What a difference 4 miles makes.

You know when you're on a long road trip, and the scenery slowly changes? Maybe the dusting of snow turns into feet within a few hours, or skyscrapers turn into smaller apartment buildings which turn into sprawling houses? It's usually a pretty gradual process, and it's hard to recognize it's happening.

A hotel on the beach

During the 4-mile bus trip from Valparaíso to Viña del Mar, the view changes entirely. Instead of Valparaíso's colorful small homes dotting the hillside, Viña del Mar's beach is lined with 20-story resorts lining the beach. Viña del Mar has lots of manicured parks and condo buildings with fountains in the front. There are horse-drawn carriages. Instead of climbing mountain-tops, tourists flock to Viña del Mar for long walks on the packed-full beach. It's pretty much a quintessential resort town.

Horse and carriage rides

After a day of sitting around the beach and walking around a massive mall (in a quest to find the impossible: decent coffee), we returned to Valparaíso, amazed at how just a few miles could so completely change the look, feel and economy of a city. 

One of Valparaíso's many funiculars

For folks considering a budget trip to this part of Chile, I'd recommend doing something similar to what we did. Stay in a hostel in the hills of Valparaíso and take the funiculars up and down the mountain. Marvel at the views. Find a quaint little restaurant in the middle of nowhere. (And ask locals for recommendations of what areas to avoid. Some parts of Valparaíso aren't the greatest.) Then when you've had enough of Valparaíso's gritty charm, take the bus to Viña del Mar to sit on the beach, eat some gelato, and really feel like you're on vacation. Repeat as necessary.

-R