Flying from Santiago to Lima?
Add a departure date and see which side gets the sun.
Flying from Santiago to Lima?
Add a departure date and see which side gets the sun.
Flying from Santiago to Lima?
Add a departure date and see which side gets the sun.
Santiago → Lima
A medium flight from Chile to Peru. Set your watch back 2 hours on arrival.
This route crosses the Tropic of Capricorn, the southernmost latitude where the sun passes directly overhead.
Chile's capital in the valley
Santiago sits in a long valley between the Andes and the coastal mountain range, close enough to the peaks that snow-capped summits are visible from the city on clear days. The metro doesn't yet reach the airport; a dedicated line is planned, so buses and taxis cover that trip for now, while the existing network serves the rest of the city well. Smog can build up in the valley during winter temperature inversions, when the surrounding mountains trap pollution close to the ground. It's the springboard to well-known skiing and wine country, both within a couple of hours' drive.
Surrounding hubs
| 1,895 km / 1,177 mi | |
| 2,615 km / 1,625 mi | |
| 2,934 km / 1,823 mi |
The city of kings
Lima sits on Peru's arid Pacific coast, a sprawling capital that gets almost no rain, with a persistent gray coastal fog (the garua) instead of sun for much of the year. The city's first metro line doesn't yet reach Jorge Chavez Airport directly, and a new terminal opened in 2025 with full transit connections still pending, so taxis, rideshares, and airport buses remain the standard way in. Lima is built on dramatic coastal bluffs in neighborhoods like Miraflores, with parks running right along the cliff edge above the ocean. It's the gateway to a country that spans desert coast, Andean highlands, and Amazon rainforest, each a different flight or long drive away.
Surrounding hubs
| 1,888 km / 1,173 mi | |
| 2,031 km / 1,262 mi | |
| 2,359 km / 1,466 mi |
Find out which side of the plane to sit on.
Pick your airports, set your departure time, and you're done.
We calculate the sun's position based on your flight path and departure time, then tell you which side of the plane gets direct sun and which stays shaded. No guessing, just math.
Enter your flight
Pick your departure and arrival airports and set your departure time at the departure airport. FlightSide estimates the duration and you can adjust it if you know the exact schedule.
We track the sun along your route
Your flight path is broken into hundreds of points. At each one we check where the sun is and which side of the plane it faces.
You get a recommendation
Which side of the plane to sit on, left or right, depending on whether you'd rather avoid the sun or enjoy it. The percentages and the map are there if you want to see why.
Want to go deeper? Accuracy, edge cases, polar routes — see the FAQ →
Notes from the product.
Small updates, route observations, and clearer explanations for how the app keeps evolving.
Type less, wait less, wonder more
Airport search now understands metro codes and old city names, FlightSide loads noticeably faster, and a new Feeling lucky button chooses a flight for anyone without one in mind.
A closer look at the route, not just the seat
FlightSide now shows the two cities and key details about the flight alongside the seat recommendation: confirm you picked the right airports, read the time change off two clocks, and check the return leg.
It's all about the sun (after all)
Not all sunlight reaches the side windows. FlightSide now weighs the sun’s angle to the cabin and shows twilight along the route.