A one day tour to the Salar de Uyuni might seem silly to those who know what is offered during the 3 to 4 days tour… No doubt about it, that’s what we also thought before heading to South America. And it is true… Travelling all this way to this very remote spot on Earth to only stay a day, can appear slightly mad and irrational.

And yet, this is what we did. Here are our reasons for deciding to take the one day tour, and for those considering it, this is what to expect during that exceptional day.

Why take a One-day tour to the Uyuni Salt Flats?

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During our time in San Pedro de Atacama we happened to find ourselves stuck due to the arrival of the first snow of the year. In fact, after our tour of the Salar de Tara had been cancelled, due to snowfalls, we requested a refund for our 4-day tour into the highlands of Bolivia which was due to start the next day.

We didn’t want to cross the border and take the risk of not being able to visit the famous colourful lagoons because of the snow. We were right to do so as the Eduardo Avaroa National reserve remained inaccessible for a few weeks that year…

After visiting Arica, on the coast, and crossing onto Sucre – Bolivia, we made it to Potosi and finally Uyuni one month later than planned!

While looking around the different travel agencies in Uyuni, we made the choice to go for the day tour instead of the 3 days. This was for sure the best option for us.

First, we knew the national reserve was still closed despite what all the tour agencies were telling us. Only the laguna Colorada was open to tourists and the Geyser Sol de Mañana was apparently also closed to visitors. We didn’t want to pay $150 each and not get what we paid for…

Secondly, having spent a week in San Pedro de Atacama, we had already visited the astonishing highland Lagunas and the breathtaking Geyser El Tatio (if you haven’t seen that post, make sure to check it out too). At this time in our travel, what once seemed so tempting to us, became less attractive on the day of booking. We, therefore, hopped on a day tour to see the Salt Flats, take lots of perspective photos, visit Incahuasi island and finally end the day with one of the most incredible sunsets we have had the chance to see.

What to expect when visiting the Uyuni Salt Flats for One day?

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We booked our tour the previous day, but since the tour doesn’t start until 10 am, it would be possible to arrive with the night bus from La Paz or Sucre and join a tour at the last minute.

All of the agencies are located pretty close to one another, around the main square: Plaza Arce, and they all offer the same tour. Here are all the places you will visit during a 1-day tour to the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia:

The Cemetery of Trains

Only a couple of kilometres from Uyuni, the train graveyard is the remaining of a major transport hub that never saw the light. The trains were left behind and the salt coming from the Salar de Uyuni quickly started deteriorating the metal along with graffiti taggers.

Now, every single tour to the Salt Flats makes a 20-minute halt at the cemetery of trains, pretty much at the same time, which ultimately deceives the atmosphere of the place.

Despite the crowd, we still managed to have fun crawling through these early 20th-century steam locomotives and taking pictures.

For those who want to visit the cemetery of trains on their own, it is preferable to come early in the morning or arrive in the evening. It’s a short taxi ride or walkable distance from Uyuni’s city centre. As far as we know it is safe, but it might be better to check with locals before heading out.

Uyuni market and the salt museum

Shortly after the cemetery of trains, and just before entering the salt flats, the tour stops at a small village that has been converted into an open-air market for tourists. There you can buy any souvenirs double the price of other parts of Bolivia…

This stop is mainly known as the Salt museum break… In fairness, it is quite disappointing. A 3m² room made indeed of salt and decorated with two sculptures also in salt. 1 minute and it’s done.

We hung around outside and found a couple of places to eat street food and try Llama meat (or so they said)! Our memories of Llama meat in Chile has nothing to do with the greasy meat they served us along with an uncooked side of choclo (corn). We recommend passing and just patiently waiting for your driver to come back and start the day at the Salt Flats!

Driving the Salt Flats of Uyuni

70, 80, 100… 120 ? 130 km/h… we won’t lie, this is how fast our driver (and all the others) made his way through the desert. Nothing to make us feel comfortable. There are many terrifying stories of drunk drivers and car crashes at the salt flats.

But the salt is quite flat and dry, which in the end acts like a normal motorway except there are no lines and that if you don’t know the way or don’t use a GPS, you can easily get lost.

As large as 10 thousand square kilometres, the Salt Flats of Uyuni sit at more than 3,600 metres above sea level. Its formation is the result of ancient lakes that have dried and left behind incredible amounts of salt and in some parts, the Salar’s salt is 140 metres deep.

Today, Uyuni is a phenomenal source of lithium and sodium which are only exploited by Bolivian cooperations. The country known for its reluctance to open to foreign corporations in any sector is willing to only produce and sell a certain amount per year through the Bolivian workforce only.

We won’t blame them, mainly because more than 75% of the world’s lithium is found in the area…

The car stops by some excavations. Far from the large plants we could imagine, the salt is actually collected on-site with shovels and trenches for lithium exploitation made with a backhoe. The raw products are then transported to the cooperation plants to be processed and exported.

Lunch in the salt hotel and the Dakar monument

The next stop is one of the many Hotel de Sal that can be found in the Uyuni desert. All tours go to the same one where the famous Dakar monument was created in 2014 to welcome the 8th stage of the rally.

It was kept and became a symbol of the Salt Flats along with the flag platform adjoining the hotel.

The lunch was served by our driver inside the hotel but we also saw tours eating outside on camping tables and chairs next to the van. The lunch was well served with salad, meat and an omelette for vegetarians. Bananas for dessert. We were however a bit surprised (and upset) that only coke was offered. Not water…

The perspective photos

After lunch, we drove a bit further into the desert looking for a remote place with an infinite horizon and no other cars.

Our driver, Felix, gave us all his props and told us what to do. He for sure knew what he was doing. Well, he does that every day! He made us do some cool videos and took great pictures of us. The driver left us for around 2 hours playing and trying different positions/props.

Incahuasi Island

Incahuasi used to be an island in the lake. Mainly made of coral, it is nowadays covered with hundreds of cacti and gives excellent views of the Salar once you climb to the summit.

A circuit has been created to avoid crowds crossing each other on the narrow paths taking the visitors from the entrance to the highest point and back.

The entrance ticket is not included in the tour and costs 30 Bs (€3.90 pp). Felix gave us 1 hour to visit which was enough for us. We spent the remaining time taking more perspective photos close to the island.

Note: Some agencies (and online websites) call this island Isla Pescado, which is, in reality, another one situated more than 20 km away. Don’t be mistaken, the tours take you onto Incahuasi (Inca Wasi) and not Isla Pescado.

The sunset over the Salt Flats of Uyuni

As we left Incahuasi, the sun started its course down to the horizon. It was time for Felix, to drive as fast as possible towards the edges of the desert where a water source spills onto the Salt Flats to create Earth’s biggest mirror.

This place is particularly impressive at sunset, which is only visited at this time of the day, by the one-day tours. Lucky us!

Is the one-day tour worth it?

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Absolutely. But depending on the circumstances, it is probably better to do the 3 to 4 days tour.

At that time of our travel, it made sense to us to only do the one-day tour as the snow was responsible for the national reserve and geyser to be closed. Even if we had already spent time in San Pedro de Atacama and seen beautiful lagunas and geysers, we would have probably done the 3-day tour if it wasn’t for the snow.

Because when it’s good why not do it twice, right? It’s not every day we can see colourful highland lagunas and insane geysers at more than 3,500 masl…

Now, if you don’t have the time and the budget to do both, it is worth looking into the different options. The one day tour at the Salt Flats is one we would recommend if you only to spend time at the Salar and at the Incahuasi island.

How to book a one day tour to the salar de Uyuni

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We booked our tour first thing in the morning directly from an agency. We went around a few companies first and found one we were comfortable with. We paid 150 Bs which at the time was around €19 per person.

In Bolivia, it is always best to book your tour face-to-face and negotiate a little.

Online tours are a bit more expensive but if you aren’t comfortable reserving your spot at the last minute, the extra money will at least give you peace of mind. Here is the most recommended tour on Get your Guide. This 1-day trip from Uyuni will take you to all the places we have mentioned above. Lunch included. Cost = €80

Here are some extra links to book different experiences at Uyuni.

• From Uyuni: Red Lagoon & Uyuni Salt Flats 3-Day Guided Tour – €210
• Uyuni: Starlight and Sunrise Salt Flats Tour – €110
• From La Paz: Uyuni Salt Flats & San Pedro de Atacama 3-Day Tour – €360
• From La Paz: 5-Day Uyuni Salt Flats by Bus – €450

Cost and Useful informations

Exchange rate (avg. June-August 2017) : €1 = 7.82 Bs

• Bus – Potosi to Uyuni: 25 Bs (€3.20) – 4 hours
• Bus – Uyuni to Sucre: 70 Bs (€9) – night bus
• One-day tour Uyuni Salt Flats: 150 Bs (€19) pp
• Entrance Incuhuasi Island: 30 Bs (€3.85)
• Hostel Uyuni: 70 Bs (€9) – Dorm, shared bathroom, kitchen (on the main square)
• Llama Chicharron: 10 Bs (€1.30)