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Thieves in the Night: A Vast Burglary Ring From Chile Has Been Targeting Wealthy U.S. Households

By Marc Wortman

The trap was set.

On an icy evening—January 21, 2020—the four suspects were about to step right into it. “We had everything planned out,” says the lead detective on the case.

That’s Jesus Bonilla, of the Nassau County Police. The detective recalls the tension he felt as he waited with other officers on a residential street in College Point, Queens. For months he had been pursuing a four-member crew that included its reputed leader, Bryan Herrera Maldonado. Though only 24, he was said to be among the most wanted burglars in the New York City area. Bonilla estimates that Maldonado’s gang broke into at least 100 private homes across the country. They allegedly stole cash, jewelry, electronics, watches, and designer clothes and handbags—loot Bonilla believes amounted to millions—from mansions in towns like Bronxville, Greenwich, Hewlett Harbor, Old Westbury, and Sands Point. But that was just a fraction of the haul Maldonado was alleged to have swiped on a “theft tour” across the U.S. and in various countries around the world.

According to authorities, at 8 p.m. Maldonado and his accomplices pulled up at a modest, two-story house a block away from a park that juts out into the treacherous waters where the East River meets the Long Island Sound. Less than two hours earlier, the crew had allegedly hit an estate in Saddle River, New Jersey, one of the wealthiest zip codes in the country. While ransacking the place, he and his team didn’t know the police were staking out Maldonado’s rented home in Queens.

“We had them,” says Bonilla, 46, a peppery-talking ex-Marine and first-generation Salvadoran American whose barrel chest stretches his suit jacket. In one of our numerous calls, Bonilla declares, “I’m a very passionate guy.” And so he was that night.

According to Bonilla, Maldonado’s was just one of about a dozen theft gangs Bonilla and his colleagues were chasing—and, in some cases, still do. But because many of the burglars are well versed in police practices, they always seem to be one step ahead of the law. Almost to a man (and, occasionally, woman), they originate in Chile before flying to a designated country, generally on a 90-day tourist visa. Once overseas, they move from city to city, committing crimes, fencing their goods, and sending home their illicit gains—before returning to Chile and, many times, heading out on the road again. “Some come here to work every day,” Bonilla asserts. In fact, one member of Maldonado’s team had landed in the U.S. just two days earlier.

For Bonilla, grabbing Maldonado that night would be the big prize. Bonilla explains that private investigators had traced Maldonado’s alleged path to the New York City area. “His cell stole $5 million, easy,” Bonilla contends.

Arriving at the College Point house, Maldonado went inside before returning to open the door for an accomplice. When Bonilla saw Maldonado, he and a scrum of cops descended on the pair—shouting, guns drawn.

“And then,” Bonilla says, “everything went to shit.”

Lately, violent crime has been surging in cities around the U.S. But more than a year ago, I got interested in how our globalized economy affects property crime. It became quickly apparent that many successful criminals—no different than their counterparts in aboveboard enterprises—can now move almost seamlessly between countries. Yet unlike people in legitimate businesses, thieves have to figure out where the best pickings are, how to deal with local cops, and, once they steal something, how to transfer the proceeds home without getting caught. That led me to spend months reporting on Maldonado after he became the focus of police scrutiny in the New York City region, and I learned he was imprisoned, serendipitously, several miles from where I live. He turns out to have been an unusually adroit burglar and one with a prototypical life story of a very particular type of globe-trotting break-in artist. More importantly, his story, and those of other alleged thieves I tracked, gave me a handle on the operations of a network of gangsters who have been systematically plundering wealthy citizens worldwide. Until now, that bigger picture has not been laid out in full.

Maldonado and his crew, for all their purportedly pilfered millions, turn out to be little more than bit players in a global explosion of a very particular sort of crime. (Maldonado refused to comment for this story despite repeatedly being offered an opportunity to participate.) The criminals have become so pervasive that they have earned a moniker among law enforcement officials as “Chilean tourist burglars”—although some call them South American theft groups or “crime tourists,” acknowledging overlaps with other nationalities within the crews. In the coming months, according to an inside source, federal teams are set to fan out and come down hard on the thieves, hoping to finger the shadowy figures they believe oversee the operations: Chilean ringleaders back home and in the U.S. as well as their partners—Colombian coordinators and fences, who manage to turn the stolen caches into cash. But first, some background.

“The wave [in California] has been going on since 2016,” a Los Angeles special agent with the FBI tells me. He heads up a regional police interagency group in Southern California that targets the bandits; his office also acts as an informal national clearinghouse feeding information about the gangs to local police departments.

By Bess Levin

By Chris Murphy

Detective Sergeant Michael Maher, supervisor of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department Major Crimes Bureau Burglary-Robbery Task Force, recalls how, that year, he began receiving frequent reports of early-evening house break-ins. A pattern emerged. The thieves only struck empty houses and, as a rule, were unarmed. The properties were out of sight of neighbors, often bordering undeveloped hillsides, golf courses, or parks. Most often, the bandits came in from the back of the residence and entered through the second story, avoiding alarms. And they frequently went for massive mansions. “The homes,” Maher says, “had values of $15 million, not $1 million…. It’s common that one burglary will yield $100,000. Do that once a day for six months, it’s a very lucrative industry.”

After viewing surveillance footage of the break-ins, he tells me, “we began to develop a common picture of the burglars. They were younger and not very big. They dressed all in black, wore gloves, and carried backpacks.” Following a few arrests, he says, “we found out they tended to be Chileans.” After being alerted by police elsewhere in California to large numbers of similar crimes and learning that law enforcement officials in other wealthy Western countries were also busting large numbers of Chileans for the same types of break-ins, “a lightbulb went on.” Maher concludes, “This is truly an international crime trend.”

His task force, he calculates, has made more than a thousand arrests for what he terms “organized burglaries”; this past year, he says, “the trend has been gaining steam.” In 2019, prior to the COVID outbreak, investigators with the LAPD and the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office reportedly attributed hundreds of local crimes to Chilean crews. According to Maher, during the height of the pandemic, when people remained at home, the pace of the break-ins slackened, but smash-and-grab jobs skyrocketed. Lately, the home invasions have rebounded. And back east, says Bonilla, who has become a leading figure investigating the gangs, “affluent neighborhoods are getting destroyed right now.”

According to the Los Angeles special agent with the FBI, the crime wave actually started off in 2014, when Chile joined the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) program. The 40-nation initiative grants those countries’ citizens virtually automatic 90-day visa waivers, permitting them, with just a passport, to jump on a plane to other ESTA destinations. (Chile is the sole Latin American country in the program.) Prior to COVID, more than 200,000 Chileans came to the U.S. each year. But within two years of Chile’s new ESTA status, “word of mouth,” the Los Angeles special agent with the FBI asserts, led more and more Chileans with larcenous plans to take quick vacations. The FBI agent says that “they see people come home having made thousands and even millions”—leading others to try their luck.

The total number of gang members is “hard to pinpoint,” notes the FBI agent. Despite the thousands of thefts he attributes to the crews—leading to global losses in the tens of millions—he finds the problem has gone largely unreported beyond local news outlets. The posses remain “under the radar,” he says, “because there’s no footprint. They get fictitious documents, IDs, residency cards, to claim they’re legally here.” When cops haul in the crooks, they frequently cannot find their names in any databases. “They accumulate no identifiable criminal record.” Bonilla finds that, generally, when a town starts seeing a wave of break-ins, “a small local police force, 30 to 40 cops in an affluent area, thinks it’s just local shitheads. But they’re not your typical burglars.”

Without prior convictions, each fresh arrest for a nonviolent offense often results in high bail, which the culprits or their comrades quickly pay— “so they have no reason to show up at court,” says the Los Angeles FBI agent—or a willing guilty plea and swift release after a fine or a short stint in jail. They soon head back home or out on the prowl again.

Scores of upscale communities in the U.S. have been raided. Andrew Hague, an assistant state attorney and former judge in Miami, set up that city’s anti-gang unit during the Miami Vice days of the Colombian narcotics cartels. He’s now part of a regional task force formed last spring to deal with the problem. He compares the crime rings to some of the drug organizations he battled in the ’80s. “That pales in comparison,” he says, though he notes that the current crews are far less violent. “They are all over the place. You knew the Colombian cartels were going through Miami, but I don’t remember a cartel that had operations going countrywide or worldwide. Everybody’s getting hit.” In January, The Washington Post reported on theft rings operating in the D.C. suburbs. According to the Post, local detectives suspect the perpetrators, after researching their quarry online, tend to home in on houses of well-to-do Asian and Middle Eastern residents due to the fact that, as the investigators put it, the “burglars believe they sometimes keep family wealth in gold and jewelry or have large amounts of money on hand because they may run businesses that rely on cash.”

The thieves have been crisscrossing the globe. In March 2018, police in Halton, a well-to-do municipality west of Toronto, arrested 15 Chileans for 400-plus burglaries that raked in nearly $2 million (U.S.). The group accumulated so much booty that it stashed the excess in a commercial storage locker. Meanwhile, police in England announced they had nabbed nearly 80 Chileans after a prolonged investigation. According to a press report, a gang shuttled burglars in and out of London every two weeks to prey upon high-end neighborhoods. The thieves must have known when Premier League players living in Cheshire’s so-called footballers’ belt went out of town for away games. While the athletes were on the road, the crooks scored at their homes. According to press accounts, four Chileans tagged celebrity chef Marcus Wareing, who lost several prized watches and his wife’s Louboutins, among other costly items. The London Evening Standard reported that U.K. constables arrested some 300 Chileans over a three-year period, and police in Spain, the Netherlands, France, and Italy faced high numbers of such break-ins as well.

Bryan Herrera Maldonado was among the jet-set thieves. He and the others moved, struck, and moved on. But on that night in College Point, nobody had begun to put the pieces together to identify the peripatetic network that had allegedly dispatched Maldonado and hundreds of other “window crawlers,” as Bonilla dubs them, in the first place.

In late July 2019, a Florida couple in their 70s returned to their sleek contemporary Coconut Grove house after a week away. Gone were $14,000 in currency, $165,000 in precious gems, two bracelets valued at $38,000, a $15,000 Rolex, two Patek Philippe watches and others even more costly, sets of $10,000 earrings, plus handbags and more: a haul valued at $1.2 million in all. (The couple has requested anonymity for this article.) The wife felt terrorized by the experience. “We didn’t sleep in the bedroom there for a year,” she tells me.

Exterior surveillance video revealed that shortly before 9 p.m. on a Saturday evening, four people drove up in two cars. Three men, all dressed in the same sorts of clothes and hats, jumped a six-foot wall from the lot of a vacant house next door and broke open a rear window, carefully avoiding a sophisticated sound-sensing alarm system. Sixteen minutes later, they exited with two heavy safes and their backpacks bulging, disappearing into the night.

The husband says he contacted the police, who, he claims, offered little help. Over the next few weeks, the couple learned about two similar break-ins nearby. Set on locating the criminals, they decided to hire David Bolton, a well-known Miami private investigator. Bolton, who has helped solve several cases involving the Latin American underworld, tells me that he had first heard about the tourist-thief crime wave the year before. He reviewed the security footage: “The way they dressed, the way they moved, the materials they brought, the location, time of day, day of the week, the multiple vehicles, all added up to me as Chilean burglars.” He brought his findings to the cops. “I said, ‘These are not regular guys from the street. These are pros.’ The police thought they knew it all and didn’t want assistance from anybody.”

The couple offered a reward, and Bolton went to the media. “Small leads started trickling in,” he says, though he won’t tell me his sources. “Information footprints left behind led me to one individual, and the footprints expanded to multiple individuals in multiple locations.” But the ones he was after, he continues, “were all up in New York.” His sources pointed him to various suspects, including Maldonado. Bolton went to the FBI and New York City police with what he had learned, but both, he says, seemed disinterested. When he contacted Detective Bonilla, who was already pursuing his own leads on local break-ins, he got traction. “He ran with it.”

Over the next several months, Bonilla and another detective, who were by then working full-time on the Chilean cases in their county, continued tracking various crews. Among the locations in their crosshairs: Maldonado’s College Point house.

In photographs, Maldonado could pass as an American high schooler. He looks smooth-faced and lithe, with bright dark eyes, a winning smile, and stylishly short black hair. I spoke with detectives, reviewed public court documents, and contacted Maldonado’s lawyer. After a lengthy search, I found someone familiar with Maldonado’s life—all 26 years of it. This person insisted on not being identified. At times, Maldonado’s narrative, as recounted, sounds like that of someone as needy and lost as a young street thief from Oliver Twist. At other moments, it resembles that of a hardened tough from Brian De Palma’s Scarface.

When I talk with this anonymous source, the person says Maldonado seems almost surprised at the way his fortunes have unfolded. Maldonado’s “history is crazy,” my source tells me. I gather from my talks with the source that Maldonado grew up in Pudahuel, a dusty residential and industrial municipality in the western sprawl of metro Santiago, near the international airport and far removed from the wealthier central and eastern portions of the Chilean capital. According to the person with knowledge of his past, Maldonado lived with an older cousin who was like a big brother and best friend to him. That cousin introduced him to the tricks of the trade—at age 13. “One thing leads to another,” this person tells me.

Maldonado was sent to jail multiple times as a teen but, in each case, was only held overnight. That is, “until he had accumulated so many crimes that even he was surprised” when, at 16, he was incarcerated for the first time in a juvenile prison. “It only helped him,” the source says, “to meet more criminals.” When Maldonado got out, he left the country for the first time, going to Argentina to steal. While there he was detained by police.

I spoke online with the Chilean National Police’s Jorge Sánchez Sandoval, chief of the division responsible for reining in the Chilean tourist burglars. He is aware of Maldonado and describes him and his fellow tourist thieves as “specialized international criminals.” He tells me that money and status envy—capitalism’s high-octane fuel—drive mainly young poor people to try their luck “in Europe and the United States, [where people] are more trusting than they are here in Chile. They leave bags unattended. They take fewer precautions with their homes.” When some of the returnees “show off their money and luxury” once back home, he notes, “this motivates their neighbors, who see the new cars and jewelry.” He says others start to see a “criminal adventure” in going overseas.

“It’s a lifestyle,” agrees Bonilla, but he warns that something far more organized has been at work. In Maldonado’s case, once he returned from Argentina to his home in Chile, it was not long before he was arrested again—this time for a carjacking, according to my source. He didn’t get off lightly, doing five years’ time. Sometime during that period, he learned that a serious score could be made overseas. Released at age 22, the Maldonado contact tells me, he went to Argentina, where he stole enough money to travel to Europe.

He flew to Spain, where he joined an 11-member, mainly Chilean crew. According to media reports, they plagued the Madrid region for three months until they were busted after reportedly robbing more than 40 houses. (Maldonado, as mentioned above, refused to comment for this story, including offers to respond to these and other allegations.) He spent another year behind bars before being deported back to Chile, only to resurface in Argentina. He secured a false passport there, the source contends, and stole enough to hop a flight to Miami. Once in the States, Maldonado linked up with other Chileans already there. He “know[s] the Chilean people in the USA,” my contact says. And they know him.

The source notes that while in Miami, Maldonado met a young Chilean woman through people he knew who worked at Miami’s Booby Trap on the River, a strip club catering to a mainly Latin and rap crowd, where bottles of Champagne start at $1,000 and table rentals go for $2,400. Along with the naked women grinding onstage, pro ballers, rappers, and celebrity DJs light up the crowd. But the popular nightspot has also had its rough edge. In a notorious April 2021 incident, NBA player Sterling Brown, now with the Dallas Mavericks, required hospitalization for what press reports described as serious facial lacerations after being struck by a bottle in a parking lot fight.

That pumped-up-glam life must have appealed to Maldonado. In photos, he smiles sweetly while his girlfriend puckers alongside him. Both are decked out in black Philipp Plein jogging pants and T-shirts with Plein’s signature rhinestone-embossed skull and crossbones motifs, a favorite among clubbers and would-be players able to afford his pricey street fashions. In another photo, Maldonado rocks a matching Chicago Bulls uniform shirt and hat, aviator wire rims, and heavy rings and chains. Posing in front of a late-model Audi, Maldonado is the spitting image of Ali G, the Sacha Baron Cohen character.

In 2019, according to police and private detectives, Maldonado moved to New York. Once there, a source with inside knowledge tells me, Maldonado picked up numerous sets of false IDs. The couple set up house in College Point, and, according to Bonilla, Maldonado started in with his crew, sweeping out valuables night after night in the estate towns ringing the city.

In describing the tourist thieves’ lifestyle, police authorities and the person with knowledge of Maldonado’s world say that most come for a short time. “They steal [up to] $40,000 and go back” to Chile quickly, says the anonymous contact. But Maldonado went a different route. The source says Maldonado liked “the good life,” the money, and the people he got to know in the U.S. Maldonado stayed longer. That proved to be his downfall.

Given the similarities in the thieves’ methods and their whack-a-mole routes from state to state and country to country, many police officials assert that Maldonado and the others are part of a sophisticated criminal network. “There is somebody they answer to,” Bonilla insists. “Who’s paying [for] the plane ride and hotel to start off? They travel everywhere. Montana! How the fuck do they know that affluent people live there? There is rank and structure. It’s like the mafia.”

Miami gangbuster Hague shares this view and intimates that evidence he has seen “suggests coordination, that somebody in each major city is giving [thieves] assignments.” Another person with insight into the inner workings of the operations says that few sources talk about the underworld’s tactics because they fear retribution: “The syndicate is very powerful and has the means of hurting you. If you talk, there are repercussions.”

While authorities hold differing views about who, if anyone, funds and organizes the crews, nearly all agree that there is a system to send money to Chile. Bonilla alleges that the Chilean thieves in the U.S. fence goods through “Colombians in Los Angeles and New York.” The knowledgeable source, meanwhile, explains that money gets wired home immediately via Western Union and other transfer services. As for valuables like traceable watches, exceptional precious stones, and fashion items that are not easily offloaded, the person explains that “friends and family without criminal records travel here and return with them to Chile.”

Bonilla has been tracing the Chilean gangs for most of the past two years. But he had no idea how extensive the operations were when he zeroed in on Maldonado and his comrades on that frigid evening in January 2020. After that night, he says, “my investigation led me to something we never thought of. It kept on going, opening up from there.”

When the police rushed in to nab Maldonado on his Queens doorstep, he turned. Seeing the cops, he shoved one of his alleged accomplices back down the stairs, tangling up the other accomplice and the approaching officers. He raced into the house while the police tackled one crew member who briefly resisted. They also arrested Maldonado’s girlfriend there. (She pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor conspiracy charge in Nassau County court and was released. According to the source close to Maldonado, the couple has since split up.) Inside the house, police discovered a setup for pulling apart mounds of jewelry—as well as a quarter million dollars in valuables. “That was just the stuff they couldn’t get rid of,” Bonilla says.

Maldonado sprinted out the back door. The cops had blocked the street but failed to cover the rear of the house. “I had put a lot of time into this,” Bonilla tells me. “And he literally slipped out of my hands.” Maldonado vanished into the wintery night.

While the police combed the neighborhood, Maldonado raced across to an adjacent park and waded out into the icy East River. “It was freezing cold that day,” recalls Bonilla. “I thought, If he goes in the water, he dies.” But the source close to Maldonado tells me that he managed to survive in the water and along the shoreline for a time, shivering and exhausted. Not long after, he was on a flight to L.A.

There, he got in touch with the older cousin who originally introduced him to stealing for a living. According to Bonilla and private detective Bolton, Maldonado and his cousin reconstituted a crew in California and, for the next nine months, went searching for America, “pillaging the whole way,” says Bonilla. Cell phone GPS tracking led Bonilla to believe that Maldonado, his cousin, and others in the crew toured up the West Coast as far as Washington, scooted over into Montana, and then went down through Colorado and across the Midwest, removing valuables from some of the nation’s finer houses in their path. (Again, Maldonado would not comment for this story.)

At some point, Bonilla says, Maldonado’s cousin split off, returning to Santiago. But once back home, he made the mistake of flashing his wealth. Within a few weeks, he was murdered in a robbery, according to Bonilla. Maldonado came back to the New York area. My source with knowledge of his movements says that his friends and girlfriend were there.

“In my heart,” recalls Bonilla, “I knew Maldonado was not leaving the country.” He kept on him for 10 months. Bonilla eventually tracked him to a Jersey City motel, where, on Friday, November 13, 2020, the detective tightened the noose.

Bonilla entered the motel and saw Maldonado stepping off an elevator. “That’s him!” he shouted. Maldonado bolted, but “the place was surrounded,” Bonilla says. Was it ever. He had conscripted “a whole task force of U.S. marshals,” which in his estimation included “about 40 agents.” After police arrested Maldonado, Bonilla says, a search of his room turned up “nothing crazy, maybe a hundred thousand dollars of jewelry,” plus a large number of cell phones and stacks of fraudulent documents.

Pleading guilty to the same Saddle River second-story job that led to the January 2020 bust of his accomplices, Maldonado spent 71 days in a Bergen County jail on burglary charges before being extradited to Connecticut, where he pleaded guilty to burglary in October 2021. That brought him an additional 18-month sentence, including time served while awaiting trial. Bonilla tells me that Nassau County will soon extradite Maldonado to try him there; federal officials also appear likely to press more serious charges.

But even with Bryan Herrera Maldonado behind bars, Bonilla has not let up on unraveling the bigger puzzle. “Mr. Maldonado,” the detective says, “he’s a little piece” of it. But, he adds, investigating him “opened a door.” That door, he says—along with evidence gleaned from other leads and arrests—“led me to the Colombians—with an s. ” He claims “the Colombians have an organizing role in bringing people in and guiding them to where they should go—and in fencing the goods. An astounding amount of cash is running through their hands.” The detective now believes that the home break-ins are just one branch of their criminal enterprise. “These individuals have tentacles that reach beyond what we had imagined, beyond house burglaries.” He won’t offer specifics but contends that they operate a “coast-to-coast” criminal syndicate. “The organizers, the higher-ups, are a small, tight-knit group—a handful of them. The window crawlers [like Maldonado], those are hundreds. Hundreds.”

Bonilla is now working with federal authorities and the Chilean police. “It’s a network we’re trying to dismantle,” he says. After nearly four years on the case—and two years since Maldonado first slipped through his fingers—Jesus Bonilla warns, “I’m a heat-seeking missile.” Stay tuned, he tells me. “Arrests are coming.”

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Marc Wortman

By Julie Miller

Dozens of Chilean ‘tourists’ tied to burglaries in Southern California, police say

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The crime patterns began emerging in the last year: crews of thieves employing inventive techniques to gain entry and ransack scores of cars, homes and businesses in Southern California and across the nation.

As investigations and arrests ramped up, detectives noticed another key commonality: The suspects were Chilean and had gained entry into the U.S. with easily obtained visa waivers.

“It is a growing problem,” said FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller. “They’re very sophisticated. It’s a hot zone in Southern California.”

Law enforcement has dubbed it “burglary tourism,” and it is thriving locally and around the world.

Last week, Simi Valley police, working with the California Highway Patrol and Ventura County deputies, arrested three Chilean men for multiple vehicle burglaries. Each was here on temporary waivers, police said. In January, four other Chilean men were arrested in connection with 20 home burglaries and other thefts from vehicles at golf courses in the same community.

A crew believed to be connected to a Chilean ring pried into a Laguna Niguel jewelry store last month, swiping more than $1 million in goods.

Similar crimes have been reported in Texas, Arizona, Colorado, New York and other states as well as several European countries, the FBI said.

International crime rings are not uncommon, but authorities could point to no specific reason why the Chilean rings have been so successful.

Chile’s consulate general in Los Angeles did not respond to requests for comment.

Javiera Rodríguez, a Chilean television journalist, said that some Chilean criminals were known to seek out wealthier nations.

“There are many Chileans who, being criminals here, travel abroad because they can obtain better treasures,” she said in a Twitter message. “In addition, they are very ingenious and create new forms of theft.”

One pattern worldwide is the ingenuity of approach: The men arrested in Simi Valley last week used a jamming device to prevent car owners from locking their vehicles, a news release said. The device interrupts the signal when car owners activate the lock on key fobs.

And the visa waiver makes it hard for police to learn the real identities of the crooks, investigators said.

The ESTA — Electronic System for Travel Authorization — visa waiver allows citizens from 38 countries to visit the United States for tourism, business, study or medical purposes for 90 days.

The streamlined visa waivers are good for two years and can be used for multiple entries. Applicants can apply for the waivers as late as three days before leaving the country, according to the website.

The federal government established the visa program in 2009 to provide U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security with the capability to prescreen travelers against numerous no-fly, criminal and terrorist databases, according to the program website.

Those holding the waivers don’t have to fill the more onerous requirements of regular visas, such as comprehensive applications, interviews at a U.S. Embassy and increased scrutiny.

So far, police have been unable to determine the number of heists, the value of items stolen across the region or how many people work in the ring.

The crews’ signature identifiers include fake passports and phony identification cards. They use rental cars, sometimes masked with paper license plates. After entering the rear of homes, the burglars typically barricade front doors, including those in gated communities with private security patrols.

Once inside, crews scour master bedrooms for jewelry, money, guns and safes. Homes with parks, trails or undeveloped land behind them are prime targets, police said.

Investigators with the Los Angeles Police Department and the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office peg the number of burglaries in the “hundreds.”

LAPD Capt. Donald Graham, commander of the North Hollywood Division, said it was common for homeowners to lose $30,000 to $40,000 in a heist. Officers are aware of at least 40 burglaries in the division and dozens more in other areas.

The crews break glass or pry open patio doors but will not spend minutes circumventing alarm systems, he said.

“It’s become very distinguished by the way they stack furniture against doors,” Graham said. “This is a wide organized-crime ring. We’re going to need help from other law enforcement agencies to shut them down.”

The crooks also steal paperwork and documents like passports so they can later create more fake identities, he added.

Detectives learned the crews are removing diamonds and other stones from jewelry to make the stolen goods harder to identify or trace.

Eimiller, the FBI spokeswoman, said the bureau had contacted its FBI representative in Santiago, Chile, for assistance. Local police agencies and the FBI cannot access criminal histories of foreign nationals and rely on help from FBI agents stationed in other countries, she said.

In the last eight months, authorities in London and Australia have made arrests to disrupt similar Chilean theft rings, according to published reports. Australian police say the syndicate stole more than $1 million in goods from stores and homes.

Ventura County Sheriff’s Det. Theodore Stern, lead investigator on the case, said the thieves had developed a “professional system” to strike homes that appear unoccupied. Investigators are working with the FBI to check records in Chile, he said.

“It’s in the hundreds and hundreds,” he said about the thefts. “It’s a huge issue. They’re taking advantage of our immigration laws. Officers are working hard to catch these guys.”

In Ventura County, burglars have immediately sold the property or shipped it back to Chile, Stern said. Deputies, he added, have recovered some of the valuables sold locally.

In March, the owner of Nuggets & Carats, the Laguna Niguel jewelry store, worked with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department to set up a sting operation after burglars struck his store. They had cut the electricity, allowing batteries in the alarm system to drain, then returned 24 hours later to cut a hole in the roof before emptying display cases and a safe.

“They got everything my family worked for,” owner Brian Hassine said about the March burglary. “They cleaned us out.”

Last week, the same crew employed the same tactic. This time, the alarm company notified Hassine. Deputies were waiting when a man cut a hole in the roof. They moved in, but the suspect escaped through the roof of the large shopping center. Deputies stopped a black SUV associated with the crew but made no arrests. Officials said an investigation is ongoing but declined to discuss specifics.

Hassine said deputies at the scene told him the suspects were Chileans.

Last month, the city of Hidden Hills sent out 2,000 newsletters warning residents about 11 incidents in the western foothills of the San Fernando Valley.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department believes most, if not all, of the incidents are directly related to “Chilean Tourist Burglars,” the newsletter said.

In the January Simi Valley arrests, the men, ages 19 to 30, listed North Hollywood addresses and were arrested after officers conducted surveillance of them in Upland, police said.

“We have arrested some significant players,” Stern said. “It’s very likely there are lots of suspects out there.”

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Chilean government vows to crack down on ‘tourist burglars’ targeting California

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Chile’s government Friday pledged to crack down on Chilean crews suspected of committing hundreds of burglaries in Southern California and across other states.

Traveling bands of so-called tourist burglars from Chile are a growing concern for law enforcement, and Southern California was identified as a hot zone, with scores of cars, businesses and homes targeted for theft.

The Times reported Wednesday that a visa waiver program has helped some Chileans suspected of crimes enter the country.

The Chilean Embassy in Washington issued a statement saying it takes seriously any threat to international security.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile considers that this is a situation of high concern,” the statement said. “In fact, the Representative of the Investigative Police of Chile in Washington is closely monitoring the situation and is in contact with our Consulates and with federal, state and local law enforcement in order to control and prevent reoccurrence of these regrettable events.”

Simi Valley police recently arrested three Chilean men on suspicion of multiple vehicle burglaries. Each was in the U.S. on temporary waivers, police said. In January, four other Chilean men were arrested in connection with 20 home burglaries and other thefts from vehicles at golf courses in the same community.

A crew believed to be connected to a Chilean ring pried into a Laguna Niguel jewelry store last month, swiping more than $1 million in goods.

Similar crimes have been reported in Texas, Arizona, Colorado, New York and other states as well as several European countries, the FBI said.

An official with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which enforces immigration policies, said the agency is aware of “tourist burglars” and is sharing information with law enforcement.

The ESTA — Electronic System for Travel Authorization — can be used for tourism, business, study or medical purposes for 90 days. The streamlined visa waivers are good for two years and can be used for multiple entries.

The visa waiver doesn’t guarantee entry into the United States, said the official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly. The determination is made after interviews on U.S. soil. But until an arrest is made, an individual can’t be flagged in a database to block their entry.

“There’s a lot of intelligence going on behind the scenes,” the official said.

Once The Times detailed the crimes this week, headlines popped up across Chile and spread through the Chilean community in Los Angeles.

Ricardo Flores, owner of Rincón Chileno, a Chilean restaurant and delicatessen in East Hollywood and Lawndale, said relatives and friends flooded his phone this week to discuss the series of crimes. Pastries and empanadas fill display cases at the Melrose Avenue eatery, which sports colorful red soccer shirts and Chilean flags hanging on the wall.

He said Chileans visiting the store didn’t know about the burglaries and speculated that the crews are receiving help with travel and living expenses from inside the U.S.

He called for more scrutiny of the waiver program.

“They need to stop this,” he said, grabbing a carne empanada from the case. “This is only the tip of the iceberg.”

The United States annually reviews how often residents from each country violate laws while here. A high number of arrests or violations could damage a country’s eligibility for the waivers, said the U.S. Customs and Border Protection official. Citizens of 38 countries currently qualify for the waivers.

Chileans fear negative perceptions could spread among Americans and law enforcement, especially if a “Chilean gang breaks into the house of an influential figure,” said Boris van der Spek, editor in chief of Chile Today in the capital, Santiago.

“Task forces are now focusing on the nationality instead of the crime,” he said about events in Canada, where the crews have also struck. Last year, Canadian police arrested a gang of 15 Chileans who stole more than $2.7 million in 400 burglaries. “This doesn’t help the image that Chile is trying to sell internationally.”

Carlos Gutierrez, a retired captain with the Chilean national police and professor of forensic sciences at Chaminade University in Honolulu, said the country’s two police agencies aren’t sharing enough information with the FBI.

“This situation is really embarrassing for our country,” he said. “Everybody is concerned.”

Laura Eimiller, an FBI spokeswoman in Los Angeles, said the FBI representative in Chile is working closely with authorities in the country. She declined to comment on how well the Chilean agencies share information.

Although the burglaries have occurred in multiple states and countries, the Chilean Embassy said it doesn’t believe the crimes are as widespread.

The crime patterns emerged in the last year after crews employed inventive techniques to gain entry to properties, such as cutting electricity to a jewelry store in Orange County last month and waiting 24 hours for the alarm system’s batteries to drain.

Last week, Simi Valley police arrested a crew with a jamming device that prevented car owners from locking their vehicles. The tactics didn’t surprise Gutierrez, who noted both had been tried in Chile.

“It’s common,” he said. “These people learn from each other. This is all they do.”

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Chilean “tourists” exploiting U.S. visa waivers to commit mass burglaries in SoCal

LOS ANGELES - A FOX 11 investigation is exposing gangs of Chilean nationals who have been utilizing visa waivers to come to the United States for the sole purpose of burglarizing homes, businesses, and vehicles, and Southern California has become a top target for the criminals.

Chilean criminals exploiting U.S. visa waivers to commit mass burglaries in SoCal

Law enforcement officials are calling it “burglary tourism”, in reference to the ESTA visa waivers the Chileans are taking advantage of to get into the United States.

The ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) visa waiver allows citizens from 38 countries to come into the United States for tourism, business, or medical purposes for up to 90 days without the requirements of regular visas, such as comprehensive applications, interviews at a U.S. embassy, and heavier scrutiny. The waivers are good for two years and can be used for multiple entries.

For more than a year, these Chilean nationals have been suspected in hundreds of burglaries across Southern California, and the country, and nobody has been hit harder than Orange County business owner Brian Hassine.

“Illegal Chileans came into my store, and devastated us,” Hassine said.

Hassine is the owner of Nuggets & Carats in Laguna Niguel, a jewelry store that had $1.5 million of its inventory wiped out overnight on March 24th after it was burglarized by a crew of Chilean nationals.

“Everything we’ve saved over 32 years was taken from us within hours,” Hassine said. “They took our nest egg, it’s gone.”

Hassine says police told him his business had been hit by an organized gang of Chilean nationals who had been responsible for burglaries all across Southern California.

Security video from Hassine’s business showed a black SUV pulling up behind his store the night before his burglary. One by one, three hooded men get out of the vehicle and walk towards his electrical box, where they cut the power.

“What they do is they wait until the following day to see if anyone’s been notified the power has been shut off to see if the batteries that back up the alarms have been protected,” Hassine said.

RELATED: Chilean 'tourists' connected to crime spree in Southern California, police say

The men came back the next night to cut a hole in the roof, get inside, and clean the store out, but they were not done yet. Three weeks later, the power was cut at Hassine’s other jewelry store in Mission Viejo. Security video there showed the same black SUV, and he had a hunch the same group was about to hit him again, so he left the power off as bait, and told the Sheriff’s department to be ready, that the Chileans were coming back.

“At 11 p.m. that night, they showed up,” Hassine said.

As alarms to Hassine’s business blare, video shows Orange County deputies searching for a man who had sawed through the roof, but he was never found. However, deputies did pull over the black SUV seen on Hassine’s surveillance video as it fled the scene. It was a rental with paper plates, and it had five Chilean men inside.

“And I’m thinking, I just caught my own criminals!” Hassine said.

According to the police report, inside the SUV, deputies found black gorilla rubber work gloves that matched gloves found on the roof of Hassine’s business. Also found on the roof were a backpack with tools, a hand saw, a crowbar, a sledgehammer, metal cutting wheels, and a lengthy rope tied off in increments.

The police report says the Chilean men had all recently arrived in the United States, and they all had different stories about why they were at Hassine’s business. One said they were looking for somewhere to exercise, another said they were looking for prostitutes, and another said they were looking for food in Los Angeles and got lost in Mission Viejo.

“The police now tell me when we meet behind the building that these five have been arrested,” Hassine said.

But when Hassine got the police report weeks later, he found out the Chileans were never arrested. Instead, the report states they were all dropped off at a nearby Denny’s at their request.

“The police said very simply that they couldn’t connect the five Chileans in the car to the Chilean on the roof cutting holes open, how ridiculous and pathetic is that?” Hassine said. “They dropped them off for breakfast in the middle of the night at Denny’s in a parking lot!”

The police report identifies one of the released Chileans as Claudio Esteban Garrido Lizardi, who has been a busy man in Southern California.

FOX 11 has obtained surveillance video showing him using a crowbar to burglarize a Thousand Oaks Lululemon store in September, months after he was released at Denny’s.

The video shows him stealing $75,000 worth of merchandise before he was later arrested by an undercover detective with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.

“Once we arrested him we determined that he was a Chilean national and looking at some of his history, we determined he was committing crimes with a South American theft group,” the detective said.

The detective said Lizardi is just one of more than 20 Chileans he’s recently arrested in Ventura County jurisdiction, many of whom have past criminal records, and he provided FOX 11 with numerous videos of their brazen crimes.

“They all came into this country via the ESTA waiver,” the detective said.

The ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) visa waiver allows citizens from 38 countries to visit the United States for tourism, business, or medical purposes for 90 days without the requirements of regular visas, such as comprehensive applications, interviews at a US embassy, and heavier scrutiny.

They are good for two years, and can be used for multiple entries.

“I think there should probably be a little more vetting before we let people with past criminal records come into the US,” the detective said.

“We’re letting people come in that are being trained in their countries to come in and rob us over here,” Hassine said.

Hassine feels it’s a slap in the face to see the same Chilean who was caught and released at his jewelry store, on camera, burglarizing another business months later.

He’s filed a legal claim for damages against Orange County, the first step to a lawsuit alleging that the Sheriff’s department botched the investigation and should have never let the Chilean men go.

“Before they step foot into United States territory, they already know how to be a criminal in the United States, and yet we let them in, with open arms, and then when we catch them, we let them go at Denny’s, that’s what we do in America,” Hassine said.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department told FOX 11 they couldn’t comment on Hassine’s case because of pending litigation.

The Chilean government acknowledged concerns about burglary tourism, sending FOX 11 the following statement:

“As a result of shared concern on both our countries’ authorities, there has been a tightening of controls by Chilean law enforcement agencies, which have deepened the collaboration with their American counterparts, namely the FBI, Customs and Homeland Security. Furthermore, there have been some recent developments within this context of bilateral cooperation, applying API (Advanced Passenger Information) and PNR (Passenger Name Records), as well as other shared data, the prevention of cases, has proven to be more efficient.

Chilean authorities have responded to the situations you mentioned, with prompt decisions. After having accredited a Police Attaché to work closely with American authorities in crime prevention, the Chilean government opened yet another police liaison office in New York, to increase the joint efforts made by both countries on crime prevention.

This new police liaison started operating as recently as this week. The Chilean Police Attache was sent to Miami and Los Angeles, to coordinate actions with local authorities related with the burglary cases in those cities.  

An example of the joint action by law enforcement agencies of the US and Chile happened last week, when a burglar was captured and deported to Chile as a result of shared information on identification, modus operandi and background check carried out between the Chilean police liaison, the FBI and local police agents.”

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How so-called 'burglary tourists' stole jewelry worth millions from OC couple's home

SANTA ANA, Calif. -- Carol and Jeff Starr celebrated their daughter's wedding last month with a bit of irony: neither was wearing their own wedding rings at the ceremony. Thieves had broken into their Orange County home last spring and cleaned out a safe full of jewelry.

"They hit the jackpot," Carol Starr told CNN .

The couple had locked their own rings in a 6-foot-tall safe, where they also secured heirloom jewelry passed down from Carol's late mother.

"My mother loved beautiful things and she wanted to leave a legacy through jewelry," Carol Starr said. "She bought some beautiful antique jewelry, museum-quality jewelry."

Orange County prosecutors allege a group of thieves hid in the hillside adjoining the Starr's home, watched them leave with visiting relatives, and made their move.

"They came over our fence, they broke through a window in the upper bedroom and came through that window," Jeff Starr told CNN. "And then immediately started working ... on the safe."

The total loss: a staggering $8 million, the family estimates.

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"You don't feel safe in your own home anymore," said Carol Starr, who is thankful no one returned home during the burglary. "I get so emotional and so mad when I think about what could have happened."

Prosecutors say the break-in is part of a larger issue in which so-called "burglary tourists" enter the United States from countries that qualify for visa waivers, allowing a visit of up to 90 days without a traditional tourist visa. When the suspects arrive - most often from South America, prosecutors say - they join sophisticated burglary rings that prey on luxury homes.

In some cases, the suspects "lie in wait in these ghillie suits so they remain camouflaged," said OC District Attorney Todd Spitzer. "They take advantage of the fact that most people don't have window sensors or motion detectors on their second floors. They have WiFi jammers to stop the alarm company from being notified."

Spitzer said the stolen goods are often sold quickly and the money is sent back to the suspect's home country. Most often, that's Chile, he said, which is now the only remaining South American country that qualifies for the Department of Homeland Security's waiver program, known as the "Electronic System for Travel Authorization," or ESTA.

The problem extends beyond California. Last month police in Scottsdale, Arizona, reported they arrested three Chilean nationals in connection with what authorities called a "burglary series" in the city.

Within the last year, police in Baltimore, Maryland; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Nassau County, New York, were among those announcing arrests in cases of luxury home burglaries linked to Chilean nationals in the US on visa waivers.

While there is no formal tally of the number of crimes committed by "burglary tourists," the number appears to be, at minimum, in the hundreds. Ventura County alone attributed 175 residential burglaries to "transnational theft groups" between 2019 and mid-2023.

"Not all Chileans are coming to the United States on this 90-days tourist program ... not all of them are committing crimes," Scottsdale Police Chief Jeff Walther noted in a March news conference. "I'm not saying that they are ... But what we're getting is hundreds, hundreds if not thousands coming in through the visa waiver program that are committing residential burglaries in dozens and dozens and dozens of cities and neighborhoods around the country. This is not a Scottsdale issue, this is not a Valley issue, this is not an Arizona issue. This is a national issue."

Walther added: "We have to be willing to start asking some hard questions of our federal government about the visa waiver program."

Seeking answers from South America

Rama and Balakrishna Sundar built their dream home overlooking the ocean in Dana Point. After alleged "burglary tourists" broke in through a bedroom window last year, they are trying to re-build their peace of mind.

"We want to move away from here and I don't feel very secure at all," Rama Sundar told CNN.

The burglars also took a sledgehammer to an elevator door, perhaps thinking a safe was behind it, Balakrishna Sundar said. When the alarm company was notified, the burglars fled with nothing valuable. The suspects were Chilean nationals, and at least one of them was out on bail for another crime, according to a complaint filed in Orange County.

Spitzer, the district attorney, has been a vocal critic of Chile, claiming it isn't releasing background information on those granted visa waivers, which hinders prosecution here in the US.

"If we don't know the criminal background of these individuals ... then we can't tell the judge anything or represent anything about the background," he said. "Which means the person is released on no bail and they never come back again to answer for the charges."

The Chilean government did not respond to CNN's request for comment.

The Department of Homeland Security's website says the waiver program is vital for "expanding economic and cultural ties." More than 40 countries qualify for the program.

In a statement to CNN, the department acknowledged it is "deeply concerned with some individuals who travel to the United States and engage in criminal activity," but adds "Chilean officials have responded by improving operational cooperation with DHS to prevent travel ... by known criminal actors."

The agency also noted it is expediting biometric information sharing between the US and Chile that, once fully implemented, will give US officials access to the criminal histories of travelers.

'Crime tourism' bringing burglary crews from South America to affluent California communities

In March, Spitzer sued the US State Department, demanding to see the details of a bilateral security agreement for preventing and combating serious crime that it signed with Chile in July.

"Where's the proof in the pudding?" said Spitzer. "How come we're not seeing a significant diminishment of these burglaries?"

The Sundar family also questioned the level of urgency on this issue in Washington.

"I want a politician to go through this experience and he may feel exactly as I feel," Balakrishna Sundar said.

"They're supposed to help us," his wife added. "It's very annoying and disturbing."

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'Tourist burglars' hitting our area, allegedly used CVG as entry point

by David Winter, WKRC

CINCINNATI (WKRC) - There appears to be more evidence that so-called "Chilean burglary cells" remain active in the Greater Cincinnati area.

Local 12's David Winter reported Monday that the Village of Indian Hill warned residents that South American tourist burglars had been breaking into high-end homes in wealthy communities.

Now, there's another local case involving a small group of Chileans who reportedly traveled about 6,000 miles to get here.

Police say four people from South America were arrested in Indiana after being accused of robbing a mansion.

The four suspects apparently flew from Santiago, Chile to Los Angeles on Feb. 22. That same evening, police say, they flew from LAX to the Cincinnati Northern Kentucky Airport.

According to police reports, they rented an SUV there and admitted to staying at an Airbnb in Cincinnati for two days before driving to Carmel, Indiana -- a pocket of wealth north of Indianapolis.

The group is accused of robbing an 8,500-square foot home, taking $250,000 in cash, jewelry, and handbags.

Surveillance cameras led police to the SUV, where they found 35-year-old Tamara Masiel Ruiz Saldias and three alleged accomplices.

Police say they had property stolen from the Carmel mansion with them, as well as other high-end items from another source and Chilean passports.

David Winter spoke with Sgt. Mike Maher, who recently retired from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, about the problem.

"They probably took jewelry and valuables small and easy to carry. They were probably dressed in dark clothing. They were probably driving a rental car, and probably that home was located on a green belt," he said.

Maher has been tracking Chilean "tourist burglars" since 2016. He says the crimes began shortly after Chile was approved as one of 40 countries included in the USA's Homeland Security Visa Waiver Program.

The waivers allow tourists from Chile to visit the country for 90 days with virtually no questions asked. It has apparently led to a sophisticated criminal enterprise.

Housing is pre-arranged, rental car is pre-arranged,” said Maher. "As you collect your valuables and send them back home, you continue until you're caught or recalled by your handler. Once you are caught or recalled, you are sent back to your home nation, where you can then be recycled to another state, another nation.

Winter asked US Senator JD Vance (R-Ohio), “Do you think we should perhaps look into this Visa waiver issue?”

“I certainly think we should look into it,” he said. “This is the first time I’m hearing of Chilean nationals using our visa system to come in and steal from Americans. That sounds like a terrible deal for Americans and something we should look into. We will definitely do that.”

Local 12 will follow up with Sen. Vance, and also reached out to the Department of Homeland Security, but did not receive a call back.

Hundreds of cases like this have popped up from Los Angeles to Florida to New York, and internationally, as well.

Police say it's best to make sure your home does not appear unoccupied, and if you see something suspicious, be sure to report it to authorities.

Chilean break-in crew is back, and burglaries are on the rise in La Jolla

Law enforcement is continuing its investigations into chilean nationals recruited to burglarize homes in wealthy neighborhoods, by dave summers • published january 19, 2024 • updated on january 19, 2024 at 11:17 pm.

San Diego police say the number of break-ins is going up in La Jolla.

Six homes were hit since November, and police don’t expect this gang to stop any time soon.

Burglars caught on camera at a La Jolla home in November 2021 are thought to be members of the same Chilean organized crime syndicate. They seem to vanish from wealthy homes and communities like ghosts.

SDPD Lt. Bryan Brecht said the same Chilean gang has targeted their community for more than two years, following a pattern that is difficult to police.

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“They come here for a few months," Brecht said. "They engage in this activity, and they travel around the country. If folks do get arrested, history shows, they just bring in more folks behind them."

The thieves look for greenbelt areas like Calle Del Oro, basically a hillside covered in brush and trees that is used for cover to go in behind a house. They wait until after dark when residents aren’t around, break in, then take only what they can carry and are gone in less than  10 minutes.

One of those recent burglaries happened in the 2500 block of Calle Del Oro, in fact.

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“We certainly have cameras,“ resident Richard Steness said. "We have a Ring. We got a regular camera so you can record."

Steness' home wasn't targeted but the neighbor three doors down was. It’s had a chilling effect. He bought some pet protection.

“This is a German shepherd attack dog, and it has a little thing across his back that says, 'Don’t pet me,' ” Steness said.

Police said the thieves know what to look for, where to go and when to go in. The latest round of break-ins all occurred on Tuesdays,  Fridays and Saturdays, a phenomenon police can’t explain.

“They definitely have things they are looking for specifically," Brecht said. "They are: jewelry, cash, high-end clothing and handbags."

The burglars avoid encounters with homeowners, so your best defense is hitting them where they are vulnerable, Brecht said.

“Alarms are great," Brecht said. "Activate them. Lighting for the evening hours. Motion-sensor lighting and glass-break alarms are also good."

Six burglaries in half as many months is a discouraging statistic for homeowners like Steness.

“The only thing that is going to stop it is the dog or increasing penalties,“ Steness said.

San Diego police have responded by adding extra patrols and canvassing the neighborhoods with informational flyers.

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Chilean “Tourist Burglars” Active Around the World

SANTIAGO –Around the world, organized groups of Chilean thieves make headlines, entering countries on tourist visas and robbing houses and vehicles. In some cases, the gangs stole goods worth millions of dollars. The phenomenon of Chilean “tourist burglars” has alerted authorities and Chilean embassies.    

A “burglary syndicate” in Australia and a “break-and-enter-ring” in Canada. “A growing problem” in California and “a criminal gang” in London. In the latest of an ongoing of series of reports on the phenomenon of Chilean “burglar tourism”, a crew of Chileans were arrested in Simi Valley, California for burglaries on houses and vehicles.

The arrest coincided with what the FBI calls “a growing problem”: Chileans entering the country as tourists on a temporary visa and forming criminal gangs, responsible for burglaries throughout the United States.

Southern California was called “a hot zone”, but similar crimes committed by Chilean “tourist burglars” were reported in the states of Texas, Arizona, Colorado and New York , causing counties to send out warnings to its residents over these Chilean gangs and having the FBI working intensively with representatives in Santiago.

But even worse for the image of Chile and Chilean tourists is that this phenomenon appears to occur all over the world . Over the last years, incidents were reported in countries such as Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, Belgium and the United Kingdom.

Hundreds Of Burglaries, Millions Of Dollars Of Damages

In April 2018, 14 Chileans forming part of an organized gang were arrested in Toronto , Canada, and held responsible for over 400 burglaries in the area , with damages totaling up to US$ 2 million dollars. 12 of these Chileans had been arrested previously in the same area, for the same crime and had managed to get back to Canada using fake identifications.

In last year’s December, eight Chileans were arrested in Australia for stealing from houses and shopping centers across Sydney and Melbourne. In their “spree of 80 aggravated break and enters” they were accused of having stolen over US$ 800,000 dollars’ worth of items.

Flying In Burglars To Europe

And in Europe, Chilean burglars damaged the name of Chile in various countries. In August 2018, the London police announced that they had arrested a criminal gang consisting of nearly eighty Chileans after years of investigations, in which the police worked with the Chilean embassy in order to identify criminals. According to the BBC , the gang “was flying burglars from Chile into the UK to target wealthy homes in the South East”.

The gang targeted, just as in Canada, the U.S. and Australia, the wealthy houses for the luxury goods and shipped these goods to Chile. In the U.K. case, more than US$1,2 million dollars’ worth of items were stolen .

Taskforces Targeting Chileans

The same way of operating was reported in the Netherlands , where Chilean burglars were flown in to target wealthy houses in expensive Amsterdam neighborhoods. According to Dutch media , the national police is now working with Europol (an organization of European police forces) to tackle the ongoing problem with Chilean burglaries, as Belgium, France and Spain are experiencing the same problem.

In Canada, Chilean “crime tourism” has become such a major problem that the police has started a taskforce to battle these crimes. According to an agent that forms part of this taskforce, the arrests made by countries are just “the tip of the iceberg”.

A phenomenon damaging Chile , Chileans abroad and possibly even the tourist visa regulations. “Burglar tourism” is not only doing damage abroad – it could result in problems for Chileans themselves.

Editor-In-Chief Boris van der Spek is the founder of Chile Today.

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South American heist rings target luxurious US homes, wear ghillie suits to remain unseen

C onniving “burglary tourists” are coming from other parts of the world through a visa program and targeting luxurious homes in the US — with some even using ghillie suits as they wait for the perfect time to strike, one prosecutor told CNN.

Police and prosecutors in different high-end communities are trying to keep up with international heist rings that come into the nation, loot pricey items from wealthy homeowners and sell the swiped goods with the money sent back to their home countries, mostly to South America.

“They take advantage of the fact that most people don’t have window sensors or motion detectors on their second floors,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said. “They have WiFi jammers to stop the alarm company from being notified.”

One law enforcement official suspected the “burglary tourists” that enter the country for 90-day visits without a traditional tourist visa are at least in the hundreds.

With a visa waiver from the Electronic System for Travel Authorization program in hand, they then join burglary rings.

“What we’re getting is hundreds and hundreds, if not thousands, coming in through the visa waiver program that are committing residential burglaries in dozens and dozens and dozens and dozens of cities and neighborhoods around the country,” Scottsdale Police Chief Jeff Walther said during a March press conference.

“This is not a Scottsdale issue, this is not a Valley issue, this is not an Arizona issue. This is a national issue.”

Along with communities in Arizona and California, police in Baltimore, Nassau County in New York and Raleigh, North Carolina have arrested burglary suspects who are Chilean and in the US on visa waivers, CNN reported.

A victimized couple told the outlet thieves broke into their Southern California home months ago and took off with $8 million worth of items, including their wedding rings and other jewelry that was locked behind a 6-foot-tall safe.

“They came over our fence, they broke through a window in the upper bedroom and came through that window,” Jeff Starr said. “And then immediately started working … on the safe.”

“You don’t feel safe in your own home anymore,” Jeff’s wife Carol Starr also said.

LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton told the Los Angeles Times last month South American thieves are not new in the California city, but “the number of crimes tied to these kind of crews are way, way up.”

On top of people from Chile, other thieves have had ties to Peru, Ecuador and Colombia, the newspaper reported.  

While Walther, the Arizona police chief, noted not every Chilean coming into the US is committing crimes, the federal government needs to answer hard questions about the waiver program.

Spitzer, the Orange County DA, reportedly said the Chilean government has refused to follow a mandate to fork over the criminal history of Chilean citizens who use the visa program.

“If we don’t know the criminal background of these individuals … then we can’t tell the judge anything or represent anything about the background,” he said, per CNN.

“Which means the person is released on no bail and they never come back again to answer for the charges.”

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Why 'burglary tourists' fly to US and target Indian-Americans

Asian-american communities, especially wealthy neighbourhoods, are being targeted by "burglary tourists" travelling to the us on tourist visas or visa-waiver programmes. these "burglary tourists" often come from south america and target indian-american homes in posh localities due to a perception..

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• Police in the US observed a rise in burglaries targeting Asian-American homes
• These burglars fly in mostly from Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia
• The burglars mostly carry signal-jamming devices to disable security systems

Balakrishna and Rama Sundar built their dream home in California, but now they want to shift out as soon as possible. Their house is in Dana Point, overlooking the ocean.

When burglars shattered the elevator door of their house with a sledgehammer thinking there was a safe behind it, they shattered their sense of safety and security too.

“We want to move away from here and I don’t feel very secure at all,” Rama Sundar told the CNN.

Balakrishna and Rama Sundar are among dozens of Asian Americans, including Indian-American people, who have been targeted by 'burglary tourists' or 'crime tourists'.

Police in April busted such a gang in Seattle and arrested five burglars. They used rental properties and cars and frequently changed their location.

The US police arrested five men in South California who were suspected of committing at least 17 burglaries targeting Indian American and other South Asian residents in Kirkland, a suburb east of Seattle in Washington, and surrounding areas.

In the past five years, police have noticed a rise in burglars from South American countries coming to the US to commit robberies.

Last year, police in Maryland, North Carolina, and New York also made arrests in cases involving Chilean nationals who entered the US on visa waivers and were involved in luxury home burglaries.

While there's no official count of how many crimes have been committed by these "burglary tourists", it's estimated to be at least in the hundreds.

WHY BURGLARY TOURISTS TARGET INDIAN-AMERICAN HOMES

The "burglary tourists" fly in from different South American countries like Chile, Ecuador, Colombia and Peru.

There have been media reports of burglars targeting homes in neighbourhoods with a high concentration of Indian-American families.

The reason behind this targeting can be stereotypes, with criminals believing that these families possess more gold jewellery, expensive items or cash, according to an American news portal.

Additionally, burglars may view Indian-American neighbourhoods as affluent or wealthy areas, assuming that these communities have higher incomes.

As a result, these criminals specifically target Indian-American homes in the hopes of finding valuable items and making a quick getaway.

HOW BURGLARS MISUSE US TOURIST VISAS AND VISA WAIVERS

The idea is that they travel to the US using tourist visas because it does not require a background check for travellers and allows them to visit legally. The problem is, these 'tourists' aren't here for sightseeing.

Some of the burglars are also taking advantage of the US visa waiver programme.

The break-ins are part of a larger issue in which so-called “burglary tourists” enter the US from countries that qualify for visa waivers, prosecutors told CNN. The visa waivers allow a visit to the US for up to 90 days without a traditional tourist visa.

After entering the US, they join gangs that target properties of wealthy people.

These groups have been stealing items such as jewellery, watches, designer goods, cash, and gold. They do this either to send them back to their home country or to sell them while they are in the US before going back home.

The burglars tend not to carry guns. So, they are not charged with any gun-related offences. But sometimes they carry signal jamming devices to disable home security systems, according to the Los Angeles Times.

HOMES OF ASIAN-AMERICAN BUSINESS OWNERS EASY TARGET

Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Chief Dominic Choi mentioned in a Police Commission meeting that there's been a significant increase in burglaries by organised groups coming from outside the country, targeting wealthy homes.

Last year, Burbank police in California arrested a 33-year-old man from Chile. He was arrested after a woman hiding in her bathroom called the police when four men broke into her house through a sliding door.

Upper-middle-class Asian American neighbourhoods are being affected by this trend. Business owners who are Asian Americans are often targeted by "burglary tourism".

“With a lot of Asian business owners, the whole family works in that business together and so when they are all at work, that leaves the home unattended and these groups will do their research. They may be in town for a few days just specifically looking for targets, and when they know the business owners, which is typically a family, is at work, they’ll burglarise the home,” reported NewsNation, an American news website.

Borders cripple movement, visas and visa waivers enable travel and tourism. However, the US is witnessing "burglary tourism", which is posing a big danger to the safety of Asian-American neighbourhoods. Published By: Girish Kumar Anshul Published On: Apr 5, 2024

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Home » Europe » Moscow

EPIC MOSCOW Itinerary! (2024)

Moscow is the heart of Mother Russia. Just the mention of this city conjures images of colorful bulbous pointed domes, crisp temperatures, and a uniquely original spirit!

Moscow has an incredibly turbulent history, a seemingly resilient culture, and a unique enchantment that pulls countless tourists to the city each year! Although the warmer months make exploring Moscow’s attractions more favorable, there’s just something about a fresh snowfall that only enhances the appearance of the city’s iconic sites!

If you’re a first-time visitor to Moscow, or simply wanting to see as much of the city as possible, this Moscow itinerary will help you do just that!

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Best Time To Visit Moscow

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Here is a quick look at the seasons so you can decide when to visit Moscow!

The summer months (June-August) are a great time to travel to Moscow to take advantage of the enjoyable mild temperatures. This is considered peak travel season. Bear in mind that hotel prices rise along with the temperatures!

If you’re planning a trip to Moscow during fall (September-November) try to plan for early fall. This way the temperatures will still be pleasant and winter won’t be threatening.

Russian winters (December-February) are not for the faint of heart as Napoleon learned to his peril. Some days the sun will be out for less than an hour, and snow is guaranteed. Although winters are exceptionally cold, this is when you’ll get a true glimpse of the Moscow experience!

The best time to visit Moscow is during spring  (March-May). The temperatures will begin to creep up and the sun begins to shine for significant portions of the day. Hotel rates will also have yet to skyrocket into peak ranges!

With a Moscow City Pass , you can experience the best of Moscow at the CHEAPEST prices. Discounts, attractions, tickets, and even public transport are all standards in any good city pass – be sure invest now and save them $$$ when you arrive!

Moscow is a large city with many accommodation options to choose from. Staying in a location that fits with your travel plans will only enhance your Moscow itinerary. Here is a brief introduction to a few great areas of the city we recommend checking out!

The best place to stay in Moscow to be close to all the action is Kitay-Gorod. This charming neighborhood will put you within walking distance to Moscow’s famous Red Square, thus cutting down on travel time. This will allow you to see more of the city in a shorter amount of time!

It’s surrounded by restaurants, cafes, bars, and shops. If you’re a first-time visitor to Moscow, or just planning a quick weekend in Moscow, then this area is perfect for you!

Another great area to consider is the Zamoskvorechye district. This area of the city offers a blend of new and old Moscow. It has an artsy vibe and there are plenty of fun sites you can explore outside of the main touristy areas of Moscow.

Of course, as in all areas of Moscow, it’s close to public transportation that will quickly connect you with the rest of the city and make your Moscow itinerary super accessible!

Best Airbnb in Moscow – Exclusive Apartment in Old Moscow

Modern and cozy, this apartment is in the heart of Old Moscow. Bordering the Basmanny and Kitay-Gorod districts, this two-bedroom flat is walking distance to the Kremlin and Red Square. Safe, quiet, and comfortable, this is the best Airbnb in Moscow, no question!

Best Budget Hotel in Moscow – Izmailovo Alfa Hotel

The Izmailovo Alfa Hotel is a very highly rated accommodation that provides all the components necessary for a comfortable trip to Moscow. There is an on-site restaurant, bar, fitness center, and an airport shuttle service. The rooms are modern and spacious and are equipped with a TV, heating/air conditioning, minibar, and more!

Best Luxury Hotel in Moscow – Crowne Plaza Moscow World Trade Centre

If you’re touring Moscow in luxury, the Crowne Plaza Moscow World Trade Centre is the hotel for you! Elegantly furnished rooms are equipped with a minibar, flat-screen TV,  in-room safes, as well as tea and coffee making facilities! Bathrooms come with bathrobes, slippers, and free toiletries. There is also an onsite restaurant, bar, and fitness center.

Best Hostel in Moscow – Godzillas Hostel

Godzillas Hostel is located in the center of Moscow, just a short walk from all the major tourist attractions and the metro station. Guests will enjoy all the usual hostel perks such as self-catering facilities, 24-hour reception, Free Wi-Fi, and security lockers. This is one of the best hostels in Moscow and its wonderful social atmosphere and will make your vacation in Moscow extra special!

Godzillas Hostel is one of our favourites in Moscow but they’re not taking guests right now. We’re not sure if they’re closed for good but we hope they’ll come back soon.

An important aspect of planning any trip is figuring out the transportation situation. You’re probably wondering how you’re going to get to all of your Moscow points of interest right? Luckily, this sprawling city has an excellent network of public transportation that will make traveling a breeze!

The underground metro system is the quickest and most efficient way to travel around Moscow. Most visitors rely exclusively on this super-efficient transportation system, which allows you to get to pretty much anywhere in the city! It’s also a great option if you’re planning a Moscow itinerary during the colder months, as you’ll be sheltered from the snow and freezing temperatures!

If you prefer above-ground transportation, buses, trams, and trolleybuses, run throughout the city and provide a rather comfortable alternative to the metro.

Moscow’s metro, buses, trams, and trolleybuses are all accessible with a ‘Troika’ card. This card can be topped up with any sum of money at a metro cash desk. The ticket is simple, convenient, and even refundable upon return to a cashier!

No matter which method you choose, you’ll never find yourself without an easy means of getting from point A to point B!

Red Square | Moscow Kremlin | Lenin’s Mausoleum | St. Basil’s Cathedral  | GUM Department Store

Spend the first day of your itinerary taking your own self guided Moscow walking tour around the historic Red Square! This is Moscow’s compact city center and every stop on this list is within easy walking distance to the next! Get ready to see all of the top Moscow landmarks!

Day 1 / Stop 1 – The Red Square

• Why it’s awesome: The Red Square is the most recognizable area in Moscow, it has mesmerizing architecture and centuries worth of history attached to its name.
• Cost: Free to walk around, individual attractions in the square have separate fees. 
• Food nearby: Check out Bar BQ Cafe for friendly service and good food in a great location! The atmosphere is upbeat and they’re open 24/7!

The Red Square is Moscow’s historic fortress and the center of the Russian government. The origins of the square date back to the late 15th century, when Ivan the Great decided to expand the Kremlin to reflect Moscow’s growing power and prestige!

During the 20th century, the square became famous as the site for demonstrations designed to showcase Soviet strength. Visiting the Red Square today, you’ll find it teeming with tourists, who come to witness its magical architecture up close!

The square is the picture postcard of Russian tourism, so make sure to bring your camera when you visit! No matter the season, or the time of day, it’s delightfully photogenic! 

It’s also home to some of Russia’s most distinguishing and important landmarks, which we’ve made sure to include further down in this itinerary. It’s an important center of Russia’s cultural life and one of the top places to visit in Moscow!

In 1990, UNESCO designated Russia’s Red Square as a World Heritage site. Visiting this historic site is a true bucket-list event and essential addition to your itinerary for Moscow!

Day 1 / Stop 2 – The Moscow Kremlin

• Why it’s awesome: The Moscow Kremlin complex includes several palaces and cathedrals and is surrounded by the Kremlin wall. It also houses the principal museum of Russia (the Kremlin Armory).
• Cost: USD $15.00
• Food nearby: Bosco Cafe is a charming place to grat a casual bite to eat. They have excellent coffee and wonderful views of the Red Square and the Moscow Kremlin!

The iconic Moscow Kremlin , also known as the Kremlin museum complex, sits on Borovitsky Hill, rising above the Moscow River. It is a fortified complex in the center of the city, overlooking several iconic buildings in the Red Square!

It’s the best known of the Russian Kremlins – citadels or fortress’ protecting and dominating a city. During the early decades of the Soviet era, the Kremlin was a private enclave where the state’s governing elite lived and worked.

The Kremlin is outlined by an irregularly shaped triangular wall that encloses an area of 68 acres! The existing walls and towers were built from 1485 to 1495. Inside the Kremlin museum complex, there are five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall with Kremlin towers.

The Armoury Chamber is a part of the Grand Kremlin Palace’s complex and is one of the oldest museums of Moscow, established in 1851. It showcases Russian history and displays many cherished relics. Definitely make sure to check out this museum while you’re here!

The churches inside the Moscow Kremlin are the Cathedral of the Dormition, Church of the Archangel, Church of the Annunciation, and the bell tower of Ivan Veliki (a church tower).

The five-domed Cathedral of the Dormition is considered the most famous. It was built from 1475–1479 by an Italian architect and has served as a wedding and coronation place for great princes, tsars, and emperors of Russia. Church services are given in the Kremlin’s numerous cathedrals on a regular basis.

The Grand Kremlin Palace was the former Tsar’s Moscow residence and today it serves as the official workplace of the President of the Russian Federation (Vladimir Putin seems to have bagged that title for life) .

Insider Tip: The Kremlin is closed every Thursday! Make sure to plan this stop on your Moscow itinerary for any other day of the week!

Day 1 / Stop 3 – Lenin’s Mausoleum

• Why it’s awesome: The mausoleum displays the preserved body of Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin .
• Cost: Free!
• Food nearby: Khinkal’naya is a charming Georgian restaurant with vaulted ceilings and exposed brick. It’s a popular place with locals and right next to the Red Square!

Lenin’s Mausoleum, also known as Lenin’s Tomb, is the modernist mausoleum for the revolutionary leader Vladimir Lenin. It’s located within the Red Square and serves as the resting place for the Soviet leader! His preserved body has been on public display since shortly after his death in 1924.

It’s located just a few steps away from the Kremlin Wall and is one of the most controversial yet popular Moscow attractions!

Admission is free for everyone, you’ll only need to pay if you need to check a bag. Before visitors are allowed to enter the mausoleum, they have to go through a metal detector first. No metal objects, liquids, or large bags are allowed in the mausoleum!

Expect a line to enter the building, and while you’re inside the building, you’ll be constantly moving in line with other visitors. This means you won’t be able to spend as long as you’d like viewing the mausoleum, but you’ll still be able to get a good look. Pictures and filming while inside the building are strictly prohibited, and security guards will stop you if they see you breaking this rule.

The mausoleum is only open on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday – unless it’s a public holiday or a day scheduled for maintenance. The hours it’s open for each day are limited, make sure to check online before you visit to make sure you can fit this into your Moscow itinerary for that day!

Insider Tip: The Lenin’s Museum is there for people to pay their respect; remember to keep silent and move along quickly, it’s not intended for people to congregate around. Also, men are not allowed to wear hats and everyone must take their hands out of their pockets when inside the building.

Day 1 / Stop 4 – St. Basil’s Cathedral

• Why it’s awesome: A dazzling designed cathedral that showcases Russia’s unique architecture. This cathedral is one of the most recognizable symbols of the country!
• Cost: USD $8.00
• Food nearby: Moskovskiy Chaynyy Klub is a cozy cafe serving food items and pipping hot tea; it’s the perfect place to go if you’re visiting Moscow during the winter months!

Located in the Red Square, the ornate 16th-century St. Basil’s Cathedral is probably the building you picture when you think of Moscow’s unique architecture. Its colorful onion-shaped domes tower over the Moscow skyline!

The cathedral was built from 1555-1561 by order of Tsar Ivan the Terrible. It was designed with an iconic onion dome facade and enchanting colors that captivate all who see it. Fun fact: If you’re wondering why Russian churches have onion domes, they are popularly believed to symbolize burning candles!

This iconic cathedral has become a symbol of Russia due to its distinguishing architecture and prominent position inside the Red Square. It’s one of the most beautiful, wonderful, and mesmerizing historical cathedrals in the world!

The interior of the church surprises most people when they visit. In contrast to the large exterior, the inside is not so much one large area, but rather a collection of smaller areas, with many corridors and small rooms. There are 9 small chapels and one mausoleum grouped around a central tower.

Visiting the inside is like walking through a maze, there are even small signs all around the cathedral tracing where to walk, and pointing you in the right direction! The walls are meticulously decorated and painted with intricate floral designs and religious themes.

The church rarely holds service and is instead a museum open for the public to visit.

Insider Tip: During the summer months the line to go inside the cathedral can get quite long! Make sure to arrive early or reserve your tickets online to guarantee quick access into the cathedral!

Day 1 / Stop 5 – GUM Department Store

• Why it’s awesome: This is Russia’s most famous shopping mall! It’s designed with elegant and opulent architecture and provides a real sense of nostalgia!
• Cost: Free to enter
• Food nearby: Stolovaya 57 is a cafeteria-style restaurant with a variety of inexpensive Russian cuisine menu items including soups, salads, meat dishes, and desserts. It’s also located inside the GUM department store, making it very easily accessible when you’re shopping!

The enormous GUM Department Store is located within the historic Red Square. It has a whimsical enchantment to it that sets it apart from your typical department store.

A massive domed glass ceiling lines the top of the building and fills the interior with natural sunlight. There are live plants and flowers placed throughout the mall that give the shopping complex a lively and cheerful feel! A playful fountain sits in the center, further adding to the malls inviting a sense of wonder and amusement!

The GUM department store opened on December 2, 1893. Today, it includes local and luxury stores, including Fendi, Louis Vuitton, Prada, and many more! There are numerous cafes, restaurants, and even a movie theater inside!

For a special treat, head into Gastronom 1. This 1950s-style shop sells gourmet food items, like wine, freshly-baked pastries, cheese, Russian chocolate, and of course, vodka! Also, be on the lookout for a bicycle pedaling ice cream truck with an employing selling ice cream!

The ambiance is simply amazing, a trip to this idyllic shopping mall is an absolute must on any Moscow itinerary!

Insider Tip: Make sure to carry some small change on you in case you need to use the restroom, you’ll need to pay 50 rubles – or about USD $0.80 to use the bathroom in GUM.

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These are packing cubes for the globetrotters and compression sacks for the  real adventurers – these babies are a traveller’s best kept secret. They organise yo’ packing and minimise volume too so you can pack MORE.

Or, y’know… you can stick to just chucking it all in your backpack…

Novodevichy Convent | Gorky Park | State Tretyakov Gallery | All-Russian Exhibition Center | Bolshoi Theater

On your 2 day itinerary in Moscow, you’ll have a chance to use the city’s excellent public transportation service! You’ll explore a few more of Moscow’s historic highlight as well as some modern attractions. These sites are a little more spread out, but still very easily accessible thanks to the metro!

Day 2 / Stop 1 – Novodevichy Convent

• Why it’s awesome: The Novodevichy Convent is rich in imperial Russian history and contains some of Russia’s best examples of classical architecture!
• Cost: USD $5.00
• Food nearby: Culinary Shop Karavaevs Brothers is a cozy and simple place to have a quick bite, they also have vegetarian options!

The Novodevichy Convent is the best-known and most popular cloister of Moscow. The convent complex is contained within high walls, and there are many attractions this site is known for! 

The six-pillared five-domed Smolensk Cathedral is the main attraction. It was built to resemble the Kremlin’s Assumption Cathedral and its facade boasts beautiful snowy white walls and a pristine golden onion dome as its centerpiece. It’s the oldest structure in the convent, built from 1524 -1525, and is situated in the center of the complex between the two entrance gates.

There are other churches inside the convent as well, all dating back from many centuries past. The convent is filled with an abundance of 16th and 17th-century religious artworks, including numerous large and extravagant frescos!

Just outside the convent’s grounds lies the Novodevichy Cemetery. Here, you can visit the graves of famous Russians, including esteemed authors, composers, and politicians. Probably the most intriguing gravestone belongs to Russian politician Nikita Khruschev!

The Novodevichy Convent is located near the Moscow River and offers a peaceful retreat from the busy city. In 2004, it was proclaimed a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The convent remains remarkably well-preserved and is an outstanding example of Moscow Baroque architecture! 

Insider Tip: To enter the cathedrals inside the complex, women are advised to cover their heads and shoulders, while men should wear long pants.

Day 2 / Stop 2 – Gorky Central Park of Culture and Leisure

• Why it’s awesome: A large amusement area in the heart of the city offering many attractions!
• Cost: Free! 
• Food nearby: Check out Mepkato, located inside Gorky Central Park for a casual meal in a cozy setting. There are indoor and outdoor seating options and the restaurant is child-friendly!

Gorky Central Park of Culture and Leisure is a large green space in the heart of Moscow. The park opened in 1928, and it stretches along the scenic embankment of the Moskva River. It covers an area of 300-acres and offers a lovely contrast from the compact city center.

You’ll find all sorts of wonderful attractions, from boat rides to bike rentals to tennis courts and ping-pong tables, and much more! there are an open-air cinema and festive events and concerts scheduled in the summer months.  A wide selection of free fitness classes is also offered on a regular basis, including jogging, roller skating, and dancing!

Although many of the options you’ll find here are more suited for outdoor leisure during the summer, you’ll also a selection of winter attractions, including one of Europe’s largest ice rinks for ice-skating!

If you’re trying to decide what to do in Moscow with kids, the park also offers several venues designed specifically for kids. Check out the year-round Green School which offers hands-on classes in gardening and art! You can also feed the squirrels and birds at the Golitsinsky Ponds!

The park is very well maintained and kept clean and the entrance is free of charge, although most individual attractions cost money. There is also Wi-Fi available throughout the park.

With so many attractions, you could easily spend all day here! If you’re only planning a 2 day itinerary in Moscow, make sure to plan your time accordingly and map out all the areas you want to see beforehand!

Day 2 / Stop 3 – The State Tretyakov Gallery

• Why it’s awesome: The gallery’s collection consists entirely of Russian art made by Russian artists!
• Food nearby : Brothers Tretyakovs is located right across the street from the gallery. It’s a wonderfully atmospheric restaurant serving top quality food and drinks!

The State Tretyakov Gallery was founded in 1856 by influential merchant and collector Pavel Tretyakov.  The gallery is a national treasury of Russian fine art and one of the most important museums in Russia!

It houses the world’s best collection of Russian art and contains more than 130, 000 paintings, sculptures, and graphics! These works have been created throughout the centuries by generations of Russia’s most talented artists!

The exhibits range from mysterious 12th-century images to politically charged canvases. The collection is rich and revealing and offers great insight into the history and attitudes of this long-suffering yet inspired people!

All pictures are also labeled in English. If you plan to take your time and see everything inside the museum it will take a good 3-4 hours, so make sure to plan your Moscow trip itinerary accordingly! This gallery is a must-see stop for art lovers, or anyone wanting to explore the local culture and history of Russia in a creative and insightful manner! 

Insider Tip: When planning your 2 days in Moscow itinerary, keep in mind that most museums in Moscow are closed on Mondays, this includes The State Tretyakov Gallery!

Day 2 / Stop 4 – All-Russian Exhibition Center

• Why it’s awesome: This large exhibition center showcases the achievements of the Soviet Union in several different spheres. 
• Food nearby: Varenichnaya No. 1 serves authentic and homestyle Russian cuisine in an intimate and casual setting.

The All-Russian Exhibition Center is a massive park that presents the glory of the Soviet era! It pays homage to the achievements of Soviet Russia with its many different sites found on the property.

The center was officially opened in 1939 to exhibit the achievements of the Soviet Union. It’s a huge complex of buildings and the largest exhibition center in Moscow. There are several exhibition halls dedicated to different achievements and every year there are more than one hundred and fifty specialized exhibitions!

The Peoples Friendship Fountain was constructed in 1954 and is a highlight of the park. The stunning gold fountain features 16 gilded statues of girls, each representing the former Soviet Union republics. 

The Stone Flower Fountain was also built in 1954 and is worth checking out. The centerpiece of this large fountain is a flower carved from stones from the Ural Mountains! Along the side of the fountain are various bronze sculptures.

You will find many people zipping around on rollerblades and bicycles across the large area that the venue covers. It’s also home to amusement rides and carousels, making it the perfect place to stop with kids on your Moscow itinerary! Make sure to wear comfortable shoes and allow a few hours to explore all the areas that interest you!

Day 2 / Stop 5 – Bolshoi Theater

• Why it’s awesome: The Bolshoi Theater is a historic venue that hosts world-class ballet and opera performances!
• Cost: Prices vary largely between USD $2.00 –  USD $228.00 based on seat location.
• Food nearby: Head to the Russian restaurant, Bolshoi for high-quality food and drinks and excellent service!

The Bolshoi Theater is among the oldest and most renowned ballet and opera companies in the world! It also boasts the world’s biggest ballet company, with more than 200 dancers!

The theater has been rebuilt and renovated several times during its long history. In 2011 it finished its most recent renovation after an extensive six-year restoration that started in 2005. The renovation included an improvement in acoustics and the restoration of the original Imperial decor.

The Bolshoi Theater has put on many of the world’s most famous ballet acts! Tchaikovsky’s ballet Swan Lake premiered at the theater in 1877 and other notable performances of the Bolshoi repertoire include Tchaikovsky’s The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker!

Today, when you visit the theater, you can expect a magical performance from skilled singers, dancers, and musicians with the highest level of technique!

If you don’t have time to see a show, the theater also provides guided tours on select days of the week. Tours are given in both Russian and English and will provide visitors with a more intimate look at the different areas of the theater!

The stage of this iconic Russian theater has seen many outstanding performances. If you’re a fan of the performing arts, the Bolshoi Theater is one of the greatest and oldest ballet and opera companies in the world, making it a must-see attraction on your Moscow itinerary!

Godzillas Hostel

Godzillas Hostel is located in the center of Moscow, just a short walk from all the major tourist attractions and the metro station.

• Towels Included

Cosmonautics Museum | Alexander Garden | Ostankino Tower | Izmaylovo District | Soviet Arcade Museum

Now that we’ve covered what to do in Moscow in 2 days, if you’re able to spend more time in the city you’re going to need more attractions to fill your time. Here are a few more really cool things to do in Moscow we recommend!

Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics

• Hear the timeline of the ‘space race’ from the Russian perspective
• This museum is fun for both adults and children!
• Admission is USD $4.00

The Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics is a museum dedicated to space exploration! The museum explores the history of flight, astronomy, space exploration, space technology, and space in the arts. It houses a large assortment of Soviet and Russian space-related exhibits, and the museum’s collection holds approximately 85,000 different items!

The museum does an excellent job of telling the full story of the exciting space race between the USSR and the US! It highlights the brightest moments in Russian history and humanity and is very interesting and fun for all ages!

If you’re a fan of space or just curious about gaining insight into Russia’s fascinating history of space exploration, make sure to add this to your 3 day itinerary in Moscow!

The Alexander Garden

• A tranquil place to relax near the Red Square
• Green lawns dotted with sculptures and lovely water features
• The park is open every day and has no entrance fee

The Alexander Garden was one of the first urban public parks in Moscow! The garden premiered in 1821 and was built to celebrate Russia’s victory over Napoleon’s forces in 1812!

The park is beautiful and well maintained with paths to walk on and benches to rest on. The park contains three separate gardens: the upper garden, middle garden, and lower garden.

Located in the upper garden, towards the main entrance to the park is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with its eternal flame. This monument was created in 1967 and contains the body of a soldier who fell during the Great Patriotic War!

The park stretches along all the length of the western Kremlin wall for about half a mile. Due to its central location in the city, it’ll be easily accessible when you’re out exploring The Red Square.

It provides a bit of relief from the city’s high-energy city streets. Bring a picnic lunch, go for a walk, or just sit and people watch, this is one of the best Moscow sites to wind-down and relax!

Ostankino Television Tower

• Television and radio tower in Moscow
• Currently the tallest free-standing structure in Europe
• Make sure you bring your passport when you visit, you can’t go up without it!

For spectacular views of the city, make sure to add the Ostankino Television Tower to your itinerary for Moscow! This impressive free-standing structure provides stunning views of the city in every direction. The glass floor at the top also provides great alternative views of the city!

It takes just 58 seconds for visitors to reach the Tower’s observation deck by super fast elevator. The tower is open every day for long hours and is a great site in Moscow to check out! There is even a restaurant at the top where you can enjoy rotating views of the city while you dine on traditional Russian cuisine or European cuisine!

The tower is somewhat of an architectural surprise in a city that is not known for skyscrapers! To see the city from a new perspective, make sure to add this stop to your Moscow itinerary!

Izmaylovo District

• The most popular attractions in this district are the kremlin and the flea market
• Outside of the city center and easy to reach via metro
• Most popular during the summer and on weekends

Travel outside the city center and discover a unique area of the city! The Izmaylovo District is a popular destination for locals and tourists alike, and one of the coolest places to see in Moscow! The two main attractions we recommend checking out are the Kremlin and the flea market.

The Izmailovo Kremlin was established as a cultural center and molded after traditional Russian architecture. This colorful complex is home to several single-subject museums, including a Russian folk art museum and a vodka museum!

Next to the Kremlin is the Izmailovo open-air market, which dates back to the 17th century! The market is connected to the Izmailovo Kremlin by a wooden bridge. Pick up all your Russian souvenirs here, including traditional handicrafts, paintings, books, retro toys, and Soviet memorabilia!

You will find many hand-made and hand-painted options available at higher prices, as well as mass-produced souvenir options at lower prices!

Museum of Soviet Arcade Games

• Closed on Mondays
• Filled with old arcade games that visitors get to try out!
• The museum also includes a small cafe and burger shop

For something a little different, check out the Museum of Soviet Arcade Games! The museum features roughly 60 machines from the Soviet era, including video games, pinball machines, and collaborative hockey foosball! The machines inside the museum were produced in the USSR in the mid-1970s.

The best part is, most of the games are still playable! Purchase tickets and try the games out for yourself! The museum also has a neat little screening room that plays old Soviet cartoons and an area with Soviet magazines! This unique attraction is a fun addition to a 3 day itinerary in Moscow, and an attraction that all ages will enjoy! 

Whether you’re spending one day in Moscow, or more, safety is an important thing to keep in mind when traveling to a big city! Overall, Moscow is a very safe place to visit. However, it is always recommended that tourists take certain precautions when traveling to a new destination!

The police in Moscow is extremely effective at making the city a safe place to visit and do their best to patrol all of the top Moscow, Russia tourist attractions. However, tourists can still be a target for pickpockets and scammers.

Moscow has a huge flow of tourists, therefore there is a risk for pickpocketing. Simple precautions will help eliminate your chances of being robbed. Stay vigilant, keep your items close to you at all times, and don’t flash your valuables!

If you’re planning a solo Moscow itinerary, you should have no need to worry, as the city is also considered safe for solo travelers, even women. Stay in the populated areas, try and not travel alone late at night, and never accept rides from strangers or taxis without a meter and correct signage.

The threat of natural disasters in Moscow is low, with the exception of severe winters when the temperature can dip below freezing! Bring a good, warm jacket if you visit in Winter.

However, please note that Russian views on homsexuality are far less accepting than those in Western Europe. Likewise, Non-Caucasian travellers may sadly encounter racism in Russia .

Don’t Forget Your Travel Insurance for Moscow

ALWAYS sort out your backpacker insurance before your trip. There’s plenty to choose from in that department, but a good place to start is Safety Wing .

They offer month-to-month payments, no lock-in contracts, and require absolutely no itineraries: that’s the exact kind of insurance long-term travellers and digital nomads need.

SafetyWing is cheap, easy, and admin-free: just sign up lickety-split so you can get back to it!

Click the button below to learn more about SafetyWing’s setup or read our insider review for the full tasty scoop.

Now that we’ve covered all the top things to see in Moscow, we thought we’d include some exciting day trips to other areas of the country!

Sergiev Posad (Golden Ring)

On this 7-hour guided tour, you’ll visit several scenic and historic areas of Russia. Start your day with hotel pick-up as you’re transferred by a comfortable car or minivan to Sergiev Posad. Admire the charming Russian countryside on your drive and enjoy a quick stop to visit the Russian village, Rudonezh!

You’ll see the majestic Saint Spring and the Church of Sergiev Radonezh. You’ll also visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, one of the most famous Orthodox sites in Russia!

Lastly, you’ll swing by the local Matreshka market and enjoy a break in a nice Russian restaurant before returning to Moscow!

Day Trip to Vladimir and Suzdal

On this 13-hour trip, you’ll discover old Russia, with its picturesque landscapes and white-stoned beautiful churches! You’ll visit the main towns of the famous Golden Ring of Russia – the name for several cities and smaller towns north-east of Moscow.

Your first stop will be in the town of Vladimir, the ancient capital of all Russian principalities. The city dates back to the 11th century and is one of the oldest and the most important towns along the Ring! Next, you’ll visit Suzdal, a calm ancient Russian town north of Vladimir with only 13,000 inhabitants!

The old-style architecture and buildings of Suzdal are kept wonderfully intact. If you’re spending three days in Moscow, or more, this is a great option for exploring the charming areas outside the city!

Zvenigorod Day Trip and Russian Countryside

On this 9-hour private tour, you’ll explore the ancient town of Zvenigorod, one of the oldest towns in the Moscow region! As you leave Moscow you’ll enjoy the stunning scenery along the Moscow River, and make a few stops at old churches along the way to Zvenigorod.

Upon arrival, you’ll explore the medieval center, including the 14th-century Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery. Next, you’ll take a break for lunch (own expense) where you’ll have the chance to try out the Russian cuisine! Next, you’ll visit the Museum of Russian Dessert and sip on tea at a Russian tea ceremony.

The final stop of the day is at the Ershovo Estate, a gorgeous place to walk around and enjoy nature!

Day Trip to St Petersburg by Train visiting Hermitage & Faberge

On this full-day tour, you’ll enjoy a a full round trip to St Petersburg where you’ll spend an exciting day exploring another popular Russian city! You’ll be picked up from your hotel in Moscow and be transferred to the train station where you’ll ride the high-speed train ‘Sapsan’ to St Petersburg.

Upon arrival, you’ll start the day by touring the Hermitage Museum and the Winter Palace. Next, you’ll visit the Faberge Museum, where you’ll explore the impressive collection of rare Faberge Eggs! In the afternoon, enjoy a sightseeing boat ride and a traditional 3-course Russian lunch.

If you’re spending 3 days in Moscow, or more, this is an excellent trip to take!

Trip to Kolomna – Authentic Cultural Experience from Moscow

On this 10-hour tour, you’ll escape the city and travel to the historic town of Kolomna! First, you’ll visit the 14th-century Kolomna Kremlin, home to the Assumption Cathedral and an abundance of museums!

Next, enjoy lunch at a local cafe (own expense) before embarking on a tour of the Marshmallow Museum – of course, a marshmallow tasting is provided!  Your final stop is the Museum of Forging Settlements, where displays include armor and accessories for fishing and hunting.

Discover this beautiful Russian fairytale city on a private trip, where all of the planning is taken care of for you!

Stash your cash safely with this money belt. It will keep your valuables safely concealed, no matter where you go.

It looks exactly like a normal belt  except for a SECRET interior pocket perfectly designed to hide a wad of cash, a passport photocopy or anything else you may wish to hide. Never get caught with your pants down again! (Unless you want to…)

Find out what people want to know when planning their Moscow itinerary.

How many days you need in Moscow?

We recommend that you spend at least two or three days in Moscow to take it all in.

What’s the best month to visit Moscow?

The best time to visit Moscow is over the spring, from March to May as temperatures are mild, crowds are thin and prices are reasonable.

What are some unusual things to do in Moscow?

I mean, queuing up to see an almost 100 year old corpse is pretty unsual! Check out Lenin’s Mausoleum if you fancy it!

What are some fun things to do in Moscow?

The Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics is a fun place to explore the famous space race from the perspective of the ‘other side’!

We hope you enjoyed our Moscow itinerary! We’ve made sure to cover all the Moscow must-sees as well as some unique attractions in the city! Our addition of insider tips, favorite food stops, and day trips from Moscow is an added bonus and will guarantee you make the most out of your exciting Russian vacation!

Immerse yourself in the modern and traditional Russian lifestyle! Get lost in museums, witness awe-inspiring architecture, and indulge in Russian cuisine! Spend the day strolling through all of the charming sites of Moscow, admiring the beautiful scenery and discovering the city’s fairytale-like enchantment!

And for transparency’s sake, please know that some of the links in our content are affiliate links . That means that if you book your accommodation, buy your gear, or sort your insurance through our link, we earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you). That said, we only link to the gear we trust and never recommend services we don’t believe are up to scratch. Again, thank you!

Alya and Campbell

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Moscow Tourist Bus

Discover the different routes and stops of Moscow's tourist bus and explore the city comfortably enjoying panoramic views of its main monuments.

Routes & stops

The Moscow sightseeing bus has two routes with 46 stops around the main tourist areas of the Russian capital , throughout which you can enjoy recorded commentary in English about the places you are passing through and the city's history .

Some of the unmissable stops for the Moscow bus are: Kropotkinskaya metro station, the  Pushkin Fine Art Museum , the Red October factory and the Alexander Gardens. And of course, no trip to Moscow would be complete without getting off at Red Square to explore the heart of Moscow, admire the Kremlin , St Basil's Cathedral , and the Moscow River.

You can check out the route with all the stops by clicking on the following link:

• Routes and stops on the Moscow bus .
• The ticket with 2-day validity costs € 33 ( US$ 35.70) for adults and € 30 ( US$ 32.40) for children between 7 and 13 years old. The bus ticket for children under 7 years old costs € 16 ( US$ 17.30).

Operating times & frequency

• Red line : from 10 am to 6 pm, every 20 minutes. The whole route lasts an hour.
• Green line : from 10 am to 6 pm, every 40 minutes. The whole route lasts two hours.

Buy your ticket online

Check out the prices for the Moscow Tourist Bus and buy your tickets online in advance via the following link:

• Moscow Hop-on Hop-Off Sightseeing Bus

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Tourism Web Portal

About the portal.

A technological tool for effective communication between the leading players in the Moscow tourism market and representatives of the foreign/regional tourism industry through online events. OBJECTIVES: • Building long-term cooperation with foreign/regional representatives • Raising awareness among foreign/regional representatives of the tourism industry of the tourism opportunities, measures and attractiveness of the city of Moscow in the field of tourist infrastructure development

Moscow City Tourism Committee

The Tourism Committee, or Mostourism, is the executive body of the Moscow City Government that oversees tourist activities in the capital. The Committee is responsible for legislative initiatives, congress and exhibition activities, and event and image projects. As the brand manager for an attractive tourism image for Moscow, Mostourism constantly analyses global trends, offers Russian and foreign tourists what they want, and also uncovers new opportunities for the capital in terms of interesting and rewarding leisure activities.

ANO «Project Office for the Development of Tourism and Hospitality of Moscow»

Syundyukova Yulia [email protected] Mezhiev Magomed [email protected]

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