Argentina & Bolivia: Salt Flats and Desert Tour with 3 Reviews by Say Hueque Argentina & Chile Journeys

9 daysDuration

Private TourPrivate experience, no group joining

99 peopleMaximum group size

5 - 79 yearsAge range for participants

English, SpanishGuide language

Moderate

Involves sustained activity requiring a reasonable level of fitness and endurance.

Starts

Salta, Argentina

Ends

Uyuni, Bolivia

Highlights

Discover Northern Argentina

Explore the Atacama Desert in Chile

Visit Uyuni Salt Flats in Boliva

Be amazed by the colors of Nature

Itinerary

Craving wide-open adventure in South America’s northwest? Discover Salta, affectionately called 'La Linda', as your gateway to an exhilarating trip across Argentina and Bolivia’s most dramatic landscapes. This tour is crafted for young adults eager to balance culture and excitement, blending the colonial charm of Salta and Jujuy with surreal natural wonders.

Your journey starts in Salta, where cobbled streets and traditional plazas set a laid-back tone. From here, venture into the high-altitude beauty of Andean towns and villages, traversing rugged desert gorges and exclusive vineyards. Experience the famed 'cloud safari', a route that offers jaw-dropping vistas and authentic glimpses into the traditions of the region’s indigenous communities.

Cross into Bolivia to reach the legendary Uyuni Salt Flats—an endless white expanse that feels otherworldly, especially at sunrise or sunset. Between adventures, relax in the oasis town of San Pedro de Atacama, perched on the edge of the world’s driest desert, where stargazing is absolutely mesmerizing.

This moderate-activity tour is ideal for energetic travelers who love remote settings, shifting from comfort to off-the-beaten-path exploration. Expect days filled with scenic drives, short hikes, and plenty of time to immerse yourself in Andean culture. The unique selling point? You’ll experience some of South America’s most spectacular and rarely visited landscapes, with just the right mix of local color and natural marvels—memories guaranteed to last long after you return.

day 1 - Start your Adventure in Argentina: Salta

Welcome to Salta!

Upon arrival in Salta you will be transferred to your hotel.

Salta has it all: the geographical diversity (green, red and brown mountains) and the historical richness. Do not forget that, in these lands, one day they fought for the independence of Argentina! It also has exquisite and well-preserved colonial architecture, picturesque and very crowded cafes in the main square (a great place to sit and watch the locals in their daily hustle and bustle!), and the characteristic and fun peñas, places where Salteños sit and listen to their local folklore idols, and then end up dancing (after one or two encouraging glasses of wine) together.

The perfect base to explore the Argentinian Northern area is Salta city

Keep in mind that religion is very important here: religiously speaking, people take a siesta in Salta... so between 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. it will be more difficult for you to find the places open, so take advantage of it to take your first northern siesta!

Type of service: Private

Included: Transportation mentioned above

Accommodation:3 Star Hotel

day 2 - Humahuaca Gorge, Salta & Jujuy trips

In the morning, we will pick you up at your hotel to visit Humahuaca Gorge, a Natural and Cultural Heritage of Humanity (UNESCO) since 2003. Along the journey we will discover changing landscapes, vegetation and climate due to the altitude, passing by from tall trees in Jujuy to solitary cardones by the hillsides.

We will visit unique villages as Purmamarca with its famous Hill of Seven Colors, visible from the streets and the handcrafted market around the main square. Maimará with its natural colourful slopes of Paleta del Pintor and it's suspended cemetery at the top of the hill, visible from the route. Tilcara stands out for its local festivities (Carnival and Holy Week) and for its Pucará (fortress in height) whose ruins have been partially rebuilt for more understanding of the pre-Hispanic way of life.

The further north we will cross the Capricorn Tropic line in Huacalera identified with a white monolith. Uquía shows its chapel, built in the seventeenth century with the oldest altarpiece in the region, worked in laminated gold one of the two existing in Argentina decorated with 'Los Angeles Arcabuceros' from Cusco, a testimony of colonial architecture. Humahuaca gives its name to the Quebrada and is its largest population, with cobbled streets and iron lanterns in the corners, it is also the highest point of the route, 2,940 m.a.s.l.

After enjoying the amazing landscapes and culture, we will return to Salta by the same route and take you back to your hotel.

Type of service: Semiprivate

Duration: 12 hours

Included: Transportation mentioned above, bilingual guide (English/Spanish)

Not included: Food, entrance fees to museums, ruins, national or provincial parks (if applicable)

Age restriction: Due to high altitudes, this tour not recommended for passengers with heart problems - consult a doctor

Note: It is not possible to take your luggage. Optional, upon extra cost: Entrance fee to Pucará de Tilcara, visit to Serranías del Hornocal. In case of force majeure the itineraries can be modified without previous notice. Distance Salta/Jujuy Distance: 323 miles

Accommodation:3 Star Hotel

Meals:Breakfast

day 3 - Salta

Today you will have the opportunity to relax at your own pace. You can explore on foot the Colonial Area (some of the highlights are the Cathedral, the Franciscan church and the San Bernardo convent), visit the world-famous museum MAAM where they exhibit a few mummies they rescued from the High Andes or just sit in one the many live cafés in the main square.

We highly recommend visiting a peña and mingling with the locals while eating empanadas and dancing folklore.

Accommodation:3 Star Hotel

Meals:Breakfast

day 4 - From Salta, travel to Chile - San Pedro de Atacama

At the appropriate time, you will be transferred to the bus station to take your bus.

Type of service: Private

Included: Transportation mentioned

Bus ticket Salta / San Pedro de Atacama

During this journey, you will cross one of the highest international borders in the world, "Paso de Jama" to San Pedro de Atacama. The trip takes about 12 hours during which you enjoy stunning Altiplano scenery.

Upon arrival at the bus station, you will make your way to your hotel on your own. San Pedro de Atacama is a small town in the driest desert of the world, with little adobe houses and cozy restaurants. It is the most charming base to explore one of Chile's most spectacular sceneries.

Type of service: Shared

Duration: 12 hours approximately (depending on time spent at the international border)

Included: Bus ticket

Not included: Meals

Note: It is important to point out that today you are leaving Argentina and crossing the international border. Please, keep your passport handy. Important! It is not allowed to take any fresh food, plants, seeds, etc. from Argentina to Chile. They are very strict, and fines can be high

Transfer San Pedro de Atacama Bus Station / San Pedro de Atacama Hotel

Upon arrival at San Pedro de Atacama bus station, you will be transferred to the San Pedro de Atacama hotel.

Welcome to San Pedro!

San Pedro de Atacama is a small town in the driest desert in the world. Little adobe houses and cozy restaurants are the base to explore one of Chile’s most spectacular sceneries.

Type of service: Private

Duration: 1:30 hours

Included: Transportation mentioned above, Spanish/English speaking driver

Not included: Guide

Accommodation:3 Star Hotel

Meals:Breakfast

day 5 - Atacama Tours: the Moon Valley

In the afternoon, you will go on your own to the meeting point to start the visit to the Valley of the Moon.

The excursion begins by visiting the fantastic geological shapes located in one of the world's driest and most hostile zones of the world: the Atacama Desert. It is an area of outstanding beauty that resembles the lunar landscape because of the formations of stone, petrified salt and sand, which for millennia floods and winds have shaped in their own way.

You will be surprised by the enormous salt and clay figures built over the years and by the wind and you will know "The three Marys", famous figures of incomparable beauty that can be photographed and contemplated for a long time.

Finally, we will visit the salt caves accompanied by the imposing Licancabur volcano, to be surprised once again by the great magic of the desert, having the opportunity to enjoy the most beautiful sunset that you will not forget.

After the excursion, we will take you to downtown Atacama, and you will have to return to the hotel on your own.

Type of service: Shared

Duration: 3/4 hours

Included: Transportation mentioned above, bilingual driver-guide (English/Spanish)

Not included: National Park entrance fee (which should be paid locally in the national currency), transportation back to your hotel

Age restriction: Minimum 7 years old

Note: Altitude: 2.400.- m.a.s.l. This excursion does not visit Marte Valley

Accommodation:3 Star Hotel

Meals:Breakfast

day 6 - Atacama Tours: Tatio Geysers & Machuca

Very early in the morning, we will pick you up at your hotel to visit one of the highest geyser fields in the world.

Located in the Andes Mountains, 61 miles from San Pedro de Atacama and 4,320 meters above sea level, El Tatio (from Kunza "tata-iu") means "The Grandfather Who Cries." It is the largest group of geysers in the southern hemisphere and the third-largest in the world, after Yellowstone (USA) and Dolina Giezerow (Russia). At dawn, with freezing temperatures, you can see a fantastic spectacle, generated by violent steam flows that rise up to 10 meters high with temperatures reaching 85°C.

After visiting the geysers, you can enjoy a natural pool with thermal water.

We will also visit Machuca, a small Atacamenian village located more than 4,000 meters above sea level, where its few inhabitants are mainly dedicated to grazing and cheese production. Very close to the place is the Salt Lake, where families of flamingos, ducks, and seagulls live with a landscape of imposing beauty.

On the return trip, it is possible to observe fauna such as vicuñas, llamas, rheas, vizcachas, etc. While in the Flora, the Giant Cactus, llaretas, coirón, etc., stand out.

When we arrive in San Pedro de Atacama, we will leave you downtown, from where you will go on your own to the hotel.

Type of service: Shared

Duration: 7/8 h

Included: Transportation mentioned above, bilingual driver-guide (Spanish/English), breakfast

Not included: Entrance fee to Geiser del Tatio

Difficulty: Moderate to hard (due to the altitude), walking on a flat surface

Age restriction: Minimum 12 years. Pregnant women, people with hypertension, edema, or embolism only with medical authorization

Note: Altitude: 4.320.- m.s.n.m. approximately. There is no infrastructure in the place. We recommend you to take warm clothes (temperature between -5°C and -20°C), closed or trekking shoes, hat, gloves, swimming suit, towel, flip flops, sunglasses, sunblock and water

Accommodation:3 Star Hotel

Meals:Breakfast

day 7 - Uyuni Tours: 4WD Adventure

Today you will start the 3-day adventure from the Atacama Desert to the Uyuni Salt flats through fantastic landscapes contrasted by the blue sky above mountains, volcanoes, and geysers.

You will be picked up from your hotel in San Pedro de Atacama, make Chilean migration at customs, and then we will start driving to Hito Cajon which is the border between Chile and Bolivia, where you will make another migration to enter Bolivian territory.

After having breakfast and changing to a jeep 4x4, the adventure begins!! We will first visit the White Lagoon and the Green Lagoon which are located at the feet of Licancabur Volcano.

We continue driving north to the Salvador Dali Desert. Then continue to the Polques Hot Spring, Geysers of Morning Sun at 5000 meters, where we can bathe in the thermal waters before having lunch.

We will then continue to the spectacular Red Lagoon where you can appreciate thousands of flamingos. At the end of the day, we will go to a hostal of the Community Mallku Villa Mar which is

at a height of 3500 meters, where we will have dinner and spend the night.

Please note that in January and February the company keeps the right to change the route of the itinerary in Bolivia, since its Altiplanic weather.

On this day you are visiting a National Reserve. Please remember that National Park Fees are not included. Check at the bottom of your itinerary for the corresponding fee, which should be paid in cash in the national currency.

Type of Service: Shared

Included: Bilingual guide, breakfast on the road, lunch & dinner

Accommodation:Refuge Other

Meals:Lunch, Dinner

day 8 - 4WD Adventure to Salt Hotel

We will start early in the morning visiting cave paintings and the Valley of the Rocks, where you can see formations like the lost city of Italy, the World Cup, the Camel, etc. Then we will visit the Black Lagoon, where you will appreciate a lot of wildlife like Tawas altiplánica or geese and vegetation according to the ecosystem, or Catal Lagoon (Laguna

Misteriosa), Canyon Catal.

After lunch, we will continue to Waterfall Agua Dulce viewpoint, and head to a valley inhabited by many highland communities. These communities are engaged in raising Andean animals such as llamas and alpacas.

The day ends with the arrival at the community of Villa Candelaria, at the salt hotel, where we will spend the night. Accommodation in double or triple room.

Type of Service: Shared

Included: Bilingual guide, breakfast, lunch & dinner

Accommodation:Refuge Other

Meals:Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

day 9 - 4WD Adventure to Uyuni

We will start at 5:00 AM driving to Incahuasi Island, located in the middle of Uyuni Salt Flat, to observe the sunrise. Then we will visit the Hotel de

Playa Blanca, a hotel totally built by blocks of salt. We continue with our route until we reach the Ojos del Salar and the Montones de Sal. We will arrive at the Community of Colchani, where we will be able to observe the artisan process extraction of salt consumed by the entire country of Bolivia.

After lunch, our last stop is at Train Cemetery for taking amazing pictures! The tour ends at the city of Uyuni, Bolivia, at approximately 03:00pm.

Type of Service: Shared

Included: Bilingual guide, breakfast & lunch

Accommodation:Refuge Other

Meals:Breakfast

Argentina & Bolivia: Salt Flats and Desert

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What's Included

Transfers mentioned in the itinerary6 nights of accomodattion2-nights accommodation in mountain huts during your 4×4 adventureDaily breakfast includedDay 7 & 8 Full Board includedExcursions mentioned on the itineraryBilingual guide (English / Spanish).One way bus Salta / San Pedro de Atacama

What's Excluded

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Itinerary

day 1 - Start your Adventure in Argentina: Salta