AGENCIA DE VIAJES Y TURISMO DESTINOS TURISTICOS EN EL NORTE DE CHILE

  We had 8-day tour from Arica to San Pedro. The first 5 days were in a form of private tour with a driver/guide. This part was great: you get to... read more go to little visited places and experience the vastness of north Chile. Our driver was friendly and knowledgeable. We hardly ever got off the road, which I regretted a little, but we got to see a lot as it is. Accommodation and food was nothing more than basic, which is OK, and what you could expect from such remote places. When we got to Sand Pedro De Atacama for the last 2.5 days, we fared well from our guide and were set for 3 short excursions with one of the local operators. This part we enjoyed less: the excursions where in packed buses and I often felt like a member of a herd which is pushed from one meadow to the next. It seems like everyone in San Pedro takes the same excursions which have fixed routes at fixed times. So, everywhere we stopped we had 2-20 buses, of other operators, offloading their passengers together with us and departing together with us. We sometimes felt that we were given too short of a time to appreciate a location, while in at least one case we were not allowed to visit the destination... That's right, we drove a long way to Piedras Rojas, but the place is closed due to rehabilitation. You don't get to see it at all. The hotel which we were accommodated in was 10 min walk from the center of town and had only basic facilities (no wifi in the room, poor breakfast, etc.). The promised transport to the airport in the last day was again a seat in a bus with pre-set departure time which meant for us a long wait at the airport - we opted to pay for a private taxi instead (not that expensive) and get some more relaxing time in the town.
Overall the cost of this trip was high in any standard, yet we felt that, especially in the last three days, we didn't get our money's worth. If I did it again, I'd probably rent a car for the entire duration, or at least for the last part in San Pedro. I'm sure that we would have had a different experience in San Pedro had we drove our own car, or paid for a taxi to avoid the crowds, make better use of our time, and visit some spots off the beaten track.

  We used Mayuru Tours for a 5 day/4 night trip through the Chilean Altiplano from Arica to San Pedro de Atacama. Overall the private tour was well organized, the guide/... read more driver was courteous and professional and the Altiplano beautiful.

Preplanning – For our travels through the Chilean Altiplano I was looking for a company to get us from Arica in the very far north of Chile to the popular desert gateway of San Pedro de Atacama. Not many companies service this area and it was difficult to find a company that would answer my emails. Even the folks at Mayuru Tours would take more than a week to respond. With a little persistence, however, we were able to arrange a tour that met our needs. I should also mention that the tour was one of their set itineraries with very little deviation. On the plus side, they do have numerous options to choose from.

Guide – Francisco was extremely professional and courteous. He spoke only Spanish, but spoke slowly and clearly such that even Don who speaks very little Spanish, was able to understand most things he said without my translating them by the end of the trip.

Itinerary – This was a driving tour, so there were a lot of hours in the car. The landscape is beautiful, but it’s a lot of short stops. Many of the sights are not must-sees, but if you are interested in this area of Chile it is a good way to see it. They sent us a detailed itinerary, in English, with what we would see each day. Any minor deviations in this itinerary were discussed with us beforehand. Also beware that several days are at high altitude, so it is wise to acclimate before beginning this trip.

Food and Accommodations – This is not a high-end tour. Hotels and restaurants in this region are basic. I think they arranged the best that they could, but there just isn’t much to choose from. That said, rooms were generally clean and comfortable and the food fine.

Transportation – The vehicle was a 4x4 Toyota Hilux, comfortable, in good condition and able to handle the rough roads. We had no transportation difficulties. Francisco was an excellent driver. In fact he had driven trucks for the mining companies for many years before becoming a tour driver and had an intimate knowledge of the roads, hotels and restaurants along the route.

Cost and Payment – We paid 733USD/person. This covered most everything except for a few small entry fees and dinner in Pica. The same tour with an English speaking guide would have cost 956USD/person. No deposit was required. We paid in cash when we met our guide and driver on the first morning.

Final Thought – I would definitely use Mayuru Tours again and think that overall the trip was a good value for the money.

  we did this tour in February which we had booked with you and operated by Maxim Expérience in San Pedro. We were very satisfied with the 2 full day... read more tours that we did with the driver / guide. The hotel la casa de Don Tomas was superb. Everyone was very efficient and Gabriel who helped us with the booking was was very professionnel. Thank you for making our expérience in the Attacama desert a mémorable one.

  My husband and I had a hard time finding a one-day tour to Lauca National Park from Arica. Mayuru came through for us though! We were picked up at the... read more exact time they said they'd be at the hotel by an English translator (Maggie) and a Spanish-speaking driver/guide (Mario). They immediately made us feel welcomed. The vehicle was clean and well-maintained and Mario was a safe driver. We learned a lot about the towns around Lauca in addition to the park. Our tour also included breakfast and lunch. There was a lot of road construction going on up the mountain but Mario knew the time slots to keep us from having to wait an additional hour to get through the construction. We thoroughly enjoyed the private aspect of the tour and getting to learn about the culture through Maggie and Mario. Highly recommended! The company is also great with email response.

  Traveled with my wife for part of our honeymoon. We took the 3 day tour and it was an adventure unlike any other. Lake Chungara, Salar De Surire, Hot... read more Springs, Putre, Parque Lauca Our guide, Helmut, was terrific. He was experienced and knowledgeable about all facets of the area. The sites were simply incredible. The Altiplano is one of the most unique destinations we have ever experienced. The wildlife and scenery were unparalleled. The altitude change is serious. You must drink a lot of water and not over-exert yourself. If you follow your guide's lead, you should be able to adjust.

  Ma fille et moi avons réservé un circuit de 4 jours avec Maruyu dans le Nord du Chili (depuis Arica jusqu'à Iquique en passant par l'Altiplano, parc Lauca, lac Chungara...).... read more Nous sommes revenues enchantées !!
D'abord les premiers contacts par mail : notre interlocutrice à l'agence était réactive et a répondu à toutes nos questions dans des délais rapides. Elle nous a même proposé une guide francophone, ce à quoi je n'avais pas pensé au départ, et de réserver nos billets de bus après le circuit, ce qui était très sympathique de sa part. Tout était bien organisé, clair et transparent. A noter que j'avais contacté d'autres agences, et entre celles qui n'ont pas répondu du tout et celles qui mettaient des semaines à répondre ou à ne pas répondre...bref, seule Maruyu nous a convaincu de son sérieux !
le circuit : très bien organisé, Francisco, notre chauffeur, était un excellent conducteur, très prudent et attentionné. Quant à Andrea, notre guide francophone ce fut une très belle rencontre !! Les paysages étaient sublimes (malgré le mauvais temps, et oui c'était l'hiver bolivien et c'est le seul point négatif, l'agence n'avait pas prévenu que le temps pouvait être mauvais à la période où nous y sommes allées), nous avons pu voir une faune très riche, que personnellement je n'attendais pas forcement à ces altitudes.
Le fait d'avoir une guide francophone avec nous a été un vrai plus pour comprendre la vie dans l'altiplano.
Pour l'altitude : ma fille a été un peu malade le 2ème jour mais rien de bien grave. Quant à moi aucun problème : pas d'alcool et peu de cigarettes dans les jours précédents et un deux cachets de diurétique les deux premiers jours m'ont permis de très bien supporter l'altitude

Pour finir, je recommende vivement cette agence, même si les tarifs ne sont pas donnés !

  Zu dieser Jahreszeit gab es heftige Regenfälle und die Zufahrt zum Salar war auf der Hauptroute gesperrt. Es existierte jedoch eine Umgehung auf absolut passabler Allradpiste. Das einzige Fahrzeug was... read more auf der Route unterwegs war/ die Route kannte, bei wunderschönen trockenen Wetter und Sonnenschein war das moderne AllradFahrzeug von Mayuru. Francisco der Driverguide, der mit einem Pärchen unterwegs war, lud uns ein, ihm in unserem eigenen Fahrzeug zu folgen. Immer wieder stoppten wir und erhielten auch von ihm Abklärungen. Ein wunderschöner Tag in absoluter Abgeschiedenheit an diesem fantastischen Fleckchen Erde ohne weit und breit einen weiteren Touristen zu sehen!! Absolut empfehlenswert!

  We had an amazing time thanks to our guide Juan and our driver Roberto! The scenery was beautiful and the tour was well-planned.

  I guided a 13 Day Atacama tour from March 4-15 this year. I contracted a van and driver for the tour to go from San Pedro to Putre, with... read more stops in 3 national reserves, the Vicunha NR, Flamingos NR and Lauca National Park and on to Arica, with 3 more full days.

Mario, our driver, and guide excelled in every way. He really knew all the areas we went to and knew people at every stop. I have been operating tours in South America and living in Brazil for 43 years, and have had a lot of drivers. I will now insist in having him drive all our tours from Arica!

  I used their services to arrange a trip in northern Chile. Tour, Guides and Drivers fully matched with our expectation and, when a trouble in the Bolivia Chile Border comes... read more out, Mauyuru staff warked hard to minimize our troubles, And they did it!!
They also be so kind to arrange back from Chile to Switzerland a skarf with no money value but a great-priceless emotional one. You can contact them with no fear.

  We booked this tour to see the Salr de Surire and the volcanoes en route, since we suspected that we did not have enough fuel to do this trip with... read more our rent-a-car (we did do Chungara on our own). Our Spanish is almost non-existent, as was our guide's English, but this was not a hindrance to having a great time - our guide stopped the van everytime we found something interesting. Volcán Guallatiri was smoking at the time, and we got some good photos of this, we stopped at various places around the Salar itself, including the Termas de Polloquere where we had our packed lunch. Lots of flamingoes (Andean and Puna), tinamou, rhea, vicuñas and vizcachas - a brilliant day out.

  Precioso el tour y la agencia muy responsable, el conductor muy prudente para manejar y muy instruido en toda la historia que conlleva el recorrido. Lo recomiendo al 100%.

  Gabriel Ramos organized 2 trips , one in the north 2014 : Arica, Putre, Atacama and one in the south 2015 : Puerto Montt, Punta Arenas, Torres del Paine. ... read more the support was highly appricated and helpful; the tours from Putre and Pedro de Atacama were well organized and the guides are friendly and professional. In the Patagonia tour it is important, that transfers and bookings are well done, because here the saison is short and quite crowded; also here everything worked perfectly. I really recommend Mayuru tours, if you want to visit Chile and the triangle Chile, Bolivia, Peru, . The tours from Putre and San Pedro de Atacama were outstanding !

  Tomé el plan de 4 noches 5 días con hospedaje y 4 Tours uno por día a Valle de la Luna, Geisers del Tatio, Laguna Cejar ,y salares y Piedras... read more Rojas
Desde el aeropuerto en todo momento conectados y preocupados de informar y confirmar que sigue a que hora etc. Atención amistosa pero muy profesional, 100% recomendable
Relación precio Calidad óptima

Hostal Elim muy cómodo, todo si funciona agua Caliente sabanas y toallas limpias para ser hostal muy bien, si toca salir de madrugada a un Tour (antes de las 7:00 am) avisa en recepción y la noche anterior te dejan un sándwich y un termo con agua caliente para un té y un yogur, lo encontré buen detalle

  Traveled with my wife for part of our honeymoon.

We took the 3 day tour and it was an adventure unlike any other. Lake Chungara, Salar De Surire, Hot... read more Springs, Putre, Parque Lauca

Our guide, Helmut, was terrific. He was experienced and knowledgeable about all facets of the area. The sites were simply incredible. The Altiplano is one of the most unique destinations we have ever experienced. The wildlife and scenery were unparalleled.

The altitude change is serious. You must drink a lot of water and not over-exert yourself. If you follow your guide's lead, you should be able to adjust.

  First the landscape from Arica-Putre-Colchane-San Pedro de Atacama is really beautiful.
Seconde the organisation and the tour self was well organized, I can really recommend it. I absolutly enjoyed and... read more was very satisfied.
Many thanks to Mayuru Team, so I could realized my plan. Muchas Gracias