| Tips for getting around San Pedro de Atacama posted by real travelers and San Pedro de Atacama locals. San Pedro de Atacama Map |
 | San Pedro de Atacama Transportation | Tips 1 - 10 of 16 |  |
 by patricia28
1.5 dollar an hour and 9 dollars a day.
Anyway are the only ways to be around because there are not public buses or taxis. Leave a Comment
|
 On a Pullman Bus, 70 km. south
of Calama by Glospi
Other bus lines, such as Pullman Bus, Flota Barrios, Libac, reach to Calama only (21-24 hours), from where you should take another bus to San Pedro (US$ 2). Fares are between US$ 23 and US$ 42 (double that in high season), and may include, or not, onboard meals and other services. All of the buses have toilets, air-con, video and have fully (or almost) stretching seats. Those that don’t include meals, make enroute stops to have them.
For the 1 ½ hour Calama-San Pedro trip, there is Frontera del Norte, Atacama 2000 and Tur Bus services, at US$ 2 (try to arrive in Calama around 11 AM, so you can take the 1230 AM bus).
The cheapest service from Santiago is Flota Barrios (it arrives to its own terminal, 3 blocks from the Atacama 2000 terminal) Leave a Comment
|
 | |  |
Lan Chile and SKY Airline serve Calama at least 3 times a day from Santiago and other destinations in the north.
Flights are either via Antofagasta (2:35 hours), or direct (2:05 hours), and the lowest fare is US$ 190 for a round-trip ticket on LAN.
Avant is cheaper, and service and aircraft (both use B-737’s, and A-320/319 Airbuses) are as good as in LAN.
There are no commercial flights to San Pedro, but if you're really hurried, you may hire a 4 or 6-seater single engine aircraft and fly into the local airstrip (5 km. from town) for about US$ 200, or an helicopter for US$ 700 (this latter requires prior arrangement). Leave a Comment Theme: Airplane
|
You will get easily to San Pedro by bus from Calama. Buses from Santiago will go to Calama, but no problems at all to catch buses from Antofagasta, Iquique or Arica, too. You will probably have to change to a different bus station in Calama. Better you ask for the way and walk as I saw two Japanese, that came in the same bus and took a taxi to the other bus station, arriving after almost 1 hours, even though it was only a 10 mins. walk.... Leave a Comment Theme: Bus
|
 by darthmilmo
If coming from Chile, the easiest way to get to San Pedro de Atacama is via Calama, a large town/city in Northern Chile. From Calama you can get buses to Arica in the north or as far as Santiago and beyond in the south. Some Argentina bound buses leave from both Calama and San Pedro de Atacama. Leave a Comment Theme: Other
|
It is not difficult to get an direct airport van from the Calama airport to San Pedro (just ask at the airport counter), but you should remember to retain the receipt so that you can call for an airport van back to the airport for your departure. (I almost didn't get one.)
It appears that only the tour agency "Desert Adventure" in San Pedro offers an airport van service, but they don't run every day. I arrived in San Pedro from Calama airport via an independent (?) airport transfer service called "Transfer Licancabur" that, as I later found out, has no physical location in San Pedro. If not for my receipt, I would not have been able to call them. The alternative would have been taking a Tur-bus to Calama downtown then catching a taxi to the airport, which would be much more of a hassle.
Cost = 6000 pesos (~ US$12) each way
Time taken = 1.25 hours Leave a Comment Theme: BusPhone: 09-9999404Website: transferlicancabur@terra.cl
|
Having heard that it was sometimes difficult to get bus tickets in San Pedro to Salta, we bought ours in Arica. In January/February especially, I would expect pre-purchased tickets to be a necessity. Each ticket for this 12 hour trip cost 15000P/$25US. There is a Geminis office in San Pedro just off Plaza de Armas on Toconao.
Considering the high cost and the long distance to be traveled, I was hoping for something better than an older 44 passenger pullman. There was no TV as is pretty common on most buses. Leg room was also not up to par. We did get a decent box lunch and soda and the bus stopped at a restaurant for a sandwich and coffee somewhere in Argentina. One of our two drivers was quite rude and abrupt with his passengers. Very unusual compared to other drivers we had on many other buses.
We left San Pedro 1/2 hour late and stopped almost immediately to clear Chilean customs. The road was paved all the way to the Argentine border, when it immediately turned to dirt. We saw some interesting landscapes, as well as guanacos.
The Argentina leg of the trip was long and bumpy. Three to four hours of washboard dirt road gets old quickly. However, passing small Indian farms with their assorted animals including llamas, was good. We traveled through some very interesting canyons. The road did not reach altitudes that were uncomfortable.
As we dropped down out of the highlands, the bus got uncomfortably hot. The driver only turned on the air conditioning when asked. He turned it off shortly thereafter and we were back to sweating. As the trip wore on (and on), it was apparent these drivers were not concerned about passenger comfort. Given a choice, I would not go with Geminis again. Unfortunately, there are few choices for this particular journey.
That said, I am glad that we took this trip. There was a lot to see and it was worth a bit of discomfort. Leave a Comment Theme: Bus
|
| | |
There is only one company that provides an airport transfer from Calama to San Pedro and their kiosk is in the Calama airport. There is no schedule; the bus just leaves after a flight comes in. It costs 7000 pesos one way, and you must keep the ticket to call them to pick you up. They will pick you up at any time, but if they already have a request for a pick-up within an hour or so of your request, you will have to adjust to that. It's not really a problem since everyone taking the transfer to Calama is usually on the same flight. If you're traveling outside of regular hours, the cost is 10,000 pesos instead.
The cheaper alternative is to take a taxi to Calama city and then a TurBus to San Pedro. One way on TurBus is 1400 pesos, and schedules are available on their website.
All prices as of September 2007. Theme: Bus
|
We took the pullman bus option from San Pedro, its semi cama and cost 2000 more than the Gemini. Both buses leave from a patch of ground behind the museum, oposite corner from plaza. Be prepared to wait at both border posts. Chillian is the one you enter the salar from, argentina at tha bottom of the hill after entering Argentina. You will know when you hit Argentina as the lovely tarmac surface finishes abd you are back to dirt roads..... Bus takes something between 12and 14 hours without breakdowns, which happened to the Gemini. Arrived in salta at 1:30 am, journey was fine and as with all bus jorneys a sweater/fleece a good idea Leave a Comment Theme: Bus
|
we´ve paid for the trip to San Pedro U$ 33,- from the city of Salta Argentina!
It was the most expensive but we didn´t want to wait three more days!
it´s possible to get a ticket for U$. 21,- Theme: Bus
|
 | 1 | 2 |  |
More San Pedro de Atacama Tips |
| Best San Pedro de Atacama Car Rental Deals |
$15.95+ A Day Rental Cars
Hotwire Has All the Big Brands With Low Hotwire Hot-Rates! Avis
Save 40% on Weekend/Weekly Rentals with a Where2 GPS unit. Book Now. Automobile Rental
Reserve now for last minute travel specials & Internet only deals! Enterprise Rent-A-Car®
Everyday low rates this fall! Quick & easy online reservations. Auto Rental
Save on All Major Brands at Expedia Get Our Best Rate Guarantee. Sponsored Links
More San Pedro de Atacama Car Rental Deals Car rentals
Only $59 for a 3-Day Weekend. Each Additional Day is Just $19.99! Dollar Rent A Car
Great deals on great car rentals in New York. Do more with your Dollar™ Cheap Car Rentals
Car Rental Rates from $9/day. All the Best Names at Low Prices. Sponsored Links
|
