Chile · Región de Coquimbo
Where to Stay in Coquimbo, Región de Coquimbo
Coquimbo is a city of north-central Chile on a bright bay by La Serena, a historic port crowned by a great cross, near the beaches and the starry skies of the Elqui valley.
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Where to stay in Coquimbo
Each area has its own feel; here's who each one suits.
Where you stay in Coquimbo turns on the port or the beaches. The streets of the English quarter keep the old port, the market, and the cross above within a walk, and staying downtown suits anyone here for the harbour. Below lies the bright bay.
The great cross looks down. Out along the bays and the coast, the town gives way to the beach resorts, the fishing coves, and the road to La Serena. A room by the sea trades the port for the sandy bays, the warm shallows, and the coast toward Tongoy.
Bay after bay follows the shore down toward Tongoy. Stay downtown for the port, or by the sea for the beaches. The cross-crowned port stands on its bay.
About Coquimbo
Coquimbo is the port city by La Serena.
What is Coquimbo known for?
On a wide bay of north-central Chile, it grew as the harbour of the mining coast, and it keeps the great Cross of the Third Millennium on its hill, the old English quarter of the port, the iron church of Guayacán by the sea, and the long beaches of its bays. The bright bay opens to the Pacific. Dry hills back the shore.
What are the main landmarks in Coquimbo?
The Cross of the Third Millennium is the pride of Coquimbo. The vast concrete cross on the hill above the port, seen far out to sea, is the emblem of the city, downtown. An iron church stands by the shore.
The old Guayacán church, built of iron by the sea, rises in the port quarter, while the English quarter, the bay beaches, and the Elqui valley mark the country around Coquimbo.
What is the history of Coquimbo?
Coquimbo grew as a mining port. On its sheltered bay it shipped the copper and silver of the northern hills, and in the eighteen-hundreds British traders settled by the harbour, building an English quarter of shops and warehouses. Pirates once raided the coast.
In earlier days corsairs and privateers struck the bay for its silver, and the town kept forts and lookouts against the sea. The port turned to faith and the sea. Coquimbo raised the Guayacán iron church by its smelter, and in our own age it crowned its hill with the vast Cross of the Third Millennium, seen for miles.
The coast drew holidaymakers. Its beaches and the starry skies of the Elqui valley drew visitors, and Coquimbo grew as the port and resort of the coast, keeping its harbour, its cross, and its beaches. The great cross still lights the hill.
Coquimbo keeps its bay port by La Serena.
Where is Coquimbo?
Coquimbo lies in north-central Chile, on a bay of the Pacific by the city of La Serena. The city sits on a peninsula and a wide harbour, in a dry land of scrub and beaches, with La Serena across the bay to the north and the green Elqui valley reaching inland to the east. The bay curves calm and blue.
Dry hills ring the port.
What is the climate of Coquimbo?
Coquimbo has a mild, dry desert climate. Warm days and cool nights hold all year on the coast, with almost no rain and grey morning fog off the sea. The sun warms the bay.
Sea fog greys the dawn.
How do you get to Coquimbo?
Coquimbo lies in north-central Chile, on the coast north of Santiago. The Panamerican highway runs to it up the coast from Santiago, and roads climb inland to the Elqui valley. Vans run up to Elqui.
La Serena lies just across the bay.
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Updated August 2026