Today El Mercurio reported that airport authorities will be darkening all of the glass around the doors where passengers enter the main terminal from the arrival area to combat “pirate” taxis that have charged up to 200,000 Chilean pesos for a ride to the city. For a bit of context, hiring one of the official airport taxi chains costs between 12,000-15,000 pesos depending on how hard you push for a bargain and where you are going. I don’t know who these foreigners are that arrive so completely clueless as to what the going rate of a taxi ride is from the airport. Ripping off arriving visitors at the airport is a con job performed round the world. So if you are coming to Chile, save yourself the headache and just hire an official taxi or a “transfer” shuttle bus.
Although probably perfectly legal, the price inflation also applies to hotels. I went to meet someone passing through Chile at their hotel -The Sheraton- just yesterday. I took a cab from Ñuñoa and paid about 3,500 pesos. When I was leaving I asked the hotel staff how much a hotel taxi would cost to the same place: 7,000 pesos...double the price!
