6-Day Family Adventures - Atacama Desert

San Pedro de Atacama, Chili

AT
AMITY TOURS
  • Email address verified
11 reviews
Jun 1 - Oct 1, 2024
Group size: 2 - 12
6-Day Family Adventures - Atacama Desert
San Pedro de Atacama, Chili

AMITY TOURS
  • Email address verified
11 reviews

Jun 1 - Oct 1, 2024
Group size: 2 - 12

About this trip

Amity Tours has developed this new tour in the Atacama Desert for families who love walking during the day and rest comfortable at night.

You’ll hike among astonishing landscapes surrounded by volcanoes and secret paths between valleys, salt flats, gorges, in addition to learning about Atacama history, culture, archaeology, and its native flora and fauna.

Flights

Before we kick off our bike and hike tour in the Atacama Desert, you should take a day or two to adjust to local time and recover from your travels, and allow for any flight or luggage delays. You should fly into Calama airport (CJC).


In Chile, domestic flights are operated by 3 local airline companies: Latam, Sky Airline and JetSmart.


Official Airport Transfer


The official shuttle company at Calama's Airport is called TransVip.

They are the only authorized shuttle company at the airport, and their staff wears a green and orange uniform.

By contract with the airport, they must have available transport based in the domestic flights arriving every day. They have a counter at the airport, on the ground floor next to the car rental companies.


They offer regular shuttles to San Pedro de Atacama at $12.000 pesos (USD $17 per person), and they need a minimum of 4 people. If they don't have the 4 minimum passengers, or if you want to have a private shuttle, with the same company you can do it at $75.000 (USD $100 per vehicle).


You don’t need reservations and you can pay in Credit Card or Cash. The ATM is on ground floor.

All their shuttle services will drop you off at the hotel or address you are staying in San Pedro de Atacama. Driving time is approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Arrival in Chile - Getting your bearings

For the pre-night stay, we recommend staying at Hotel La Casa de Don Tomás in San Pedro de Atacama, which is well-located with lots of restaurants and other facilities just a short walk away.


Suggested Hotels

What’s included

  • Professional guide
    English-Speaking speaking (9:1 guest-to-guide ratio)
  • Private transportation
  • 5 nights’ accommodation
    At 3* hotel
  • All activities
    Walking, culture experience with the Likan Antai indigenous community, hot springs, star-gazing
  • Meals
    5 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 1 dinner and 1 evening cocktail. We also include the f
  • 0 waste on-route snacks
    drinking water, local beer, isotonic drinks, trail-mix, fresh fruit and home-made energy bars
  • Gratuities
    At restaurants and hotels
  • Insurance
    Medical and accident
  • Hiking poles
  • Water bottle
    Available upon request
  • Entrance fees
    To hot springs and national parks

What’s not included

  • Flights
    International & Domestic
  • Travel insurance
  • Extras
    Beverages & cocktails, laundry and SPA services
  • Gratuity for local team
    At the end of the trip, gratuity for the crew for a job well done is highly appreciated. We encourage you to use your discretion and tip according to the caliber of service you receive.

Available Packages

Trip Price
$3,180
Deposit: $1,495

Available options

Itinerary

Day 1
Likan Antai cultural experience - Hike in Mars Valley

Welcome to Atacama – the driest desert in the World.


Morning excursion

On our first day, you will meet your team of local professional guides at Hotel.  Today we will have a great introductory experience to the Likan Antay culture as we visit the different ayllus around San Pedro de Atacama.

The Ayllu is an ancient type of organization and land management, created by the Altiplano people who inhabited these desert sites.

We will meet Wildo and his family who will share with us an introductory conversation regarding the territory and some of their tradition. We will experience different traditions of the Likan antay people.


Afternoon excursion

After a good rest, we’ll head towards the Salt Mountain Range where the Mars Valley is located. This mountain range forms a natural barrier between the Pacific Ocean and the Atacama Salt Flat.  

After ascending a small dune, we will hike north along one of the cornices bordering the Mars Valley. The stunning panoramic view allows us to appreciate how erosion has molded the Salt Mountain Range, revealing the geological processes that shaped it. 

The most fun part of the excursion is a steep but enjoyable descent down a dune, from where we cross the valley on our way back to the van. 


Altitude: 2,600 meters above sea level

Distance: 3,7 kilometers

Time hiking: 1 hour 20 minutes

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

Accommodation: La Casa de Don Tomas Hotel 


Your Organizer


AT
AMITY TOURS
11 reviews
Amity Tours is an Adventure Travel Company founded in 2003. We are a boutique inbound tour operator specializing in Family Adventures - Cycling – Skiing – Hiking & Conservation Tours in Chile and Argentina. Our key elements are ADVENTURE - PEOPLE - NATURE.

Reviews

Our self-guided bike tour around Lago Llanquihue was truly the trip of a lifetime. The bike ride itself offered challenging hills, varied terrain (beaches, countryside, small towns, forests, etc), and incredible lake and volcano views the whole time. We also very much enjoyed biking up to the waterfalls and Lago Todos los Santos, where we took a boat across the river for a fun lunch. The accommodations (Casa Ayacara, Entre Volcanes Lodge, and Hotel Awa) were all great in different ways, and everyone was extremely friendly. We also enjoyed the food and restaurants in the region a lot as well. From a logistics standpoint, the RideWithGPS maps were very helpful and the luggage transport service was always on time and reliable. We arrived to each hotel after biking to find our bags had already been moved into our room, which was so nice. Caitlin with Amity Tours was SO SO helpful in making this trip as incredible as it was. She helped us by suggesting an itinerary, and then listening to what we wanted and making adjustments and customizations to the trip to make it absolutely perfect. I cannot thank her enough for helping us think through every little detail. A few of the great things she did was help us book a private hot tub experience at Cancagua Day Spa near Fruitillar (which was a highlight of our trip, for sure) as well as adjust our itinerary to allow us to lodge in a different area and have a dedicated bike day to go to the waterfalls/Lago Todos los Santos. She was patient, flexible, understanding, professional, and, above all, absolutely nailed it! Thanks Caitlin!
By Patrick K for Megan & Patrick's Milestone Birthday Adventure! on Feb 18, 2024
we had great food, met wonderful people, and learned a lot and kept safe by our enthusiastic guides.
By Gail H N for (2) 6-Day Patagonia Experience in Torres del Paine Gail on Dec 24, 2023
Even though concerned about the lack of internet, this made the experience even better! The standard dome was a bit chilly but so comfortable once in the well blanketed bed. The yoga was a great addition and the food couldn't have been better. I liked the choice of activities every day and loved the guides. Great trip!
By Betsy B for 6-Day Patagonia Experience in Torres del Paine Betsy Barrett on Dec 23, 2023
The Eco Domes are fantastic. We had a Superior Suite Dome which was large with lots of storage. It had both a wood stove and a bathroom heater. The bed was very comfortable. The food at Eco Camp is plentiful and delicious. Our guides were great--so knowledgeable about Chile and the local flora and fauna. Lots of little surprises each day. It was great having a yoga option. The logistics of getting to and from Eco Camp were perfect. Highly recommend this trip.
By Joan S for 6-Day Patagonia Experience in Torres del Paine Joan and Robert on Dec 22, 2023
Thanks for a great Chilean hiking trip. We enjoyed every minute of it. David was a wonderful guide. He was very knowledgeable about the areas we hiked, always organized, and took us through all that the volcanoes had to offer……Wind, rain, snow, sun, and some amazing views. A big thank you to Eduardo our driver for safely getting us to and from all our hikes. It was an excellent few days of hikes, delicious food, beautiful accommodations and fun with David and Eduardo.
By Terry K for PRIVATE HIKING TOUR CHILE L&V - TOM EBBERN NOV2023 on Dec 01, 2023
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