What days of the year can I make this excursion?
The tour has confirmed departures all days of the week, the whole year.
3-day tour to the Uyuni Salt Flat, beginning in San Pedro de Atacama and ending in Uyuni. Includes transportation, accommodation in hostels and all meals.
*Despite the 4x4 vehicle has space for 6 passengers plus the driver/guide, the last seat of the vehicle is narrow, so, in case you want comfort for all the travelers, our suggestion is to make the tour in two groups of 3 people each (two separated bookings).
Beginning: Day 1 at 7:00 am in your hotel in San Pedro de Atacama.
End: Day 3 at 4:00 pm in downtown Uyuni.
Day 1: We will pick you up at your hotel to begin the travel to the border between Chile and Bolivia in shared transportation. After the procedures, we will begin the tour in private transportation that will take us to the Verde and Blanca lagoons, first tourist attractions of the Bolivian High Plato, near the Licancabur. After that, we will pass by the Polques Hot Springs and the Sol de Mañana Geysers. In addition, we will visit the Colorada Lagoon, where we will take pictures before ending the itinerary of the day where we will spend our first night.
Day 2: We will leave our accommodation in the morning, to visit Italia Perdida, rock formations with different shapes and sizes in the middle of the desert. We will pass also by the Vinto Lagoon and the viewpoint of the Anaconda Canyon, from where you can have a great perspective of the valley, where passes the river that has the shape of this animal of the Amazon Region. In addition, we will visit the towns of Alota and San Agustín, before reaching the place where we will have time to stretch our legs from the day of travel, have dinner and then rest during the night.
Day 3: This day begins very early, before seeing the first sun lights. We will enter to the Uyuni Salt Flat so we can find the right spot to see the sunrise over the salt flat. After witnessing this true nature spectacle, we will go to the Incahuasi Island that we will be able to go over, following the marked circuit for that. While we go up to the higher part of the island, we will have panoramic views of the greatness of the salt flat, decorated with giant cactus that grow up in this rock mass. After that, we will go to the Salt Museum and the Dakar Monument, so then we leave the salt flat. We will pass by the town of Colchani and visit the train cemetery, before arriving to Uyuni, where we will end our tour.
*The pickup service included does not operate to nor from accommodations located outside the urban area of San Pedro de Atacama, accommodations located in ayllus near San Pedro de Atacama (Quitor, Yaye, Checar, Sequitor, Solor, and Coyo), nor accomodations in the town of Toconao.
Altiplano winter
During the months from January to April, it takes place the weather phenomenon known as Altiplano winter, rain season in the central Andes. Due to this, it is possible that the described itinerary is modified as follows:
Force majeure changes
These are reference itineraries. The route to get to the salt flat, the places visited, the indicated order and the end time will always be subject to changes according to weather conditions, road conditions, demonstrations and accommodations availability. The confirmation of the itinerary is obtained in the briefing that the local supplier gives a day before the beginning of the activity, which does not mean that it will not be modified due to the happening of some of the situations already mentioned once the tour has already begun.
The tour has confirmed departures all days of the week, the whole year.
Due to high demand of the activity, we recommend to book at least a week in advance.
Depending on the nationality of the passenger. Passengers from Chile and the rest of South America, and passengers from Western Europe do not need tourist visa, while passenger that come from United States, Central America, Asia, and Africa do need tourist visa that costs U$ 160. This visa is obtained directly in the border, where along with the payment of the visa in cash, you need to present your passport and other documents. In case you are a foreign person resident in Chile, besides your passport, you need your ID card with you so you can prove your residence with the police authorities in customs.
The vaccine against the yellow fever is demanded for all passengers who don't come back to San Pedro de Atacama and that hace to pay tourism visa in the border (passengers that present a travel document from a country of the group II).
The activity is made on a minibus in Chile and on a 4x4 (Toyota Land Cruiser) in Bolivia, with capacity of maximum 6 people each.
Hostels have private double room, with private bathroom, hot shower and heating in common areas.
The accommodations have sockets type C, compatible with the types E and F. Anyway, our recommendation is that you carry an adapter to avoid any inconvenience.
Each passenger may carry at most one bag or suitcase of 15 kilos which will go above the 4x4. Because it will be outside the vehicle, it is recommended to take a bag rather than a suitcase, as suitcases are fragile and could be exposed to potential damage. If you do choose to bring a suitcase, it must a maximum size of a cabin suitcase (55 x 40 x 20 cm).
In summer (December to March), the temperature ranges from about 4 °C as a minimum, to 23 °C maximum. In winter (June to September) the temperature ranges from about -20 °C as a minimum, to 16 °C maximum.
We recommend to bring at least Bs. 500 per person for expenses not included in the tour, as entrances to parks, border tax, access to toilets and water.
In Toconao Street, in San Pedro de Atacama (intersection with Caracoles Street), you will be able to find some exchange offices where you can obtain bolivianos to take for the tour.
Most of the tour is made above 13,123 ft. of altitude so it is quite likely to suffer from altitude sickness specially the first day of the tour. To avoid or reduce the general feeling of discomfort, we recommend acclimate to the altitude one or two days above 8,202 ft., drink lots of water before and during the tour, eat light meals (avoid meat) the previous days, and do not drink alcohol the night before the beginning of the tour.
The meals are varied, and includes tea, coffee, bread, cookies and fruit for breakfast, and meat, pasta, rice, soup and vegetables for lunch and dinner. In case you need a vegetarian menu, you must mark your preference during the booking process.
In case of rain, the order of the places visited, the possibility to see the sunrise and the accommodation places are subject to change, because some of the roads might be closed. Added to the previous information, water in the Uyuni Salt Flat is an important obstacle and the Incahuasi Island (located in the center of the salt flat) remains closed. This means the Incahuasi Island cannot be visited and we enter to the salt flat only for a certain distance, so the passengers are safe.
The mirror effect occurs when there is water on the salt flat. This happens only in rainy periods (January and February) and after them (March).
The tour is made in the Altiplano area, at an altitude above 9,842.5 ft. Just with this, our body is submitted to an abnormal stress, which can cause discomfort and risk in people with the conditions mentioned in the restriction’s section. Moreover, the tour does not have health insurance and there are not health centers to treat this kind of situations in a proper manner on the route.
Yes, but only in English. The English-speaking driver service has an additional cost of US$ 150 per group. You can select it as an optional service during the booking process.
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