After crossing the entire southern Peru (by bus) and the border into Chile, we spent a day in Arica looking for a rental car to drive to San Pedro de Atacama. It turns out that many Chilean rental cars are licensed for only one province only and not allowed to cross provincial lines. The few which are allowed were quite expensive. To be fair, it was a Sunday, and our options were limited to begin with. We decided to take a bus to Calama (100 kms from San Pedro) and rent a car there.
The best place we found for car rentals was not surprisingly, the Calama airport, which was conveniently on the way to San Pedro. All rental cars had standard transmissions, which meant my husband had to drive. I had never learned to drive stick. But no matter. Renting that car was the best decision we made on this trip. Our own car gave us the freedom to visit whichever sites we wished on our own schedule, which is invaluable with kids.
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| Driving in the Atacama Desert |
San Pedro de Atacama is unfortunately, a tourist trap in the middle of a gorgeous desert. But what a very worthy tourist trap it is. We spent two days hiking in the ruins of Pukara de Quitor, hiking in the canyons of Valley of the Moon, splashing in our private hot spring pool in Termas de Puritama, and attending a wonderful "Space Tour" where we got to look at the clear desert night sky (at 2200 meters in altitude) with butt-kicking telescopes. All activities were very engaging for the kids.
There were a lot more things to do and see, but being on a budget, we had to pick and choose. The kids had originally wanted to see the Tatio Geysers, but after learning that required getting up at 3 or 4 am in the bitter cold, we decided to skip it. All in all, we were quite pleased with the activities we chose.
1. Pukara de Quitor.
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| Ruins of Pukara de Quitor, looking uphill. |
Only 3 km from San Pedro, this is the ruins of a 700 year old fort built into the side of a large hill. It was fun for the kids to climb all the way to the summit. The park fees of $4,000 pesos ($8) a person were a bit steep for looking at a bunch of old bricks, but the view at the summit was quite spectacular.
2. Valley of the Moon (Valle de la Luna)
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| Hiking in the Valley of the Moon |
Only 17 km from San Pedro, the Valley of the Moon park had beautiful, rust-colored canyons and singular rock formations. At the end of the day, all the tourists converged and climbed a giant sand dune to watch a spectacular sunset. Each site at this park was driving distance from each other. Having our own transportation allowed us to take our time with the kids on each hiking trail and move along at our own pace. Park fees are $2,000 pesos (US$4).
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| Picnic area, changing rooms, and hot pools |
This was by far our favorite attraction at San Pedro. Well actually, it is about a 45 minute drive from San Pedro (32 km uphill).
There are 8 cozy pools of hot springs, heated by volcanic activity. If there aren't a lot of people, each party can enjoy its own private heated pool of crystal clear water. The entrance fee are $11,000 pesos (roughly US$22) for adults, $5,000 pesos (US$10) for children. But it's good for the whole day. We went mid-morning and enjoyed our pool all to ourselves until 4:00 pm, complete with a picnic lunch we brought with us. (At around 4 pm, the bugs start to come out.)
Word to the wise, bring plenty of towels and bathrobes if possible (they do not provide any). Although the pool is warm, the wind is icy and fierce up there. We thought we would die of cold every time we had to get out. And bring plenty of sunblock. At 3,500 meters in altitude, one burns much more easily than normal.
There are 8 cozy pools of hot springs, heated by volcanic activity. If there aren't a lot of people, each party can enjoy its own private heated pool of crystal clear water. The entrance fee are $11,000 pesos (roughly US$22) for adults, $5,000 pesos (US$10) for children. But it's good for the whole day. We went mid-morning and enjoyed our pool all to ourselves until 4:00 pm, complete with a picnic lunch we brought with us. (At around 4 pm, the bugs start to come out.)
Word to the wise, bring plenty of towels and bathrobes if possible (they do not provide any). Although the pool is warm, the wind is icy and fierce up there. We thought we would die of cold every time we had to get out. And bring plenty of sunblock. At 3,500 meters in altitude, one burns much more easily than normal.
The SPACE Tour is operated by a French amateur astronomer named Alain Maury who lives near San Pedro. His business has an office in town (just ask around) where you can purchase tickets. A bus takes all the participants to his lodge a few minutes away, where he gives an hour long chat about stars and star gazing. Then the real fun begins. Outside his lodge are about 10 large telescopes all pointed at something amazing in the night sky. After a brief tour through all the scopes, it is free for all. The kids had a fantastic time looking at their favorite sky objects over and over again. The 2.5 hour tour costs $15,000 pesos (US$30.00); kids are half-price.
5. Lodging and food
Most of the lodging in San Pedro is very expensive. We found a very modest but nice place (El Rincon San Pedrino) on the main street (Licancabur St.) for about US$30 a night for a double bed with private bath. You can negotiate lower prices for rooms with shared baths. It has an enclosed parking space for private vehicles.Food is likewise on the pricey side. But we found several restaurants with "menus" (daily specials) for around US$6 a meal. We never ventured that far, but we heard there were food stalls with meals for half that price at the end of the street at the main bus terminals. We also learned to buy bread and lunchmeat at local stores for breakfast sandwiches, which saved a bundle.
Approximate cost of trip for a family of 2 adults and 3 kids for 2 days and 2 nights to visit 4 attractions near San Pedro de Atacama (from Calama, Chile): $530. Estimate of costs are all in US dollars.
(Our youngest child was usually free at attractions, and the 2 older kids were half-priced, so entrance fees usually cost the equivalent of 3 adult tickets.)
Car rental: 2 days $50 + gas $20 = $70
Lodging: $30 x 2 rooms x 2 nights = $120
Food: $15/person x 2 days x 5 persons = $150
SPACE tour: $30 x 3 = $90
Valley of the Moon Park fees: $4 x 3 = $12
Pukara de Quitor: $8 x 3 = $24
Termas de Puritama: $22 x 2 adults + $10 x 2 kids = $64
This is very helpful- thank you!
ReplyDeleteHello. Thank you for the great write-up. I wonder how you all did with the altitude in the Atacama. Any tips for acclimatizing with the kids? What time of year were you there?
ReplyDeleteLynn
Seattle, WA