Getting to the Uyuni salt flats
How to get to Uyuni from La Paz
How to get to Uyuni salt flats? Right, a recurrent question if you are planning a trip to salar de Uyuni is how to get there! Are you short of time and/or prefer the comfort of a short flight to Uyuni? Or do you have more time and don’t mind to spend some time in a bus or train (even more, you love the idea of enjoying the scenery during a road trip while you get there)?
For those who wonder how to get to Uyuni to start a Salar de Uyuni trip: Whether you are coming from or heading to a bordering country like Chile or Argentina or from/to another city in Bolivia, almost all the options are covered below.
There are several ways to travel from La Paz to Uyuni:
1) By airplane. The suggested airlines are BOA and Amazonas. They both have daily flights to Uyuni from La Paz, and connections from other Bolivian cities via La Paz. As the Uyuni salt flat tours start around 10 am, you can catch a morning flight from La Paz to Uyuni and start the trip the same day if you have a reservation already.
2) Tourist overnight bus La Paz to Uyuni. There are several night buses going from La Paz to Uyuni and from Uyuni to La Paz. The distance between La Paz and Uyuni is 569 KM, and it’s a paved road. Buses La Paz to Uyuni leave every day of the week, every evening. There are no buses going during the day. The drive takes approx. 10 hours. The bus leaves La Paz at 21.00 and arrives in Uyuni around 07.00 the next morning. Bus companies that go to Uyuni from La Paz and vice versa are Todo Turismo, Trans Titicaca, Cruz del Norte, Panasur and Trans Omar. Todo Turismo offers a service that includes a hot meal, English speaking attendant assistance and extra oxygen in case you suffer from altitude sickness. All of our Uyuni salt flats tours get back to Uyuni early enough to catch the bus the same evening.
3) Private transport in a 4WD. The advantage of this option is that you travel during the day so you can enjoy the views, take pics and stop whenever you like (within reason). This option is not that cheap as we have our driver leaving Uyuni 1 day before your transfer to pick you up in La Paz the next day. So a 10-hour drive for you would mean a 20-hour drive (+ an overnight stay) for the car and driver.
4) Public transport by bus La Paz to Oruro followed by train from Oruro to Uyuni. You can travel from La Paz to Oruro by public bus (approx. 4 hours) and then take the train from Oruro to Uyuni. You do have to take a taxi from the bus station to the train station in Oruro. The train is clean and leaves on time. Keep in mind that the train doesn´t go every day and that you don’t arrive in Uyuni at the most convenient hour. The FCA (Empresa Ferroviaria Andina) is the railway company transporting passengers to Uyuni. There are 2 trains. There is the Expreso Sur with departures on Tuesdays and Fridays at 15.30 pm and the Wara Wara with departures on Wednesdays and Sundays at 19.00 pm. For the railway company check the train timetables on www.fca.com.bo
5) Private transport La Paz to Oruro (approx 4 hours) followed by train from Oruro to Uyuni. The difference with the previous option is that you travel from La Paz to Uyuni with private transport instead of a public bus which is more comfortable. You will also be dropped off directly at the train station in Oruro. On how to obtain train tickets and to check the train timetable please see the previous option.
Check our Uyuni salt flats tours.
How to get to Uyuni from Sucre or Potosi
Distances :
Sucre – Uyuni 377 km (9 hours of driving)
Sucre – Potosi 169 km (paved road) (3 hours of driving)
Potosi – Uyuni 208 km (a paved road now) (4 hours of driving)
The only bus company offering a direct service between Sucre and Uyuni is Trans 6 de Octubre leaving from Sucre at 6.30 am (Times are subject to change, make sure to double check this at the bus station). All other bus companies require you to change buses in Potosi where you can purchase your onward ticket to Uyuni.
Buses leave Sucre at 07.00 and at 08.30 in the morning. They stop in Potosi and then go on to Uyuni where they arrive in the late afternoon. There is also a bus that leaves from Sucre at 12.30 and arrives in Potosi at 15.30. It then leaves Potosi again at 19.00 and arrives in Uyuni around 02.00. The complete bus ride from Sucre takes approximately 6 hours. The company Todo Turismo has plans to run a night bus between Sucre and Uyuni.
There are no direct flights Sucre-Uyuni-Sucre but flights with one or more stops.
From Uyuni you can also take a bus back to Potosi and/or Sucre. There is a bus that leaves Uyuni at 19.00, which arrives 4-5 hours later in Potosi. This bus does not go all the way to Sucre. In the morning around 10.00 the bus leaves from Potosi to Sucre, which arrives in Sucre around 19.00. There are also day buses from Uyuni to Potosí which leave daily every 1.5 hours from 7:00 until 19:00.
Again the only bus company with a direct service from Uyuni to Sucre is Trans 6 de Octubre.
Of course we can also arrange private transport from Sucre/Potosi to Uyuni or vice versa. This option is more expensive, but far more comfortable.
How to get to Uyuni from Santa Cruz or Cochabamba
The airlines Amaszonas and Boa fly from Santa Cruz to Uyuni via La Paz. Please check their websites (www.amaszonas.com / www.boa.bo) for the itinerary. Amaszonas was operating non-stop flights Santa Cruz-Uyuni and viceversa for a while but these flights have been suspended until further notice.
Or take a bus or a flight to La Paz and from there on see information above.
Or take a bus or a flight to Sucre and from there on see information above.
Or take a bus or a flight to Cochabamba. From there you can take a bus to Oruro and afterwards the train or bus to Uyuni.
There are flights (twice a week) from Santa Cruz to Potosi with a stop in Cochabamba with BOA airlines. From Potosi it’s approx. 3,5 to 4 hours of driving to Uyuni. The road from Potosi to Uyuni is paved all the way.
How to get to Uyuni from Salta through La Quiaca, Argentina (and Villazón)
There are no direct buses from Salta to Uyuni. You will have to take a bus (there are daily buses) from Salta to La Quiaca, border town on the Argentinian side.
You can just walk or take a taxi to the border. Don’t forget to check your visa requirements in advance. You may also be required to show your yellow fever vaccination certificate.
Once in Villazon, on the Bolivian side, you can take the train to Uyuni. Check the train timetable on www.fca.com.bo. There are two type of trains to Uyuni: Expreso del Sur y Wara Waradel Sur.
If you are planning to visit Tupiza, you can take a bus from Villazón to Tupiza. Contact us for information on our Uyuni salt flat tours starting from Tupiza.
How to get to Uyuni from San Pedro de Atacama (and Calama), Chile
With a 3 day tour Uyuni – Uyuni there is the possibility not to drive back to Uyuni on the 3rd day but to cross the Chilean border and to drive on to San Pedro. For a reference program see our tours ending in San Pedro de Atacama
And from San Pedro you can do a 3 day tour to Uyuni, see our San Pedro de Atacama-Uyuni tours
The distance between „El Loa“ airport in Calama to San Pedro de Atacama is 100 km, 1.5 hour ride. You can either take the bus or book a transfer service with an official transport company (You can book online here: http://www.translicancabur.cl/contact.html)
You can also take a bus from Calama to Uyuni. From Calama, Cruz del Norte bus offers transportation to Uyuni via Ollague.
Take notice that:
- The information above is subject to change (last updated in June 2019).
- We do our best to keep the info up to date and accurate as possible. Do you have any questions or comments? Do we need to update any info? or maybe you have any other tips? Please contact us.
- Don’t expect much comfort on a normal public bus. Buses are often completely full, where people even sit in the isles with their luggage. Such is not the case with the more comfortable tourist bus between La Paz and Uyuni (Companies: Todo Turismo, Trans Titicaca, Panasur or Trans Omar).
- Although the Uyuni salt flats are incredibly beautiful all year round, we recommend you to decide which time of the year you want to visit Uyuni, before booking a tour. The best time to visit the Salar de Uyuni really depends on what you want to see, as each season offers a different scenery. Check the weather forecast for Uyuni and our page about the weather in Uyuni and the best time to visit the salt flats.
You can always contact us for more information. Happy travels!
