Valparaíso Offbeat 10:00 Hrs
If you think Valparaiso is an extraordinary city then you ain’t seen nothing yet. This tour is about places and people that only locals can show you. Ask your Wally free lance guide what the local bread is, where the Wanders (local football team) fans favorite dive bar is, and what a Chileans dinner consists of. Only a local can answer such things.. introducing your Wally! You will learn about president Salvador Allende, the competition for the oldest bar in the port (cheers to that) and Chile’s native Mapuche indigenous people. Discover all of this while strolling through the Graffiti filled walls of Valparaiso. Together we will delve into the politics, food, graffiti, social reality and of course the brothels of the port city. This tour of world heritage sight Valparaiso, is designed to show you the city’s “other side”. This side is home to artist studios, jail houses, cemeteries and it´s street art galore!
The best part? This is a pay-what-you-feel tour. The pressure is off and the culture discovery is ON...
To make sure everyone has a good experience on our tours, we aim to keep groups relatively small. In our experience, big groups traveling together have a higher than average no show rate, and can commandeer the tour and make other guests feel unwelcome. To be fair to all of our customers, we ask groups of over 8 to reserve a private tour or contact us on [email protected]
Why take THIS tour, Why THIS tour with Tours 4 Tips? This is our newest and most perfected tour yet. After 8 years of tour creating and 4 years of experiencing Valparaiso and the locals, we are for sure the Johnny Depp of tours (can’t get better than us). We are a small tour company, specialized in small personalized tours. We have low turnover because our team is a family. Our free lance guides are selected on the basis of how much love they have for Valparaiso. Once they have convinced us of that, all that’s left is a sense of humor and a love for people…
CHECK and CHECK! Look at our Tripadvisor for our sweet reviews on our other tours. Because this tour is new, we don’t have ones for OffBeat yet. However to quote Napoleon Dynamite… if you take this tour: “all your wildest dreams will come true”.
Who should NOT take this tour? Get tired easily? This tour has lots of walking (2 hours, 8km, mostly downhill, which can be hard on knees). If this is not for you, check out our Highlights Walking Tour. It has about 50% less walking and more public elevator usage. If you’re looking for a standard tour led by an umbrella-carrying guide who dictates facts and dates and helps you point your camera in the right direction…then you’ve come to the wrong place. Our Walking Tours use an extensive and unique set of routes, giving you the chance to learn about Chile by experiencing it through sights, sounds and flavors.
Do you wish for an experience more unique and memorable than the other generic tours? Then jump on board and join us!
TOUR DETAILS
PRICE
Pay-What-You-Like (Prefer private?)
TIME
Departs at 10:00 Hrs Finishes at 12:30 Hrs Duration: 2.5 / 3 Hours
MEETING POINT
Start/Finish Location: Plaza Sotomayor Distance: 4km walkin mostly downhill - We use public buses to get to the top of Valparaiso Difficulty: Medium. Need to be careful on the uneven streets with your hips and knees.
WHAT TO BRING
Only yourself and comfy clothes, maybe slap on some sunscreen!
TOUR ITINERARY
BARRIO PUERTO 10:00 Hrs
Meet your red and white striped Wally at our Plaza Sotomayor (easier to find than in the children’s books we hope). Our adventure starts in Valparaiso’s original neighbourhood “Barrio Puerto”. Here we will explore the social realities of the city. Once one of the richest in the world, now it has experienced 100 years of decline.
Our walk through the port neighborhood will include a discussion of the Chilean diet, Valparaiso’s strong social history and the unique democratic layout of the city referred to as the ‘Jewel of the Pacific’.
PLAZA ECHAURREN 10:30 Hrs
Dive into the forgotten treasures of Valparaiso Golden Era. Plaza Echaurren has lots of soul, along with poverty. Wally will point out the best dive bar, just know that it gets a little crazy after sundown (your cue to leave).
[10:45am] Catch the O bus (pronounced OOOOOhhh bus). This rollercoaster ride will take you up and through some 14 odd hills stricken by poverty, but rich in history, street art, political organization and pride. This bus ride takes the same route made famous by Che Guevara’s arrival to Valparaiso in the film “The Motorcycle Diaries”.
EX CÁRCEL CULTURAL CENTRE 11:10 Hrs
Standing 100 metres over sea level, you will see why Valparaiso is a real life post card. We hope for your sake your camera doesn’t run out of battery here. Learn how the immigrants built this city up to the “Camino de Cintura” before we head back down into the oldest standing jail in Chile. The descent gives us views of the bay and neighboring cities of Viña del Mar, Reñaca and Concon.
11:45am] We unravel how this cultural park was once the powder house for explosives, before becoming a 100 year old jail house. We should mention it was used to torture, and kill political prisoners during the dictatorship. Do the names Pablo Neruda, Augusto Pinochet and Salvador Allende ring a bell? This tour explains their importance in Chile and tie to Valparaiso. Up next former prison house, present cultural centre, Parque Cultural Ex-Cárcel.
DISCOVER THE STREET ART 12:15 Hrs
See Valparaiso’s wealthier hills as we walk alongside the oldest Protestant cemetery in Latin America. Discover the best graffiti of the city. We show you how local street artists make fun of the Pope, Starbucks, Pinochet’s capitalistic model and McDonald’s through their controversial art. If you are easily offended, this tour might not be for you (and this city either).
[12:45am] Our tour ends in a century old palace where we enjoy a local cocktail. You’re now ready to explore the city on your own. This is not your typical boring dates and old dead-men tour. Our free lance guides are going to show you the heart and soul of Valparaiso. A perfect way to discover Chile’s Golden Jewel for you culture seekers. And remember, only pay what you think is fair!
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