Undoubtedly one of the absolute highlights from my South American trip was the 3 day Salar de Uyuni tour in Bolivia, 3 days of driving around in a jeep in the mountainous south west corner where Bolivia meets Chile. Prepare yourself for endless deserts, reflective salt plains, wildlife and gorgeous landscapes.
There is absolutely no need to book this tour online or by any other means before you arrive in Bolivia. Get yourself to Uyuni, Potosi or La Paz and book everything from there. I opted for the Salar de Uyuni tour from the town of Uyuni.
Preparing for the Salar de Uyuni tour:
- If you are heading across the border into Chile at Hito Cajun, ask about the passport situation (most people have to get their passport stamped in Uyuni before heading on the tour – this is important).
- Take lots of water – it gets particularly hot up there and aside from the drinks with your meals, no other drinks are provided so you need to bring your own water. I brought 2 x 2 litre bottles.
- Take a few beers or a bottle of wine. There’s no alcohol on site.
- Take plenty of sun cream and insect repellent.
- If you need to contact friends or family, e-mail them before you head on the tour and tell them you’ll be offline for about 3 days. There is no internet available on the tour!
- Make sure you take your passport with you. Just in case you fancy heading to Chile spontaneously…(although you’d also need your Bolivian exit stamp in advance). You may also be asked for your passport at the entrance to Laguna Colorada National Park.
- Charge your batteries in advance on your iPods, cameras etc. – don’t expect your accommodation to have sockets.
Above, the incredible landscape of Salar de Uyuni.
Jonny Blair is a self confessed traveling nomad who founded and blogs at Don’t Stop Living. He sees every day as an adventure. Since leaving behind his home town of Bangor in Northern Ireland ten years ago he has traveled to all seven continents, working his way through various jobs and funding it all with hard work and an appetite for travel. Don’t Stop Living, a lifestyle of travel’ contains over 1,000 stories and tips from his journeys round the globe. He wants to show others how easy it is to travel the world, give them some ideas and encourage them to do the same but most of all he aims to constantly live a lifestyle of travel. He is currently based in Hong Kong and on Twitter @jonnyblair.
