Full day private tour to Salar de Uyuni

We had such an amazing and unforgettable experience, with 2 days 1 night visit to the Salar de Uyuni and then heading south towards the border with Chile. If we could go back, we'd probably choose the 3 days 2 nights trip, totally worth it. Shout out to our guide, Eric, he's been the cherry on the cake. It made us feel safe and enjoy the trip 100%, turning into driver, chef and photographer at will! We had a nice car, clean and safe. The desert is incredibile and worth any long trip you might need to reach Uyuni.

Don't let the lack of reviews fool you, Mundicontact Expeditions have over 15 years of experience in the business and it shows. (They're a service provider for another agency with hundreds of excellent reviews here on TA.) As a solo traveler, most agencies will simply quote a shared tour with up to 5-6 passengers in a vehicle or I would have to pay 5-6x the per person cost to do a private tour. Doris Rojas at Mundicontact was the only agent that gave me reasonable options: a) letting me join just a few other travelers (another plus: they will run a tour with just 3 passengers for the price/person that's competitive with other agencies shared tour costs) on a tour starting in Uyuni or b) I could do a private tour staying in hostels or hotels (both options with private bathrooms) starting in either Uyuni or San Pedro de Atacama. Of all the agencies I contacted, the offers Doris proposed for all the options mentioned above were the most competitive, price-wise and also in terms of quality/price ratio. (Well equipped vehicle with satellite tracking, oxygen, sat phone, all entrance fees, food and beverages during the tour included.) After some research, I realized that depending on your interests, your itinerary options depend heavily on your accommodation choices. For instance, to visit or stay in the Ojo de Perdiz desert above 4000m, your only options there or nearby are either the Tayka de Desierto Hotel or the Hotel los Flamencos. For the Uyuni Salt Flat part of the tour, if you want to stay further away from Uyuni in smaller villages like Coquesa or Tahua instead of the more touristy Colchani, your accommodation options are limited by what's available there. Many agencies do not even guarantee a stay or a visit at these smaller villages on the other side of the sal flat in the standard package tour. (Note: this option will not be possible if doing the tour when the Salar is flooded, unless you specifically want to go to the Tunupa volcano. In which case, it would be logistically more sensible to arrange to start/end your trip in Oruro) In the end, I ended up booking a private excursion for 3 days/2 nights from San Pedro de Atacama ending in Uyuni with stays at Tayka de Desierto and Tayka de Sal Hotels. Mundicontact has a counterpart in San Pedro de Atacama to coordinate the Chile-Bolivia transfer portion as well. To make the cost of the private tour for a single person within my budget, Doris let me choose a shared transfer from SPdA to the border (a short 40-min ride) and options to transfer back to Chile (a bus from Uyuni-Calama or Uyuni-SPdA via a shared service) the day after the tour. The tour included a sunset picnic over the Salar near the Tunupa Volcano. I chose to take the bus to Calama as I had a rental car to pick up there and wanted to overnight in Uyuni to rest up. All in all, Mundicontact tailored the trip to my wants in terms of itinerary and gave me recommendations that I was grateful for during my trip while staying within the constraints of my budget. My guide/driver/travel companion was Apolinar Flores (Poli) who has been driving for Mundicontact for many years. He was courteous, knowledgeable, and careful as an off-road driver. I'm accustomed to driving 4x4 tracks myself and was very happy with how Poli navigated the terrains. As a guide, he explained various topics from the geologic history of the visited areas, various indigenous communities, and the flaura/fauna. At the same time, he demonstrated intellectual humility when asked about things he did not know. He was also experienced in helping guests with altitude sickness, something I was grateful for as I experienced some mild symptoms during my first night staying at 4500m. The booking and payment process was via bank transfer in either USD or Bolivinos (price-wise it was better in USD at the current exchange rate). I was nervous at first, but within 24-48 hrs of paying the deposit (10-40%), I was forwarded direct confirmation emails from the hotels where I'd be staying. This was also helpful as I needed these documents to upload to the Bolivia's visa application portal. The final payment was only required by the end of the tour. For those wishing to pay with a cc, I used Wise for the transfer, which allows cc/apple pay funding options. This is a boutique family-run travel agency with an extensive knowledge in the region as well as many years of experience operating high-quality customized tours. I highly recommend Mundicontact and would consider them for my future trips to the area. Although I did the tour in Spanish, Mundicontact has also operated excursions with interpreters for international guests from a variety of backgrounds.

If I could leave more stars I would!!! Mundicontact Expeditions 100% recommended, we were in Uyuni for 3 days and had an exceptional time with our tour guide Poli. If you are like us and want a full detail explanation of what tours include, hotel and travel accommodations then these are the right people for the job. We were taken care of the whole time we were in Uyuni and more importantly we felt completely safe when we were in their care. Our 3 day tour consisted of a full day salt flats tour, an early star viewing with sunrise and a 3rd day at el centro turístico Coqueza that included a view of one of the most beautiful volcanic mountains we have ever seen. We initially came to see the mirror reflection in the salt flats but ended up getting more that we could have ever imagined including that mirror beautiful effect that we wanted. The pricing for our 3 days was exceptionally great and better than any other competitors that we inquired about. **MOST IMPORTANT FOR US** Communication! Doris Rojas at the main office was extremely attentive of our questions pre, during and after our trip to assure we had the most exceptional time! Our tour guide and driver Poli was the right person for the job! Keeping our safety at the forefront of his priorities, he was also very knowledgeable with the history of the area and as you will see from the pictures below he is one hell of a photographer. The tour was very fun entertaining and include lunches with views that will probably never get beat in my opinion. If you are looking to go to the Uyuni Salt flats look no further than Mundicontact Expeditions! Call Doris Rojas and leave the rest to her and her team!

Excellent Enterprise!! Everything worked very well, great drivers, punctual and attentive. Comfortable 4x4 cars in excellent condition providing safety for the group. All the food served during the Tours was of great quality. I highly recommend this Enterprise! They are professionals who care about our comfort and safety.

Excellent Service. All planned and safe. Unforgettable experience. With the help of the guide. Poli. Thank you so much for everything