Traveling between Uyuni and San Pedro de Atacama is common among travelers exploring Bolivia and Chile. Even though it is a common route, I found it challenging to get enough information about the available transportation options, so I decided to write this blog post to show you how to travel from Uyuni to San Pedro de Atacama.
This route connects two of the world’s most incredible natural wonders: Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni and Chile’s Atacama Desert. Both regions are great options for ecotourists seeking to immerse themselves in untouched wilderness and sustainable travel experiences.
In this guide, we will explore the different ways to make your journey so you can easily plan your adventure. There are options for budget travelers and people looking for a more comfortable experience.
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Transportation Available
When planning your trip from Uyuni to San Pedro de Atacama, you have three main options: bus, minivan, and guided tours offered by travel agencies. Each option has its own advantages and challenges depending on your travel style, budget, and time frame.
The minivan is the most economical option and works for those on a tight budget who are willing to trade comfort for cost with a faster travel time. Buses, on the other hand, offer a more comfortable journey, which can be a relaxing experience during the longer travel time, mainly due to the time spent at the border crossing (it took me almost three hours to cross Bolivia and Chile!!).
On the other hand, traveling with a tour agency can be a unique trip because most of the people you will meet are other travelers as well. Each option provides a different way to experience this region’s natural beauty, so we will explore the details of each one in the following sections.
Every day brings new choices.
Travel by Bus
If you want to travel more comfortably, without too much shaking, the bus from Uyuni to San Pedro de Atacama is the best option. Buses are more expensive than the minivan, costing around $40 USD (300 Bolivianos) one way. The prices can change depending on the season and demand.
Two companies offer bus rides from Uyuni to San Pedro Atacama: Cruz del Norte and Trans Salvador. You can check the prices of the tickets and the timetable of the buses here in this link.
While it’s not the fastest choice, it’s a good option for backpackers and slow travelers who want to experience the journey in a more pleasant way. I found that traveling in Bolivia with minivans can be tough due to their fast speeds and constant shaking inside the vehicle.
Bus rides are better because you have more legroom than the minivan. The dirty road in Bolivia is bumpy, and the bus offers more stable transportation due to its size and slow speed while traveling.
The buses usually operate early in the morning; the border between Bolivia and Chile closes around 7PM, so you need to cross the border during the day.
The disadvantage of traveling by bus is how much time you will spend at the border. The Chilean side is very strict; cops will check each bag of everybody. The fact that a big group of travelers need to have their documentation checked also increases the time spent there. As I mentioned before, in my case, I spent around three hours at both the Bolivian and Chilean borders!!
Travel with an Agency
For those looking for a more private and convenient transportation option, booking a ride with a travel agency is a good option. One advantage is that most of the people who will travel with you are other travelers. Most locals won’t pay for this option because it is the most expensive on this list.
Many travelers opt for a 3-day or 4-day tour that departs from San Pedro de Atacama and ends in Uyuni. Most of the agencies offering this tour are from Chile, so the drivers must return to San Pedro de Atacama at the end of the tour.
In an attempt to increase their income on the way back to Chile, agencies offer a package to drive people so that they won’t have to make a trip from Uyuni to San Pedro without customers.
Usually, tours to Uyuni from San Pedro with these agencies finish around noon on the third or fourth day. So they offer a ride from Uyuni to Villamar, a small village in Bolivia with a few accommodation options.
You will spend the night in Villamar, where the agency will book the accommodation for you. Early in the morning on the next day, the journey will continue towards the border and finish in San Pedro de Atacama.
Usually, the ride starts from Uyuni around 3-4PM and ends in San Pedro de Atacama on the following day, around noon. Prices for this package are around $65-75 USD, including the accommodation with breakfast and dinner. The good thing is that you don’t have to worry about organizing logistics along the way. You can just sit back and enjoy the ride as you explore Bolivian and Chilean lands.
Four agencies in Uyuni offer this type of service: Uturunku, Cordillera Traveller, World White Traveller, and Salar Andino.
Travel with a minivan
If you’re after a faster and cheaper journey, minivans offer a good option. These vehicles are smaller and faster than buses, usually taking around 6 to 7 hours to make the trip from Uyuni to Calama. The ride costs 160 Bolivianos ($23 USD), leaving in the mornings at 7am. Once you are in Calama, you must take a bus to San Pedro, which takes an hour and a half. The bus from Calama to San Pedro de Atacama costs 5.000 Chilean Pesos (Around 5 Euros).
This option is good if you are in a rush to get to Atacama. Since the number of passengers is relatively low compared with buses, the border crossing will be faster.
The disadvantage of this option is the ride in the Bolivian side. Since the road is very bumpy, it can be shaky inside the minivan. The good thing is that the road quality improves greatly when you cross the border and enter Chile.
Conclusion
This article describes three main options for traveling from Uyuni to San Pedro de Atacama. I discovered all of these options after talking to locals and investigating how I could get to San Pedro de Atacama from Uyuni.
I hope this article helped you to inform yourself about the advantages and disadvantages of each option so you can make a better decision.
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Enjoy your travels!!
