✈️Atacama – Travel Guide

The Atacama region in Chile has incredible natural beauty that ranges from the vastness of the desert to geysers and salt lagoons. There are countless experiences and sights. Some are better known than others, such as Laguna Cejar, Valle de La Luna and Valle de La Muerte, Geysers del Tatio and Salar de Tara.

Our columnist Barbara Tigre tells a little about her experience in the desert and offers unmissable tips for you to put together your complete itinerary through the Atacama.

Atacama – Travel Guide — salt mountain range

How to get to Atacama

Rio de Janeiro: it's not an easy task, there are several sections to get there: Rio-Santiago flight; Santiago-Calama flight; and bus/transfer Calama-San Pedro de Atacama.

Sao Paulo: good news: Sky Airlines, a Chilean lowcost company, has direct flights from Guarulhos to Calama. Just check it out here!

First, I took the Rio-Santiago ticket for 20 thousand miles from Tam's loyalty program, Multiplus (round trip). If you are not yet a member of any miles program, I strongly recommend signing up, after all, are we in a crisis?

Then I went to the Chilean LATAM website and bought the Santiago-Calama for approximately R$265,00 (round trip).

Finally, I opted for the transfer company Trans Licancabur, for 20 thousand Chilean pesos (round trip). They have a kiosk at the airport (as do several other companies) and you don't need to buy in advance.

I found the service excellent, great drivers, minibuses in good condition and on the way we stopped at 2 viewpoints to take pictures (the driver asked if we wanted it and obviously we accepted).

How to choose a tour agency?

The first thing you need to know is that there are 3 types of agencies: the cheap ones that range from very bad to reasonable, such as Colque Tours and Maxim, to intermediary agencies, such as Inca Coya *base agency for my tours* and North Travel, and the expensive agencies like Ayllu and Grado 10.

Now, my thoughts:

There are a thousand agencies in San Pedro and you can choose to close the tours there to have a greater possibility of getting a discount and haggling, but that also means wasting time going from agency to agency and taking the risk of the tour you want for the day you want to be complete (we saw that!).
When an agency does not have the minimum number of people to carry out the tour, it either transfers it to another agency or it cancels the tour. This happens with all Atacama agencies, whether expensive or cheap. We, for example, had tours passed on by Inca Coya, as well as a Brazilian we met who had closed the tour with Grado 10, and just like a friend who was going to take a tour with Ayllu ended up not knowing the Valle de la Luna because without the minimum number of people, the agency chose to cancel the tour.
Why then did I choose Inca Coya? Because in addition to the very positive opinions, it was the only agency that offered me a 14% discount on the tour package even by email, and Ricardo, the owner of the agency, was SUPER honest about the issue of “passing on” to other agencies. He told us that Inca Coya has 2 or 3 other partner agencies that provide services of similar quality and he always tries to pass them on to these, but if they are not possible, then the way is to allocate to another company that is not so good. Did we go through these 2 situations?
O Astronomical Tour the most famous is that of the Space OBS Agency by Frenchman Alain Maury. The tours take place in English, French or Spanish and need to be booked in advance, many people we met there left to try it right away and ended up running out of or having to do it with another agency (and they didn't like it!). This is one of the tours I most wanted to do since the Atacama is one of the biggest open-air observatories!

I booked the Space tour by email in mid-August, that is, almost 2 months in advance. No deposit was required, just our data and the chosen date/language. In addition, it is recommended to take the tour at the beginning of your trip, as it depends on the visibility conditions.

Don't forget to be well dressed, and with shoes suitable for the walk. The cold there is great, and thermal jackets are indispensable.

Book in advance all tickets and tours to the Atacama Desert and skip the lines with the GetYourGuide

Where to stay in Atacama

Optei pelo hotel Takha Takha, located on rua principal de San Pedro do Atacama: Calle Caracoles. We stayed in a room with a private bathroom and breakfast for $76 a night for a couple. The Hotel has a swimming pool and wifi (which only works near the reception, but this was not a problem for us).

They also offer the possibility of Lunch Box – a kind of lunch box with breakfast for those going on tours that leave before 7:30am when breakfast starts at the hotel.

It's a simple accommodation, but I thought it was excellent and I would definitely stay there again. I honestly think that unless you are traveling alone, the savings of being away from the center do not make up for the difference in price.

the rooms of Takha Takha they are simple, but cover all our needs, the lunch box is super complete (fruit, juice box, sandwich, cereal bar and brownie), it has a swimming pool to relax and it's still just a few moments from anywhere in San Pedro!

Find the best accommodation in Atacam through Booking.com

Internet chip not Chile

It's getting easier and cheaper to have unlimited internet throughout your trip in Chile. Nowadays you can buy an international cell phone chip online while you're still here in España. We always use and love it!

You receive the sim card at your address and then just insert it into your cell phone to reach your destination with unlimited 4G internet working.

Travel insurance for Atacama

Taking out travel insurance for Atacama is an excellent way to ensure a smooth trip and avoid worries. Having the assistance of insurance gives you the peace you need to enjoy your destination and know that you have support if you need it. Also enjoy our Insurance Promo discount coupon. - SEE PRICES

Read all about travel insurance:

What is the Cheapest Travel Insurance – Tips on How to Save
How to Get Travel Insurance – 5 Easy Steps [DISCOUNT]
Which Travel Insurance to Choose – 3 Infallible Tips to Help
International Travel Insurance – Step-by-step How to Hire

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Car rental in Chile

Renting a car in Chile is a great idea. In addition to optimizing your time a lot, you will be able to enjoy it more without having to depend on public transport.

We really like Rent Cars to find the cars we use on our travels. It is the only one in Spain that compares the best rental companies in the world, but lets you pay in reais, without IOF. In addition, it is also the only one that lets you pay in 12 interest-free installments. It is worth it!

Haven't rented a car for your trip yet?
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