When we decided to visit Peru & Bolivia on our kids’ summer vacation, we knew we had to visit the Uyuni Salt Flats with kids. It’s a remote destination, but trust me it’s worth it. We joined a 3-day / 2 night family-friendly tour of the Uyuni Salt Flats and we had an amazing time!
The Uyuni Salt Flats in Bolivia are one of the most interesting and beautiful natural places on earth. The centerpiece of a trip to Uyuni is the salt flats, where you will be captivated by blistering white sand as far as the eye can see, but the surrounding volcanic landscapes are equally amazing.
To help you decide if visiting the Uyuni Salt Flats with kids is right for you, here is an account of our tour:
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Day 1 – Uyuni Salt Flats Tour
Our night bus from La Paz, Bolivia pulled into Uyuni around 7 am. After dropping our bags off at our tour company’s office, we went across the street for breakfast.
Train Cemetery (Cementerio de Trenes)
Our kid-friendly Uyuni Salt Flats tour began at 10:30, with our first stop being the legendary train cemetery. This is an incredibly popular photo stop, with an endless string of rusted out trains from the old mineral mines nearby.
The rusted out trains are not only fun to take pictures of, but fun for kids of all ages to climb in and explore. Just be careful of rusty edges!
Colchani Salt Refinery
Next up on our Uyuni Salt Flats tour was the Colchani salt refinery. Here we learned all sorts of interesting facts about the salt flats. For instance, there’s an estimated 10 billion pounds of salt in the Uyuni Salt Flats!
We got to see the salt blocks which are extracted from the salt flats. On each block you can see the layers of salt, which change annually based on rainfall levels. Then we went inside to see the process in which they refine the salt and add iodine. It’s surprisingly simple!
By this time, we were all pretty hungry so we stopped for lunch at the original salt hotel (which now operates as a picnic area / gift shop).
Uyuni Salt Flats Forced Perspective Photos
We were very excited for our next activity visiting the star attraction of the tour – the Uyuni Salt Flats! This is where we got to take all sorts of fun forced perspective pictures with the blinding white backdrop of the salt flats.
On our way to Isla Incahuasi, our driver stopped in an area where there was a long expanse of virgin white salt with mountains in the background. He then took some fun forced perspective pictures of our entire tour group, although to be honest, we’d have preferred the time for more pictures of just our family.
After the group pictures, we had some time to try our own family pictures in the Uyuni Salt Flats. It was fun and frustrating all at the same time – it takes precision to get great shots, yet it’s hard to get kids to follow precise directions and hold positions for a long time. But the hard work paid off and we got some really fun family photos.
Isla Incahuasi (& More Family Photos)
Next up on our family-friendly tour of the Uyuni Salt Flays, was Isla Incahuasi (Incawasi Island), a fascinating island in the middle of an ocean of white. The island is home to countless giant cacti and cute little viscachas.
To be honest, we skipped Isla Incahuasi in order to have more time for family pictures in the Uyuni Salt Flats. The extra time we took trying to get great family photos in the salt flats really paid off – the more pictures you take, the better your odds of getting some good ones!
Tips For Better Family Photos in the Salt Flats
Taking fun perspective picture on the salt flats usually means getting your camera down very low. Bring some form of knee protection for the photographer as the salt is hard and sharp! We used an old pair of gloves – one glove for each knee.
We made the tough decision to leave our DSLR at home, which left us with only our iPhones for pictures. Taking fun family perspective pictures in the salt flats requires a wide depth of field. Once we changed the settings on our phones to an f/16 aperture, our pictures started getting a lot better. If you have a DSLR camera and don’t mind lugging it around, you will get superior pictures vs. a phone camera.
A lot of the fun perspective pictures you see in the salt flat involve the use of props (a plastic T-Rex, etc.). If you decide to bring some props, make sure they are reasonably big – roughly 12” tall or more. We brought small props, but found it was near impossible use them – they just weren’t big enough to take fun photos with. Out tour company had lots of props – check with yours before making the effort to bring your own.
Chances are that you will see some photographers near the salt hotel offering to take your family picture. Given the price was reasonable, we paid to get some professional salt flat pictures taken, and we are glad we did! It took some pressure off to get our own amazing family pictures and freed us up to just have some fun. If you see these photographers, I recommend you get some proper family salt flats photos with them too.
Salt Flats Mirror Effect at Sunset
Our final stop of our first day on the Uyuni Salt Flats was the best. We visited the Uyuni Salt Flats in July, which is the dry season, and we shouldn’t have had any water on the salt. But amazingly, a section of the salt flats still had water, so we stopped at a great vantage point to enjoy the sunset with the famous mirror effect.
Our guide took some great family pictures and videos which really captured the full beauty of the mirror effect, with beautiful reflections and amazing colors in the sky. It was a magical experience, which was the perfect end to our first day in the salt flats.
Day 2 – Uyuni Salt Flats Tour
The second day of our Uyuni Salt Flats tour with kids started with a drive through a scrub desert to a small town where we stocked up with snacks for the day.
The second day of the Uyuni Salt Flats tour features a lot of driving, so we stopped again an hour later at a very scenic spot in the Salar de Chiguana. We were near some train tracks, with photogenic volcanic mountains all around. Just over the nearest mountain is the border with Chile.
Continuing on, the interesting sights kept on coming, starting with the white lava flow from a recent volcanic eruption, followed by a cute herd of Vicunas.
Ollagüe Volcano Viewpoint
Mid-morning we stopped at a viewpoint of the Ollagüe volcano which has a small plume of smoke emitting from a cone. It’s always fun to see signs of an active volcano, but to me the best part of this stop was to walk through the remains of the million-year old lava flow surrounding the viewpoint. The dried lava was very bumpy and flowy, with many fun and interesting plants growing in-between.
Laguna Canapa
This was followed by a visit to Laguna Canapa. Being July, the lagoon was half frozen, but due to some natural hot springs there was still enough open water for a flock of James Flamingoes, including some little grey baby ones! With the beautiful pink flamingos, the frozen lake and snow-capped volcanos all around, it’s a captivating natural scene.
Laguna Hedionda
Our final stop of the morning was at Laguna Hedionda, which was very similar to Laguna Canapa, except here there were thousands of flamingoes. They are such beautiful and interesting birds, we could have stayed for hours, but it was time for lunch. Thankfully we were served lunch in a restaurant overlooking Laguna Hedionda and the flamingoes.
After lunch we stopped at several scenic viewpoints. This was followed by a stop at some roadside cliffs where tame viscacha live. These half-rabbit / half-kangaroo critters are so cute!!
The Stone Tree
Next up we entered the Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve to visit the famous Stone Tree. This unique monument is an ancient volcanic rock which has been formed into the shape of a tree by restless winds.
As a bonus there are lots of other volcanic rocks around of all shapes and sizes. We had a ton of fun walking around and climbing them!
Laguna Colorada
Our final stop of our second day on the Uyuni Salt Flats tour was the Laguna Colorada. This lake in Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve is famous for its deep red color and its large flamingo population.
We visited Laguna Colorada on a rare calm day without wind, so the water color was more pinkish than red, but the trade-off was mirror-like water.
It was incredibly exciting to walk the lakeshore with thousands of colorful flamingos just offshore. The pictures of flamingos with their reflections will be some of our favourites from Bolivia!
Day 3 – Uyuni Salt Flat Tour
Geysers and Mud Pots
We began our final day of our Uyuni Salt Flats tour with a 6am departure. After an hour of driving in the darkness, we arrived at our first destination – the caldera of a super volcano with many active steam geysers.
Geysers always look the best in the coldest hours of the day, so I appreciate that our guide woke us early enough to see them just as the sun was coming up over the horizon.
There were many impressive steam geysers at our first stop, including one which was inexplicably cold enough to walk through.
Our second stop featured bubbling mud pots, which are always crowd pleasers. We’ve seen many geysers and bubbling mud pots around the world, including the famous ones in Iceland, and these were among the most impressive bubbling mud pots we’ve ever seen.
Dali Desert
Our next stop was the Dali Desert, a barren spot near the border with Chili. This place is called Dali Desert in honor of surrealist painter Salvador Dali.
The hills surrounding this expanse of brown sand are beautiful with many colors. In addition, there are many interesting volcanic rocks off in the distance.
Agua Termales de Polques
Our final stop of the morning was the beautiful hot springs at Agua Termales de Polques. At 4,400 m / 14,400 feet these beautiful hot springs are a wonderful way to warm up toes which are still frozen from the pre-dawn temperatures at the geysers.
Located next to a serene lake and surrounded by modest mountains, the Aqua Termales de Polques are a fun stop for the whole family. We especially enjoyed watching the local birds sitting in the little hot spring stream running into the lake.
Andean Ostriches
On our way to lunch we saw an Andean Ostrich!! It was an amazing sight – there, right in front of our eyes was a real-life ostrich! It was smaller than its African counterpart. Who knew?!? We ended up seeing several Andean Ostriches on the third day of our Uyuni Salt Flats tour.
We were so surprised that Bolivia has ostriches, that we looked it up as soon as we had a cell signal again. Despite what our guide told us, these lookalikes are not actually Andean Ostriches – they are Rheas. Likely a lesser rhea, due to the altitude we saw them at, these ostrich lookalikes are found in several countries in South American.
Bosque De Piedras
After lunch we made a fun stop at Bosque de Piedras. Here we got to explore some uniquely shaped volcanic rocks and look for ones which looked like things – the most obvious was a lion head, but we also saw a flamingo head and a llama.
Final Thoughts – Uyuni Salt Flats with Kids
When we booked a family-friendly Uyuni Salt Flats tour for our trip to Bolivia, we had hoped to show our kids some of the most interesting and beautiful landscapes on Earth. We succeeded with this goal – the Uyuni Salt Flats are stunning, as are the many beautiful areas around it.
Visiting the Uyuni Salt Flats with kids means some very early wake-ups and long, bumpy travel days inside a 4×4, but it was an amazing family adventure. From taking fun family-photos in the salt flats and the train cemetery, to seeing some amazing wildlife, to the mirror effect at sunset, we created some amazing family memories on our trip to the Uyuni Salt Flats with kids.
If your family loves nature and adventure, we are sure you will love visiting the Uyuni Salt Flats with kids.
Recommended Tour
This is the 3-day kid-friendly tour we took through the Uyuni Salt Flats in Bolivia. As you can see, we thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it to you!
Follow Along on our Family Trip to Bolivia & Peru
Our amazing family vacation to South America began with a 3-day visit to Cusco with kids. After getting used to the altitude, we hopped the border into Bolivia for a visit to La Paz, Bolivia with kids.
From La Paz, we enjoyed this 3-day family-friendly tour of the Uyuni Salt Flats. Our family vacation concluded with hiking the Inca Trail with kids, and a visit to the Amazon jungle in Manu National Park with kids.
Our Travel Journal for Kids
Based on our family travels, our kids helped us design this Travel Journal for Active Kids! This engaging travel journal encourages kids to document their adventures, spark creativity, and stay entertained on the go – grab yours now on Amazon!
Dan Brewer is an intrepid family travel blogger with a passion for exploring the world's most captivating destinations. With 62 countries under his belt and a sense of wanderlust that knows no bounds, he has made it his life's mission to share his travel experiences and insights with fellow families who love to travel.
When Dan isn't traveling with his wife and kids, he's either out enjoying the Canadian Rockies he calls home or working on one of his three travel sites (Family Can Travel, Travel Banff Canada and Ultimate Sports Road Trip).