Uyuni to San Pedro de Atacama Tour: The 3-Day Route Reviewed

Included and Excluded

The confirmed inclusions are the Uyuni pickup, 4WD transport with 6 people per driver, all described meals, water during meals, 2 nights of shared accommodation, a Spanish or English-speaking guide and driver of your choice, the transfer from the Hito Cajón border to San Pedro de Atacama, and a sleeping bag from May to September.

The exclusions are entrance fees, tips, snacks, rubber boots and toilets. No mandatory booking-platform extras are stated for this listing. The fees are the real cash line: the Eduardo Avaroa reserve entrance runs 150 Bs (about $13) for foreign visitors and the Isla Incahuasi fee is 30 Bs (about $3). Bring bolivianos because there are no ATMs or exchange offices near the salt flat.

What the extra money buys over the $290 Andes Salt 3-day tour, $352 once its $62 of mandatory extras are added, and the $309.90 Transandino 3-day tour, $319.90 with its $10 of extras, is a guide language you choose, the Chilean border transfer built in, and the sleeping bag in winter instead of rented. Those listings return to Uyuni or sell the Chilean transfer separately, and both list entrance fees and sleeping bag rental as excluded on top of mandatory platform extras.

The Honest Note on the Second Night

The listing is upfront that the second-night lodge at Laguna Colorada is extremely basic, with no heating, and that hot showers work about 75 percent of the time. Nighttime lows in June to August average about -3.7°C to -4.0°C in Uyuni town at 3,656 m, and the refuge beside the lagoon at 4,278 m, about 620 m higher, runs colder still. The fix is the included sleeping bag in the winter months and warm layers to sleep in.

If a proper bed matters more than the border transfer, a day loop such as the Salt Flats Highlights jeep tour at $90 returns you to Uyuni the same day, where you choose your own hotel, though it never reaches the lagoons.

Day 1: Uyuni to the Salt Hostel

Pickup starts the day and the departure is set for 10:30 AM. The jeep visits the Train Cemetery outside Uyuni, where locomotives from the 1888-1892 railway era were abandoned after the mining collapse of the 1940s. Then Colchani, the village that processes roughly 25,000 tonnes of salt a year, before entering the salar itself, which sits at 3,663 m and covers 10,582 km².

On the salt flat you see Flags Square, the Dakar Monument and the first salt hotel, then stop for lunch and perspective photos. The afternoon belongs to Incahuasi Island, its giant cacti and its coral fossils, a loop trail of 30 to 45 minutes. The day closes with sunset over the salt before the drive to the salt hostel. In the rainy season, if the road to the salt lodges floods, the listing says this night may move to a regular hostel in Uyuni.

• Train Cemetery and Colchani village
• Flags Square, Dakar Monument, first salt hotel
• Lunch and perspective photos on the crust
• Incahuasi Island and the giant cacti
• Sunset on the salt, then the salt hostel

Day 2: The Lagoons and the Siloli Desert

After breakfast the jeep stops at San Juan village for snacks and restrooms, then passes the active Ollagüe Volcano. The middle of the day runs through the Andean lagoons of Cañapa, Hedionda, Chiarcota and Honda, a chain that sits between roughly 4,100 and 4,700 m, with pink flamingos, Andean ducks and seagulls. Lunch is served near Hedionda Lagoon.

The afternoon crosses the Siloli Desert and the Stone Tree, then enters the Eduardo Avaroa reserve, where altitudes run from 4,200 m up to 5,400 m. The listing places the Siloli Desert at 6,000 m, which no other source supports: published figures put the plateau at roughly 4,000 m to 4,575 m, and the Stone Tree itself stands about 6-7 m tall. The day ends at the Red Lagoon, 4,278 m above sea level, home to James's, Andean and Chilean flamingos, before the night at Huayllajara. The listing warns that there is often no internet on day 2.

• San Juan village and the Ollagüe Volcano viewpoint
• Cañapa, Hedionda, Chiarcota and Honda lagoons
• Lunch near Hedionda
• Siloli Desert and the Stone Tree
• Eduardo Avaroa reserve and the Red Lagoon
• Night at the Laguna Colorada Refuge

Day 3: Geysers and the Border

You wake early for sunrise at the Sol de Mañana Geysers, a geothermal field at about 4,900 m with fumaroles around 70°C. Then the Polques Hot Springs, where the pool holds about 29°C against air that can drop to -5°C to -10°C, and the changing rooms cost around 5 Bs in cash, with no separate charge for the pool. Next comes the Dali Desert at about 4,750 m and the Green Lagoon at 4,310 m under the 5,868 m Licancabur Volcano.

The tour reaches the Chilean border at 9:30 AM. From there you board the included vehicle for the ride to San Pedro de Atacama, arriving at approximately 12:30 PM. Chilean customs are completed in San Pedro town itself, about 45 km from the pass.

• Sunrise at the Sol de Mañana Geysers
• Polques Hot Springs
• Dali Desert
• Green Lagoon and Licancabur
• Hito Cajón border at 9:30 AM
• San Pedro de Atacama by about 12:30 PM

Stated Exclusions and Warnings

The tour is not suitable for children under 3 years, pregnant women or people with back problems. The roads across the southwest are rough, unpaved and bumpy, and the vehicle may occasionally stop briefly due to altitude. No oxygen is stated on the listing, and no wheelchair access is stated.

The altitude is the bigger filter than the bumps. The route climbs from the salar at 3,663 m into a reserve that spans 4,200 to 5,400 m, sleeps the second night at 4,278 m, and day 3 starts at the geysers near 4,900 m. CDC guidance advises moving sleeping altitude by no more than about 500 m per night and acclimatizing 2 to 3 nights at around 2,450 to 2,750 m before going higher. Spending a couple of nights in Uyuni or La Paz first is the practical fix. Read the full guide on Uyuni altitude sickness before committing.

If this route is too much, the 8-hour highlights jeep tour stays on the salt flat and returns to Uyuni the same day, and the sunset and stargazing tour runs just 4 hours in the evening.

Cancellation and Written Confirmations

Free cancellation runs until 24 hours before the activity for a full refund, and you can reserve now and pay later. Confirm in writing before departure: the guide's language, since Spanish or English is a choice you make at booking, that the entrance fees stay excluded so you carry the cash, whether the sleeping bag applies to your dates, since it is only included from May to September, and that the transfer from the Hito Cajón border to San Pedro de Atacama is on your booking rather than billed on the spot. The itinerary can change with weather or roads, especially in the rainy season from December to April, and in a flood the overnight may move to a regular hostel in Uyuni.

Cash, Clothing and Documents

Carry bolivianos in small notes for the Eduardo Avaroa reserve fee of 150 Bs (about $13), the Isla Incahuasi fee of 30 Bs (about $3) and the Polques changing rooms at around 5 Bs. There are no ATMs or exchange offices near the salt flat. Bolivia runs a dual exchange system, so rates differ between the official and parallel markets. For the glare, bring sunglasses and sunscreen, and for the cold, warm layers and a sleeping bag outside the included months. Nights at the refuge drop below freezing in winter.

Bring your passport, since the trip crosses at Hito Cajón. Bolivia requires all foreign travelers to complete the SIGEMIG online immigration registration before or on arrival, and non-compliance is fined on exit. US citizens can enter Bolivia visa-free for tourism for up to 90 days under the rule that took effect in late 2025. On the Chilean side, the SAG declaration applies at the border: declare any plant or animal-origin goods, and note that dairy, fresh produce, meats and seeds are commonly barred. Check the packing list in what to pack for Uyuni.