Uyuni Salt Flats - Day Trip
Making shit happen despite obstacles
Some people are addicted to cocaine or sex. That’s cool and I like those too.
But me personally, I get off on traveling. Airbnb is like porn for me.
And when I see “travel porn” on Youtube or Instagram of an amazing place, it gets stuck in my head.
You add in the fact it’s in Latin America and my feelings of passion heat up.
When I saw footage of the Uyuni Salt Flats in January, I was stoked. Largest salt flat in the world, spanning thousands of miles and looks like you’re on the moon.
What else do you need to know?
Months later and actually here in the moment, it lived up to the hype.
Uyuni Salt Flats is one of the best day trips I’ve taken in my life.
Backstory
I arrived to Bolivia about a month ago and it’s been a great time getting to know La Paz, but I’ve been focused on getting to Uyuni and had a plan figured out.
I would fly into Sucre, Bolivia on Wednesday for some culture and history, then take an 8 hour bus from Sucre to Uyuni on Thursday night for a 3-day trip in the Salt Flats.
The moment I arrived to Sucre, I was told a protest was happening for all the buses in Bolivia due to government issues with the gasoline.
Ah shit.
The next day I walked to the bus terminal to investigate the rumors.
As I neared the bus station, massive buses were blocking the road.
The bus station was completely closed.
I was stuck in Sucre and my plan was fucked.
There is no flight between Sucre and Uyuni, so without the bus you’re not going anywhere.
Things get better
Late on Thursday night the buses and government reached an agreement, so things were back up for Friday night. (buses only go to Uyuni overnight)
The government here doesn't do anything without the people protesting and going on strikes, so that is how business gets done.
During my time in Bolivia, I’ve learned that the people here fight hard against the government if there is some bullshit so I respect Bolivianos 100% and was happy there was some type of resolution.
On Friday night I took the 7.5 hour bus to Uyuni to try to salvage whatever time was left.
Arriving to Uyuni
At around 5:30 am, after sleeping about 2 hours in the bus, we rolled into the station in Uyuni.
I had absolutely no plan and was planning to improvise the whole experience.
As I walked outside the bus into 0 degree (celcius) weather, I instantly realized how terrible of a decision that was as the cold wind violated me.
Clearly knowing the game, some seasoned hustlers posted up at the bus station lured me to their travel agency with promises of heat whispered into my ear.
Seeing that I was dying of hypothermia, had no plan, and it was so early that nothing was open, going to the suspect travel agency sounded amazing.
Getting hustled
2 seconds after sitting down in the travel agency, still freezing my ass off and barely awake, the travel agent started spamming tours at me.
In my head I knew I wanted to pick the best agency but I also didn’t want to be assaulted by the cold again.
So I started listening what she had to offer so I could keep staying warm.
Eventually I spent about $25 USD for the 1-day tour. I told myself the tours are all about the same.
Around 6am the travel agent took me to a cafe that opened up and told me the company would pick me up at 10:30am.
After an hour of warming up and drinking coffee, I decided to look at the rating of the agency I just booked with on Google.
I wasn’t ready for what I saw.
These guys had a 1/5 with about 50 terrible reviews.
Fuck.
No wonder they were hustling so hard in the bus terminal.
There were stories about the driver drinking so much he passed out. Some more about the car engine blowing out or tires busting and being stranded for hours.
Everything about this company seemed to be a red flag.
After sleeping 2 hours in a bus, dying of hypothermia, and having a terrible morning, I wasn’t about to gamble my entire day on a 1 star company with these types of reviews.
Figuring shit out
In the cafe, I booked a hotel for the night and was able to check in at 8:30am which is pretty incredible. The owners were super nice. This is the place I stayed at.
After getting settled into the hotel, I started looking up tour companies with about 2 hours before trips started for the day. I found a 5-star rated company with 400+ reviews a couple blocks away.
Walked over to the good company and the vibe was completely different. No rush to sell me on anything and the girl that runs the place was super cool.
I ended up buying the 1-day tour with her for $30 USD for a 9 hour tour (10:30am - 7:30pm).
At 10:30am, I went back to the office where I was supposed to get picked up and hopped in the SUV with some other foreigners to head to the Salt Flats.
The Salt Flats
After all the anticipation, we drove into El Salar de Uyuni.
Cruising in an SUV and seeing nothing but salt for miles is surreal.
It’s like you’ve entered another planet.
There’s an island miles into the salt flat covered with cactuses.
All types of crazy reflections with the water.
And the sunset is unreal.
“Travel porn” lived up to the hype.
After doing the day trip, I realized it wasn’t enough for me.
I’m already wanting to come back for 3 days to fully explore this place.
Due to my work schedule, I wasn’t able to be flexible after my original plan for the 3 days fell apart.
If you are on tight schedule or want to travel really fast, flight from La Paz is the way to go. It’s only 45 minutes and even if there is a protest you will be able to fly over it.
If your schedule is flexible or you are on a budget, bus is totally fine. But it’s about 8 hours. And can be cancelled if there is a protest which is common here.
You don’t need to pay for the tour online before going to Uyuni. It will be 4x-5x cheaper if you go to a good tour agency as soon as you arrive to the town.
I saw prices for $125 USD online and it was around $25 USD in person.
Just don’t be a dummy without a plan like me and buy an extra tour you don’t need.
Until the next time, I’m out.