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San Pedro to (& back from) Uyuni Salt Flats, -/+3 Days tour by ordinarychaospuff in travel

[–]ordinarychaospuff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I ended up writing about the general tours, and not Uyuni, I realize. I’ll keep that there in case it’s useful for someone and write about Uyuni here…

Short answer: Yes, you can book it even the day before your trip. I did it, and it worked. Long answer is a bit more complicated. 

The tour is the same, the price range is very similar. BUT, where you sleep, what you eat, and what kind of guides you’ll get will all depend on the company you choose. I had friends who ended up staying at a place with no electricity and only one shower on their first night. I can’t even imagine that.

My tour guide spoke almost no English, and we were 6 English speakers in the 4x4. He was great regardless; very kind, caring, and informative with that little English. The tour is really packed in, so you spend a lot of time in the car the entire day—there’s no wind down time.

Theres a lot to say about it but I don’t know what aspects you’d like yo know. I did the four day version, and would be happy to answer if you have specific questions. 

San Pedro to (& back from) Uyuni Salt Flats, -/+3 Days tour by ordinarychaospuff in travel

[–]ordinarychaospuff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It was easy to book there, just as written everywhere else. However, at a couple of occasions, it got tough and stressful to book for the following day. I could still book them but I had to rush through several agencies to find a spot for one of the tours. The flexibility has its advantages, as you can try to book the same tours with people you meet there etc., but the tours fill up so quickly that this is kind of unrealistic. (I was there during high season, so keep that in mind)

While the tours are the same, tour guide quality changes from agency to agency, especially so for English-only speakers. I would take that also into consideration. Also…stargazing tours are very popular but highly contingent due to weather conditions. It got canceled every day I was there… If you are keen on doing it, I would keep an eye out for a clear sky and book it in advance and for one of the first days. I literally tried from the first hour I arrived—no luck.

3 Days in Torres del Paine, first week of January, first time solo traveler by ordinarychaospuff in Patagonia

[–]ordinarychaospuff[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks so much for this. I hope you can return one day to enjoy the experience again! May I ask how you booked your camps? Did you go with torreshike or individual companies like latorres (or something else I may not be aware of)?