact@casanewen.com or by Tel:+56 02 716 9007 (Santiago de Chile)
We pride ourselves on providing travelers, guests and tourists our renowned personal service and friendly advice so we hope you discover Chile with our Santiago tours
Newen Craft Shop - Traditional Chilean Craft Shop by Native Artists at Casa Newen. By Adda
Quite a few years ago while living in Australia, I felt home sick and yearned to create something that reminded me of the beauty of Chile. I started to play with clay and made a rosary that is now decorating one of our guest rooms at our bed and breakfast in Santiago. My second piece was an original Mapuche women which has started to crack, as at the time I did not know that it needed to go to the kiln!
Since then, I have been interested in making ethnic - native chilean themed pottery / gres pieces as gifts or souvenirs. As I have created quite a few, the idea for our “Newen Craft Shop” was born. The purpose is to highlight the beauty and culture that Chile has to offer to all the tourists that come to Casa Newen Bed and Breakfast.
Most of the pieces that are available at our “Newen Craft Shop” including the collection of “Mates” (a mug to have “yerba mate” a herbal tea with a “bombilla”) are inspired by pre-columbian “Mapuches” and “Atacameños” (Native Chilean’s) designs. The striking miniature pre-columbian masks and other pieces are made by the well known artists Jorge Vallejos and Bernardita Vallejos.
The Newen Craft Shop is located at our bed and breakfast in Santiago and is open to all our guests and travelers all year round. If you are visiting Santiago de Chile and would like to see our unique Chilean gifts or souvenirs please do not hesitate to visit our craft shop in Providencia to take a little piece of Chile back home!
Right now in Chile we are celebrating our “Semana Santa”. Casa Newen would like to wish all Chileans and travellers to our beautiful South American country a happy “Semana Santa”.
One of the first questions most of our guests to Casa Newen ask is “how can I get down town?” Well the answer is simple. If you like, you could walk a few blocks to catch the Metro, or if you are in a rush you can catch several types of Taxi´s (distinguished by a black body and yellow roof) around the corner from Casa Newen Bed & Breakfast.
A Colectivo is a type of taxi that has a specific route shown on a sign on top of their roof. it takes a maximum of four people, that hop on board anywhere along the route. The fee starts from $350 to a maximum of $400 (Chilean Pesos) per person, depending on where you get off. It is the ideal transport for 1-2 people to take from Casa Newen to the Manuel Montt Metro Station and vice versa.
A Traditional Taxi starts from $200 (Chilean Pesos) and has the advantage of dropping you off exactly where you want. They also appear more frequently and let you pay for the ride, so it is more cost effective for 3-4 people.
Another thing to be aware of is that the cost of taxi´s can vary from day to night-time. The best thing to do is ask your driver before-hand how much the journey will cost. If it seems unreasonable move on.
With these small tips you should have no problem navigating around Santiago and across the beautiful country that we call Chile.
During the time we have had our bed & breakfast we have heard the same comment from our guests “Your Metro/Subway is excellent!”. And they are right, Chileans are very proud of their French built “Metro”. It is clean, fast and safe.
The closest Metro station from Casa Newen Bed & Breakfast is called “Manuel Montt” and it’s located on the red line route. If you want to visit down town, simply catch the Metro at the Manuel Montt station and get off at the “Universidad de Chile” Metro station, from there you can visit the main attractions Santiago has to offer. The ticket or “Boleto” cost´s $370 (Chilean Pesos).
As you are allowed to take with you a bag or a suit case, tourists who travel by bus to the north of Chile and by train to the south, take the Metro to the “Estación Central” Metro station, if they are heading south by bus they get off at the next station, “Universidad de Santiago”. These stations have bus terminals with connections all over Chile.
If you happen to get off at the wrong station, you can just go around to the opposite platform, free of charge. You will find that some Metro stations can be very busy in the peak hours, it is always good to remember that people who are getting off always have the preference!
If you know how to read spanish, you can visit the official Metro web site at www.metrosantiago.cl it is very informative for first time visitors to Chile.
During the wonderful time that Luis and I have been running Casa Newen Bed and Breakfast, we have had many guests from all over the world. Some of our guests come to Chile with learned spanish skills, some arrive knowing a few words, while the adventures come with little or no knowledge of the spanish language.
What amazes most of our worldwind travelers is that Chilean Spanish can be VERY different from the traditional language. It can take a little more work to understand what exactly is being said but this should not be to much of a problem for visitors to Chile.
You will find that Chileans are more then willing to listen and find out exactly what your trying to say. And if that doesn´t work you can always pick up a book recommended to use by one of our guests. ¨How To Survive in the Chilean Jungle 2¨ is an expansive and entertaining lexicon of Chilean slang and Spanish sayings written by John Brennan & Alvaro. We think it is a perfect companion for first time visitors to Chile.
