Reñaca is a small resort a little further up the coast than Viña del Mar. It is fast becoming another suburb of Viña and, as such, has lost some of its appeal. It has always been a more exclusive resort than Viña, where the wealthy had holiday apartments, but this exclusivity is rapidly being eroded and the town is becoming more and more a standard middle-class retreat. The upside of this is that the infrastructure of the town has improved vastly in recent years. Reñaca now has banks, restaurants, a post office and supermarkets- all things that have made the town more livable all year round rather than just a summer retreat.
New apartment blocks and mini-condominiums are springing up and infrastructure is improving, although access roads are not-leading to the same summer traffic chaos seen in Viña itself.
Still, Reñaca has far more charm than Viña. It has some excellent restaurants and bars and the beach is far and away the most beautiful and clean in the Viña area of the coast.
Reñaca is about 1 hour and 45 minutes from Santiago Centre and 1 hour and a half from the airport, mostly along perfectly maintained motorways and urban roads.
