UYUNI
Uyuni in itself does not have much to offer but it is the closest town to the most famous salt flats in the world and for that reason its a must for your itinerary. We were a bit dubious as to how good a flat bit of salt could be, but boy were we proven wrong, it is an incredible experience.
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getting there
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From La Paz | It is an overnight bus leaving at around 9pm and arriving at 6am. There's plenty of providers. At the top end is Trans Titicaca starting at £19.60 for a cama seat. We went with Cisne Bus Uyuni and were very pleased. The ticket cost £13 and was one of the comfiest buses we’ve been on.
From Potosí | The journey takes three hours and buses are fairly regular leaving in the morning, afternoon and evening. They leave from the old bus terminal in Potosi not the new one. You can walk between the two but expect hills, and not the nicest neighbourhood. You could even hop into a collectivo which will be waiting at the old bus station. Bus tickets start from £4.
From Sucre | There several options, you can either do the journey in the daytime with a stop and bus change in Potosí. Bear in mind you will have to change bus terminals too which is about a half an hour walk. Or you can get a night bus, the timings aren’t great leaving at 9pm but arriving at 5am and only Autobuses Emperador and 6 de Octubre make the journey at night with prices starting at around £8.
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To Stay
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You won’t necessarily need accommodation. When the tour finishes you may have time to hop straight on a night bus to Sucre.
La Ciel | We stayed for one night after our day tour at La Ciel. This was in the town centre with good facilities and breakfast was included. It was enough for us to just have a base to sleep after our tour before an early morning bus. We arrived after a night bus and they allowed us to check in early so we were able to store our bags in the room. We paid £20 for the night.
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To do
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The Salt Flats of Course | Why else would you be here? Uyuni itself isn’t a bad town but if you are only doing a one day Salt Flat tour then you do not need more than one night.
There are many operators offering different salt flat tour packages from one to multi day tours. Be sure again to check the safety of the tour operators and what they offer. A multi-day tour will not see you out on the flats for the duration, or even with the same group. Some return to Uyuni every day to accommodate one day customers. Some will include a drop off at the Chilean border if thats where you're headed. Most will do the same itinerary but to be honest we thought that a one day tour was enough and we got to see everything we wanted to.
After a recommendation we went with Andes Salt Expeditions and paid £49 each for the day and we were more than happy with our experience.
Our tour started at 10:30am and after meeting at the office we hopped into our jeep with 4 others and made our way to the first stop which is the train cemetery. Only five minutes outside of the town it might not sound like fun but it’s actually quite interesting to look at all the old rusty trains. You can climb on top to take some cool photos but if you choose the wrong one like I did you might get stuck. You can visit unguided, there's no entrance fee but be aware that when the sun goes down its a hangout for dealers, scrap metal seekers, and lovers alike.
After leaving the trains you head to the owners home for a welly fitting before starting the journey proper. Next is a lunch stop at a salt hotel. We had a group photo and our guide provided information about the salt and the history. Lunch is included in the price and consisted of llama meat, quinoa, salad, veggies and a veggie omelette with Coca Cola. After lunch you get some free time to roam around the hotel and get your first glimpse at how vast the salt flats are.
Next stop... time to take the super touristic perspective photos. We were sceptical at doing these at first but so glad we did they are really fun to do. Your guide will find a good spot in the middle of the salt flats with nobody else around and have all the props needed to take the photos. They are pros at this so follow their instructions and you will have awesome photos.
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After running around, climbing and dancing you'll head to The Cactus Island in the middle of the salt flats. You have to pay an extra 30Bs (£3.50) each to enter so it is optional. You will go as a group and hike about thirty minutes to the top to take some photos and admire the view.
The final stop is the lake, the reflections are incredible. The lake isn’t deep and this is what your wellies are for. You will get here for sunset and have some free time to splash in the water..it does smell though. We were completely surprised when our guide called us back to the jeep where they had set up glasses of red wine and snacks for us to enjoy whilst watching the sunset. It really was beautiful. After the sun went down it’s time to head back to Uyuni where we arrived at around 19:30.
We thought the prices were quite steep but after shopping around that seems to be the going rate for a day tour in peak season. It is worth splashing out if you are on a budget.
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NEXT STOP
Oh Sucre, The White City our favourite in Bolivia. With beautiful white colonial buildings, pristine parks, great cafes and affordability. The best place to learn Spanish. The capital of Bolivia should not be missed, you might even get stuck...