The plan was to go shopping. It would be the first shopping experience in Chile for a family from Rio Negro who planned to spend a weekend in Bariloche, cross the border and travel 245 km to Osorno (in the Lakes Region) and from there other 250 km along the Panamericana Sur towards Temuco. Since there were four of them and they knew that the franchise to enter products was 300 dollars per person They set out to find out the prices in detail once on the land to decide where they would invest the sum they had saved. They couldn’t have come back more surprised.
Although I had heard the story of friends who had already gone and that had encouraged them to see what they could buy on the other side of the Cordillera, seeing it in person was shocking. Here the detail of the products with the greatest difference in valuesthe route they took and how much they spent on gasoline, meals and accommodation. “It’s a number, but compared to what you save, it’s little,” they explain.
From Bariloche to Chile shopping: How much does the Argentina shirt cost in Chile
What surprised you the most? The three-striped t-shirt with which Leo Messi and the entire band of the Argentine National Team They will go for the Copa América in the United States at almost half the value: in Chile they bought them for 44,000 Argentine pesoswhen on this side of the border it costs 80,000 pesos.
From Bariloche to Osorno, Chile, through the Cardenal Samoré Pass
Before crossing the border they filled the tank in Villa La Angostura, because In Chile, fuel costs almost double Compared to the prices in Patagonia, there is not that much difference if the comparison is with the value of super gasoline in Buenos Aires, where a liter costs 1,100 pesos, while in Chile around 1,500 Argentine pesos. They soon verified that it would be the only item with that distance, because in accommodation and meals, they found similar values.
First surprise in Chile: the price of tires, with alignment and balancing
First they passed through Osorno. First surprising fact: For two new covers they asked for 200 thousand Argentine pesos, including alignment and balancing.when the budget that had been given to them in the Alto Valle was 250 thousand per tire, plus alignment and balancing. Furthermore, their attention was drawn to the variety of models and brands.
Enter the rented apartment in Chile with a QR code
They continued their trip to Temuco. Second surprise, they stayed without ever seeing anyone. They booked and paid through Airbnb and the owner He sent them a QR code to enter the building and another to enter the apartment.
No luxury, but clean, tidy, two small bedrooms near the center: $65 for one night for the four of us.
To eat at the shopping center in Chile
The next step was to go to the shopping and look for the food court: they had started early and were hungry. They chose to go to a hamburger chain: They paid between 7,000 and 8,000 Argentine pesos depending on the menu what each one asked for. From what they saw in other places and bars and restaurants in the city, the values are similar to those on this side of the border.
Prices in Chile, from cell phones to sneakers
Now, the details of the prices they found during the tour of the shopping they went to in Temuco:
* Sneakers at the Vans store: a model that they had seen for 180 thousand pesos in the Alto Valle in Temuco was for 80 thousand Argentine pesos.
* Football boots at the Adidas store. The model that they had seen at 170 thousand pesos in the Alto Valle in Temuco was at 80 thousand Argentine pesos
* Cell phones: On average they found them for half the price or less. For example, a Xiaomi model that costs 480 thousand pesos in Argentina in Temuco was sold for 250 thousand Argentine pesos. Except for iPhones, which maintain their price in dollars.
* Clothes. The trend of finding it at half the value than in Argentina continues, with the addition of promotions, discounts and clearance sales.
* Laptops: on average between 400 thousand and 500 thousand Argentine pesos in Temuco those on this side of the border
* Toolbox: the most notable difference. In Argentina, 570 thousand pesos. In Temuco, 160 thousand Argentine pesos.
* Bleaching: another area to take advantage of. They got sets of square and a half sheets for 18 thousand pesos, which with the discount was 12 thousand Argentine pesos. They paid 7,999 Argentine pesos for each towel they bought.
* Home appliances: Also an item to save: an electric oven at 60 thousand Argentine pesos (the same 120 thousand pesos in Argentina) and a hand mixer at 15 thousand pesos, the same one they had seen in Argentina at 50 thousand pesos.
* Ski helmet. The one that costs 70 thousand pesos in Argentina was seen for 30 thousand pesos in Temuco.
Dollars or card? How to pay in Chile
They chose to carry dollars and change them in Temuco. It is not convenient to change Argentine pesos. Another option is to pay with a credit card and cancel the payment with bills at the blue price to avoid paying taxes. They returned through the Pino Hachado Pass. Satisfied with what they had saved and wondering why prices are so different on the two sides of the border.
