Travel Answers

San Pedro de Atacama

Anyone travelling to San de Pedro atamaca this week? With a spare seat?

Hi, My husband and I intend to go to the Salar de Uyuni, from San Pedro de Atacama, on January 15, 2013 and returning on Jan. 19. We researched several agencies that make the tours and the best ranked were the Cordillera and Ruta Verde, the latter has oxygen balloon and satellite phone in case of emergency. The cost of the trip its around US 2200 per car, that can be shared by 4. We want to know if any couple is interested in sharing the tour with us? Thank you

Is this 2 night trip too arduous a trip for 2 people in their early 60s? If I spent a few days in San Pedro taking day trips, then a train or bus to Uyuni, would I get similar experience with more comfort? Can anyone offer guidance?

We wish to join a tour from San Pedro to Uyuni. However, we (from Hong Kong) do not have Bolivia visa. Does anyone have experience in obtaining the visa in Calama, San Pedro or the frontier between Chile and Bolivia? Is it easy to get it? How long will it take? By the way, one of us holds United Kingdom passport. Does the passport holder require visa to enter into Bolivia? All advice/comment are highly appreciated in advance.

We plan to join a tour from San Pedro de Atacama to Uyuni, Bolivia. However, we do not have Bolivia visa. Does any VT members know whether we can apply it in Calama or San Pedro de Atacama? Can we apply for the visa at the border between Chile and Bolivia?

Hi all. I'm on a trip around south america and am a bit tight for time as I need to be in Arequipe around 3rd November. Tomorrow I go to Valparaiso in Chile and then get a bus to San Pedro de Atacama. From there I would like to do the Salar de Uyuni (I dont care that it costs more) and then return to San Pedro and from there head to Arequipa. However I found the following in this link: lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/t... "One more tip.... on the first night we stayed in the same place as a group that was coming the opposite way from San Pedro to Uyuni. They were all suffering terribly from altitude sickness, with the vomiting and insomnia and feeling miserable. Our driver told us if you come that way you gain 2,000 metres altitude in 40minutes from San Pedro to the border so it is inevitable really. He said he would not do it that way round! Coming from Uyuni you gain 1,500m over 3 days, although you would probably still feel it if you had not already been in La Paz or Uyuni." This has me worried. Doing the tour from Uyuni is not an option for me, considering my time restrictions. It is either from San Pedro or from nowhere. How big a risk is it doing the tour from San Pedro? I was thinking of spending a few days in San Pedro and doing the various one day tours of the local area which are all above 4000m, and if I dont feel well during those tours then I could give Uyuni a miss. If I feel good during those tours then perhaps that means I'd be ok to do the Salar de Uyuni. Any advice would be great. I was at 2,850 metres today near Mendoza in the Andes and I felt fine.

Hi, I have been looking around a bit but can't find a definitive answer one way or the other. I have read that it is possible to start in Uyuni to do the 3-4 day tour and finish in San Pedro, but I'm not sure if it's possible to go back to Uyuni after spending a few nights in San Pedro directly or whether I would have to do the tour or find some other way to get back? I really want to head to La Paz after the tour but I also want to spend a few nights in San Pedro if possible (and worthwhile). The other option I was looking at was possible heading over to Salta after San Pedro and flying from there to Santa Cruz and onto La Paz...To be honest I don't know anything about Salta and don't really know if it's a good place to see or not. Thanks

I am an australian based photographer and will be in chile in September, I am looking to do some aerial photography of the atacama salt flats. anyone know where i cna hire a light aircraft in the vicinity or companies that run scenic air tours. thanks, steve

Hi ! I'll be in San Pedro in october, then I want to go to Salta . I'd like to know if it's necessary to make a reservation for the bus. If it is,where can I do it ? It seems not to be possible on Pullman or Geminis website... Thank you four your answer.

My friend and I are interested in renting bikes and heading off to Quitor and Tulor (probably on two separate days). Has anyone done this? Are they easy enough to find? How much time would you allow? We are hoping we could do each in half a day to fill the day before our Valle de La Luna tour (~3pm), and after our Tatio Geyser Tour (~1pm). Does this seem possible?

Does anyone have any good or bad experiences with specific tour companies in San Pedro de Atacama? I am interested in doing the typical Tatio Geyser tour, Valle de la Luna sunset tour, and Altiplano Lagoons tour. I want a company that speaks English, is knowledgeable, and gives us plenty of time to walk around, rather than spending most of the trip being carted around in a van. I've been trying to book with Cosmo Andino for the last two weeks, but they haven't responded to my emails. So, I'm trying out Cactus tours, Desert Adventures, Vulcano Expediciones, and Atacama Connections. Any tips would be appreciated.

Hi, My girl friend and I will be in Santiago mid December and would like to do the 3days/2nights Salar de Uyuni tour starting from Uyuni and ending in San Pedro. The problem is that we only have 5 days starting from / coming back to Santiago (we have to be back in Santiago for a wedding). Is it feasible? The main question is how to get to the start of the tour in Uyuni quickly enough from Santiago. Our current best guess is to fly to Calama and find a 1 day transport to Uyuni from there but I can’t see any (the only transport I found so far is the 3 days San pedro to Uyuni tour…). Any suggestion? Alternatively we could start the tour from San Pedro but then would have to find a quick (1 day max) and reliable transport to come back from Uyuni to San Pedro. Suggestions most welcome here again. Also do we have to book these tours in advance in that period (mid december) to make sure we get one when we arrive (we would like to join a 6 people tour… private tours are just too expensive)… given our time constraint, we can’t really wait for a few days... Thanks a lot for your help Fab

Will I be able to take a tour from San Pedro to see geoglyphs? Karen

Can anyone recommend a good bus company from San Pedro to Salta and do you know how frequent they are?

Hi, I have been speaking with Atacama Spirit for Hotel and Tour reservations (including 3 day overland trip to Uyuni). I wanted to know if anywone has had experience with this agency and if they are reliable. Thankyou in advance, John

hi if any has info on cheapest/best transport from san pedro to mendoza(argentina)would be much appreciated as me and friend tryin to get to in and around BA...etc for xmas/nye cheers

I'd like to get back to bolivia (ending up in la paz) after visiting san pedro de atacama. It seems to be easy to get an uyuni tour to drop you off in san pedro; but which is the most interesting and feasible route back; or can anyone reccomend a good tour company that covers the area?

Hi I would like to travel from Salar di uyuni to San Pedro de Atacama. For there head south to Santiago. What is the easiest way to do this. Is it at all possible? Thanks all!! Rusty

Hi I would like to travel from Salar di uyuni to San Pedro de Atacama. For there head south to Santiago. What is the easiest way to do this. Is it at all possible? Thanks all!! Rusty

Hi I think we will end up in San Pedro for christmas, and we are looking for a nice hotel, price 20-40 us-dollars for a doubleroom with private bathroom. Nice and cozy hangout places are prefered, but I don't know if that is possible in that pricerange. We don't have any guidebook yet, so we would apriciate any recomendations. Do you think San Pedro will be a nice place for christmas? Thank you.

Can anyone recommend any tours to Uyuni from San Pedro over 3 days? Do you need to book in advance? Any other recommendations for San Pedro? Like where to stay and what is good to see. Many thanks and I look forward to hearing back.

Hey all, Planning on arriving in San Pedro on the 5th of April. Collecting 4x4 from Calama. Think it will be simple enough to get to San Pedro (just follow Route 23?). What I don't know is how easy is it to find the various sites. El Tatio Geysers for instance being 95km away. Is it easy enough to buy a road map in Calama or San Pedro? Should I just follow the tour 4x4s? Thanks in advance, Steve.

i{m leaving buenos aires at the end of the week and need to be in lima by the beginning of march. in betweenmy priority is the slat flats from san pedro. any info on bus links? thanks

I was quite shocked when I saw on LAN´s website that a simple 1 way fare to Santiago is 315 USD ... is there any cheaper option by air (I have no time to take the bus)? Any agency that can book a cheap flight?

we will be in san pedro for 6 days in avril. what should we see? any ideas on nice lodging? tours?what to avoid? thanks

Hi everyone, I am travelling to Chile for about 2 weeks in January. I will basically be heading from Santiago to Puerto Montt during that time. However, I was thinking about taking advantage of Lan Chile's Air Pass offer and heading up to San Pedro de Atacama for 3 days just to check it out. I am wondering if it is worth the extra time and money, i.e. if it is a place to check out only if you happen to be in the area, or if it is a place worth making an extra journey to see. Would my time be better spent down south exploring more of that area or is San Pedro & vicinity a "must see"? Thanks for any advice!

We arrive Santiago on Monday the week before Easter. Having been to Patagonia, the wine country and Valparaiso, we want to explore the atacama. We usually travel on our own so my questions are: 1. Are roads good to drive from atafongasta to san pedro? Do we need to rent a 4 wheel drive for travelling around the atacama? 2. Sites to see on the trip to atacama? 3. recommendations for lodging in San Pedro? 4. recommendations for sites to see or treks ? 5. Are there special Catholic services at San Pedro on Easter morning the we should not miss? Thanks for any help on any of these issues.

Hi Did the recent earthquake in Northen Chile affect the transport links between San Pedro & the northern border with Peru? Any info gratefully received. Adeline

Hi, I need to go to Santiago, Chile from Salta, Argentina, and was thinking of stopping over in San Pedro de Atacama for a few days. How many days is sufficient to stay there? thanks! vanitha

Can anyone recommend which agency to go with from here to Uyuni? Thanks!