Great trip to Atacama and Uyuni
Chile
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May 18 - May 28, 2023
Overall, the trip was wonderful and amazing. The experience of a lifetime.
Angel was great to deal with from start to finish. In planning the trip, listening to my wants and needs, and then providing tours accordingly. During the trio he was readily available and responsive whenever a question came up or problem occurred.
The big thing for me which would have made the trip go more smoothly and be more enjoyable as a result is more communication ahead of time about what’s next. Whether that would be in the form of a much more detailed itinerary before departure, or at the very least, detailed information the evening before each tour. This should include vouchers for lodging and tours, tour operator names and contact information, pick up times and locations, what to bring, required park admission fees, etc. I felt like I was flying blind on several occasions throughout the trip. Maybe this is not unusual, but it hasn’t been that way for me on other international trips, including ones to Chile.
The other thing which could have really been a problem but fortunately wasn’t, was the lack of advance information provided to me about the border crossing from Chile into Bolivia for the Uyuni Salt Flats tour, where I was notified late of some requirements and not told about $160USD tourist visa (which I did don't have when I arrived at the border). As my travel agent, KimKim should have known necessary requirements for a client who is a US resident who is traveling between Chile and Bolivia. This problem could and should have been avoided.
There were other smaller missteps along the way, including problems with transportation to and from SCL to my hotel, some inaccurate tour descriptions (for example, the hike to Puribore Hot Springs - they’re not really hot springs and the water is not even hot), concern for safety as well as comfort on the ride back from Uyuni to San Pedro, miscommunication or lack of communication from individual tour operators about pick up times and/or what to bring. I have provided Angel with detailed explanations of all of the above.
In the end, despite the fact that this was without question the trip of a lifetime, and Angel was there whenever I needed him and responded right away, I am not sure if I would book another trip with KimKim as I definitely feel many of the problems I encountered along the way could have easily been avoided. If I were to book again with KimKim I would at least know going in what potential problems to be on the lookout for.
Hotel Reviews
By US Hotel standards this would probably be considered a one-star hotel. It is a hostel, though, and was clean and comfortable with hot water and decent food. That's all we really needed.
Hotel was fine. It was clean and centrally located in a good neighborhood.
One should not go to San Pedro expecting 5 star accommodations. This hotel was fine. It was clean and spacious and located only minutes from the center of town. It is a big property with a pool (though water was cold and I didn't see any one swim during my 6 day stay). Food in restaurant was good. Staff helpful and generally bi-lingual.
This hostel was actually nicer and seemingly newer than Villamar. It was clean and comfortable with a nice dining room.
Activity Reviews
One of the highlights of the trip. Highly recommend.
The tour itself was great and the sites along the way to Uyuni amazing. The reason for my lower rating is because of border crossing issues which I detailed in my general review comments.
Felt like we were building and building to the climax of reaching our final destination - the salt flat itself. Sights along the way were all good.
This was the reason for the whole trip. It was pretty great. We spent too much time in Cochoni Town at the end of the trip and would have liked to spend more time in Uyuni itself. Train Graveyard was fine, though nothing special.
This was really just about the return trip, sitting in the back of a Toyota Land Cruiser and a two hour border crossing. It would have been great to have more information ahead of time to know what to expect.
This was one of the highlights of the trip. Our guide, Carolina, was terrific. Very knowledgeable, moved people along so we could get to the "best spot" just as the sun came up, spoke good English for those who did not know Spanish.
This tour was a bit of a letdown. I've done a lot of hikes in the US and around the world, and as a hike it was fine, but nothing special. The description made it seem like a real great place - a "must do" type of activity. It was not. Also, the hot springs were not hot. They not really even hot springs, but rather pools in a river that is a combination of a thermal and a mountain river, which is why the water is only Luke-warm. For my needs on this day, a regular hike was fine. But I had expected it to be much more.
This was a nice tour at an off-the-beaten-path site. It is definitely not a "must do" but I'm glad I got to see it. The water was very cold, and it was a cool morning, so I (and many others on the trip) did not end up floating in the salt water.
Valle de La Luna was a highlight of the trip. It is a "must do" if you are visiting Atacama, but I found the tour (as did everyone I spoke to) to be a little bit of a tourist trap. You are on the bus most of the time. You stop, get off the bus, snap pictures and move on. While on the bus you are driving past amazing spots. I could have spent an hour at any one of them taking pictures and enjoying nature. The tour was described as 6 hours. It was 2 1/2 start to finish, including a snack break. I wish it had been longer. Felt like a little bit of a rip off. Tour guide Carolina, who was also my guide for the Geyser tour, was very knowledgeable.
This was a great day. I wish it had been sunny (we had overcast/cool weather) but the tour was good in spite of the weather. Only complaint is that I did not get any advance text or information from the tour provider about pick up time or what to bring. I (and others) had to purchase hat and gloves along the way, which I would have brought with me had I known we might encounter snow at the higher elevation.
Thank you very much for all the details, Steve!
Our mission is to be better every day and this is so helpful to accomplish it :)
I am happy that this was "The experience of a lifetime"
My team and I are really grateful for all this!
Best Wishes,
Angel.