24 Hour Bus from Valparaiso to San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

Greetings,

Today we’ll discuss a 24 hour suicide bus from Valparaiso to San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. The bus is a really long go for even the most intrepid of travelers and it’s not that cheap either. It turns out flying is roughly 1/3 more expensive so with that knowledge I suggest you fly if you can swing it, if not you’re in for a long long ride…

We left at 11PM and arrived the next day at roughly midnight so in fact it was a 25 hour trip opposed to only a casual 24. The bus did make frequent(ish) stops which were cool but they didn’t supply any water and only a few snacks. Apart from that it was basically looking at the same backdrop for the entire time, not recommended.

The bus was with Tur-Bus and it cost me $125US for what I thought was the top seat. As it happens this bus wasn’t the “top bus” so I still didn’t have a bed for that price, only a semi-cama which means semi-bed. For what it’s worth if you can’t get a full bed you might as well buy the cheaper seats upstairs which are basically the same only less wide.

Unless you’re really big, it won’t matter and the views from the top are superior to the bottom. Also, the bottom was insanely hot a lot of the time so I really needed the air con in my face which after 24 hours gave me the start of a cold. I managed to sleep some but most of it was just staring out the window and eating excessive quantities of nuts I had bought before leaving.

At one stop we had thirty minutes to kill so myself and new crew rolled around the seafront and saw about 30 pelicans fighting for some leftovers, quite the sight. Also, I bought some street ceviche off this gent which in retrospect may have been the dumbest thing ever with a cool 9 hours left on the bus but his product was legit so there we go.

I learned some interesting facts about Chile on this bus ride, the most notable was that the coast of Chile is basically uninhabited besides small settlements and not that much beach, mainly just really rocky, unforgiving and harsh looking terrain. Also, from what I have heard the water is quite cold so it doesn’t make for the best beach vacation. Oh yeah, the bus didn’t have wifi either which made things extra nice.

This wonderful bus brought me to San Pedro de Atacama, more on that soon…

Tips hat,

P.S: Sorry for no images, the internet here in San Pedro de Atacama is horrific.