Valparaiso

Where to stay

Most budget travelers base themselves on Cerro Alegre or the adjacent Cerro Concepción, two hills with the highest concentration of hostels, street art, and cafes within walking distance of each other. Ascensor El Peral, one of the old funiculars, drops you near Paseo Yugoslavo on Cerro Alegre for almost nothing, which beats hauling a pack up steep stairs.

Getting around

• Lunch at Mercado Cardonal is the easiest way to eat well cheaply. The market stalls inside serve fixed-price set lunches (usually soup, a main, and juice) for a fraction of what the Cerro Alegre restaurants charge.
• The Merval commuter train connects Valparaiso to Viña del Mar in about 15 minutes and runs frequently. Staying in Valparaiso, where hostels are cheaper, and day-tripping to Viña for the beach costs less than doing it the other way around.
• The ascensores (funiculars) charge only a few hundred pesos per ride and are the practical way to move between the Plan (the flat port district) and the hills. Several are out of service at any given time, so check which ones are running before planning a route around a specific one.

When to go

Hostels are cheapest and easiest to book from May through August (Chilean winter), while December through February brings Chilean summer vacationers and prices climb fast, especially on weekends near Viña del Mar's Festival de la Canción in late January or February.