Uyuni Salt Flats TripsUyuni 3 Day Tour Laguna Colorada: The Full Route, Price and Fine Print
This Uyuni 3 day tour Laguna Colorada route runs from Uyuni town across the salt flat and deep into the Eduardo Avaroa reserve, ending back in Uyuni or at the Chilean border for San Pedro de Atacama. It lists at $309.90 with $10 in mandatory extras, so the real starting figure is $319.90 per person, and that still excludes the reserve and island fees paid in cash. The route is the classic three-day southwest circuit: sunset on the salar, the Cañapa and Hedionda lagoons, the Siloli Desert, flamingos on Laguna Colorada, geysers and the Salvador Dali Desert. This page walks the three days stop by stop, adds up what you will actually pay, and says plainly who should book a different listing among the other the Uyuni tour totals compared.
About This Tour
Tours Transandino runs this 3-day, 2-night jeep route from its office in Uyuni, covering the salt flat, the southwest lagoons and the highlights of the Eduardo Avaroa reserve. The listing rates 4.9 from 110 verified bookings on Viator and Tripadvisor. A 4x4 vehicle, all meals on the itinerary and 2 nights of accommodation with shared bathrooms are included, and hotel pickup is offered to everyone. The listing's day 3 runs to the border for a minivan transfer to San Pedro de Atacama in Chile, and the tour can also end back in Uyuni.
The listed price is not the whole cost. Viator adds $10 in mandatory extras, bringing the total to $319.90 per person. The Eduardo Avaroa reserve entrance of 150 Bs (about $13) and the Incahuasi Island entrance of 30 Bs (about $3) are paid in cash on the route, and the exclusions price the ticket on to San Pedro de Atacama at $25 if you finish in Chile. The sleeping bag is not included either.
$309.90 plus $10 mandatory extras, so $319.90 per person in total. On top: Eduardo Avaroa reserve entrance 150 Bs (about $13), Incahuasi Island entrance 30 Bs (about $3), and $25 for the bus to San Pedro de Atacama if you end in Chile.
3 days, 2 nights. Night 1 is in San Juan in a regular double room or shared-bathroom room, night 2 is in a hostel dormitory with shared bathrooms near the route.
Departs from Uyuni, with reconfirmation at the Uyuni Trans Andino office on Calle Sucre, Av. Ferroviaria 2 hours before departure. The tour ends back in Uyuni, or runs to the Chilean border for a minivan transfer that reaches San Pedro de Atacama at 12:00 noon. That ticket costs $25 and is not in the price.
Not included. The Eduardo Avaroa reserve entrance (150 Bs, about $13) and the Incahuasi Island entrance (30 Bs, about $3) are both paid in cash at the gates.
2 nights in rooms with shared bathrooms, per the listing. Meals on the itinerary: 3 lunches, 2 dinners and 2 breakfasts. Sleeping bag not included.
Full refund if you cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time. No refund inside 24 hours.
Check Dates and Availability
Shared departures run with up to 6 travelers per booking in the 4x4. Check open dates and the live price in the widget below.
You'll confirm the exact date and time on the secure booking page.
Quick answer The short answer on this 3-day route
This 3-day tour costs $309.90 with $10 in mandatory extras, so $319.90 per person, plus 150 Bs (about $13) for the Eduardo Avaroa reserve and 30 Bs (about $3) for Incahuasi Island in cash. It runs 3 days and 2 nights from Uyuni, with all meals on the itinerary and shared-bathroom rooms included. It ends in Uyuni or at the Chilean border, with a $25 bus to San Pedro de Atacama if you continue to Chile.
Key takeaways
- Walk the full three days stop by stop in the day-by-day itinerary before deciding.
- See exactly what the $319.90 covers and what it does not in the price breakdown.
- If you would rather book a route that is built to finish in Chile, compare the 3-day tour ending in San Pedro de Atacama.
- For a shorter and cheaper salt-flat-only day, the Uyuni highlights jeep tour covers the salar in 8 hours.
What the Price Actually Covers
The $309.90 headline is the jeep, the driver, most meals and 2 nights of beds. The fees, the sleeping bag and the onward bus are all paid separately, so budget the real total before you book.
What Is Included
The listing includes the 4x4 vehicle with driver, hotel pickup, 3 lunches, 2 dinners and 2 breakfasts, and 2 nights of accommodation: night 1 in San Juan and night 2 in a hostel dormitory, both with shared bathrooms. The listing also offers pickup for all travelers, with reconfirmation at the office 2 hours before departure.
| Line | In the price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4x4 vehicle and driver | Yes | Shared tour, up to 6 travelers per booking |
| Hotel pickup in Uyuni | Yes | Reconfirm at the office 2 hours before departure |
| Meals | Yes | 3 lunches, 2 dinners, 2 breakfasts on the itinerary |
| 2 nights accommodation | Yes | Shared-bathroom rooms, specific lodge names not stated |
| Mandatory extras | No | +$10 on top, total $319.90 per person |
| Eduardo Avaroa reserve entrance | No | 150 Bs (about $13), cash at the gate |
| Incahuasi Island entrance | No | 30 Bs (about $3), cash at the booth |
| Sleeping bag | No | Not included, per the listing's exclusions |
| Transfer to San Pedro de Atacama | No | $25 if you go on to Chile, per the listing's exclusions |
Where the Money Goes
Add it up and a traveler finishing back in Uyuni pays $319.90 on the platform plus 180 Bs (about $16) in entrance fees in cash, before a sleeping bag rental or tips. A traveler continuing to San Pedro de Atacama adds the $25 transfer ticket on top of that. Compare the Andes Salt Expeditions 3-day lagoons tour, which lists lower at $290 but carries $62 in mandatory extras for a total of $352, and still excludes entrance fees, the sleeping bag and the transfer to San Pedro.
The site's Salar de Uyuni tours by route puts all listings side by side with their real totals.
| Line | In the price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Eduardo Avaroa reserve, day 2 | No | 150 Bs (about $13), paid where the route enters the protected area |
| Incahuasi Island, day 1 | No | 30 Bs (about $3), and the listing says the island is not admitted in the rainy season |
Sources: the operator's own listing on Viator, and Salar de Uyuni on Wikipedia.
Andean flamingos at Laguna Colorada. Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
What the Day Is Really Like
The listing's own itinerary gives stop durations for each day. No clock times are published except the noon arrival in San Pedro on day 3, so the order below follows the listing's sequence.
Day 1: Train Cemetery, Salt Flat and Sunset
The route starts with 20 minutes at the train cemetery outside Uyuni, where about 100 abandoned locomotives from the late 19th century stand rusting. Then 20 minutes in Colchani, the craft village where residents sell salt carvings and woven fabrics. The salt flat itself gets the longest block, about 3 hours, with stops for photos at the salt eyes, the Dakar Rally monument, the old Hotel Playa Blanca and the plaza of flags, before the jeep reaches Incahuasi Island for 45 minutes.
There you can climb among giant cacti to the viewpoint over the salar, and the listing notes the island is not admitted in the rainy season. The day ends with sunset on the salt and a night in San Juan.
Day 2: Lagoons, Desert and Laguna Colorada
Day 2 is a chain of short stops heading south. First 20 minutes at the Ollague Volcano viewpoint, a semi-active volcano on the Bolivia-Chile border. Then 30 minutes at a lagoon where the listing names three flamingo species: James, Andino and Chilean.
The route passes 15 minutes in one of the driest deserts, then 20 minutes at the 7-meter Árbol de Piedra, the stone tree carved by wind. After 10 minutes at the Eduardo Avaroa reserve entrance, where you pay the 150 Bs fee in cash, the day closes with 40 minutes at the Laguna Colorada viewpoint. The lagoon sits at 4,278 m, is less than 1 m deep and covers 60 km2 per the listing, and its red color comes from algae and plankton.
It shelters flamingos. You sleep in a hostel dormitory with shared bathrooms.
Day 3: Geysers, Hot Springs and the Border
Day 3 starts high. The listing puts the geyser field above 4,800 meters, and Sol de Mañana is cited at about 4,900 m, with some sources giving 4,850 m. Expect columns of steam and sulfur fumaroles, and the stop lasts about 20 minutes.
Next is 40 minutes at thermal pools where you can swim. The listing gives the water as 37°C, while another source puts the Polques pool at about 29°C against air that can drop to -5°C to -10°C. The longest block, 2 hours, covers the green Laguna Verde, colored by copper and arsenic in the geology, with the Licancabur volcano and the white lagoon in view. From here the listing's itinerary continues to the border for a minivan transfer to San Pedro de Atacama in Chile, arriving at 12:00 noon.
The exclusions price that ticket at $25 (if you go), so it is not in the $319.90. The Bolivian side of the Hito Cajón pass sits at 4,480 m, and Chilean customs are completed in San Pedro town, about 45 km away.
3-day Laguna Colorada Tour on Video
The three days of the lagoon route, filmed by another traveller. Third-party video by Janica's Journey. We did not shoot it and have no relationship with the creator.
Who This Tour Rules Out
The listing calls the route suitable for all fitness levels, but its own additional information rules several groups out. Check this list before booking rather than after.
Stated Health Restrictions
The listing says the tour is not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries, not recommended for pregnant travelers, and not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health. Children occupy the same space as an adult, and no minimum age is stated. The route also climbs well above the salar: the geyser stop sits above 4,800 meters, and the reserve's terrain runs between 4,200 and 5,400 meters.
Altitude sickness is a real risk on this route. CDC guidance is to spend 2-3 nights around 2,450-2,750 m before going higher, so read the guide on Uyuni altitude sickness if you are coming from low ground. The listing does not mention oxygen, so ask in writing whether the jeep carries any.
Who Should Book Differently
If you have only one day, a 3-day circuit is the wrong tool. A one-day loop such as the Salar de Uyuni day tour with sunset covers the salt flat from Uyuni in 9 hours without the lagoons. If you want the border transfer and the San Pedro arrival handled inside one price, the 3-day tour ending in San Pedro de Atacama ends in San Pedro around 12:30 PM on day 3 and lists at $450.
If cold nights or shared bathrooms are a dealbreaker, the 3-day southwest routes will not suit you, because the ones compared here spend their second night near Laguna Colorada in shared rooms. Browse other Uyuni salt flats tours to see the alternatives.
The mud pools of Sol de Mañana. Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
What to Settle Before You Book
A few things are worth pinning down in writing and in cash before the jeep leaves Uyuni.
Cancellation and Reconfirmation
You get a full refund if you cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time, and nothing inside that window. The listing also requires every passenger to reconfirm at the Uyuni Trans Andino office 2 hours before departure, so plan to be in Uyuni town with time to spare. The booking requires at least one adult per party.
What to Confirm with the Operator in Writing
The listing offers guides in English and Spanish as language options, so confirm which language your departure actually runs in before paying. Confirm in writing that the reserve and island fees are the only cash costs, that a sleeping bag can be rented and at what price, since the exclusion list names the sleeping bag without a figure, and that the minivan transfer to the Chilean border is part of your option. If you end in Chile, confirm how the $25 bus from the border to San Pedro de Atacama is arranged and paid.
Cash, Clothing and Documents
Carry 180 Bs (about $16) in bolivianos in cash for the 150 Bs reserve fee and the 30 Bs island fee, since both are paid in cash. Another Uyuni listing warns there are no ATMs or cash exchange near the salt flat. Pack sunglasses and sunscreen for the salt glare, and heavy layers, hat and gloves for the nights: winter lows around Uyuni town average about -4°C, and the refuges on the higher circuit are colder.
Bring your passport, and if you cross into Chile, note that Bolivian customs are processed at the Hito Cajón pass. Bolivia requires all foreign travelers to complete the SIGEMIG online immigration registration before or on arrival. If you cross into Chile, remember that anyone entering Chile must declare plant or animal-origin goods under the SAG sworn declaration, and fresh food, meats and dairy are commonly barred.
For a full kit list, see what to pack for Uyuni.
The Three Days Stop by Stop
Stop durations come from the listing's own itinerary. Clock times are not published except the midday arrival in San Pedro on day 3.
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Train Cemetery
20 minutes among about 100 abandoned locomotives from the late 19th century, about 3 km outside Uyuni, a favorite for photos.
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Colchani
20 minutes in the craft village at the gateway to the salar, where residents sell salt carvings and their own woven fabrics.
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Salar de Uyuni
About 3 hours on the world's largest salt flat, covering more than 12,000 km2 per the listing, with stops at the salt eyes, the Dakar Rally monument, the old Hotel Playa Blanca and the plaza of flags.
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Incahuasi Island
45 minutes among giant cacti with a short hike to the viewpoint over the salar. The 30 Bs entrance is paid in cash, and the listing states the island is not admitted in the rainy season.
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Night 1 in San Juan
Dinner and a night in a regular double or shared-bathroom room in San Juan.
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Ollague viewpoint and the lagoons
20 minutes at the semi-active Ollague volcano on the Bolivian border, then 30 minutes at a lagoon with James, Andino and Chilean flamingos.
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Siloli Desert and Árbol de Piedra
15 minutes in one of the world's most arid deserts, then 20 minutes at the 7-meter stone tree shaped by wind erosion.
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Laguna Colorada
10 minutes at the reserve entrance where the 150 Bs fee is paid in cash, then 40 minutes at the viewpoint of the 60 km2 red lagoon and its flamingos. Night 2 is a hostel dormitory with shared bathrooms.
-
Geysers, hot springs and Laguna Verde
20 minutes at geysers above 4,800 meters, 40 minutes at thermal pools the listing gives as 37°C, then 2 hours at the green Laguna Verde with Licancabur volcano in view.
-
12:00
Border and San Pedro arrival
From Laguna Verde the tour continues to the border for a minivan transfer to San Pedro de Atacama in Chile, arriving at 12:00 noon. The listing's exclusions price that ticket at $25.
What Works and What Does Not
An honest read of this listing against the rest of the 3-day market.
What we genuinely like
- The lowest platform total of the 3-day listings from Uyuni compared here: $319.90 with mandatory extras, against $352 for the Andes Salt Expeditions route, before cash fees on either
- All meals on the itinerary included: 3 lunches, 2 dinners and 2 breakfasts
- 4.9 rating from 110 verified bookings on Viator and Tripadvisor
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure
- Ends back in Uyuni or runs on to the Chilean border, so it fits a return trip and a one-way crossing into Chile
The honest downsides
- The park fee of 150 Bs (about $13) and the island fee of 30 Bs (about $3) are extra and paid in cash, and the San Pedro transfer adds $25
- The sleeping bag is excluded with no rental price stated, on a route where nights freeze
- Both nights are shared-bathroom rooms, and the listing names no specific lodges
- The itinerary states no clock times for days 1 and 2, and no return time to Uyuni
- The minivan into San Pedro costs $25 more, while the 3-day listing that ends in San Pedro builds that arrival into its route
Who it's NOT for: Not for pregnant travelers, travelers with spinal injuries or poor cardiovascular health, or anyone who cannot sleep in freezing shared-bathroom rooms at altitude.
Questions About This Tour
How much does this 3-day Uyuni tour to Laguna Colorada really cost?
The listing shows $309.90 plus $10 in mandatory extras, so $319.90 per person, before the 150 Bs reserve fee and the 30 Bs island fee paid in cash. The full cost picture for every route type is in the Uyuni tour cost guide.
Does the tour include the entrance fees for the reserve and Incahuasi Island?
No. The Eduardo Avaroa reserve entrance of 150 Bs (about $13) and the Incahuasi Island entrance of 30 Bs (about $3) are both excluded and paid in cash, as detailed in the price breakdown.
Can I finish this tour in San Pedro de Atacama instead of Uyuni?
Yes. The day 3 itinerary continues from Laguna Verde to the border for a minivan transfer, arriving San Pedro de Atacama at 12:00 noon, and the exclusions price that ticket at $25. For a listing where the San Pedro transfer is bundled in, see the 3-day tour ending in San Pedro de Atacama.
What are the sleeping arrangements on the two nights?
Night 1 is in San Juan and night 2 is in a hostel dormitory, both with shared bathrooms, and specific lodge names are not stated. The route's refuges and what to expect are covered in the Laguna Colorada and southwest lagoons guide.
How cold does it get on this route?
The listing publishes no temperatures, but nights on the Uyuni Altiplano in the June to August window average lows of about -3.7 to -4.0°C at Uyuni town, and the higher circuit is colder. The month-by-month picture is in the best time to visit Uyuni guide.
Is the route safe for someone worried about altitude?
The geyser stop sits above 4,800 meters and the listing advises against it for travelers with poor cardiovascular health, pregnant travelers and people with spinal injuries. Read the Uyuni altitude sickness guide and follow the CDC advice of 2-3 nights around 2,450-2,750 m before going higher.
What happens to Incahuasi Island in the rainy season?
The listing states the island is not admitted in the rainy season, when water on the salt flat can make it unreachable. The seasonal pattern and the mirror effect it brings are explained in the best time to visit guide.
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