San Pedro de Atacama ir tour land. Strolling down the Main Street – Caracoles – each door is a different tour operator selling trips to the surrounding sites. 

Most of the tours in San Pedro de Atacama are basically offering transport, as the sights themselves you can enjoy on your own. To justify the cost of the tour, all of the tour operators throw in a Pisco Sours and snacks, by the side of the road.

The starting price for most tours is 30 000 pesos, which easily comes down if you bundle multiple tours or just by staying a while to chat. It is worth-it to shop around and there is no need to book ahead.

From groups of 2+ people, it is worth it to rent a car in Calama and tour the sights on your own, only needing to pay entrance fees for each one.

The most common tours in San Pedro de Atacama

• Valle la Luna: moon-like landscape in a salt mountain range
• Laguna Cejar: swim on a lagoon 7x saltier than the ocean
• Stargazing tour: learn how to read the sky and get a professional photograph with the stars – we did this tour with Astrocoya and we really enjoyed it! The tours only happen if there is a clear sky, so you should book a tour for the beggining of your stay in San Pedro de Atacama, as it may be postponed through the days in case of cloudy sky.
• Geysers: rise early and ride to over 5000 meter high to see the boiling water gushing from earth
• Lagunas Altiplanas: colorful lagoons at over 3000 meters high
• Salar de Uyuni: ride 4D3N or 3D2N to reach the enormous Salar in Bolivia, visiting numerous different landscapes on the way

How many days to stay in San Pedro de Atacama

If you should plan at least 3 nights in San Pedro if you wish to do some of the tours. If doing the Geysers tours or the Lagunas Altiplanas, save these for last if you are coming from low lands, this way you will have to acclimate to the altitude.

If you are planning on doing the Salar de Uyuni tour, you can skip the Geysers and the Lagunas Altiplanas tour in San Pedro, as you will be able to visit similar landscapes on the way to Salar de Uyuni. You can do this tour from San Pedro and return (4D3N), from San Pedro and finishing in Uyuni, Bolivia (3D2N) our from Uyuni, Bolivia and return (4D3N). You can also do a 1-day tour to the Salar from Uyuni, Bolivia. Check out our full guide to the Salar de Uyuni 3D2N tour which we took with Cordillera Traveller and love it!

We did Valle la Luna and Laguna Cejar tours with Andes Travel and were happy with it!