Zapallar Beach

The small town of Zapallar is located on Chile’s Central Coast a few hours drive north of the capital, Santiago. This is where Chile’s wealthy and famous like to spend a weekend by the sea in any one of the fabulous old villas which cling to the hillside overlooking the beach. As a result visitors are particularly well catered for with some good shops and cafes. The town has something of an exclusive feel to it and makes no claims to be a holiday resort.

The beach here is a fine crescent of golden sand set in a heavily forested bay. Out of season and during the week Zapallar beach is often virtually deserted but it does get pretty busy in the summer months. Whilst plenty of frolicking takes place on the beach the water is never quite as inviting as it looks with the Humboldt current keeping the water temperature suitably frigid. The Humboldt current is also responsible for the clouds that seem to hang over the beach during much of the day. The good news though is this usually burns off by the mid-afternoon.