What a "Zooprise!" The Buin Zoo is a fantastic bargain on the outskirts of the Santiago metro…read morearea. Admission was only 7000 CLP (about $10.50 USD)....compare to the San Diego Zoo at $50 USD per person...... Granted, the Buin Zoo is not as comprehensive as San Diego, the landscaping is only 20 years old (compared to 100 years for Balboa Park). But the value is amazing. The enclosures do a great job of getting you close to the animals. The decoration of the exhibits was amazing. But the most glorious part of this park is the BATHROOMS. Decorated impeccably, modern in their technology but made to look like African huts or antique buildings. We actually had to look in every restroom, just to view the many antiques that were on display! The african masks in particular. My only complaint about Buin Zoo: Everything is in Spanish. They obviously do not get any tourists here, which is a shame because this was our favorite place to visit in Santiago, Chile! Highly recommended....but you need to bring an interpreter!

The zoo was nice until my daughter ran into a rusted piece of metal that was sticking out of the…read moreground. the response time from the staff was slow until a security person called for a wheel chair and a medical team. Once we were in the first aid clinic the team was quick and efficient. Unfortunately after a quick trip in ambulance to hospital for a shot my daughter had no desire to return to the zoo at all. What really worried me was that there were several pieces of cut metal in the ground waiting to find someone (chile or senior citizen) that could fall on these steel poles that were sticking out of the ground. I suggested in their complaint book to check the whole park for dangerous objects as this was an extremely dangerous situation they had.

Signs in the park say this is the largest urban park in Latin America. I believe it, because it's…read moremassive! You could spend a day or two exploring the entire area. The park has so many trails, gardens, playgrounds and general amusements to keep you busy. There's even a zoo on the west side. Hiking all the way to the top for sunrise or sunset is magic. It'll take some time and effort but it's so worth it. Running or biking up will be your workout of the week. Bring lots of water and snacks because there's not much cover. Cars can't go up so plan for some effort!

We started our day taking the tram up to Cerro San Cristobal to explore the rest of Parque…read moreMetropolitano. It was inexpensive to do so and the wait wasn't too bad, considering I hear that it can get pretty busy. It only took about 15 minutes to go all the way to the top and it's a great way to catch an awesome view of the city skyline. Immediately after getting off, you have the option to begin exploring what's on the platform like The Sanctuary of the Immaculate Conception and stop into souvenir shops and restaurants to grab a meal or snacks to eat along the way. We moved right onto the cable car to travel across the park from stop to stop. The cable cars were very well kept and offered a floor-to-ceiling window so that you could an amazing view of the city as you traveled across the park. My hubby and I were lucky that most of our ride across, you didn't have to share it with others. I think a helpful thing to keep in mind is that you can't backtrack with a round trip ticket, but you can get off at any stop along the way and hop back on as long as it continues to progress forward. So we kept the map with us so we could plan which stops were the most important for us to want to hit. It was a really great way to see the city and enjoy free activities throughout our day there. Would absolutely recommend it!