Staying healthy in Chile depends on where you go. The US CDC’s list of vaccinations for Chile is short, with no yellow fever requirement and no malaria section, so the real questions come from the trip. Most of our Chile itineraries pass through Santiago and add the Atacama Desert, Patagonia or Easter Island, which brings altitude, sun, mosquitoes and distance from a hospital.
Our travel consultants are not medical professionals and cannot give medical advice. The CDC advises visiting your doctor at least a month before your trip.
According to the CDC’s health page for travelers to Chile, every traveler should be up to date on routine vaccines, including COVID-19 for those eligible. The CDC also says all international travelers should be fully vaccinated against measles. For Chile, the CDC also lists:
Older advice often mixes up two yellow fever questions: an entry requirement (a certificate the border asks for) and a recommendation (whether the vaccine is advised). For Chile, the CDC lists the vaccine as neither required nor recommended. Malaria does not appear on the CDC’s Chile page. Peru, Bolivia and Brazil have their own rules if your trip continues there.
San Pedro de Atacama, the oasis town our Atacama trips use as a base, sits at about 7,900 feet (2,400 m). The excursions climb well above it: the Miscanti and Miñiques lagoons on the altiplano are at about 13,800 feet (4,200 m), the El Tatio geyser field at about 14,200 feet (4,320 m).
The CDC Yellow Book says any traveler who is not acclimatized and sleeps at about 8,000 feet (2,450 m) or higher, and sometimes lower, is at risk of altitude illness. It also says day trips up high, sleeping lower, are much less stressful on the body. The CDC advises no alcohol for the first 48 hours at high altitude. Some travelers ask their doctor about acetazolamide, which the CDC names as a way to speed acclimatization when a fast ascent cannot be avoided.
That is how our Atacama trips are built. On the Atacama Desert and Santiago itinerary, every night is spent in San Pedro, and the two highest outings, the altiplano lagoons and El Tatio, come at the end of the stay. El Tatio means a pre-dawn start in cold air, so bring warm layers. For trips continuing into Bolivia, see our page on staying healthy in Bolivia.
The CDC’s advice for Chile is to be especially careful in the summer months and at high elevation: sunscreen of SPF 15 or more, protective clothing, and shade between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
The Atacama has very little shade. In Patagonia, wind and cool air make the sun easy to forget on a long hiking day in Torres del Paine, the core of our Santiago and Torres del Paine trip. Pack a hat and sunglasses for both.
The CDC’s list of areas with dengue risk names Chile for Easter Island only, rated frequent or continuous.
For bites, the CDC recommends EPA-registered insect repellents with DEET, picaridin (icaridin outside the US), IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus, para-menthane-diol or 2-undecanone. Against ticks as well as mosquitoes, the CDC’s Chile page points to 20% or more DEET.
Easter Island is also remote. Our Santiago and Easter Island trip flies some 2,360 miles (3,800 km) from Santiago. The UK government’s travel advice notes that the island has one hospital with limited facilities, and that seriously ill or injured patients are flown to mainland Chile. Keep that in mind when you choose travel insurance for Chile.
The US CDC’s general advice for travelers is to choose factory-sealed drinks wherever tap water might be contaminated, and to skip ice where clean water is a concern. In restaurants, bottled water usually arrives sealed and the server opens it in front of you. To order a drink without ice, ask for it “sin hielo.”
More on eating and drinking in Chile is on our Chilean food and drink page.
The CDC lists hantavirus for Chile. It spreads mainly through air or food contaminated by infected rodents, and the CDC advises avoiding rodents and the areas where they live.
The CDC recommends routine vaccines including measles, plus hepatitis A and hepatitis B for unvaccinated travelers (age limits above), and says to consider typhoid and rabies. It lists yellow fever as neither required nor recommended. Your doctor makes the final list.
Malaria does not appear on the CDC’s health page for Chile. Other countries on the same trip may differ.
The US CDC’s general advice for travelers is to choose factory-sealed drinks wherever tap water might be contaminated, and to skip ice where clean water is a concern.
Entry rules are on our Chile visa requirements page, and the regions and routes are in our Chile travel guide.
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