For those of you who have already arrived to Chile, or who will be coming before/before our Orientation Week on March 10-12, here are some things to do in the meantime...

*Please note that the USM will be closed for summer break between Jan 22- Feb 22*

Follow up:

If you arrive before March 10 or after March 12: You'll have to Register your Student Visa at Policia de Investigaciones (during your first 30 days in the Chile!). During Orientation Week in Chile your student tutors will help you with the process, but if you get here 30 days before orientation, you need to do it beforehand. Check out this Quick Guide to Registering your Visa and getting your National ID

How to get from the airport to the Valparaíso area: take a shuttle at the airport (Centropuerto or Turbus) and get off at "Pajaritos", which is both subway and bus station. From there take a bus to Viña o Valparaíso. The trip takes about 90 minutes. There are buses leaving from Pajaritos every 15 minutes.
Meet-up with other Early-Arrivals in Valparaíso
Use the OAI Forum to contact the other students who've already arrived. Registering is easy, and once you're logged in you can add a post, or send emails to the other student's who are already here.

Check out Housing Options
Once you're semi-settled in Valparaíso, you can use this time to look for other semester-long housing options in Valparaíso or Viña del Mar. Remember to check out the search engines and offers published on our Housing page.

Some good areas in Valparaíso are Cerro Alegre, Cerro Concepción, places around Plaza Anibal Pinto (at the foot of those Cº Alegre and Cº Concepción), and also Cerro Placeres, which is a residential area and is where the USM main campus is located.

In Viña del Mar, try housing in the center or near the water or Casino- Calle Álvarez, Subida Agua Santa (near Cafe Journal), or the streets between 1-15 Norte and between Av. San Martin and 1 Poniente are good places to start.