San Pedro de Atacama Day Tours
San Pedro de Atacama day tours are, in practice, almost everything the desert offers — the town is small enough to walk across in ten minutes, and every tour on this site collects you from it. Almost everything in the Atacama is a day trip from San Pedro. The town is small enough to walk across in ten minutes, and every tour on this site collects you from it. This page is the planning view: what each type of day costs, how long it takes, how high it goes, and which ones you should not stack on consecutive mornings. All of it sits inside our Atacama Desert tours catalog.
The Tours We Compare
Every one of these 8 tours was checked on 2026-08-06: price, rating, review count and operator read from the tour's booking-platform listing. The main button on each card opens our own page for that tour; "Check Availability" goes to the platform that takes the booking.
Lickanantay Ancestral Tour with Llamas
Walk with llamas through Turi and Kunza territory as Lickanantay hosts share ancestral herding culture and desert life.
- Category
- Culture & Heritage Tours
- Pickup
- Hotel pickup
- Cancellation
- Free cancellation 24h
- Operator
- Owner Experience 🟣
- Booked via
- GetYourGuide
“Walking with the llamas while our host explained how his family reads the desert was the most human moment of our whole trip.” — Daniel
Booking, payment and cancellation are handled by GetYourGuide. Price checked 2026-08-06.
Rainbow Valley & Yerbas Buenas Petroglyphs Tour
A 6-hour morning run to the mineral-striped hills of Rainbow Valley and the Yerbas Buenas petroglyphs, with breakfast in the desert. Two entrance fees are paid…
- Category
- Stargazing Tours
- Pickup
- Hotel pickup
- Cancellation
- Free cancellation 24h
- Operator
- Puka Rumi Travel Agency
- Booked via
- Viator
Booking, payment and cancellation are handled by Viator. Price checked 2026-08-06.
Valle de la Luna Sunset Tour
The classic Atacama afternoon: salt caves, the Great Dune and an unforgettable sunset over Moon Valley’s lunar landscape.
- Category
- Landscape & Nature Tours
- Pickup
- Hotel pickup
- Cancellation
- Free cancellation 24h
- Operator
- PUKARUMI TRAVEL AGENCY
- Booked via
- GetYourGuide
“A lovely wander through the lunar landscape of the Atacama Desert and a sunset platter and drinks. A perfect end to the day.” — Sharon
Booking, payment and cancellation are handled by GetYourGuide. Price checked 2026-08-06.
El Tatio Geysers & Wetlands Sunrise Tour
A 4 AM start to watch 80+ geysers erupt through freezing dawn air at 4,320 m, then flamingo-filled wetlands and the village of Machuca on the…
- Category
- Landscape & Nature Tours
- Pickup
- Hotel pickup
- Cancellation
- Free cancellation 24h
- Operator
- Feel Atacama
- Booked via
- GetYourGuide
“fantastic day, great seeing the sunrise over the geyser!” — Michael
Booking, payment and cancellation are handled by GetYourGuide. Price checked 2026-08-06.
Piedras Rojas & Altiplanic Lagoons Full-Day
The tour Atacama veterans call their favorite: Miscanti and Miñiques lagoons at 4,200 m, the red rocks of Salar de Talar and flamingos at Laguna Chaxa.
- Category
- Landscape & Nature Tours
- Pickup
- Hotel pickup
- Cancellation
- Free cancellation 24h
- Operator
- Ruta Chile
- Booked via
- GetYourGuide
“We got to see different natural areas of the Atacama, and the team prepared a delicious breakfast and lunch. The guide gave very interesting explanations about the places we visited.” — Sofiia
Booking, payment and cancellation are handled by GetYourGuide. Price checked 2026-08-06.
Cejar Lagoon Float & Salar Tour
Float effortlessly in a 28%-salinity sinkhole lake in the Salar de Atacama, then Ojos del Salar and sunset at Tebenquiche lagoon.
- Category
- Landscape & Nature Tours
- Pickup
- Hotel pickup
- Cancellation
- Free cancellation 24h
- Operator
- Whipala Expedition
- Booked via
- GetYourGuide
“Amazing tour! The lagoon was lovely to swim in and amazing to float! The snack was very filling and so amazing we didn't need to buy dinner afterwards.” — Suzannah
Booking, payment and cancellation are handled by GetYourGuide. Price checked 2026-08-06.
Guided Desert Buggy Tour
Drive your own off-road buggy through dunes and canyons of the Cordillera de la Sal with a guide leading the convoy.
- Category
- Adventure Tours
- Pickup
- Hotel pickup
- Cancellation
- Free cancellation 24h
- Operator
- On Safari Atacama
- Booked via
- GetYourGuide
“Exciting, informative and entertaining. We learnt a lot as well as having fun.” — Justin
Booking, payment and cancellation are handled by GetYourGuide. Price checked 2026-08-06.
Atacama Stargazing Experience
Small-group stargazing with astronomer guides, powerful telescopes and Milky Way views from a dark-sky site outside San Pedro de Atacama.
- Category
- Stargazing Tours
- Pickup
- Hotel pickup
- Cancellation
- Free cancellation 24h
- Operator
- Llama Stargazing
- Booked via
- GetYourGuide
“My stargazing tour was terrific, very well organised and professionally conducted. Alberto has a deep knowledge of astronomy and his two telescopes let us see details of Venus, the Milky Way and constellations.” — Sharon
Booking, payment and cancellation are handled by GetYourGuide. Price checked 2026-08-06.
Compared Side by Side
The lines that actually change the decision: what you pay, how long it takes, how high it goes, who pays the park fee, and who runs it.
| Tour | From | Duration | Book | Max altitude | Entrance fees | Pickup | Cancellation | Operator | Traveler rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lickanantay Ancestral Tour with Llamas | $79 | 3 hours | Details | Not confirmed | None | Round-trip transfer from your acc… | Free cancellation 24h | Owner Experience 🟣 | 5/5 (1) |
| Rainbow Valley & Yerbas Buenas Petroglyphs Tour | $51 | 6 hours | Details | Not confirmed | NOT included — Rainbow Valley 5,000 CLP and Yerbas… | Pickup offered; if your hotel is… | Free cancellation 24h | Puka Rumi Travel Agency | 4.8/5 (120) |
| Valle de la Luna Sunset Tour | $75 | 4.5 hours | Details | Not confirmed | 10,800 CLP per person — included in the price, boug… | Meeting point in San Pedro; hotel… | Free cancellation 24h | PUKARUMI TRAVEL AGENCY | 4.7/5 (924) |
| El Tatio Geysers & Wetlands Sunrise Tour | $81 | 7 hours | Details | 4,300 m at the geyser field and t… | Contradictory on the listing: "Ticket" appears unde… | Hotel pickup included | Free cancellation 24h | Feel Atacama | 4.5/5 (161) |
| Piedras Rojas & Altiplanic Lagoons Full-Day | $85 | 10 hours | Details | 4,200 m at the Miscanti and Miñiq… | About 29,000 CLP per person — included in the price | Hotel pickup in San Pedro; drop-o… | Free cancellation 24h | Ruta Chile | 4.7/5 (757) |
| Cejar Lagoon Float & Salar Tour | $38 | 4 hours | Details | Not confirmed | 20,000 CLP per person NOT included — the operator r… | Meet at Tocopilla 418A, central S… | Free cancellation 24h | Whipala Expedition | 4.6/5 (49) |
| Guided Desert Buggy Tour | $145 | 3 hours | Details | Not confirmed | None | Hotel pickup and drop-off included | Free cancellation 24h | On Safari Atacama | 4.9/5 (103) |
| Atacama Stargazing Experience | $33 | 2.5 hours | Details | Not confirmed | None — no park fee on this tour | Meeting point in San Pedro; trans… | Free cancellation 24h | Llama Stargazing | 4.7/5 (718) |
Entrance fees are the line that changes the ranking. Each figure above is what the operator states on its own listing; park prices are set by CONAF and the local communities, not by us, and they move. Check the fee at checkout.
How to Choose
Do not stack two altitude days back to back
El Tatio at 4,300 m and the altiplano lagoons at 4,200 m are both early, cold and high. Put a low day — Moon Valley, Cejar, a cultural morning — between them, and give yourself two nights in San Pedro before either.
Half-days leave room for a night tour
A four-hour lagoon or Moon Valley trip finishes in time for a stargazing session the same night. A ten-hour altiplano day does not, whatever the schedule says.
Pickup zones are narrower than you think
Several operators only collect from accommodation inside the urban area of San Pedro. If you are staying in Quitor, Yaye, Checar, Sequitor, Solor, Coyo or out at Toconao, check the pickup line on the tour page before booking.
Best Option by Traveler Type
A gentle first day
Best for: Anyone just arrived
The Lickanantay ancestral tour is three hours at valley level — llamas, pottery and local food, with no altitude to adjust to.
Lickanantay Ancestral Tour with LlamasThe one everyone does
Best for: First-time visitors
The Valle de la Luna sunset tour with the park ticket included.
Valle de la Luna Sunset TourThe big day out
Best for: Acclimatised travellers
The Piedras Rojas full-day tour at 4,200 m, with fees and two meals in the price.
Piedras Rojas & Altiplanic Lagoons Full-DayPlanning Guides
Background reading that applies to every tour on this page.
San Pedro de Atacama Day Tours: Common Questions
What is the best day tour from San Pedro de Atacama?
There is no single answer, because the tours answer different questions — but if you only have one day, the Valle de la Luna sunset tour is the one that most reliably delivers, is closest to town and needs no acclimatisation. If you have three days, the 3-day combo covers the headline four with every park fee paid.
Do day tours include hotel pickup?
Most do, but only inside the urban area of San Pedro. Accommodation in the surrounding ayllus — Quitor, Yaye, Checar, Sequitor, Solor, Coyo — and in Toconao is usually outside the pickup zone. Each tour page states the operator's own wording.
How many tours can I do in one day?
One long day tour, or one half-day plus a stargazing session that night. Trying to fit a full-day altiplano trip and a night tour into the same 24 hours means eighteen hours of activity at altitude, and it shows the following morning.
What does a day tour from San Pedro cost?
Roughly $33 to $85 for most half-day and full-day trips, with park fees on top where they are not included. The outliers are the balloon flight at $350 and the volcano climbs at $120 to $172. Our guide to what a trip to the Atacama costs breaks down a full budget.