Contact
Internet Access
At least 5 or 6 internet cafã©s called "cibercafã©" can be found around downtown, and charge competitive rates for use. however, the town seems to be rather poorly linked to the national network, and past experience has shown that the connection speeds are often frustrating. one exception is apacheta, located right by the plaza de armas. they have decent equipment, and offer a variety of services, such as transferring pictures to dvd, bike rental, and book exchange.
Telephone
There's a number of "centro de llamados", places sporting phone booths, that offer decent prices for calls home and abroad. ask for the fare beforehand, in any case. also, there are public pay-phones in the plaza and aduana customs, but they're often out of order.
Called "correos de chile", and not "posta" that's a medical facility, their office is located in le paige street, very close to the museum and the plaza. there's also a courier service, chilexpress, that has an office in caracoles street, to westernmost end of it. don't expect any mail to be delivered swiftly, though, since san pedro is quite isolated from the country's main communications line. sending a letter or package to santiago, for instance, takes at least three days.
solar radiation
The sun in San Pedro can often emit dangerous levels of UV rays! Especially in summer, using sunblock, sunglasses, a wide-brimmed hat, and long sleeves is essential. In winter, the radiation levels are more tolerable, and you can actually sunbathe. In summer, however, don't attempt it at all! Especially if your skin's white. The bare minimum UPF for sunblock lotion is 45, 60 and upwards being much better. Always remember to reapply it after an hour or so.
altitude
First of all, always remember that the the altitude of San Pedro de Atacama is 2400m about 8000 feet above sea level. Some of the tourist attractions are well above 4000m 12000 feet. Therefore, if you have any kind of heart or lung problems, consult with your physician before booking a trip. If you get AMS acute mountain sickness, expect no cure, except heading to lower ground. The symptoms are fairly easy to recognize: dizziness, nausea, headaches, shortness of breath. The best way to ameliorate the condition is to throw up first seriously, then take an infusion of chachacoma, a local plant that also works quite well to ease headaches. The drink stinks, but actually has only a mild, bitter taste. A packet of chachacoma leaves costs one dollar, and can be found at the handicrafts market at the plaza. An alternative are coca leaves, but remember that you have to drink tea or chew on them at least four times a day, two days before going up! Also, the way to chew them is to put them inside your cheek, and letting them get wet with saliva, not actually biting them! This will release their juice all at once, which is terribly bitter.
other health concerns
San Pedro only has a Posta, a small medical facility with an ER and some assorted doctors. There are no pharmacies in the area, only a tiny shop that sells the essentials: sunblock, aspirin, condoms, anti-allergics, etc. La Botica, located on Le Paige street, close to the police station If you become seriously ill, or suffer a major lesion, expect to be transferred to Calama, or even Antofagasta, at great expense! While there are no major hazards in the area such as lethal diseases, poisonous animals, and so on, take twice the care you normally would when hiking, cycling, and doing any other activity outdoors. This applies even more to the geysers, where burn-related injuries aren't that uncommon; the place is virtually disconnected from the world, so be extremely cautious when visiting!
money
Despite rumors to the contrary, exchange rates in town are decent, but watch out for wild price swings in the currency of your interest-the money exchanges in town usually are lagging behind this info, which can play in your favor... or otherwise. The dollar's very appreciated, and you can routinely get better rates there than in banks. Be mindful, though, that one-dollar and damaged bills won't be accepted. The euro rates are terrible, though, while other currencies' can be found somewhere in the middle. Again, they only accept larger euro bills, and only in mint condition. There's four places with ATM's in town: Banco Estado, in front of the museum only accepts international MasterCards, Banco Bci Caracoles-Vilama streets intersection, close to the plaza, Atacama Connection they have two offices; the one with the ATM is on the intersection of Caracoles and Calama streets, and a last one at the western end of Caracoles, which only accepts international Visas. Until a few months ago, the operation of these ATMs was sketchy, due to frequent money shortages; now, with greater variety, this has somewhat improved. A tip: if an ATM refuses to give you money, it could be because its supply of a certain denomination is spent. Try with a different amount. For instance, if you wanted 35.000 pesos, round it down to thirty-thousand, or even twenty-thousand, and withdraw money twice or a higher amount, which actually makes more sense.
crime
You can rest assured, there's virtually no violent crime in San Pedro. However, the theft of bicycles and cars happens every once in a while, so take the normal precautions in that regard. Despite being poorly lit at night, the town is safe to walk around at all times-use your common sense if you see something suspicious. You might hear locals say that the only danger in town are stray dogs leading even to the nickname "San Perro de Atacama"; perro means dog in spanish, and this is true. San Pedro boasts a huge population of them; most are friendly and harmless, but a few will attempt to bite passing cyclists. Cases of rape aren't unheard of, but most of these happen at parties, with heavily intoxicated females as the victims. In any case, they're rare.