Chile in May

Pichilemu epic in May. Haven't surfed Arica. Get a good wetsuit and suck it up. Hood and booties too.
Once you get past the first intense immersion its good. Almost no-one there, we spent a few weeks several times and mid week that time of year you can be looking at 2km long reeling point waves with 3 people out. There is a place just north of Pichilemu that is insane, seek and ye shall find. We had to get there on cliff top goat track but I've heard theres a sealed road now. Plus another 1,000km of left points to the south.

Get a esky full of ice, let it melt halfway then put your head and hands in it, good practice for surfing southern Chile. Get a good wettie (that you can paddle a long way in), hood, booties and maybe even gloves, it is colder than anywhere. Consistent good waves, not too crowded, great seafood , slightly expensive compared to some other parts of South America .

I’ve got an opportunity to visit Santiago quite often starting next year. Any rights around Pichilemu? Just a yes or no will suffice. Also should I be worried about travelling solo around there? Any more words of advice are welcome.

Both my kids backpacked in South America. My daughter with a girlfriend straight out of high school for 7 months and my son by himself for 14 months including Central America and into Mexico. Pack loads of commonsense around safety, behaviour and money security, have backup cards/identification etc and avoid the big cities and the party youth hostels and any accommodation in dodgy urban locations. Learn Spanish. Our Chilean neighbours were more worried about their wellbeing than we were, both disliked Santiago. I understand there are plenty of blogs for what you have in mind.