The classic Uyuni Salt Flats tour is a 3 or 4 day tour through the southern region of Bolivia, highlighting the largest salt flat in the world. Now, you can visit the salt flat in one day from Uyuni, but the true magic of the region is the diversity in landscapes and you can take full advantage of that through the classic 3 or 4 day Uyuni Salt Flats tour.
We did the Uyuni Salt Flats tour between San Pedro de Atacama and Uyuni. The following is the itinerary of our tour with Uturunku Travel. We enjoyed our experience with this tour group. Other tour groups may have a slightly different itinerary. Other multi-day tours depart from La Paz or Tupiza in Bolivia.
We will discuss the itinerary from San Pedro de Atacama to Uyuni because it includes a border crossing. The tours that start in Bolivia do not have this border crossing. You can also do the tour in the other direction, starting from Uyuni. It truly is based on which starting point is most convenient for you.
Day 1 of the Uyuni Salt Flats Tour: Departure and Bolivia Introduction
Departure
The day will start early, being picked up from your hostel/hotel in San Pedro de Atacama between 6 and 6:45 am. It needs to be this early to get to the border between Chile and Bolivia as early as possible and have a smooth border crossing. Breakfast will be provided for you while you wait for the border to open.
The Border Crossing between Chile and Bolivia
When going from Chile to Bolivia, you will start by getting a stamp and turning in your PDI document (make sure you don’t throw out this document given to you when you arrive in Chile) to leave Chile. Then, you will go through the Bolivian border control where you will get a stamp to enter the country or submit your visa requirements if needed. Make sure to look up if you need a visa or need to purchase a visa at the border.
At this moment, you will transfer your belongings to a 4×4 with your official guide/driver for your journey in Bolivia, along with 3-5 other people. This will be your group for the journey unless you select a VIP/private tour option. Your large bags will go on the roof rack of the car, protected by a tarp. Finally, you will go through customs at the Bolivian border where you will need to show a completed declaration form. If all these steps go successfully (and your tour group will help you through the process), you can enter the country!
Starting your journey in bolivia
The next part of the day will be in the Eduardo Avaroa Reserve in the Potosi region of Bolivia. Here, you will visit the Laguna Blanca, the Laguna Verde, the Desierto Salvador Dali, and the Aguas Termales de Polques. At this point, you will stop to have lunch, which is served family-style for your group.
The last part of the day will include visiting the Geiser Sol de Manana and Laguna Colorada to see flamingos on this red lake.
You will spend the night in a hostel in Villa Mar where you will get dinner and rest. Based on what you purchased for the Uyuni Salt Flats tour, you will get a private or shared room. Your driver/guide will also take down your bag from the roof rack for the evening. It can be pretty cold here in the evening so bring a sweater/jacket. If you are interested in reading more about what to bring on the trip and read some other FAQs, you can follow this article.
Day 2 of the Uyuni Salt Flats Tour: Rock Formations and an Intro to the Uyuni Salt Flats
The Rock Formations of Bolivia
You will start the day with breakfast at the hostel in Villa Mar. You will then load back up the car and continue onto the rock formations of the area. You will start by visiting the “World Cup”, the Lost Italy rock formations, and the Laguna Misteriosa where you will see llamas grazing along a beautiful landscape. Here, you will have a break for lunch, served family style with your group.
The different landscapes of bolivia
After lunch, you will visit the Anaconda Canyon, the abandoned town of Juliaca where you can try cactus or quinoa beer, and end the day with a sunset over the salt flats (this is not always included in the tour and is based on the tour agency that you choose to go with). This is when you may get photos with water over the salt flats, creating beautiful reflections of the sunset.
A Unique hostel experience
Finally, you will spend the night at a hostel built of salt on the edge of the Uyuni Salt Flats. Here, you will once again get dinner and have a private or shared room. You will want to go to bed early because you will leave around 5:30 AM the next day.
Day 3 of the Uyuni Salt Flats Tour: Exploring the Salt Flats Themselves
A unique Sunrise
The day will start very early to be prepared to experience the sunrise over the salt flats. If you are a person who likes to have food in your system first thing in the morning, consider bringing an energy bar because you will not eat for a few hours.
You will drive to the Incahuasi Island, an island in the middle of the salt flats that is covered in cacti. Here, you will climb to the top of the island and wait for the sun to cross the horizon. To us, it was an incredibly beautiful and powerful experience. When you get down from the island, breakfast will be prepared for you and you will get to enjoy it with a view of the salt flats.
time on The Salt flats
After breakfast, you will drive to the polygon area of the salt flats to take photos of this enormous expanse and take in the natural beauty of the salt flats and their formations. You will have the occasion to play around with different fun perspective photos, like what you may have seen online or below.
Exploring uyuni
Next, you will go to the Plaza de Banderas, the first salt hotel, and the Monumento al Dakar before leaving the Uyuni Salt Flats to stop for souvenirs in Colchani. You will end your tour at the train cemetery in the town of Uyuni. Finally, you will have your final lunch with your group before getting dropped off at the tour agency in Uyuni.
If you are returning to San Pedro de Atacama...
You can wait at your tour agency until your pick-up for your return to San Pedro de Atacama. You will be driven back to Villa Mar to spend the night before crossing the border the next morning. You will have dinner at the hostel and will want to get to bed early because you will have a very early morning the next day.
Day 4 of the Uyuni Salt Flats Tour: If You Are Returning to San Pedro de Atacama
On this final day, you will wake up very early in the morning to get to the border as early as possible. Here, you will cross back over to Chile, getting the very important PDI document in Chile, and changing vehicles into vans that will drive you to San Pedro de Atacama.