Uyuni Salt Flats Tours

Tours start everyday but you might have to wait if you don't find one going on the day you want. If you don't find one that has space - it doesn't mean that a tour with space is not going - it might just mean that you have not found it...yet. There are both good reviews and bad reviews posted in numerous threads on this website. Have you done a search? or at least just looked through the Bolivia posts which you can sort by selecting the country option in the top right corner

I'm not sure if there are any "really good" companies... I went with Cordillera Tours and had a great time, but that was over a year ago now, so who knows.

There are multiple trips leaving every day. You should have no problem finding a company that will take you the day after you arrive (they leave in the morning, so you will probably not be able to head out on a Salar trip right after you get to Uyuni).

Salt Flats from Uyuni is hit and miss IMO, you can do all the research in the world and find a great company who will promise you the world, then on the day of departure you might find out theres not ebough of you for the tour so you get forced to join with another group from a different company, good luck

Previous report:

* My wife and I recently (July 2007) did the Salar de Uyuni tour, starting and finishing at Uyuni. We found it quite confusing beforehand to come by any useful advice, particularly regarding which tour company to use, so perhaps others might benefit from what little we have learned. It turns out that quite recently all the tour companies in Uyuni have agreed on a US$100 per person standard price for the tour with 6 people in a 4x4, $120 per person for an English speaking guide. Nonetheless, a lot of the companies will offer $85 per person, though persistent questioning will reveal that they are simply leaving out some of the things that the $100 per person companies include. Mineral water is one such item, also the national park entrance fees can be included for $100 per person. It seems quite difficult to get an English-speaking guide, although we managed it. I should point out that even at that, the guide was shared between two 4x4 groups. Whenever we arrived at a point of interest, both groups would get out and he would speak to us all at once. The tour company we used was called 'Sumaj Jallpha'. I can recommend them quite highly; our guide, Fabian, spoke excellent English and was perfectly knowledgable. The driver, John, was competent and friendly, while the Land Cruiser was in very good condition. Food and accommodation does not really vary by tour company, as far as I could tell. So, be prepared to pay around the US$100 mark. I found that the most common complaints from other travellers concerned either the driver, if you have not paid extra for a guide, or the condition of the 4x4. Everything else seems fairly standard. Ask lots of questions and be a little suspicious. Unfortunately, there is a tendency for owners to promise all sorts, heating for example, then simply disappear when the disgruntled traveller returns after three days. I hope some of my ramblings are helpful!

Jorge Daniel Barchi.
Buenos Aires.

The following are previous posts:

> > > I really would love to visit Salar de Uyuni. I have heard that there are many travel agencies who offer trips, but that a lot of them are quite bad. I would like to make a four day trip.

I would say that they are all quite similar. I have never heard a bad story. A great thing to do is go to the tourist information centre ( attached to a very good restaurant as well ), there you can fill in a form which asks questions about your priorities of the company e.g. how important to you is food hygene/quality, that they carry oxygen etc. Then they will search database and give you a choice of 5 companies according to your needs. Also if you turn up at about 7:00 hours, you can book a tour and go on it at about 9:00 hours that same day.

The Salt Flats tour is certainly a highlight of Bolivia. It is a bit lucky dip with tour operators, even if you book with one, you could get shuffled to another to fill up a vehicle. Mostly the food is pretty basic, accommodation even more basic. Buy some snacks/drinks in Uyuni before you go. Hire a sleeping bag through the tour agency if you do not have one. If there is one going without the full complement of six passengers, that would be better, the very back seat that holds three people is incredibly cramped. Also if you are heading to Chile, then get one with a transfer to San Pedro rather than head back to Uyuni. Do not forget your sunglasses, lots of glare.

Jorge Daniel Barchi.
Buenos Aires.

It's hit and miss like #3 said.
I started with one group - poor guide and two girls with silly PC comments. Luckily, after the lunch break, I joined another group. Good guide and fun people.
Not sure if that can be of any help, but ask for John (the guide I had), a young Bolivian, speaking English.

Hi,

I do not know how much / little time you have.

I would really consider starting from Tupiza rather than Uyuni: Tupiza has a lot to offer, and from Tupiza you have only a few jeeps starting, whereas from Uyuni you have "trains" of jeeps. I just come back and it struck me seeing 15 jeeps following each other. You completely miss the huge emptiness of the desert / salt lakes ... And Tupiza is far more pleasant than Uyuni and the surroundings are astonishing (do the one day tour, you get to see the highlights, it has been one of the most beautiofull tour so far).

Ok, it is a little more expensive and Tupiza is far away ... It depends how much time you have.
More info on our website: www.oneyearoff.net, the Salar de Uyuni Tour info will be online until the end of the week, but I already posted about Tupiza (I just came back from the salars).

Cheers
Gilles

Gilles,
You have nice pics and some interesting info in your blog. However, saying to OP that he shouldn't start the Salar de Uyuni tour from Uyuni is not correct and misleading.
Yes, the first stop (lunch) is at the island on the salt flats, and there might be as many as 5 to 10 jeeps at the same time, but then they all spread around the huge area which the salt flats are (12,000 sq.km). It's the size of a smaller country in Europe!!
I did a 3 day tour and only in one place (no option for another road) we met two other tours. All the remaining time it was driving through vast emptiness where the only living things were llamas and alpacas.

Salar de Uyuni Tours - Juliet Tours

Choosing a tour company for the Salar is an impossible task. They all promise the same things at similar prices, and from talking to a number of travellers, very few deliver. However, this should not put people off – the Salar is one of the most amazing trips ever, and even with a rubbish operator, the scenery, wildlife, and of course the Salar is not to be missed.
We took a 3 day / 2 night tour with Juliet Tours through the Salar de Uyuni. We would NOT recommend this company to other travellers, due to generally poor service, and several unfulfilled promises. The following are some of the things all travellers should look out for, with Juliet and with other agencies:
Even if you write down on your invoice exactly what the company promises, they may still not deliver. You have very little means of complaint out in the wilderness. Examples are: delivery on food, programme, accommodation
- Food: We were shown a menu prior to the trip, but the actual delivery skipped a number of things like drinks, snacks, deserts. We also suspect that the ‘skipped’ items were held back for the cook and driver. Also be clear what ‘free mineral water, cola, and juice’ means. We were promised 2 litres of water per day, which only materialised on the first 2 days, and there was a total of 4 litres of cola and 1 bttle of juice for 6 people for the 3 days.
- Programme: We were told we would visit a volcanoe crater, caves, and a number of other sights that never materialised. Some of the other items we simply drove past - you could see from the road but not take great pictures in a moving jeep with a broken window!
- Accommodation: We were ‘guaranteed’ a private double room on night one in a salt hotel. However, travellers should ignore these guarantees – beds are provided by hostels on a ‘first come first served’ basis. If your jeep turns up late, there are only dorms available. When we complained the driver flew into a rage, said it was not his fault, and threatened to cancel the tour and drive back to Uyuni! On the second night we also arrived late so got the last dorm available with no electricity, no water/taps, and broken windows.

Try talking to people to have reently returned and they can recommend agenies, or at least advise who definitely to avoid.