Vineyards, Atacama & Uyuni Salt Flats: Self-Launched Chile–Bolivia Adventure

Land at Arturo Merino Benítez (SCL) and take the cheap Turbus/Centropuerto airport bus or the shared shuttle into the centre (~£3-6), rather than a private transfer. Check into a hostel or budget guesthouse in Bellavista or near Santa Lucía hill. Spend the afternoon walking the Lastarria and Bellavista barrios, climb Cerro Santa Lucía for the sunset view, and eat at a mercado or a 'menú del día' spot. Buy a Bip! transport card for the metro (~£1 card + top-up).

🚌Airport bus or shared shuttle ~£3-6; metro with Bip! card

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse, Bellavista/Santa Lucía (~£15-25/night dorm or simple double)

• →Walk Lastarria and Bellavista neighbourhoods
• →Sunset from Cerro Santa Lucía
• →Mercado Central / menú del día dinner

Take an early Turbus or Pullman Bus from Santiago's Terminal Alameda to Valparaíso (~1h45, ~£4-7). Wander the UNESCO-listed historic centre and the cerros (Allegre, Concepción), ride a historic ascensor (~£1), see the exterior of La Sebastiana (Neruda's house — small entry fee if you want the interior), and take the Paseo 21 de Mayo panoramic viewpoint. In the afternoon, hop the local metro/bus to Viña del Mar for the Flower Clock and a beach lunch; in season you can do a Casablanca Valley wine stop on the way back or as a separate half-day from Santiago. Return to Santiago in the evening.

🚌Return coach Santiago–Valparaíso ~£8-14; local metro/bus ~£3

🛏Same Santiago hostel/guesthouse (~£15-25)

• →Valparaíso historic centre and ascensor ride
• →La Sebastiana exterior and Paseo 21 de Mayo
• →Viña del Mar Flower Clock and beach

Book a small-group or shared Casablanca Valley wine tour from Santiago via GetYourGuide (~£35-60 including 2-3 wineries, tastings and transport) — this is the self-launched equivalent of the operator's vineyard visit with Carménère and Sauvignon Blanc tastings. Alternatively take the public bus to Casablanca and visit Casas del Bosque or Viña Mar independently. In the late afternoon fly Santiago–Calama (Sky or LATAM, ~£35-70 booked ahead), then take the shared transfer or local bus from Calama airport to San Pedro de Atacama (~1.5h, ~£8-12). Check into a hostel in San Pedro.

🚌Wine tour transport included; SCL–CJC flight ~£35-70; Calama–San Pedro shared transfer ~£8-12

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse, San Pedro de Atacama (~£15-25)

• →Casablanca Valley winery visits and tastings
• →Evening arrival in San Pedro de Atacama

Spend the morning acclimatising: visit the church on the plaza, browse the artisan market and the small archaeological museum (Museo R.P. Gustavo Le Paige). In the afternoon join a shared Valle de la Luna tour booked direct with an agency on Caracoles street or via GetYourGuide (~£18-30): salt caverns, the Tres Marías rock formations, Duna Mayor and sunset over the Cordillera de la Sal. Drink plenty of water and go easy — you're at 2,400 m. Book tomorrow's Tatio geyser tour this evening.

🚌Shared tour minibus ~£18-30 included in activity cost

🛏San Pedro hostel/guesthouse (~£15-25)

• →Museo Le Paige and village market
• →Valle de la Luna shared tour with sunset

Take a shared 4am departure to El Tatio geysers at 4,300 m (~£25-40 with agency or GetYourGuide) — you get the fumaroles, bubbling pools and sunrise steam without a private guide. Most tours stop at the Machuca village and a llama-meat empanada stand on the way back; bring layers, as it's below freezing at that hour. Return by midday, rest, then sort your onward Bolivia crossing: book a 3-day/2-night San Pedro → Uyuni shared 4x4 expedition that includes the Hito Cajón border crossing (~£180-260 per person, all-in with driver, meals, basic accommodation and park entries).

🚌Shared geyser tour minibus; book onward shared 4x4

🛏San Pedro hostel/guesthouse (~£15-25)

• →El Tatio geysers sunrise tour
• →Machuca village stop
• →Book 3-day Uyuni 4x4 expedition

The shared 4x4 picks you up early and transfers you to the Hito Cajón border (~£5-8 or included in the expedition), where you clear Chilean and Bolivian immigration — bring passport copies and cash for the ~£10-15 Bolivia entry fee and national park tickets (~£15-25 total, often collected in cash by the driver). Then it's Altiplano first-class scenery: Laguna Blanca, Laguna Verde beneath Volcán Licancabur, the Dalí Desert, a stop at the Polques thermal pools (small entry ~£2-4), ending at flamingo-filled Laguna Colorada for the night in a very basic but atmospheric altiplano refuge.

🚌Shared 4x4 with driver/guide; border crossing at Hito Cajón

🛏Basic altiplano refuge/hostel near Laguna Colorada (shared dorms, no heating — included in 4x4 package, ~£25 equivalent)

• →Hito Cajón border crossing
• →Laguna Blanca and Laguna Verde
• →Salvador Dalí Desert
• →Polques hot springs
• →Sunset at Laguna Colorada

Continue the 4x4 expedition north over the salt desert. See the Train Cemetery on the edge of Uyuni, the salt-processing village of Colchani, Ojos del Salar bubbling springs and the salt hotel Playa Blanca, and walk Incahuasi Island's giant cacti for the panorama. Finish with sunset on the white salt pan — the classic perspective-photo stop. The evening is in Uyuni town where you can finally shower and charge devices.

🚌Shared 4x4 (continued); Uyuni town transfers on foot

🛏Hostel or budget hotel in Uyuni (~£15-25); dawn/flats-night option: basic salt-hotel dorm ~£25-35 (paid to your 4x4 operator)

• →Train Cemetery
• →Colchani salt village and salt factory
• →Ojos del Salar
• →Incahuasi Island
• →Sunset on Salar de Uyuni

Join a local day tour or shared taxi south-west of Uyuni to see the restored colonial church at Tomave, soak in the Saruyo hot springs (~£2-4 entry), and visit the K'asilla and green-tinted Tomave lagoons. Alternatively, if you'd rather slow down, book a half-day salt-flat photo tour (~£20-30) and use the afternoon for the Uyuni market and a hearty salteña lunch. Cash only in town — ATMs are unreliable in Uyuni.

🚌Shared local tour minibus or taxi ~£15-25

🛏Uyuni hostel/budget hotel (~£15-25)

• →Colonial Church of Tomave
• →Saruyo hot springs
• →K'asilla Lagoon and Green Lagoon of Tomave

Fly Uyuni–La Paz (Amaszonas/BoA, ~£60-90, book early; the overnight bus is the cheap alternative at ~£12-18 but arrives at dawn). In La Paz, take the Mi Teleférico cable car network for city panoramas (~£0.40 per ride), then walk the historic centre: San Francisco Church, Plaza Murillo with the Government Palace, and the Witches' Market on Calle Jiménez. Book a Peña Huari-style dinner show directly (~£12-20) or a cheaper folklore night at a local peña; bring cash for the entrance.

🚌Uyuni–La Paz flight ~£60-90 (or bus ~£12-18); Mi Teleférico rides ~£1 total

🛏Hostel or budget hotel in La Paz centro/Sopocachi (~£15-25)

• →Mi Teleférico cable car circuit
• →San Francisco Church and Plaza Murillo
• →Witches' Market
• →Killi Killi viewpoint
• →Peña dinner with Andean music

Take an early public bus La Paz–Copacabana (~3.5h, ~£4-6) — or a shared tourist bus with a lake crossing (~£8-12). See the Moorish-style Copacabana church, browse the market, then catch the public boat to Isla del Sol (~£3-5 each way, 1.5h). Walk the ridge path to the Pilkokaina Inca ruins and the sacred Inca fountains at Yumani, with lake views across to the Cordillera Real. Return to Copacabana and bus back to La Paz for the night, or stay over for a sunrise at 3,800 m.

🚌Bus La Paz–Copacabana return ~£8-12; public boat to Isla del Sol ~£6-10 return

🛏La Paz hostel/budget hotel (~£15-25) — or a Yumani guesthouse with lake view if you stay over (~£10-18)

• →Copacabana church and market
• →Boat to Isla del Sol
• →Pilkokaina Inca ruins
• →Inca fountains at Yumani

Last morning for a coffee in Sopocachi or a quick look at the Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley) rock formations on the city's edge by local bus (~£1) before heading to El Alto International Airport — allow 45-60 min and ~£3-5 in a shared taxi or airport bus, and arrive 3 hours before an international flight. Check exit taxes and any onward visa requirements.

🚌Shared taxi or airport bus to El Alto ~£3-5

🛏None (departure day)

• →Optional Valle de la Luna (La Paz) visit
• →Departure from El Alto International Airport