How to Hire an English-speaking driver in Santiago, Chile?

Question

I am leaving for Santiago, Chile, on Christmas Eve and arriving Christmas morning. I would like to hire an English-speaking driver to take me to the wine region in Santa Cruz. Will there be a lot of drivers at the airport who are willing to do a 2-hour trip on Christmas day? Or should I try to book this ahead of time? If so, how do I go about doing that? I've searched the Internet, but can't find a "hire-a-driver-ahead-of-time" site.

Answer 1

It will be really difficult to hire a driver on Christmas day, especially at the airport and one who speaks English! However, there will be some available to take you from the airport to the hotel, Xmas or not people do have to work. My advice would be contact your hotel and try and book a driver through the concierge. Most  4 or 5 star hotels have a long list of drivers who work for them and most do speak English as many foreigners have to travel to Chile for work and need someone who speaks at least basic English. Do it via your hotel, dont do it by yourself. You can always be cheated if they see someone who doesn't speak Spanish and might charge you a very expensive price for the day trip.