1

I would simply get a return ticket to La Paz for a simple reason: one-way tickets usually cost same money or more than return. So it makes not sense to go to Santaigo only to catch a flight, not sense to go to San Pedro as well when you'll do the tour in Bolivia. Is just more touristy and more expensive.
You can fly Uyuni-La Paz for resonable amount of money

2

Thanks for your reply.
I was just planning on doing a salt flats tour that finished in San Pedro so I could then spend a few days exploring the Atacama doing Sandboarding/star gazing tour etc... before heading back to either La Paz or Santiago (by bus, preferably). So I would be getting a one-way ticket regardless. What are your thoughts? Do you think it's too much hassle?!

3

I think San Pedro is overrated, expensive and not worth it. You will be much better if you go to Tupiza instead, start a tour from there and fly back to La Paz from Uyuni. Tupiza is pretty nice spot to stop for few days as well and do some stuff around. If you insist on San Pedro it's still pointless to go to Santiago, go North to Arica instead from where you can catch a bus to La Paz. Nice scenery and pretty good road.

4

Thanks very much for your help, I will take your advice!

5

Do you HAVE to go back to La Paz?
Where is your return flight from?
How much time do you have?

Why backtrack if you can get to know more/different places?

Easier: there are direct buses from San Pedro or Calama to Santiago, Arica, etc, depending if you want/need to go south or north, as the previous poster said, from Arica you can get direct buses to La Paz if you need to, cross to Tacna and continue to Lima or elseware in Peruor take a few days on a beach.

Cheaper: Bolivia is one of the cheapest countries in SA, Chile one of the most expensive, but both are very different in infrastructure and services, and you get much more and better priced (I do not want to say cheaper, flying in SA is not cheap) flights out of Santiago or Lima them from Bolivia

6

Answer in post #1


It sucks, but that's reality. Chile is also significantly more expensive to travel, bus to Santiago will cost around same money as flight Uyuni-La Paz!
Besides northern Chile is boring and beaches are mediocre the most, in Peru there is nothing like a decent beach in the south either.

Don't get me wrong, I love Chile, specially anything South from Pucon, but I find it pointless to go there only to catch a flight and that's OP intention if I got it right