jgold

Hi:

We are currently scheduled to spend six days/five night in San Pedro de Atacama at the Explora lodge there (this would be in Jan. 2009). We’re flying into Calama on a LAN South America Pass and flying out of Calama on the first leg of a One World Explorer (round-the-world) ticket. That means I believe I have some flexibility on the front-end of our ticket (SCL-CJC), but not a lot of flexibility on the back end (which is the first leg of our round-the-world ticket). After Atacama, we’re going to Easter Island, then Patagonia (also staying at Explora lodge there), and then on and on.

I’m concerned that I have us spending too much time in Atacama. The cost of Explora in Atacama is also a factor. The last relevant factor is that I’d like to see the Bolivian salt flats (and am unclear how the salt flats in Atacama compare). As a result, I’m debating whether I should try and break up our six days/five nights in Atacama/Calama with a visit to Bolivia. Alternatively, I could probably fly into La Paz, instead of Calama, and then do a one-way trip through the salt flats, ending up in Atacama. However, I do have some altitude-sickness concerns, since that would mean embarking on the salt flats tour on our first or second day in La Paz, after just having come from sea level in Santiago. If we started in Bolivia, we’d still only have five nights before we need to catch our Calama flight back to Santiago.

Has anyone done the Atacama/Bolivia salt flats tour? Is there a significant difference between the two (I assume there is). Do you recommend doing to one way (i.e., starting in La Paz, ending up in Atacama) or as a round-trip circuit (i.e., starting and finishing in Atacama). One other data point I’ll throw in is that my wife doesn’t really like “on the go” vacations too much, and it may be that trying to cram a three-day tour through the Bolivian salt flats into our five days in the northern Chile/Bolivia area is too much (and would leave our Atacama visit too rushed).

Also, has anyone here stayed at Explora Atacama? Did you think it was worth it? I stayed at Longitude 131 several years ago in Australia, which up to that time was the most expensive place I’ve ever stayed, and really did *not* think it was worth the price (or even half the price). So, I’d be curious to hear other’s views.

Many thanks for any responses to this rambling question.

Huentetu

The facilities and comfort on the tour to the salt flats from San Pedro are fairly minimal, you go through very high altitude and need to really bundle up against bitter cold, but the views are superb. It takes 3 days, a big chunk out of your time in San Pedro de Atacama.
The thing about the Explora hotels is the tours you get included (assume you are going all inclusive?). There are a variety which you can choose from and the guides are good.
If you had more time I would say do the salt flats from San Pedro or La Paz (reputably better tours but I have no personal experience of them) although you do not want to play around with altitude going from La Paz so soon after arrival.
I would say you might have a day too many in San Pedro but the hotel does offer a lot of tours which are not on the usual circuits and it is a lovely place to kick back and relax.
A bit of a rambling answer to a rambling question!

Bencito

Hi there,

I did the Bolivian Salt Flats with Gap adventures in June 2006. Yes the facilities are very basic in the Bolivian Salt Flats, and I was visiting during winter, which was very cold at that time. I did have fun though! The scenery was amazing and almost surreal, and we started from Uyuni (not La Paz...)to the Salt Flats, spending three days in the Salt flats before going to San Pedro de Atacama for two days. My understanding is that it is the rainy season in summer in the Salt Flats (Jan).

When I was in San Pedro de Atacama, the town is very nice and distinct, but there is not that much to do in town IMO. The main square, the church and the museum are nice. There are loads of day trips available to keep you occupied, including archaeological tour (which I did) and other scenic tours like the valley of the moon. Of course the Bolivian Salt Flats tours were offered as well. I did not do the Atacama salt flats. For myself, I would find six days and five nights too long in San Pedro, but that is my opinion...

jgold

Thank you very much for both these informative replies. As I said, I'm a bit concerned that five days/six nights is too much time for Atacama (and fairly expensive, given we're at Explora). The dilemma is that it's not quite enough time to add in Boliva, I guess. Alright, I guess I need to think through this a bit more...

Thanks.

Jeff_Costa_Rica

Maybe this is a more mundane consideration, but if you're a U.S. citizen, you'll need a visa to travel to Bolivia to the tune of $100. That'll be in addition to Chile's reciprocity fee of $131 you'll pay upon landing in Santiago.

Huentetu

A good point Jeff makes. In Chile you only pay if arriving via Santiago's international airport but for Bolivia you need it to get in even by land. Also check about the cost as someone on another forum said it is $100 if you get it beforehand and $135 if you just turn up at a border. Worth checking if this is true.

Jeff_Costa_Rica

The website of Bolivia's embassy in Washington:

www.bolivia-usa.org

lists the fees and makes the disctinction that Huentetu mentions.

My point is that adding Bolivia means adding another couple hundred dollars in expense (assuming "we" means two of you) in addition to the couple hundred dollars you'll face upon landing in Chile.

jgold

That's a fair point about the visa. For Chile, we're going to be there for around 15-20 days, so I'm zen with paying for a visa for that. I recognize that a two to three day excursion to the salt flats would need to include the visa costs, so I will definitely have to weigh that. Just out of curiousity for anyone who's done it, how many days does a visit to the Bolivian salt flats take round-trip from Atacama? And would that include staying in the "salt hotel" I read about in some articles? Thanks very much.

jgold

Just a further follow-up. Based on folks' advice, I'm thinking of cutting our Santiago + environs time to 3 days, and leaving 7 days for Bolivia-Atacama. Does anyone have a sense for what sort of weather to expect in Bolivia, and particularly the salt flats area, for mid-January? Thanks.

flintstones

I prefer Bolivia bettr, to be honest the best tour in San PEdro goes through Bolivia... Or take a time for Argentina where the 7 colour mountains... And Bolivia is much cheaper...and nicer-
Flintstones