How to Plan the Perfect Trip to Chile's Atacama Desert

Traveling to the Atacama Desert feels like stepping onto a different planet. There’s a reason for that — the soil here is similar to that on Mars. It’s the driest desert in the world and almost always voted as one of the best places in the world to go stargazing. If you want to experience breathtaking nature, this is the place for you. The town of San Pedro de Atacama sits at almost 8,000 feet above sea level, which is partially why it’s so dry. Other visitable parts of the desert go up to 17,000 feet — the same altitude as the Mount Everest base camp. 

This area of Chile is significant for several reasons. It’s millions of years old and has ruins from around 10,000 years ago. Since there’s no light pollution, it’s one of the best places in the world to see the night sky. The most powerful telescope on Earth operates here and is crucial to research. Visitors to the desert have unparalleled access to the stars and planets of our solar system. From the local culture and Incan history to the salt flats and volcanoes, there’s no shortage of opportunities to engage with nature.

We spoke with Alain Maury, an astronomer at San Pedro de Atacama Celestial Explorations (SPACE); Jéssica Senna, B2B manager at Pukarumi Travel Agency; and Jonathan Rojas, marketing manager at Nayara Resorts to compile a complete guide to visiting the Atacama Desert. 

Best Things to Do

Join an astronomical tour.

Astronomical tours are one of the most popular things to do in the Atacama Desert. Although you can simply look up and see the sky at any given moment, it’s best to learn more from an astronomer or tour guide. 

Explore Piedras Rojas and Altiplanic Lagoons.

This full-day tour picks you up from your hotel at 6:30 a.m. and has you home by 5 p.m. “You'll visit Piedras Rojas, Altiplanic Lagoons, and Laguna Chaxa,” says Senna. “There's a flamingo reserve in the heart of the Salar de Atacama. This is a classic and must-[do] tour because you visit many special places.”

Explore the salt flats. 

You can take a tour of “three salt flats (Ruta de los Salares) and a caldera where volcanoes exploded millions of years ago,” says Senna. The salt flats in this region are like nowhere else on Earth. 

Visit the seven hidden lagoons of Baltinache.

These lagoons contain so much salt that it makes floating easy. This tour brings visitors to seven different lagoons, but for conservation reasons, you can only swim in the first and last ones. However, the half-day tour has fantastic reviews. 

Go sandboarding in the Death Valley.

For adventure lovers, sandboarding is a great option. Companies like Sandboard San Pedro de Atacama arrange group tours and can accommodate a variety of skill levels. 

Where to Stay

The Atacama Desert is more than 40,000 square miles, so travelers have plenty of options when it comes to accommodations. “There are about 400 places, from camping [sites] to Airbnbs to high-end hotels,” says Maury.

Tierra Atacama Hotel & Spa

Tierra Atacama Hotel & Spa, the first solar-powered property in South America, has a spa, dining area, and curated excursions. It's also one of the most popular resorts in the desert, due to its elevated atmosphere and ease of visiting the region. 

Explora Atacama

This hotel is one of the best in the world for stargazing as it has its own private observatory for guests. Explora Atacama is an all-inclusive adventure hotel, which means all your food and excursions are included in the nightly rate. 

Awasi Atacama

Awasi is home to 12 private suites inspired by pre-Inca ruins, with thatched roofs and private solariums. Guests also have a personal guide to help them explore the wonders of the Atacama Desert. 

Milodge Elqui Domos

If you’re looking for a unique experience, Elqui Domos has seven geodesic domes with retractable ceilings to see the sky from your bed. It’s in the Elqui Valley, which is located on the southern end of the desert and an important area for producing carmenère and syrah wines. 

Our Habitas Atacama

This boutique property houses 51 rooms plus a pool, a wellness area, and a communal gathering space. It has six pillars — art and culture, wellness, adventure, learning, food and beverage, and music — and daily programming is centered around these, in addition to the activities you can discover in the desert. 

Best Time to Visit

The best time to visit the Atacama Desert is September through December as there are fewer tourists, warmer temperatures, and plenty of stargazing opportunities. “[It's] a year-round destination,” says Rojas. “During winter, you have clearer skies; during summer, more flora and fauna and much more colorful sunsets.”

“Remember, when it comes to deserts, the thermal range is quite large,” says Senna. “In the summer period, which runs from September to March, it's quite hot during the day — 86 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit — and 50 degrees at night. In winter, from April to August, the temperatures are lower, varying between 50 and 59 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and 32 or 23 degrees at night.”

Watch out for the rainy season in January, February, and March. “When it rains in San Pedro de Atacama, all the parks close,” says Senna. 

“January [and] February, which is the austral summer, is also known as altiplanic winter and may be cloudier than the rest of the year,” notes Maury. If the primary reason you’re visiting is stargazing, you’ll be disappointed to see nothing but clouds on your visit. 

How to Get There

It’s surprisingly simple to reach the Atacama Desert. Most people choose to fly into Santiago, the capital of Chile. You can fly from New York (JFK) to Santiago (SCL) nonstop in under 11 hours on LATAM. Then, take a roughly two-hour flight from Santiago to Calama (CJC). It’s about an hour and 15 minutes by car from the airport to San Pedro de Atacama. You can take a bus, taxi, or arrange a pickup with your hotel. Renting a car and road tripping from Calama is also an option. Senna recommends Transvip for arranging an airport transfer. San Pedro de Atacama is on the border of Chile and Bolivia, which makes it easy to drive from the desert to Bolivia’s salt flats, the largest in the world.  

How to Get Around

There are three main options for getting around the Atacama Desert, each with pros and cons. You can rent a car, take a taxi, or go on an organized tour. “There is no public transport in San Pedro de Atacama and no service or app like Uber,” says Senna. “Getting around the city is done on foot or by bicycle.”

Rental Car

The airport in Calama has Avis, Rent a Car, and Europcar, to name a few. This option is helpful if you want to see multiple parts of the desert. However, as Maury explains, “Many touristic places, controlled by the local communities, tend to only admit people coming with a tour agency.” Senna adds, “Take into account that some roads are very bad, and it's common to see broken-down cars where there's no signal, so the recommendation is not to go by car on your own to the hidden lagoons of Baltinache and El Tatio.” 

If you rent a car, you need to be sure it has good tires and can go off-road. With a regular city car, you must stay on the paved roads, making it difficult to visit many of the most popular places. Senna adds that even if you rent a car, you should hire a tour guide so they can give you all the information about the desert. After all, you'll want to learn about your surroundings. 

Taxi

“There are taxis, but there is no organized system for them,” says Senna. “So, if you want a taxi, you should get the phone numbers of local drivers.” Then, when you need to go somewhere, you can message the driver to pick you up. This is common in other parts of South America — I did the same thing when I went to San Carlos de Bariloche in Patagonia. 

Organized Tours

The most common option is booking an organized tour where the company arranges your transportation. This area has several operators like Pukarumi Travel Agency. You can book tours through your hotel or separately via the agency. Not only is it easier to do this, but you get to learn all about the sites you’re visiting rather than researching them on your own.