Tag: calama to uyuni by bus

Calama to Uyuni by bus : all you need to know

On By ticketsboliviaIn Border Bolivia Chile, Uyuni salt flatsLeave a comment

Calama to Uyuni is a popular route for tourists traveling from Chile to Bolivia in bus. Additionally, the fastest and easiest way to travel between the two cities is by bus. The bus from Calama to Uyuni takes about 8 hours covering a distance of 427 kilometers. The border crossing takes place in Ollague. Find here all the information you need to plan your trip.

Calama – Uyuni

Calama, at an altitude of 2,260 meters above sea level, is on the shores of the Loa river in the Antofagasta region. The city is located 2 hours from San Pedro de Atacama, a city famous for the nearby Atacama Desert, and numerous other tourist attractions. Calama is one of the driest cities in the world with an average annual precipitation of just 5 mm (0.20 in). Tourists who want to go to Uyuni from Chile without doing the three-day tour from San Pedro de Atacama usually travel from Calama.

Road to Calama

Uyuni, on the other hand, is Bolivia’s most famous tourist destination. It is the largest salt flat in the world and provides amazing views. Also, this salt desert was even featured in a Star Wars film. From Uyuni tourists can visit the National Park Eduardo Abaroa.

Uyuni Salt Flat during the rainy season
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From Calama to Uyuni

There are two bus companies doing this route and leaving from different bus terminals in Calama:

Cruz del Norte

  • Departure: Every day at 5:30 am and 12:30 pm
  • Arrival: Buses arrive in Uyuni at 4:30 pm and 9:00 pm
  • Prices from: us$ 24.85
  • Departure bus terminal: Office Cruz del Norte: Calle Antofagasta between calles Abaroa y Latorre No 2046
Cruz del Norte office in Calama

Trans Salvador:

  • Departure: Every day at 12:00 pm
  • Arrival: Buses arrive in Uyuni at 9:00 pm
  • Prices from: us$ 24.10/us$ 40.15
  • Departure bus terminal: Turbus terminal, Avenida Granaderos
Bus terminal Trans Salvador in Calama

The buses cross the border through Ollague, where passengers can clear customs and migration. You then arrive in Uyuni at the office of the bus company between Avenida Arce and Avenida Cabrera.

You will arrive in Uyuni in the afternoon/evening. If you don’t already have a tour booked it is easy to find one in Uyuni. There are also a growing choice of dining alternatives. Read everything you need to know about Uyuni and how to pick a tour in our guide.

Calama, Chile

From San Pedro de Atacama

San Pedro is another popular destination in northern Chile with attractions such as the Valle de la Luna and Tatio Geysers. From there there are three day-tours to Uyuni crossing the National Park Eduardo Abaroa, however, if you want to go directly to Uyuni you can take a bus from San Pedro to Uyuni. Buses from San Pedro de Atacama to Uyuni will go via Calama. Moreover, the buses between the two cities are very frequent and the journey from San Pedro to Calama takes about 2,5 hours.

To book your tickets online for this route you can just click on this link: uyuni to calama.

Calama to Uyuni, there and back

On By ticketsboliviaIn Border Bolivia, Bus travel south america, Chile Travel, Tourism in Bolivia, Traveling by bus in BoliviaLeave a comment

Calama is a city on the shores of Loa river, in the region of Antofagasta, Chile. At an altitude of 2,260 m above sea level, the city has several tourist attractions. Calama is one of the driest cities in the world with average annual precipitation of just 5 mm (0.20 in). The Loa River is Chile’s longest, and flows through the city.  Tourists who want to visit the Uyuni Salt Flat from Chile usually come from Calama due to the short distance that separates these cities and the frequency of departures between the cities.

Road to Calama

Uyuni, on the other hand, is Bolivia´s main tourist destination. It is the largest salt desert in the world and boasts an out of this world landscape that defies the senses. Visitors are not only awed by the salt flat itself, an endless desert of salt that was featured in the last Star Wars film as the planet Crait, but it also has surrounding attractions such as the red and green lagoons and the train cemetery.

If you want to travel from Calama to Uyuni or viceversa, read on.

Uyuni Salt Flat during the rainy season

From Calama to Uyuni

In order to travel from Calama to Uyuni, you have to go to the Bus Terminal of Calama, located on Granaderos Av., #3051. Before boarding the bus, you must pay a small fee called Uso de Terminal for the terminal´s maintenance. The distance between Calama and Uyuni is 425 km and the trip takes 11 hours. The bus company Cruz del Norte has semi lie-flat buses that leave every day at 5:30 am and arrive in Uyuni at 15:00.

The buses cross the border through Pisiga-Colchane, where passengers can clear customs and migration. You arrive in Uyuni at the bus terminal located on Arce Av.

If you want to book your tickets now, or to just explore the costs and payment options, just follow this link: calama to uyuni

Calama, Chile

From Uyuni to Calama

For the return trip, from Uyuni to Calama, we have normal and semi lie-flat buses that leave from the Bus Terminal in Uyuni, located on Arce Av. The bus company Expreso 11 de Julio has buses that leave at 04:00 am and arrive in Calama at 15:00  in the afternoon. Their seats are normal, meaning they recline to 120 degrees.

The bus company Cruz del Norte leaves at 5:30 from the same bus terminal and arrives in Calama at 16:00 in the afternoon. Their buses are semi lie-flat, with seats that recline to 140 degrees.

Uyuni, Bolivia

To book your tickets online for this route, and to see costs and other details, you can just click on this link: uyuni to calama