Ultimate Guide for tours in Uyuni

By Connected Horizons

For every traveller, stopping at Uyuni and taking a tour into the gorgeous salt flats is a must on ones Bolivian road trip. That said, the salt flats are not the only attractions around – wild flamingoes, geysers, coloured lagoons, hot springs, active volcanoes – are just few of the unique sights to enjoy while spending sometime in this area.

Ojos de Agua just at the beginning of the salt flats

In town, the competitive several tour agencies offer a number of different guided tours starting from day trips to even 3-5 days out in the highlands. The day before going on 3-day tour (later in this article we’ll explain why this is the best option), we spent it walking around town and trying to figure out what was the best agency, best price and best tour to make the best of our time there.

Here follows a small guide packed of all the information we gathered, to help first-timers to understand how to pick the best tour in Uyuni. Also check out our photography post on the beautiful landscapes you’ll see in Uyuni!


Length of the Tour – 1,2 or 3 days

The first thing to consider when looking for the tour tailored for you, is decide how long you’re willing to stay out in the wilderness. Obviously the more days you have, the more sights you’re gonna be able to see but also take into consideration that you’ll have to rough it out a little more. Some days of the tour you’re gonna be staying at very basic accomodation and not everybody might be up for that. Check the map at the end of this section for more details on routes!

1 DAY – This is the standard “Salt Flats” tour where most of your day is going to involve visiting the Uyuni salt flats, among other sights, conveniently located at just 30min away from town. Likely, you will meet up with you group and guide at around 10.30am, load your bags and then leave by 11am. On this day, you will make the following stops, (1) Train Cemetery, (2) Colchani (lunchtime)(3) Ojos de agua, (4) Salt hotel, (5) Inca Huasi island, (6) Photo stop with props and (7) Sunset where sky reflects on water. Lastly, after sunset you’ll head back to Uyuni.

2 DAYS – The first day is going to be exactly the same of the 1-day itinerary with the only difference that instead of seeing the sunset where there’s water in the salar and going back to Uyuni, you’re gonna be heading to San Juan to overnight in a salt hotel. Be aware that the salt hotel is NOT gonna be in the salt fats but a couple of km away from the outer edge. On the second day, you’ll leave at around 9am and will make the following major stops: (1) San Cristobal, (2) Rock Valley, (3) Volcano lookout (lunchtime), (4) Several less-known lagoons, (5) Stone Tree and (6) Laguna Colorada (orange lagoon). After sometime at the orange lagoon you’re gonna head back to Uyuni and arrive by 7pm.

3 DAYS – The first and second day are going similar to the 2-day itinerary with the only difference being that on the second day you’re going to see the sunset at the orange lagoon and spend the night there in a super basic (and freezing) homestay. Some tour agencies also offer the possibility to do choose whether you prefer doing your first day like the 1-day itinerary (back to Uyuni) or the 2-day itinerary (overnight in San Juan). On the third day you’ll wake up at 4.30am, leave camp by 5am and make the following stops: (1) Sol de Mañana geysers, (2) Hot springs, (3) Dali desert and (4) Green & white Lagoon. After the last stop, the group will split into those who continue to Chile (through San Pedro de Atacama) or those who head back to Uyuni after a 7hrs-long drive.

On our opinion, taking the 3-day tour is undoubtedly the best more rewarding option that you should give yourself the time to do.

Choose right company, pay the right price

The most important thing to understand is that given the huge number of tour companies in town, prices and quality of service vary a lot. Unfortunately the two are not necessarily related to each other e.g. paying more might not get you a better service!

On a general basis, all companies provide the exact same service and even though some are more “high-end” companies, the additional benefits are very few and are not really worth the higher price. Some companies might provide english-speaking guide, brand-new cars, more continental meals etc… but expect to pay at least 200% more than the standard tour.

In terms of prices, the general rate for the 1-Day tour is 150Bs., for the 2-Day tour is 400Bs. and for the 3-Day tour is 750Bs. These are the average prices each “standard” (not luxury) tour operator would offer you if you book at least one day before and don’t haggle the price down.

That said, if you’re interested about getting the cheapest possible rate, just make sure to walk around town the morning you want to leave at around 8-9am and more than likely you’ll find your ride. At this time, tour agencies are trying to fill up empty spots on car and therefore will give you very discounted rates (15-20% less than standar price).

To give you a general idea, for our 3-day tour including transport to San Pedro de Atacama (Chile) booked the day before with a bit of haggling, we paid 650Bs. pp.

What is and isn’t included

Before accepting the offer for any tour, an important thing to ask is what will be included in the price the agency is giving you. Be aware, that most of the times they will give you a great offer only because many things that should be included are not!

Our Group during the 3-day tour

Additional entrance fees along the way – Often, whether you’re taking the 1,2 or 3 days tour, entrance fees to places you’re gonna visit are not included. In the salt flats the only optional entrance fee is for the mirador of the Inca Huasi island (30Bs.) and in the highlands lagoons a small entrance fee to the hot springs (5Bs.). If you opt for the 3-day tour, you’re going to have to pay the obligatory entrance fee to the reserve Eduardo Avaroa Flamingo Reserve (150Bs.).

Food and accommodation facilities – Some companies, keep their budget low by only mentioning food is going to be included without specifying how many meals. Clarify that and make sure your tour include 1 lunch (1-day tour), 1 breakfast/2 lunches/1dinner (2-day tour) and 2 breakfasts/2-3 lunches/2 dinners (3-day tour). In regards to accomodation, make sure to know where you’re gonna be sleeping (get someone to pinpoint it on a map) and if the accommodation is going to include heating (it will be a gift if you’re going to be sleeping in the desert).

Model of car and details – Among tour companies, there’s a wide variety of cars used to run the tours. Some have heating, some don’t; some seat 6 people, some seat 8; some are old, some are brand new: just make sure to know what you’ll get.

Guide and driver – Few companies will include a driver and a guide in the tour, while some other will only include a driver whom will also be the guide. Make sure to know what language they speak (often only spanish) and for how long they’ve been around. The first day our guide was a 19-year old kid who barely knew who to drive the jeep!!!

Border between bolivia and chile

And for those deciding to finish the tour in San Pedro de Atacama (Chile):

Transport from the border to San Pedro de Atacama – Once again, some agencies will try to push up the price by 70Bs. (the price for a colectivo from the bolivian border to San Pedro Atacama) if you tell them you want your tour to end in Chile. Make sure you haggle a bit the price saying that you want transport included at no additional costs: trust us you’ll find the agency offering that.

Exit tax from Bolivia – Currently, the small border of Hito Cajon that connects Bolivia to Chile via the Uyuni Tours road tries to make tourists pay an exit fee from Bolivia. This exit tax is completely “UNREGULATED” and you should make every effort to avoid paying the corrupt officers at the border. If you tell them it’s already included in your tour, they should let you pass without any problem (we told them a fake tour agency name and they let us through) but should they say no, just highlight that for european citizens there’s not overland taxes for crossing borders in South America.

In the end, independently of what tour you’ll take (even though we suggest you to go on the 3-day tour), we’re sure you’ll gonna have a blast visiting the gorgeous landscapes around the area of Uyuni. Think it through, plan it a bit and make the most of it: this is the way to go!


PLANNING A TRIP TO BOLIVIA? CHECK MORE GUIDES BELOW!


[pt_view id=”b971836r98″]

2 thoughts on “Ultimate Guide for tours in Uyuni

  • Brooke of Passport Couture September 29, 2018 at 5:11 pm Reply

    Thanks for this comprehensive guide! The map you made is super helpful and it helps me see all the possibilities for visiting the Salt Flats. What else do you recommend in Bolivia?

    • Connected Horizons September 29, 2018 at 5:54 pm Reply

      Hey Brooke of Passport! We’re glad the guide was helpful and yeah, we tried making the map as precise as possible and at the same time keep it relatively simple! There are a lot of places to visit in Bolivia depending on what you like! Head to Sucre to see a beautiful colonial city, Santa Cruz to see something different of the country, Potosi if you fancy seeing the silver mines and La Paz to live a bit of city life! We’ve also heard that from La Paz you can take trips into the jungle so that could be an option too!
      Let us know how if you need a deeper insight and we’ll be happy to help! 🙂

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *