The Pacific coast north of Concepción offers easy day trips on regular bus services from the Collao terminal. Tomé, about an hour away, is the more characterful stop — a working coastal town that grew up around a 19th-century textile factory and has two good crescent beaches. Dichato, a further 30 kilometres up the coast, is a smaller resort bay with long dark sand and a concentration of seafood restaurants. The two can be combined in a single day if you take an early bus.