Sunny Days Hostel in Arica, Chile - Bigger Life Adventures

Written by flocu

Arica is the gateway to Chile… …no wait, the gateway to Peru! Or is it Bolivia? If you visit this northernmost Chilean city, chances are you are crossing Chile to/from Peru or Bolivia. The Sunny Days Hostel in Arica is in a very convenient location to do just that, a short walk from the national and the international bus station.

But there is more to Arica than just being a transit layover. As the hostel name suggest, it almost never rains in Arica. On the other hand, it doesn’t get too hot in the “city of eternal spring”, even though it is situated at the edge of the Desierto de Atacama. Add 20km of beaches and nice waves and you’ve got yourself a surfer’s paradise.

No matter if you want to stay a night to catch the bus next morning or stay a month to catch the famous wave “El Gringo” each morning, Sunny Days Hostel welcomes you. Or rather Ross from New Zealand, the owner and host, welcomes you with a smile, a joke and a free all you can eat breakfast to his living room. Or is it the hostel’s living room? The distinction is blurred and doesn’t matter.

The living room

Spacious doesn’t cut it as a description for this living room and the huge communal area with public kitchen in the second house next door or the second fully equipped kitchen on the top floor or the rooftop terrace or the rooms themselves. Bring an elephant or two, if you like. They will hardly register.

Sunny Days Hostel owner Ross is a wealth of information about things to do in and around Arica, having lived here for 12 years. He can also provide you with information about the nearby Parque Nacional Lauca. If you can’t make it all the way down south to Patagonia, Parque Lauca is supposed to be the next best thing for outdoor lovers visiting Chile.