Day-by-day plans for 3, 5, and 7 days — organised to make the most of your time.
The standard 3-day tour from Uyuni town covering the salt flat, the Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna Reserve, and the border with Chile. This is the most popular itinerary and for good reason — it covers the greatest variety of extraordinary landscapes in the shortest time.
Depart Uyuni town at 10:30am. First stop: the Train Cemetery on the outskirts of town — rusting 19th-century locomotives left on the Altiplano. Enter the salt flat proper and drive to Isla Incahuasi, the cactus island at the geographic centre. Climb to the summit for views over the white expanse. Afternoon: if rains have occurred, seek out the mirror effect zones. Stay overnight at a salt hotel on the edge of the flat.
Drive south across the salt flat and into the Eduardo Avaroa Reserve (entry ~$15). Pass the stone tree (Árbol de Piedra) wind-eroded rock formation. Reach Laguna Colorada by afternoon — the blood-red lake with thousands of flamingos and extraordinary surreal colour. Overnight at basic lodge near the lagoon.
4:30am wake-up for the Sol de Mañana geysers at 5,000m — most dramatic in cold early morning when the steam is most visible. Descend to the Polques hot springs (4,400m) for a warming soak. Visit Laguna Verde (when wind drops, a mirror-calm turquoise lake against the Licancabur volcano). Return drive to Uyuni, arriving late afternoon.
Adds Bolivia's two most historically significant cities to the salt flat tour.
Fly from La Paz (1h) or overnight bus (12h). Afternoon: explore Uyuni town, visit the local market, acclimatise to 3,660m altitude. Book your tour operator for Days 2–4.
Train Cemetery, salt flat, Isla Incahuasi, mirror effect zones. Salt hotel overnight.
Eduardo Avaroa Reserve, Árbol de Piedra, Laguna Colorada. Lodge overnight.
Sol de Mañana, hot springs, Laguna Verde. Return to Uyuni by late afternoon. Overnight bus or taxi to Potosí.
Potosí (4,090m) was once the largest city in the Americas, built on the silver wealth of Cerro Rico mountain. Guided tours of the working mines (where cooperative miners still extract tin and zinc) are among the most extraordinary and humbling experiences in South America.