Which place is cheaper, Puerto Vallarta or Santiago?
These are the overall average travel costs for the two destinations.
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Should you visit Santiago or Puerto Vallarta?
Which is cheaper to visit? Which is more expensive for vacation?
Which city should you visit? Read on to compare the activities as well as the prices of travel for Santiago and Puerto Vallarta. We'll break down costs for accommodation, food, transportation and more to help you learn more about these two destinations. Then, you can figure out if either of these two places are accessible based on your travel budget, schedule, and interests. So, let's dig into it.
Where Should I go: Santiago or Puerto Vallarta?
Santiago
Santiago is the capital city of Chile. It is centrally located in the long and narrow country, making it a good jumping off point to explore everywhere else. It's convenient location means that you can go skiing in the Andes one day, and hang out at the beach the next.
Santiago has a cool semi-arid climate that is similar to Mediterranean climates. The summers, which are between November and March, are warm and dry. The temperatures climb to around 95 degrees Fahrenheit. The winters, between June and August, are humid with cold mornings. The daily highs are around 55 degrees Fahrenheit and the lows stay a few degrees above freezing. Rain is more common in the winter months and the dry season is between December and March.
Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta remains a popular tourist destination with Americans, particularly during spring break when students flock to the area. The area is quite beautiful and has many gorgeous beaches, interesting jungles and waterfalls nearby, and no shortage of luxury resorts and four star restaurants. Many of the locals speak English and are friendly and open to helping tourists with directions or general information. Puerto Vallarta's popularity means that its prices are some of the highest in Mexico, particularly during holidays when the area can get quite crowded.
For some great organized tour ideas, see The Best One Week (7-Day) Tours in Chile, The Best 2-Week Tours in Chile, The Best Romantic Tours for Couples in Mexico, and The Best Luxury Tours to Mexico.
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Average Daily Cost Per person, per daySantiago $141Puerto Vallarta $115
The average daily cost (per person) in Santiago is $141, while the average daily cost in Puerto Vallarta is $115. These costs include accommodation (assuming double occupancy, so the traveler is sharing the room), food, transportation, and entertainment. While every person is different, these costs are an average of past travelers in each destination. What follows is a categorical breakdown of travel costs for Santiago and Puerto Vallarta in more detail.
Accommodation
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Accommodation Hotel or hostel for one personSantiago $110Puerto Vallarta $63
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Accommodation Typical double-occupancy roomSantiago $220Puerto Vallarta $126
Compare Hotels in Santiago and Puerto Vallarta
Looking for a hotel in Santiago or Puerto Vallarta? Prices vary by location, date, season, and the level of luxury. See below for options and compare which is best for your budget and travel style.
Kayak helps you find the best prices for hotels, flights, and rental cars for destinations around the world. Compare prices for multiple destinations when planning your next trip.
Our Analysis
We've analyzed the average and typical hotel prices based on guest reviews, star ratings, and hotel amenities here: Santiago Hotel Prices and Puerto Vallarta Hotel Prices.
Local Transportation
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Local Transportation Taxis, local buses, subway, etc.Santiago $5.41Puerto Vallarta $19
Typical Local Transportation Prices in Santiago
Below are a few samples from actual travelers for transportation costs in Santiago:
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Metro Ride$1.13
Hired Cars and Shuttles in Santiago
Some specific examples of transportation prices in Santiago:
- Arturo Merino Benítez Intl Airport: Shared Transfer: $24
- Private Santiago Airport to Santiago Transfer: $25
- Santiago Airport (SCL) to Santiago hotels - Arrival Transfer: $27
- Private Transfer From The Hotel in Santiago City To the Airport: $29
- Private Transfer from the Airport to Santiago City: $29
- Private Transfer: $31
- Private Santiago Airport to Santiago Transfer: $35
- From Farellones/Valle Nevado Roundtrip Transfer: $35
- Departure Transfer - Hotel in Santiago to Santiago International Airport: $35
- Arrival Transfer - Santiago International Airport to Hotel in Santiago: $35
- Valle Nevado Ski Day Trip with Hotel Transfers: $39
- Santiago de Chile Airport Private Transfer: $40
Hired Cars and Shuttles in Puerto Vallarta
Some specific examples of transportation prices in Puerto Vallarta:
- Puerto Vallarta Roundtrip Shuttle Airport Transfer: $32
- Private transfer from Puerto Vallarta Airport - Hotel Zone: $37
- Private Airport Transfer to Marina Vallarta: $37
- Private Airport Transfer to Hotel Zone: $40
- Shared transfer from PVR airport to Downtown: $43
- Puerto Vallarta Cruise Port to Airport PVR Departure Transfer: $44
- Arrival Transfer from Airport to Cruise Port in Puerto Vallarta: $44
- Puerto Vallarta Port to Puerto Vallarta Airport(PVR)-Departure Private Transfer : $44
- Nuevo Vallarta: Private Airport Transfer to South Zone 2: $48
- Private Airport Transfer to Romantic Zone: $48
- Nuevo Vallarta:Private Airport Transfer to North Zone 3: $51
- Private Airport Transfer to Mismaloya: $51
Is it cheaper to fly into Santiago or Puerto Vallarta?
Prices for flights to both Puerto Vallarta and Santiago change regularly based on dates and travel demand. We suggest you find the best prices for your next trip on Kayak, because you can compare the cost of flights across multiple airlines for your prefered dates.
Food
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Food Meals for one daySantiago $13Puerto Vallarta $37
Typical Food Prices in Santiago
Some typical examples of dining costs in Santiago are as follows:
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Empanada$1.89
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Hamburger$2.50
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Dinner$26
Food Tours and Cooking Classes in Santiago
Also, here are some specific examples of food and dining related activities in Santiago.
- Sunset at Alyan Family Wines Winery with Dinner: $94
- Traditional Dinner Show in Santiago: $107
- Dinner Show in Bali Hai: $109
- Sunset Winery Tour with Wine Tastings and Dinner: $117
- Small-Group Night City Tour: San Cristobal Hill and Dinner Show: $120
- 4-Hour Private Night Tour with Dinner and Show: $150
- Private Dinner and Show with Transfers: $158
- Traditional Chilean Cooking Class with a Local in Her Santiago Countryside Home: $168
Food Tours and Cooking Classes in Puerto Vallarta
Also, here are some specific examples of food and dining related activities in Puerto Vallarta.
- Dinner Tacos Food Tour: $55
- Off The Beaten Path Food Tour. Dinner in Pitillal : $55
- Puerto Vallarta 3-Hour Food Tour of Authentic Local Cuisine: $59
- Downtown Puerto Vallarta Food Tour with Vallarta Food Tours: $59
- Puerta Vallarta: Seafood Lover's Food Tour: $59
- Signature Taco and Street Food Tour in Puerto Vallarta: $65
- Vallarta by Road Food Tour: $75
- Mexican Cooking Class, Tequila Tasting & Unlimited Margaritas: $75
- Bucerias Bike and Food Tour: $90
- Mexican Cooking Class and Tequila Tasting: $96
- Sayulita Tacos and Tequila Food Tour : $99
- Cooking Class and Market Tour: $130
Entertainment
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Entertainment Entrance tickets, shows, etc.Santiago $47Puerto Vallarta $19
Tours and Activities in Santiago
Some specific costs of activities, tours, and entrance tickets for Santiago are as follows:
- Explore Santiago's Soul: Walking In-App Audio Tour: $5.00
- Explore Santiago's Soul: Walking In-App Audio Tour: $5.00
- Santiago Cathedral's Bell Tower Official Tour: $9.00
- La Paz from the Heights: Down hill Walking tour & Cable Cars: $12
- Cable Car Admission Ticket: $15
- Cousiño Macul Official Winery Tour with Tasting: $23
- "Tour Tradicional" Viña Cousiño Macul Oficial español: $23
- Skip the Line: Concha y Toro Traditional Tour Ticket: $25
- A Fabulous Walking tour by the Old Santiago of Chile -small group: $25
- Walking tour through Santiago: $26
- From Valle Nevado and Farellones Small Group Tour: $29
- Small-Group Tour to Valle Nevado and Farellones from Santiago: $29
Tours and Activities in Puerto Vallarta
Some specific costs of activities, tours, and entrance tickets for Puerto Vallarta are as follows:
- City Tour Puerto Vallarta - Churches, Tequila Test and more: $18
- Mexico: Puerto Vallarta City Tour: $20
- Hop-On-Hop-Off City Bus Tour: $23
- Guided SUP Board Tour with Digital Photos: $23
- Private Bike City Tour with Photo Session in Puerto Vallarta: $24
- Hop On Hop Off Tour with Free Stops in Puerto Vallarta: $24
- Hike and Yoga Jungle Experience in Mexico: $30
- City Tour, Tequila and Coffee Factory Tour: $31
- EcoHike experience through the jungle, mountains and hidden beach: $31
- Zipline Canopy Tour: $37
- Puerto Vallarta Local-Style Walking tour: $41
- Why Jalisco is Mexico? Puerto Vallarta Tour: $45
Alcohol
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Alcohol Drinks for one daySantiago $8.41Puerto Vallarta $24
Sample the Local Flavors in Santiago
Also in Santiago, these are the prices for nightlife and alcohol related activities from various tour providers:
- Premium Wine Tour in Viña Cousiño Macul Spanish official: $37
- Concha y Toro Ticket and Tour with Wine Tasting: $50
- Undurraga Winery Tour with Entry and Wine Tasting: $50
- Undurraga Wine Tasting Tour from Santiago: $62
- Undurraga Wine tour: $63
- Half Day Trip to Undurraga Vineyard from Santiago - Wine Tasting Included: $70
- From Concha y Toro Marqués Half-Day Wine Tasting: $89
- Maipo Valley Wine Tour with 4 vineyards from Santiago.: $99
- From Maipo Valley Wine Tour: $99
- Private Tour: Viña del Mar and Valparaíso Tour with Wine Tasting in Casablanca Valley: $143
- Premium Wine Tasting and Tour at Santa Rita with Transport: $145
- Santa Rita: Ultra Premium Wine Tasting, Tour and Transport: $145
Sample the Local Flavors in Puerto Vallarta
Here are a few nightlife and alcohol tours and activities from local tour providers in Puerto Vallarta:
- All you can drink Bar Crawl: $99
When we compare the travel costs of actual travelers between Santiago and Puerto Vallarta, we can see that Santiago is more expensive. And not only is Puerto Vallarta much less expensive, but it is actually a significantly cheaper destination. Since Santiago is in South America and Puerto Vallarta is in North America, this is one of the main reasons why the costs are so different, as different regions of the world tend to have overall different travel costs. So, traveling to Puerto Vallarta would let you spend less money overall. Or, you could decide to spend more money in Puerto Vallarta and be able to afford a more luxurious travel style by staying in nicer hotels, eating at more expensive restaurants, taking tours, and experiencing more activities. The same level of travel in Santiago would naturally cost you much more money, so you would probably want to keep your budget a little tighter in Santiago than you might in Puerto Vallarta.
If you're trying to decide if either of these two destinations are within your price range, also see Is Santiago Expensive? and Is Puerto Vallarta Expensive?.
Which is Bigger, Santiago or Puerto Vallarta?
Santiago has a larger population, and is about 30 times larger than the population of Puerto Vallarta. When comparing the sizes of Santiago and Puerto Vallarta, keep in mind that a larger population does not always imply the destination has more attractions or better activities. So, always research the type of place that you want to visit along with the activities and attractions that interest you.
Budget Your Trip is all about finding out how much everything costs so that you can travel cheaper and longer. Created by avid travelers Laurie and Bryan, our goal is to help you plan your next trip on the right budget. With average daily travel costs that are calculated from the budgets of real travelers, plus an analysis of hotel and tour prices, you can find out how much money you need to plan your next adventure. We also have plenty of travel advice, accommodation reviews, and activity suggestions.