Our Guides Santiago

Vane

Bachelor of Visual Arts, Vanesa is a lover of free fairs, antiques and Chilean food. When she was 23 years old, she embarked on an adventure that made her change her way of seeing the world: living in England. She worked as a waitress in coffee shops, restaurants and babysitting children. Her last job was in the catering department of the University of Cambridge.

During the two years she lived in the UK, she had the opportunity to travel through the old continent. In each place she visited, she participated in Free Walking Tours.

Today, back home and more in love with Chile than ever and being a tour guide herself, Vanesa urges you to visit Santiago and look closely at its culture, indigenous past, landscapes and people.

Vane’s Santiago Tip!
Metro Bio-bio or Franklin. Take a walk during the weekend through the warehouses of the mythical fair Bio-bio, popular market of more than two thousand places where you can find creole food, toys, clothing, antiques, technology, vinyl, street art and much more! Visit the Art Gallery Factoría Santa Rosa and eat an empanada in “El Manchao”.

Maida

Maida is a journalism student. Born and raised in Santiago, she’s a lover of her city, the theater and the world of literature. Since she was a child, she got used to travelling with her family and friends, getting to know sustainable tourism and learning the story and culture of diferent countries. After living for six months in Austria, she learned German and fell in love with the story and music of the country.

She is a social activist that supports causes such as feminism, ecology and equality. Maida is a big fan of Chilean theater and Chilean gastronomy. Her great passion, besides national and international politics, is art and its social role. Her guilty pleasure: antique fairs and second-hand books.

She has recently joined the Strawberry Tours family, and is the youngest member of the team, so she has the best of motivations in a fun and new way.

Maida’s Santiago Tip!
Walk down the Mapocho’s riviera, from its parks in the east side of the city, to the antique fair “Parque de los Reyes”. If you’re a big fan of nature, Santiago has wide options of trekking and parks: my favorites are Aguas de Ramon and Santuario de la Naturaleza.

María Laura

María Laura was born and raised in Santiago. Since she was young, she showed interest in history and cultural heritage, and that was the reason she decided to study Art History. She has walked through Santiago most of her life and when she was doing an internship in the National Library, she always found places that would spark her interest, surprise her and sometimes even connect her with her own family history.

María Laura’s work experience has always been related to production and content development. She has worked in many different fields: coordination of events, music, culture & wine industry and even television, where she collaborated with tv shows such as “Santiago Adicto”. She is the kind of person that is always happy to explore and discover the hidden gems of Santiago and let travelers wonder at this exiting city!

María Laura’s Santiago Tip!
My favorite place is downtown Santiago, where you can see 3 amazing murals by Nemesio Antúnez, a famous Chilean painter: ‘Quinchamali’ located in galleria Juan Esteban Montero, ‘Terremoto’ in the cinema Nilo, and ‘Luna y Sol’, in the lobby of the Grand Palace Hotel.

Sergio

A bike and language enthusiast from Brazil. Sergio came to Chile to study Physical Education and learn Spanish at age 19. He fell in love with the city and with a girl from Santiago, who he came to marry. This relationship enabled him to have a deeper knowledge of the Chilean culture and customs and adapt some of them such as having the Chilean ‘once’.

Riding a bike wherever he goes allows him to get to know places in the city that might pass by unnoticed when using other means of transportation.

His experience with tourism started in his hometown, Sao Paulo, where he volunteered to show foreigners around his city as a way to practice the languages he was studying. As a Strawberry Tours guide Sergio has the job he’s always dreamed of: working outdoors, speaking different languages and sharing experiences with people from all over the world

Sergio’s Santiago Tip!
Stroll along the Mapocho river on a Sunday morning when Andrés Bello avenue is open only for pedestrians, cyclists and skaters.

Nelai

Nelai is a lover of knowledge and a very curious person. He was born in Santiago but grew up in northern Chile with all the Andean culture decorating his home’s walls through crafts and looms, as his grandmother was passionate about the Incas. Nelai currently lives in Santiago, a city that he loves for its current cultural diversity.

He studied tourism, a tool he uses to achieve the objective of knowing more about each place in the world and those who inhabit it. During his studies he achieved the dream of living and working in Cusco-Perú for 6 months, learning that with effort and dedication you can continue moving forward by an ideal.

Another passion of Nelai is music, he uses it as meditation. Only when he plays the guitar he can connect with his feelings and generate genuine ideas.

Nelai’s main objective is to be able of enchanting visitors with interesting and curious stories about the city of Santiago and its surroundings.

Nelai’s Santiago Tip
Drink the “Cola de Mono”, the Chilean baileys, at the Union bar. Classic place in the city, preferred by poets during the twentieth century, such as Jorge Tellier. It still has its classical architectural and lighting style. Place that was born as an option before the elite clubs of the city. In addition, its Chilean cuisine mixed with Spanish is delicious, with very good prices as well. It is a whole “Picada” in the center, a place which is beautiful, cheap and good.