4-Day Salar de Uyuni Tour from La Paz: Flights & Salt Flats

Salt flats, geysers and flamingo lagoons across the Altiplano in four days

A 4-day tour from La Paz to the Salar de Uyuni salt flats with round-trip flights, a professional English-speaking guide, and three nights in private rooms at salt hotels and desert hostels. The itinerary crosses the white salt plain, visits the Train Cemetery, explores colored lagoons ringed by flamingos and snow-capped volcanoes, and ends at geysers and hot springs at 5,000 meters. Hotel pickup and drop-off in La Paz are included. Entrance fees are separate.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1: La Paz to Uyuni and Salt Flats

• Pick up from La Paz hotel
• Transfer to El Alto Airport
• Flight to Uyuni
• Arrival and meet guide
• Buffet breakfast in Uyuni
• Visit Train Cemetery
• Enter Salar de Uyuni at Colchani
• See salt processing and Salt Hotel
• Visit Incahuasi Island and viewpoint
• Visit Fish Island and Mala Mala Bay
• Overnight at Salt Hostel San Juan

Day 2: San Juan to Laguna Colorada

• Start from San Juan at 8:00 am
• Photo stops along route
• Visit lagoons with flamingos and birds
• Travel through desert sand and pebbles
• Photo stops en route
• Arrive Laguna Colorada for sunset
• Overnight at Basic Hostel Laguna Colorada

Day 3: Laguna Colorada to Uyuni

• Depart hostel at 4:30 am
• Visit Sol de Mañana geysers at dawn
• See boiling mud pools and desert landscapes
• Bath at Termas de Polques and breakfast
• Visit Laguna Verde at Licancabur volcano
• Arrive Uyuni and transfer to airport
• Flight to La Paz
• Overnight at Hotel Atipax Uyuni

Day 4: Uyuni to La Paz

• Pick up from hotel and transfer to airport
• Flight to La Paz
• Transfer from airport to hotel

The experience

You leave La Paz at 7 a.m. for a 45-minute flight to Uyuni, where your guide meets you at the airport. The first day takes you to the Train Cemetery, an outdoor museum of rusted locomotives, then into the Salar itself at Colchani, where salt is still harvested in piles. You climb Incahuasi Island, a volcanic outcrop studded with giant cacti that rises from the white plain and offers a viewpoint across the entire salt flat. That night you sleep in a private room at a salt hotel on the Salar.

Day two starts early from San Juan and heads south into the high desert toward the colored lagoons. You pass through landscapes of sand and pebbles, stopping at lagoons where flamingos, geese and Andean gulls gather against a backdrop of snow-capped volcanoes. The Laguna Colorada, the red lagoon, is your overnight stop, positioned to catch the sunset. Day three begins at 4:30 a.m. to reach the Sol de Mañana geysers at dawn, the highest point of the route at about 5,000 meters. You walk across red, gray and scarlet mud pools where the earth steams, bathe in the Termas de Polques hot springs, and finish at Laguna Verde, a green lake at the foot of Volcán Licancabur. The return flight to La Paz leaves Uyuni at 7:30 p.m.

A professional guide who speaks English leads the entire tour. The group is shared. All meals are included (breakfast, lunch and dinner each day), and you travel in comfortable, fully equipped vehicles. The itinerary is fixed, so the pace and stops are set. This is not a self-guided or customizable route.

What’s included

• Hotel pickup and drop-off in La Paz.
• round-trip flights between La Paz and Uyuni.
• a professional guide who speaks English.
• three nights in private rooms at salt hotels and desert hostels.
• all meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner).
• transport in fully equipped vehicles throughout the Salar and high desert.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDeparts at 06:00

Book up to12h before

AgesAdult (12 to 90 years) · Under 12: can't be booked

GroupUp to 12

Live guideEnglish, Spanish and Portuguese

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.It may be canceled due to bad weather or if the minimum number of travelers isn't reached. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

Prices and times updated yesterday

Good to know

Low physical effort

Operated by Joker Expedition, Bolivia.

Is this one for you?Four days is the time needed to cross the Salar, reach the colored lagoons and geysers, and return to La Paz by evening flight: a full immersion in the high desert that leaves no time for other La Paz activities, but covers the main sites in a single trip.

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Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

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 an outdoor museum of ancient, rusted locomotives near Uyuni, preserved as a historical site. It is the first stop after you arrive in Uyuni, a photo stop that marks the beginning of the Salar de Uyuni experience.

Can I bathe in the hot springs, or is it just a viewing stop?

You can bathe in the Termas de Polques hot springs on day three. After visiting the Sol de Mañana geysers at dawn, you have the chance to soak in the thermal pools before breakfast.

What are the colored lagoons, and will I see flamingos?

The colored lagoons are high-altitude salt lakes in the desert south of the Salar, named for their mineral-tinted waters. The Laguna Colorada (red lagoon) and Laguna Verde (green lagoon) are both stops on the tour, and large numbers of flamingos, geese and Andean gulls gather at these lagoons, especially in the early morning and at sunset.

How high is the altitude, and what should I expect?

The highest point of the route is the Sol de Mañana geysers at about 5,000 meters (16,400 feet). The cold is intense at that elevation. The tour is suitable for all fitness levels, but you should be prepared for thin air and cold temperatures, especially on the early morning of day three.

Do I need travel insurance, and what happens if I get sick during the tour?

Travel and accident insurance is your own responsibility. The tour operator does not provide it. You should arrange insurance before departure and carry all necessary travel documentation. Inform the operator of any dietary requirements or health concerns at the time of booking.

What meals are included, and can the tour accommodate vegetarian diets?

Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included all four days. A vegetarian option is available. Let the operator know at booking if you need it.