I'm looking for a bus from San Pedro de Atacama to Antofagasta, Chile in September 2013 I found a bus company but looks like there are no buses in September. Do you know any other bus companies who operates in September on my route?
asked Apr 21, 2013 at 22:34
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1What makes you think that do not offer buses in September? It seems to me only the reservation system does not reach that far. Did you try to call them?– uncoveryApr 22, 2013 at 3:44
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3 Answers
There are buses. At the very least, you can get a bus 1.5 hours west to Calama, which has a bigger exchange. A member of our party did that in August (winter) and got to Antofagasta, Iquique and more.
The bus companies in Chile/Bolivia don't have much online presence - it's far easier to just get one in the town - but go as early as possible when you know when you want to leave, gives you more options.
Indeed, as per Wikivoyage, there are many daily arrivals into Antofagasta from both San Pedro and Calama.
If you are arriving in San Pedro after a Salar De Uyuni tour, ask your tour company as they can often book ahead for you. Members of my party did that with Tierra Mistica - the company we used for the salt flats.
In general, after 4 months travel in South America from July to November, the only place I could really book online was in Argentina - everywhere else I just did it at the bus terminal in each city, and never had a problem finding some sort of bus.
answered Apr 22, 2013 at 6:02
My English is not so good but you can seek for Turbus buses. The bus company covers all Chile ;-)
Bon voyage
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Unfortunately they do not sell tickets outside the country (i.e. you cannot buy it online unless you're chilean resident) Do you know any other ways to buy the tickets? Aug 3, 2013 at 22:07
The ease of searching and booking bus schedules in Chile online has improved since this question was posted; you can look at recorrido.cl to check schedules and book. Searching that website for an arbitrarily-selected date a few weeks from now shows three services per day offered by Pullman Bus, though of course things may vary. Travelers who do not have a Chilean debit or credit card can pay by PayPal.
Particularly outside of peak season, though, it is probably also completely fine to just stop by the bus station in San Pedro and ask around; the bus station is easy to find and an easy walking distance from the main tourist center of town. As other posters have mentioned, you may have more options for travel time if you are willing to connect in Calama, and it is easy to ask about this if you talk to the bus companies in person.
