Hey Guys! Welcome back to our blog! We are Łukasz and Gabrielle, a part time travel couple exploring the world one day at a time and helping you travel without struggling like we did by giving you all the tips and tricks.
Here below is all you need to know when heading to San Pedro/Calama. We love you all and just hope our free blogs and content help you travel more. Don't forget to follow us and subscribe to our YouTube Channel here www.youtube.com/@woztechindustries
How to get to the Atacama Desert:
✈️ Get an early flight from Santiago to Calama to maximize your time and to have the plane to yourself. Also a lot of times the flight is cheaper 💰 too.
Arrive at Calama Ariport and then what:
🚗 Renting a car is one of the cheapest and easiest methods of transportation from Calama airport to San Pedro. Make sure to book in advance and we used EuroCar and they spoke English. We also purchased insurance just in case and would highly recommend.
There is a bus but then you will have to pay a lot of money to do tours and you can actually do it all on your own.
WARNING⚠️ Make sure you GO STRAIGHT TO San Pedro. DO NOT GO TO CALAMA! They target tourists and rental cars. Your car will get stolen, damaged, and or items stolen. This isn't just our opinion, the rental car place warned us about this and another content creator we knew got their rental car broken into and all their gear was stolen.
⏰️ It is only 1hr and 15min away from Calama Airport to San Pedro. Start your GPS when you leave the airport because within a few minutes, you will lose signal. You will see 👀 Alpacas crossing roads or in the distance so be careful.
Arriving at San Pedro:
Watch our Instagram Video Here: 4 Things To Know When Visiting San Pedro to get a visual as well as what to expect the town to look like here: San Pedro Town
🏙 San Pedro us a preserved cute town so all the roads are dirt roads with lots of potholes. Be careful if you get a low car like us. It is doable but you will have to take your time and go slow when visiting certain things outside the town and you could get a flat tire. We recommend an SUV. So pay a little more money for the SUV but save on the tours. If you have anxiety and are nervous about doing things on your own or if you have a family and are worries that is okay we have links for tours below.
Once you make it to town it is all walkable and you will not need to drive unless leaving to explore.
👶 First and foremost, there are the cutest kids all over on the streets or in the shops with their families. The families are the sweetest and super talented. Any purchase helps these families.
🐕 As you are walking dogs will follow you but don't worry. They are wild but they don't bother you at all. I was scared at first but they were COMPLETELY harmless. We named our new members: Butch, Dingo & Rex 😆
🛍 There are tiny shops EVERYWHERE and bigger ones. They all have similar if not the same things with some unique homemade items and are roughly around the same price. You can negotiate prices. Oh and the dogs wait outside for you... sooo cute 😍
💧Drink lots of WATER!! It gets super hott 🔥
🍃 You are in higher altitude so drinking water is good but if you get altitude sickness, we were okay, but take coca leaves. You can find them anywhere.
🍸 If you drink know you will get tipsy a lot faster in higher altitude
Food spots we loved:
☕️ MOST IMPORTANT❗️ Roots Cafe is a 🌟 10/10 the BEST. Make your stop here first if you got an early flight like we did and need a pick me up.
🍽 Food another important stop ❗️@emporio.andino 🌟 10/10 Local authentic spot for DELICIOUS Empanadas.
Comentarios