Thank you for this VERY helpful video. We are looking into a trip from Lake Titikaka to La Paz then to San Pedro in Chile, and this & your previous videos have helped immensely with the planning. Especially about the tour driver and the car hire in the desert. Truly appreciated!
I am definitely sold on this trip! Thank you for the thorough job you did with the fantastic videos and informative narration. We are leaving Uruguay February 12 and will have already spent 9 days in Buenos Aries, 7 in Colonia and Montevideo Uruguay (carnival). Have planned to go next to Mendoza, and now want to do this San Pedro to Uyuni trip for sure!!! On the list after that so far: La Paz, Arequipa, Cusco, Ayuchuco and then fly home to Vancouver from Lima on April 10. Having trouble figuring out best way to get to these places and if there 0:30 are other places you would say are not to be missed. Any help would be so appreciated! P. S. We are 72 and need a comfortable mattress. Thank you! 💞
Glad you found the video useful 😊 That all sounds great! We didn’t make it to Peru on this trip but we will be back to see Cusco and Arequipa too. We used San Pedro de Atacama as our base and the places we visited in the Atacama Desert were Valle de La Luna (valley of the moon), Laguna Chaxa, Piedras Rojas, Laguna Miscanti & Laguna Miniques. We loved our road trip around those places, would highly recommend it 👍🏻 In terms of where to stay, can’t help you I’m afraid. We stayed in as cheap an Airbnb as we could find and the mattresses weren’t recommendable to someone who wants a nice mattress 🤣 Hope this helps a bit! Safe travels ♥️
Awesome video guys!! Brought back so many memories. I did this trip 20 years ago, and of anywhere I've been in 50 countries over 7 continents, this is still my favourite trip. Sooo scenic, especially around Laguna Verde!! I'm glad you found the coca leaves to help with the altitude sickness. I remember we chewed on them with some grey ash stuff to help release the active ingredient. It helped me, but not my friend. She was sick for the first 3 days in Uyuni 😣 Earned a subscribe, and happy Easter/ happy travels
@@mjlbarrera I went in February. You really need to go in summer I think because you're travelling at altitudes of about 5,000 metres, so it's just going to be too cold at other times of the year. You'll absolutely love it though. It's the most incredible scenery!
@@chriper77 thanks for responding. Yes! Been wanting to go for the longest time. Been to most of South America but never to Bolivia so I am hoping to make it Fen/March next year. Keeping my fingers crossed.
@@mjlbarrera I'm so jealous, lol. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I probably wouldn't book beforehand. I'd just make your way to San Pedro de Atacama and the staff at the Backpackers should point you in the direction of the best tour operator for the trip. Then there's so much to explore in Bolivia once you get there. I still say it's my favourite country in the world.
Wow! im so glad i came across your channel. Very informative. Just a question, i might have missed this in the video, but what month did you guys go to Atacama/Uyuni? Planning to go and Im not sure if last week of Feb or first week of March are good options.
Ah thank you ☺️🙌🏻 we went at the end of January and think that the end of February/beginning of March would be great😊 there is a big chance to get the mirror effect of Uyuni 😍
Hi! Love this video! May I know where you booked your Uyuni tour in Atacama? We are going there in November and would love to book with the same company you used. Thanks so much!!
this is gorgeous - if you only have time for one region, Atacama or this 3 day tour, which would you recommend? Does it feel like you're in the car for way too long or is it broken up pretty well? beautiful videos!
Thanks for your comment! It's tricky to compare the Atacama Desert and Bolivian Salt Flats because they both have their unique vibes. In the Atacama, we loved the freedom to explore on our own and being able to stop to admire wildlife and landscapes. Bolivia's drive is long, and being in the car got tiring at times, but the varied landscapes made it worth it. Though we felt a bit rushed on a tour as we film a lot, overall, it was a blast. We'd probably go with the Bolivian salt flats, especially during the rainy season - a sight we would love to see!
Thank you for the insightful video! I have been watching all your videos to prepare for my trip. Where did you buy Bolivianos for the expenses during the tour? How was the exchange rate? Are there places at the border for exchange? I'm deciding whether I should exchange currency in Santiago or Atacama. Thank you in advance for your help
Great to know☺️ we exchanged money in Atacama, but we aren’t sure where the rate is better. We would advise you to exchange dollars/euro to bolivianos instead of exchanging Chilean pesos for bolivianos 😊 enjoy your trip☺️
Hey guys, which tour company did you use? We are also looking for a tour, just round trip. And all I found were making us stay in refuges, which wasn't our first choice . But I saw you had good hotels
Hey guys, I'm in San Pedro right now but all of these tours to Uyuni only seem to have Spanish tour guides. Assuming your guide was also Spanish, how much of an issue would this be for 2 English-only speakers who just want to see the sights?
Hi! We didn’t find it to be an issue, it’s not something we thought about to be honest 😅 Our driver spoke a little bit of English and you can download Spanish on Google Translate to use offline if you want. It’s all part of the experience 😊
Great video and look amazing. In which season/month did travel in Bolivia? And how early would you book the tour from San Pedro to Uyuni? (really just 24 hours in advance?)
Thanks a lot! We did it in late January 2023. I guess you can book it once you get to San Pedro, but it’s very regular so you’ll definitely find one a day or two before. We asked two agencies and ended up booking with Retur expeditions
Mountain Lipz is the company that is based in Bolivia so the only way to book with them is online. We went to the office in San Pedro:) sorry for confusing😅
Hey, back to watch your video again and ask some questions, because you've inspired the travel bug again! 🙂 Our thoughts are for a bigger trip now. I've looked up tours across Bolivia, and there are several companies with a wide range of prices, all over the $230pp that you indicated. Is that price per person per night, or per person for the entire trip from San Pedro de Atacama to La Paz? Also, Mountain Lipz did not appear in my search at all. Do they have a website? Could you share it? Are there any comparable tour companies for that trip across Bolivia? Do these have English speaking guides? Do they cost extra? When did you go? As in what time of the year, and which year? Perhaps the price has increased since then? Perhaps the pandemic changed things? Perhaps Mountain Lipz closed business? You went south to north. We're now looking at a round trip starting and ending in Santiago, and going to Antofagasta (desert hand), San Pedro de Acatama (all the things you mentioned in your video on that place), the road trip tour to La Paz, then on to Cusco in Peru, and a tour going back to Lake Titicaca and then west to the coast and up the coast to Lima, from where we'll fly back to Santiago. We might also go to Valparaiso or Vina del Mar. Do you think that it's better to go northbound or southbound through Bolivia is better? We could go either way around. We'd fly between Antofagasta and Santiago, it's too long to drive with not much along the way, and the time is better spent visiting other places. Do you have any insight into getting from Antofagasta to San Pedro de Atacama? Bus? Plane? Car hire? Any suggestions or guidance that you can offer would be immensely well appreciated. Thank you. Gracias.
Hello! Thanks! We went in late January 2023 and booked the tour in San Pedro de Atacama just a day before it started. It's way cheaper to book your tour there compared to online. Any shop there will offer you this kind of tour. We've heard it's even cheaper if you book it in Bolivia, as Chile is generally more expensive. Our price is per tour, but most of the guides don't speak English. However, we were able to communicate with our limited Spanish and Google Translate. We also heard that one couple booked an English-speaking tour, but the guide had very poor English, so they didn't feel like it was worth paying extra. We never made it to Antofagasta, so you'll have to figure that out yourself. The main difference between going south to north and vice versa is acclimatizing to high altitude. Some attractions in the Atacama were above 4000 m, so we didn't have any problems getting used to 5000 meters in Bolivia, but some people did have issues.
@briancox - If you haven't already done your trip, just take a bus from Antofagasta to San Pedro. It's only a few hours. No need to fly. La Paz is a great place to use as a base. There's so much to see in Bolivia, and it's so diverse in scenery. Mountains, desert, rainforest- a really nice trip is taking a boat up the Mamore River in Trinidad for a few days.
Hey Guys, this video and your other on the Atacama were both great and a real eye opener. Did you pay $230 USD each including the discount, or was it $130 each. Also, is there any knowledge on whether this tour (I've seen a few companies offering similar) tends to sell out? Worth booking well in advance, or are they readily available when you arrive in Atacama? thanks again :)
Hey, thank you!😍 we paid $230 each for the 3 days/2night tour. We think there are a lot of options so in our opinion you really don’t need to book in advance. As we said we only booked it the day before so if you go there and try to book something a couple of days in advance it should be fine! Enjoy ☺️
Hi guys! Wanted to ask you about the tour company, but already found them on Tripadvisor. I still do have one question though.. Do you know if they can take us back to San Pedro, or it always ends in Bolivia?
@@SomethingToRemember Alright, thank you! I emailed them on the address they have on Tripadvisor, but no response yet 🤔.. If you remember, would you be able to find their physical address in San Pedro on google maps and send it to me please? :)
Hi guys, did ye get much rain in Bolivia overall as ye were there in wet season? Planning route at moment so probably gonna be on Bolivia in march ( 2025)
Hey Karen, the rainy season was late at the time we were there which was a bit unfortunate as we wanted to see water on Uyuni Salt Flat. From what we can gather, March this year was perfect. Enjoy your trip!
Can you guys recommed bolivian companies that do those 3 days trip from uyuni?? I will be traveling from uyuni to Chile (probably airport in Calama) and it sounds like a perfect option for me.
Hello! We’ve mentioned the company we toured with, it’s Mountain Lipz, but we are sure you can find a company in Uyuni or La Paz, all the tours are pretty much the same!
The usual thing to do is to take a 3-day tour with a tour company - as we said in the video, we don’t think it’s possible to make that journey by yourself 😊
Great people, culture & landscape….but a $160 visa for US citizens to enter….no thanks. There are even better countries nearby in South America that don’t require visa or large fee to enter.
Couldn’t agree more & we would be quite annoyed if we were US nationals having to pay that. We also don’t like that in many countries to enter attractions there are signs with a price for nationals & then a price for foreigners at 5 times more… I’d be embarrassed if I seen a sign like that back home - It should either be cheap for everyone or expensive for everyone, signs like that only create division! Anyway, thanks for your comment 👍🏻
This video is AMAZING guys! Really captures how other worldly and “random as f*ck” Bolivia is 😂 we are honoured to be featured 🙌
Haha thank you Sophie! 😅 Your pictures from Uyuni are stunning, thank you for letting us use them 😍
Theses videos are unreal, looking forward to the next ones 🙌🏻🔥🔜
Thanks a lot, appreciate it☺️🥰
Back on the r….. dirt tracks 😂 unreal vid as always guys, definitely on my travel list after this! 😍
Thanks a lot, Josh🥰
Both of ye ye smashed it again!! Keep the video coming!!
Thanks Paul! ❤️
Love it lads, class 👏👏👏👏
Keep them coming.
Thank you, Kevin☺️❤️
Thank you for this VERY helpful video.
We are looking into a trip from Lake Titikaka to La Paz then to San Pedro in Chile, and this & your previous videos have helped immensely with the planning. Especially about the tour driver and the car hire in the desert.
Truly appreciated!
Great to hear, thank you☺️ Enjoy your trip😍
Did you realise Bolivia was this diverse?😊
Class video 👍🏻👌🏼
Cheers Fiona, glad you liked it! 😊
Gracias por visitar mi país ❤ yo recién conoceré salar de uyuni😢
This video is AMAZING guys!
Thanks a lot!😊
Great video 👏
Thanks, Nigel!😍☺️
The Bolivian altiplano is my favorite place in all South America
Loved it! 😊
Bello vídeo me falta conocer la laguna colorada una pasada de lugares hermosos y además la coca es genial para la altura
Thanks for your comment 😊 The red lagoon is called Laguna Colorado 🔴
I'm planning the same itinerary and this was exactly the info I was looking for. thanks!
Yay, good to know🙌🏻😊
yeah.epic sharing! colleague~
Thanks😅
Planning a trip for October and binging all your vids at the moment! Thank you🌞
Great to hear, enjoy your trip! ☺️
Único lugar en el mundo ❤
I am definitely sold on this trip! Thank you for the thorough job you did with the fantastic videos and informative narration. We are leaving Uruguay February 12 and will have already spent 9 days in Buenos Aries, 7 in Colonia and Montevideo Uruguay (carnival). Have planned to go next to Mendoza, and now want to do this San Pedro to Uyuni trip for sure!!! On the list after that so far: La Paz, Arequipa, Cusco, Ayuchuco and then fly home to Vancouver from Lima on April 10. Having trouble figuring out best way to get to these places and if there 0:30 are other places you would say are not to be missed. Any help would be so appreciated! P. S. We are 72 and need a comfortable mattress. Thank you! 💞
Glad you found the video useful 😊 That all sounds great! We didn’t make it to Peru on this trip but we will be back to see Cusco and Arequipa too.
We used San Pedro de Atacama as our base and the places we visited in the Atacama Desert were Valle de La Luna (valley of the moon), Laguna Chaxa, Piedras Rojas, Laguna Miscanti & Laguna Miniques. We loved our road trip around those places, would highly recommend it 👍🏻
In terms of where to stay, can’t help you I’m afraid. We stayed in as cheap an Airbnb as we could find and the mattresses weren’t recommendable to someone who wants a nice mattress 🤣
Hope this helps a bit! Safe travels ♥️
Exelente video.
Gracias 😍
Another great vid!🤩
Thank you😌☺️
Awesome video guys!! Brought back so many memories. I did this trip 20 years ago, and of anywhere I've been in 50 countries over 7 continents, this is still my favourite trip. Sooo scenic, especially around Laguna Verde!!
I'm glad you found the coca leaves to help with the altitude sickness. I remember we chewed on them with some grey ash stuff to help release the active ingredient. It helped me, but not my friend. She was sick for the first 3 days in Uyuni 😣
Earned a subscribe, and happy Easter/ happy travels
Thanks for sharing ☺️
Hey, thinking of visiting soon. What month did you go?
@@mjlbarrera I went in February. You really need to go in summer I think because you're travelling at altitudes of about 5,000 metres, so it's just going to be too cold at other times of the year.
You'll absolutely love it though. It's the most incredible scenery!
@@chriper77 thanks for responding. Yes! Been wanting to go for the longest time. Been to most of South America but never to Bolivia so I am hoping to make it Fen/March next year. Keeping my fingers crossed.
@@mjlbarrera I'm so jealous, lol. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I probably wouldn't book beforehand. I'd just make your way to San Pedro de Atacama and the staff at the Backpackers should point you in the direction of the best tour operator for the trip.
Then there's so much to explore in Bolivia once you get there. I still say it's my favourite country in the world.
Amazing
Thank you☺️
Tip Top! Cheers
Thanks for your comment😋
Beautiful 😊
Indeed☺️
Muy buen video
Gracias ☺️
Wow
That what we thought😅
Wow! im so glad i came across your channel. Very informative. Just a question, i might have missed this in the video, but what month did you guys go to Atacama/Uyuni? Planning to go and Im not sure if last week of Feb or first week of March are good options.
Ah thank you ☺️🙌🏻 we went at the end of January and think that the end of February/beginning of March would be great😊 there is a big chance to get the mirror effect of Uyuni 😍
@@SomethingToRemember thanks for responding. I am an instant fan of your channel!
Thank you ❤️
Good video
Thanks 🙌🏻☺️
Bueno video
Gracias ☺️
Hi! Love this video! May I know where you booked your Uyuni tour in Atacama? We are going there in November and would love to book with the same company you used. Thanks so much!!
Thank you ☺️ The best way is to book it directly in San Pedro de Atacama or Uyuni😊
this is gorgeous - if you only have time for one region, Atacama or this 3 day tour, which would you recommend? Does it feel like you're in the car for way too long or is it broken up pretty well? beautiful videos!
Thanks for your comment! It's tricky to compare the Atacama Desert and Bolivian Salt Flats because they both have their unique vibes. In the Atacama, we loved the freedom to explore on our own and being able to stop to admire wildlife and landscapes. Bolivia's drive is long, and being in the car got tiring at times, but the varied landscapes made it worth it. Though we felt a bit rushed on a tour as we film a lot, overall, it was a blast. We'd probably go with the Bolivian salt flats, especially during the rainy season - a sight we would love to see!
Nice vid! Did you apply for the Bolivian visa before hand (in Santiago?) or will the travel agency handle it for you? Cheers.
Thanks😊 we don’t need visas for Bolivia
Thank you for the insightful video! I have been watching all your videos to prepare for my trip. Where did you buy Bolivianos for the expenses during the tour? How was the exchange rate? Are there places at the border for exchange? I'm deciding whether I should exchange currency in Santiago or Atacama. Thank you in advance for your help
Great to know☺️ we exchanged money in Atacama, but we aren’t sure where the rate is better. We would advise you to exchange dollars/euro to bolivianos instead of exchanging Chilean pesos for bolivianos 😊 enjoy your trip☺️
@@SomethingToRemember thanks a lot. Appreciate it
Hey guys, which tour company did you use? We are also looking for a tour, just round trip. And all I found were making us stay in refuges, which wasn't our first choice . But I saw you had good hotels
You should really wait till you get there to book it, it’s cheaper and most companies don’t even have websites 😊
@@SomethingToRemembercan we find all this companies in San Pedro?
Salar de uyuni uff hermoso
So surreal😊
Hey guys, I'm in San Pedro right now but all of these tours to Uyuni only seem to have Spanish tour guides. Assuming your guide was also Spanish, how much of an issue would this be for 2 English-only speakers who just want to see the sights?
Hi! We didn’t find it to be an issue, it’s not something we thought about to be honest 😅 Our driver spoke a little bit of English and you can download Spanish on Google Translate to use offline if you want. It’s all part of the experience 😊
Great video and look amazing.
In which season/month did travel in Bolivia? And how early would you book the tour from San Pedro to Uyuni? (really just 24 hours in advance?)
Thanks a lot! We did it in late January 2023. I guess you can book it once you get to San Pedro, but it’s very regular so you’ll definitely find one a day or two before. We asked two agencies and ended up booking with Retur expeditions
In fact, it was 18h in advance😁
@@SomethingToRemember In the video you say you went with Mountain Lipz, are they the same thing? :)
Mountain Lipz is the company that is based in Bolivia so the only way to book with them is online. We went to the office in San Pedro:) sorry for confusing😅
Yeah really enjoyed watching it thanks !
Thanks guys. Who did you book your tour with?
Mountain Lipz is the company that was written on the side of the jeeps, but we just walked in to a random shop in San Pedro to book 😊
Love your content!
btw what's the name of the tour company? i'm planning to do the same tour in april.
Thanks for sharing these amazing videos 🤗
Thank you! I believe we did mention it at the end of the video, but generally the tour companies are all the same😊
Hey, back to watch your video again and ask some questions, because you've inspired the travel bug again! 🙂 Our thoughts are for a bigger trip now.
I've looked up tours across Bolivia, and there are several companies with a wide range of prices, all over the $230pp that you indicated. Is that price per person per night, or per person for the entire trip from San Pedro de Atacama to La Paz? Also, Mountain Lipz did not appear in my search at all. Do they have a website? Could you share it? Are there any comparable tour companies for that trip across Bolivia? Do these have English speaking guides? Do they cost extra?
When did you go? As in what time of the year, and which year? Perhaps the price has increased since then? Perhaps the pandemic changed things? Perhaps Mountain Lipz closed business?
You went south to north. We're now looking at a round trip starting and ending in Santiago, and going to Antofagasta (desert hand), San Pedro de Acatama (all the things you mentioned in your video on that place), the road trip tour to La Paz, then on to Cusco in Peru, and a tour going back to Lake Titicaca and then west to the coast and up the coast to Lima, from where we'll fly back to Santiago. We might also go to Valparaiso or Vina del Mar. Do you think that it's better to go northbound or southbound through Bolivia is better? We could go either way around.
We'd fly between Antofagasta and Santiago, it's too long to drive with not much along the way, and the time is better spent visiting other places. Do you have any insight into getting from Antofagasta to San Pedro de Atacama? Bus? Plane? Car hire?
Any suggestions or guidance that you can offer would be immensely well appreciated. Thank you. Gracias.
Hello! Thanks!
We went in late January 2023 and booked the tour in San Pedro de Atacama just a day before it started. It's way cheaper to book your tour there compared to online. Any shop there will offer you this kind of tour.
We've heard it's even cheaper if you book it in Bolivia, as Chile is generally more expensive. Our price is per tour, but most of the guides don't speak English. However, we were able to communicate with our limited Spanish and Google Translate. We also heard that one couple booked an English-speaking tour, but the guide had very poor English, so they didn't feel like it was worth paying extra.
We never made it to Antofagasta, so you'll have to figure that out yourself.
The main difference between going south to north and vice versa is acclimatizing to high altitude. Some attractions in the Atacama were above 4000 m, so we didn't have any problems getting used to 5000 meters in Bolivia, but some people did have issues.
@briancox - If you haven't already done your trip, just take a bus from Antofagasta to San Pedro. It's only a few hours. No need to fly.
La Paz is a great place to use as a base. There's so much to see in Bolivia, and it's so diverse in scenery. Mountains, desert, rainforest- a really nice trip is taking a boat up the Mamore River in Trinidad for a few days.
Good site
Beautiful 😻
Good🎉
Thanks😊
Hey Guys, this video and your other on the Atacama were both great and a real eye opener. Did you pay $230 USD each including the discount, or was it $130 each. Also, is there any knowledge on whether this tour (I've seen a few companies offering similar) tends to sell out? Worth booking well in advance, or are they readily available when you arrive in Atacama? thanks again :)
Hey, thank you!😍 we paid $230 each for the 3 days/2night tour. We think there are a lot of options so in our opinion you really don’t need to book in advance. As we said we only booked it the day before so if you go there and try to book something a couple of days in advance it should be fine! Enjoy ☺️
Hey, which tour operator did you have? :)
Cada ves bolivia, se empiesa hacer conocida
So worth visiting!
Hi, thanks for your videos, how was the night ride to la paz?
Cheers 😊 it’s fine, only 9 hours and buses are very comfortable ☺️
Hi guys! Wanted to ask you about the tour company, but already found them on Tripadvisor. I still do have one question though.. Do you know if they can take us back to San Pedro, or it always ends in Bolivia?
Yes you can, it’s an extra day😊
@@SomethingToRemember Alright, thank you! I emailed them on the address they have on Tripadvisor, but no response yet 🤔.. If you remember, would you be able to find their physical address in San Pedro on google maps and send it to me please? :)
Hi guys, did ye get much rain in Bolivia overall as ye were there in wet season? Planning route at moment so probably gonna be on Bolivia in march ( 2025)
Hey Karen, the rainy season was late at the time we were there which was a bit unfortunate as we wanted to see water on Uyuni Salt Flat. From what we can gather, March this year was perfect. Enjoy your trip!
Hey coud you link what tour this was? Looking into booking one now, thanks!
Hi! We just booked it in a random agency in San Pedro de Atacama when we got there. There are lots of options 👍🏻
Niceee
Thanks☺️
Can you guys recommed bolivian companies that do those 3 days trip from uyuni?? I will be traveling from uyuni to Chile (probably airport in Calama) and it sounds like a perfect option for me.
Hello! We’ve mentioned the company we toured with, it’s Mountain Lipz, but we are sure you can find a company in Uyuni or La Paz, all the tours are pretty much the same!
@@SomethingToRemember oh thx, I must have missed that.
Enjoy your travels!
Bello salar de uyuni
Amazing place😍
May I ask how long was the drive from San Pedro to Uyuni in Bolivia?
The usual thing to do is to take a 3-day tour with a tour company - as we said in the video, we don’t think it’s possible to make that journey by yourself 😊
Which tour company
Hello! We mentioned it at the end☺️
Great people, culture & landscape….but a $160 visa for US citizens to enter….no thanks. There are even better countries nearby in South America that don’t require visa or large fee to enter.
Couldn’t agree more & we would be quite annoyed if we were US nationals having to pay that. We also don’t like that in many countries to enter attractions there are signs with a price for nationals & then a price for foreigners at 5 times more… I’d be embarrassed if I seen a sign like that back home - It should either be cheap for everyone or expensive for everyone, signs like that only create division! Anyway, thanks for your comment 👍🏻