Private Salar de Uyuni tour from Uyuni: Sunset and salt flats

Spend a full day crossing the world's largest salt flat with a private guide

A private full-day tour of Salar de Uyuni departing from Uyuni, Bolivia, with a guide in your chosen language, hotel pickup, and entrance to all sites. You visit the Train Cemetery near Uyuni, watch salt extraction at Colchani, cross the 12,000-square-kilometer salt flat, stop for lunch on the white desert, climb Incahuasi island to see giant cacti and stromatolites, and watch the sunset over the highland landscape before returning to the city. The tour includes private transportation, snacks, hot drinks, water, a satellite phone and oxygen for high-altitude safety.

Step-by-step itinerary

Stops and time at each

1. Train Cemetery40m
2. Llama and Salt Museum1h 20m
3. Salar de Uyuni2h · entry included

Full day tour of Salar de Uyuni

• Start tour at 10:00 a.m. in Uyuni
• Visit Train Cemetery near Uyuni
• Explore Colchani salt town and handicrafts
• Visit Mounds of Salt, Ojos de Sal, Playa Blanca Museum
• Lunch in the salt desert
• Visit island with giant cacti and stromatolites
• Observe Bolivian highland landscapes and Tunupa volcano
• Watch sunset over Salar de Uyuni
• Return to Uyuni city

The experience

If you have a free day in Uyuni and want to see the salt flats without joining a group, this private tour handles the route and the driving. You start at 10 a.m. from your hotel and head first to the Train Cemetery, 2 kilometers outside the city, where rusted locomotives from 1889 sit abandoned on the tracks. From there the tour moves to Colchani, 22 kilometers away, where you can watch the manual salt-harvesting process and buy handicrafts carved from salt blocks.

The bulk of the day unfolds on Salar de Uyuni itself. The salt flat spans 12,000 square kilometers and the tour takes you across it, stopping at the Mounds of Salt, the Ojos de Sal (salt springs), and the Playa Blanca Salt Museum. Lunch happens on the white desert floor. Then you climb Incahuasi island, which rises from the middle of the flat and is covered with giant cacti and stromatolites: fossilized bacterial colonies that represent some of the earliest traces of life on Earth. From the island you can see the Tunupa volcano and the eastern and western mountain ranges of the Bolivian highlands spreading across the horizon. The sunset here shifts through colors across the white expanse, and the landscape reflects in the salt so vividly that photographs often look unreal.

The tour wraps around 6 or 7 p.m. when you return to Uyuni. Your guide speaks English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian or one of three other languages, and the operator provides a satellite phone, oxygen, a first aid kit, and bottled water throughout the day: practical safeguards for the altitude and remoteness of the salt flat.

What’s included

• Private transportation from your hotel.
• a guide in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian or one of three other languages.
• entrance fees to all tourist sites.
• lunch on the salt flat.
• hot drinks, bottled water and snacks.
• a satellite phone, oxygen and a first aid kit for high-altitude safety.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDeparts at 10:00

GroupPrivate

Live guideEnglish, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Japanese

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.You can choose from 21 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 6 days ago

Good to know

Moderate physical levelWheelchair accessibleAccessible transportStroller friendlyInfant seats availablePublic transport nearbyNot for heart conditions

Operated by Mundicontact Expeditions

Is this one for you?The tour runs eight to nine hours with driving across open terrain and a climb up Incahuasi island, so you need a moderate level of fitness and comfort with a full day in a vehicle. The private format means you set the pace at each stop and the guide adjusts the route to your interests, which works well for couples and families who want flexibility without the schedule of a group tour.

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Top questions

What languages is the guide in?

Live guide in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Japanese.

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 this tour?

The Train Cemetery is a graveyard of old locomotives dating from 1889, located 2 kilometers outside Uyuni. It sits at the start of the tour as a historical landmark of the region's mining and rail heritage, and it gives you a concrete sense of scale and isolation before you move into the salt flat itself.

How high is the altitude on Salar de Uyuni and what does the tour provide for it?

Salar de Uyuni sits on the Bolivian Altiplano at high altitude. The tour includes oxygen and a first aid kit, and the operator recommends at least moderate physical fitness. Travelers with poor cardiovascular health should check with a doctor first.

Does the tour include lunch and what else is provided to eat and drink?

Yes, lunch is included and happens on the salt flat itself. The tour also provides hot drinks, bottled water, and snacks throughout the day.

Can I book this tour if I'm traveling with young children or a stroller?

Yes, infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller, and specialized infant seats are available. The tour is wheelchair accessible and transportation options accommodate wheelchairs.