Bolivia Travel Forum

any suggestions on tour companies for uyuni or would it be best if i booked it all on my own?

i don't care much about la paz or any of those places, my main interest is the salt dessert, i'm thinking maybe 4 or 5 days, is it enough time or too much?

is the salt hotel worth it, cause i see is 2 or 3 times more expensive than all oter hostels?

also, is september a good time of the year to visit it?
anyone who can help me with some info, i would greatly apreciate it!

Normally you would arrive in Uyuni town (by bus or train). There are several tour companies there, they just wait until they have enough (around 7 passengers). Trip is normally 3 nights, or can be shorter or longer, spending on whether you want to get into Chile. Tour price includes accommodation and meals, but take your own water.

I visited around Oct/Nov. It was certainly fine then. I don't think it could be anything but sunny, because it's so high (4300 m) - way above clouds.

When I was there, the salt hotel was closed - a problem with water or drains, I forget. But apart from the novelty, it looked pretty dire - all the furniture was made of salt - chairs, bed, etc. No thank you. Mind you, the accommodation of the tour was pretty terrible too.

Claudia, I have information about the tour companies that I used in my general tip under Uyuni. There is also a travelogue on my Bolivia page. My information is getting a little dated now, so hopefully others will respond. The larger, more established tour companies (e.g. Colque) will have better facilities. The standard loop south out of Uyuni is four days, so you have about the right amount of time. With five days, you could even do Volcan Thunupa in the north.

I think the salt hotel that you mention is the new one. It is located on the edge of the Salar north of Colchani, i.e., it is far from anywhere. I have a tip on it. Although it sounds nice, I would just stay in Uyuni where there are restaurants and other things to do.

it is a race to get accommodation no matter what company it is. the bigger companies do not own their own refuges/hotels.

Colque is the biggest and the worst company running the salar, in my and my colleagues' opinion. we usually go with Kantuta.

there are over 100 tour companies in the town of Uyuni, so a lot of choices. and if you go to one, more likely than not they will put you with another company if they don't have enough people.

and it's better to go in a jeep with less people if possible. they try to fill them up but sometimes don't. so try your luck.

the salt hotel is more comfortable than some of the other accommodations.

thanks for the info, all of you! :)

i saw there's two salt hotels, or am i wrong?
we do not look for deluxe but not backpacker like accomodations either, wanna be comfortable.

also, gfinesilver, that patagonia trip on your site looks interesting, when is it scheduled for??? would you recommend it over uyuni???

Hi there, I did the Uyunii tour by jeep in January 2008 and it was a highlight of my trip through Peru and Bolivia. We did not pre-book our tour. When we arrived in Uyunii we found a place to stay and then started taking a look at some of the tour companies in the town. In the end we went with Andrea Tours whose offices are on the main plaza. The jeep held 6 of us plus the cook and driver (who were a husband and wife team). The tour we took started in Uyunii and ended in San Pedro de Atacama in Chile. The tour, although it is sold as the Salar de uyunii it actually is so much more than that as you only spend the first part of day one at the Salar (salt lake). The tours visit the salt hotel. Our one didn't stay there but I am not sure that I would have wanted to in any case. The accommodations on the tours are very basic. Staying in guesthouses mostly. Make sure you take warm clothes as it gets very cold at night.

Take a look at my Uyunii page for more information.

Cheers,
Rhianon