3-Day Uyuni Salt Flats Tour: Lagoons, Geysers & Flamingos

Three days crossing the highest desert on earth, from salt to flamingo lagoons

A 3-day tour through Bolivia's Salar de Uyuni and the Altiplano desert, traveling in a Toyota 4x4 with an English-fluent guide and staying two nights in salt-built accommodation. Day one takes you to the Train Cemetery and Playa Blanca hotel inside the salt flats, with a hike up Inca Wasy island at sunset. Day two explores Laguna Colorada in the Eduardo Avaroa national park, where flamingos gather and volcanic craters reveal active geology. The final day crosses the Salvador Dalí Desert and reaches the Green Lake at the Chile border before returning to Uyuni.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1: Beginning of the Experience

• Leave office at 11:00 am
• Visit Train Cemetery
• Explore Colchani village and market
• Lunch in Colchani village
• Visit Playa Blanca Salt Hotel
• Photo session at Salar de Uyuni
• Hike Inca Wasy Island
• Watch sunset at salt flat shore
• Arrive at Villa Candelaria accommodations
• Enjoy hot coffee, chocolate, and snacks
• Dinner at accommodations

Day 2: Laguna Colorada

• Wake up at 6:30 am
• Travel through Andean desert landscapes
• Observe llamas, vicunas, foxes, flamingos
• Visit Laguna Colorada
• Explore volcanic crater
• Relax at hotel and hot springs

Day 3: Final Day

• Wake up at 6:30 am
• Breakfast with pancakes and yogurt
• Visit Salvador Dali Desert
• Visit Green Lake near Chile border
• Drop off at immigration office
• Return to Uyuni via northern route
• Stops for stretching, toilets, and lunch
• Arrive at Uyuni office around 5:00 pm

The experience

The tour leaves Uyuni at 11:00 am in a Toyota Land Cruiser, heading first to the Train Cemetery to see Bolivia's earliest locomotives, then through the village of Colchani where salt is still extracted by hand. After lunch you enter the Salar de Uyuni itself, the world's largest salt flat, and drive straight to Playa Blanca, the only hotel permitted inside the flats. The salt-block rooms sit surrounded by salt sculptures and the Dakar Statue. From there the guide takes you into the center of the salt expanse for the perspective photographs the landscape is famous for: you stand in the foreground while the flat stretches endlessly behind, and the camera angle makes you appear to hold the sun or balance a person on your palm. Before dark you hike the loop trail up Inca Wasy island, a cactus-covered rise that takes about an hour and opens to a 360-degree view of the salt, the mountains and the sky before sunset turns the horizon orange.

Day two starts at 6:30 am and carries you into the Eduardo Avaroa national park, a protected reserve of 720,000 hectares where the landscape shifts from white salt to rust-colored desert and volcanic peaks. The Laguna Colorada (a shallow lake stained red by algae and minerals) is the centerpiece. Flamingos wade in the shallows and the water reflects the surrounding mountains. Along the way you pass herds of vicuñas and Andean foxes, and the guide takes you into a volcanic crater to see active geothermal features. That evening you soak in natural hot springs heated to around 38°C (100°F), warming your body after a day at high altitude in thin air. The tour provides oxygen bottles and sleeping bags for the cold nights.

The final morning begins with breakfast and a drive south through the Salvador Dalí Desert, a landscape of rock formations and sparse vegetation that resembles the painter's dreamscapes. You reach the Green Lake, which sits just across the border in Chile, and can be dropped at the immigration office if you want to continue into Chile. Otherwise the route turns north and crosses back through the Altiplano on a different road, with stops for stretching and lunch. Arrival back at the Uyuni office is around 5:00 pm. The guide speaks English throughout, and all vehicles carry radios so the convoy can stay in contact across the vast empty terrain.

What’s included

• Two nights accommodation at Playa Blanca Salt Hotel.
• professional English-speaking guide.
• all transport in a Toyota 4x4.
• afternoon tea and meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner each day).
• oxygen bottles and sleeping bags.
• hotel pickup in Uyuni.
• professional photographer guide for perspective photos.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDeparts at 11:00

Book up to4h before

AgesAdult (21 to 45 years) · Youth (11 to 20 years) · Child (6 to 10 years) · Under 6: can't be booked

GroupUp to 6

Live guideEnglish and Spanish

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup is optional; you can also go straight to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.You can choose from 16 pickup points.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

Prices and times updated 12 days ago

Good to know

Moderate physical effortWheelchair accessible

Operated by RED PLANET EXPEDITION

Is this one for you?Hotel pickup in Uyuni means you don't need a car or prior arrangement to reach the starting point. The tour collects you and handles all transport across the three days, leaving you to focus on the landscape and the altitude rather than navigation.

Traveler reviews

4.38★★★★★★★★★★

174 verified traveler reviews

5 ★122

4 ★27

3 ★6

2 ★7

1 ★12

Read all the reviews ›

Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English and Spanish.

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Youth (11 to 20 years); Child (6 to 10 years). Children under 6 can't be included in the booking.

What happens if it rains?

It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund. Free cancellation up to 24 h before the start.

What is the Train Cemetery and why is it on the route?

The Train Cemetery is a graveyard of Bolivia's earliest locomotives, abandoned near Uyuni after the tin-mining industry declined. It sits at the start of the tour as a historical marker of the region's industrial past before the landscape opens into the salt flats.

How high is the altitude on this tour and will I have trouble breathing?

The Altiplano sits between 3,600 and 4,000 meters (11,800 to 13,100 feet) above sea level, making it one of the highest inhabited regions on earth. The tour includes oxygen bottles for use if you feel altitude effects, and the guide monitors the group. Most travelers acclimatize within the first day, though headache and fatigue are common at this elevation.

Can I see flamingos and what other wildlife is on the tour?

Flamingos gather at Laguna Colorada on day two, wading in the shallow red water. You'll see them from the vehicle and during stops. The national park also holds vicuñas (wild relatives of llamas), Andean foxes, viscachas (rodents), and various high-altitude birds, though sightings depend on the season and time of day.

What kind of accommodation will I sleep in?

Playa Blanca is a hotel built entirely from salt blocks, located inside the Salar de Uyuni itself. Rooms are basic but heated, and the hotel provides hot water for washing. You stay there both nights of the tour, waking to the white expanse in all directions.

How many people travel in each vehicle and is there a guide for my car?

Groups travel in Toyota 4x4s with a maximum of 12 people per vehicle and one professional guide shared across two cars. All vehicles carry radios to communicate across the desert, and the guide rotates between the vehicles to assist both groups throughout the day.

Can I end the tour in San Pedro de Atacama instead of returning to Uyuni?

Yes, you can be dropped at the Chile immigration office on the final day near the Green Lake for an additional $10 USD if you arrange it when booking. From there you can continue into Chile and onward to San Pedro de Atacama. The tour does not include transport beyond the border.