Arica sits at the northern tip of Chile, eighteen kilometres south of the Peruvian border. Chacalluta airport is twenty minutes south of town with several daily flights to Santiago (3 hours direct) and connections to Iquique and Antofagasta. Taxis to the centre are around CLP 8,000; the airport shuttle to Plaza Colon is cheaper.
By land, the border crossing into Tacna is the busy bit. Shared taxis (colectivos) from Arica's terminal Internacional run to Tacna for about CLP 4,000-5,000, take the paperwork off your hands, and cover the 60 km in just over an hour. From Tacna there are onward buses to Lima, Cusco and Arequipa.
Domestic buses leave from the Terminal Rodoviario on Diego Portales. The overnight Pullman to Santiago is a long 28 hours; most travellers take it as far as Iquique (4-5 hours) or Antofagasta (10-12 hours) and break the trip. The historic Arica-La Paz railway no longer runs as a regular service.