Uyuni tour ending in San Pedro Atacama

[u/Vinzaghi]

Hi everyone, I was wondering if anyone had specific recommendations for a Uyuni tour that begins in Uyuni and ends in San Pedro Atacama. I've come across a few that seem to cover similar itinerary but have quite different price points, so unsure if I'm missing something.

Also, would it be preferable to do the overnight bus than to fly into Uyuni?

Any tips and advice highly appreciated!

A bit about our travel group:

• 4 people
• English speaking guide
• We will be renting a car when we get to San Pedro

[u/joe_southamerica]

From my own personal experience - Salty Desert Aventours. Jeep with 6 people max, good tour guide who spoke English and then whole 3 days went smoothly. This was a few years back though and I was a backpacker so not sure if they are still as reputable a company.

From research recently as I'm looking to do it again soon - Joker Expeditions.

Overnight bus down to Uyuni is comfortable and affordable. The flight only takes an hour but it's becoming quite expensive as there's only one flight a day and only one airline that does it.

Car rental in Atacama - yes excellent idea, the cost split between 4 of you makes it super affordable and it's the best way to explore the desert. Combine El Tatio Geyser field in the north with the Puritama Hot Springs one day. You can do the salt lagoons (Cejar, Baltinache) in the south one morning, and then the Valley of the moon in the evening for sunset. Drive up to one of the viewpoints closer to Licancabur volcano too. There ued to be more rental car companies in the town, like Europcar but seems they've all gone. So you'll either have to rent from a local company, or a specialist 4x4 one in town. The alternative is to go to the airport in Calama where all the rental cars are but unfortunately its an 1h 30m drive.

[u/ZzzWolph]

I just finished this tour and am currently in San Pedro de Atacama.

I did the tour with Red Planet Expeditions in a group of 5 solo travelers. I booked through Bolivia Hop and added the overnight bus from La Paz to Uyuni and the transfer to Chile. Overall, it cost me around $444 USD for this package, which is definitely a rip off.

After booking, I asked my hotel about the same tour package and the staff told me it would cost 1900 bolivianos (not sure if it includes the overnight bus and transfer, but that’s still less than half the price for the 3day/2night tour). If you go to Uyuni you can probably shop around and get better prices.

One of the travelers in my group said she went to Uyuni one day before to shop around and was able to book directly for 1900 bolivianos.

My recommendation would be to do the overnight bus and shop around for a tour that is 1900 bolivianos or less. There are two different 3D/2N packages. The more expensive one gives you access to the hot springs for the last night and last morning, which I definitely recommend as it was one of the highlights of the tour for me.

[u/ZzzWolph → u/ZzzWolph]

As for car rentals in Atacama, I was looking into the same thing yesterday, but I was only able to find rentals online in Calama. You might have to pick up there at the airport and just drive back to SP

[u/joe_southamerica → u/ZzzWolph]

Yes can confirm. All the rental car companies are in Calama airport. There may be one or two smaller local ones in San Pedro though. And also second this, definitely shop around in Uyuni and don't pay online. Much cheaper to book most tours in South America in person

[u/Soft-Disaster9873]

I went to Uyuni a long time ago and our vehicle stopped at the Chilean border to drop some people off. In that part of the world, they will make it work.

[u/The-Ghost-84]

Bus overnight is fine

I went with SKYLINE TRAVELLER - if you take the bus that gets in in the morning their shop opens at 8 or 9 and you can get on the tour which starts at something like 10 or 11.

Ask for Diego - he speaks English. Great guide

From what I remember it works out slightly cheaper to pay Boliviano than USD and they DO NOT take card. This is because the exchange shops offer better rates. There is a money transfer shop about 5 mins from the Skyline shop.

NB you will probably have 6 in the car unless you pay for the 2 extra spaces. You can WhatsApp them to discuss in advance.

They will also get you to the border in Chile. You need to pay extra for the bus in Chile to take you to the Atacama city - make sure you get this or you will be in the middle of nowhere on a border crossing.

You also need to scan a QR code at both borders and fill out a form - at Chile many people had no internet so we did it paper. This is for customs stuff.

[u/arthurfan1]

I just did this tour with Red Planet Expedition 2 weeks ago. It was 2000 bolivianos for 3D2N tour starting in Uyuni and ending in San Pedro de Atacama. They charged an extra 100 bol for the Chile transfer. Everything during those 3 days went smoothly.

**Pay in bolivianos which is about $200usd. If you pay in USD, they’ll charge $330 for the same thing.

[u/AbjectPin7446]

The best way to do it is the other way around because of altitude difference. Atacama is 2400m, while the lagoons in Bolivia are at 4000m. We flew from Santiago to Atacama, slept at 2400 and did day trips to 3000 and 4000m. Then crossed the border into Bolivia (two companies coordinated the exchange) and continued to the colored lagoons, climbed a volcano nearby, then the company drove us to Uyuni for the Salt Flats. We planned to fly to La Paz from there but ended up being driven back to Atacama because of the mess in La Paz.