The Salar the Uyuni tour is one of the highlights of a South America trip. Not only the Salar itself, but all the different landscapes you get to visit on your way to/from the Salar. The multi-day tour is an incredible experience not be missed.

How to visit the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia

There are multiple options to visit the Salar de Uyuni:

1. From Uyuni, Bolivia on a day-trip
2. From Uyuni, Bolivia and return (4D3N)
3. From Uyuni, Bolivia and finishing in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile (3D2N)
4. From San Pedro de Atacama, Chile and return (4D3N)
5. From San Pedro de Atacama, Chile and finishing in Uyuni, Bolivia (3D2N)

If you have the time, go for a multi-day tour. The Salar is not the only worth-it sight! You will get to see colourful lagoons, large flamingos, incredible rock formations, canyons and even bathe in hot springs! On multy day tours you also get to see the Salar both on sunset and sunrise. 

Multi-day tours should cost around 180€ per person, including transportation, meals and accommodations and excluding park entrance fees – around 40€ per person.

As we were travelling from Chile to Bolivia we took option number 5: starting from San Pedro de Atacama, Chile and finishing in Uyuni, Bolivia (3D2N). Not all tour operator have the option of departing and returning in a different location, so you should ask around. We travelled with Cordillera Traveller and we loved the experience! 

When choosing your tour operator, confirm if the company with which you are buying the tour is only an agent or the actual operator. We read of travelers who had their expectations unmatched by buying from agents and realizing they were going with a different company on the day of the tour. If you book with the actual operator you will know what to expect.

Itinerary of a multi-day Salar de Uyuni tour

Itineraries for the tours are generally the same regardless of the tour operator, what may vary is the condition of the vehicle, the quality of the meals and the comfort of the accommodation.

Itineraries starting from San Pedro or from Uyuni are the same, in reverse order. If staring in San Pedro you will reach the Salar in the end of the tour, and if you start in Uyuni you will visit the Salar in the beginning of the tour.

This is the itinerary starting from San Pedro:

• Day 1:
  • Pick-up at your hotel at around 7:00 in the morning
  • Drive to the boarder crossing with Bolivia. Exit Chile and enter Bolivia
  • Breakfast and change the 4×4 vehicle that will drive you through the next days
  • Stop at Lagunas Verde and Blanca, Daly Desert and bathe at the Hot Springs
  • Lunch break 
  • Visit the geysers and the Laguna Colorada
  • Drive to the acommodation. Dinner and rest
    
• Day 2:
  • Breakfast at the accommodation
  • Visit the Valle de Rocas, Cañon de Sora where you will meet wondering Alpacas and the Anaconda Canyon
  • Lunch break
  • Sunset at the Salar the Uyuni
  • Dinner and rest at the accommodation
• Day 3:
  • Sunrise at the Salar the Uyuni
  • Visit the Inca Huasi Island and have breakfast
  • Visit the Dakar Monument, the first salt hotel, the ojos the salar and lastly the train cementery in Uyuni
  • Lunch and end tour
    

What to bring to a multi-day Salar de Uyuni tour

Here is a list of what you should bring to a multi-day tour to the Salar the Uyuni:

• Cash: ~600 bolivianos per person
• Comfortable clothing and layers, the temperature changes quite a lot
• Sunscreen and sunglasses
• Warm pajamas – it gets pretty cold at the accomodation
• Snacks for the ride
• Toilet paper