San Pedro de Atacama to Arica Loop at Wicked Campers South America - Camper Vans and 4WD Vehicles for Rent to Travel

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San Pedro to Arica

Wicked Campervan Trip Options: San Pedro de Atacama to Arica

With worldwide known altiplanic landscapes, history and national parks located even higher than 4000 m.a.s.l. The route between Chile‘s northern city and San Pedro offers the chance to sleep in lonely beaches or even the driest desert in the world! Adding the fact that you can visit some of the best surfing spots in Latin America, there’s no way you’re not having the best time of your life aboard your Wicked campervan!

San Pedro de Atacama is a destiny itself. While you are there, use your Wicked campervan to find the best places to watch the stars, visit the Tatio Geysers, the Moon Valley or the Pukará de Quitor (the ruins of an 11000 years old civilization), all of them breathless places where to take perfect pics, float on salt flats and watch some of the best sunsets you’ll ever see again!

When leaving San Pedro, you can drive towards Iquique, the “chilean Hawaii” (once you see the beaches there u’ll understand the nickname). On your road to Iquique, you will be in some point going inside the Pampa del Tamarugal National Reserve, where you can visit in your campervan the small valley of Pica, a beautiful oasis in the middle of the desert where time appears not to happen. From there, it will be easy for you to go visit the town of La Tirana, a small altiplanic in the middle of nothing-town that, once in a year becomes the center of religious and folk celebrations, with people dancing and using amazing and colorfull suits. If you want, you can drive your Wicked campervan to the port of Mejillones instead going to Iquique inmediatly. If you take this option then you’ll know the city of Antofagasta (a.k.a. “the northern pearl”), and before that, you’ll see the amazing, famous and colosal Salar de Atacama, America‘s third biggest salar, and home for lot’s of differet animals and flora. Of course you can go there driving on your campervan.

Anyway, doesn’t matter if you went first to Iquique or Antofagasta and Mejillones, remember all the time you’ll be very near the coast, so you must consider visiting the great rock cliffs, the pristine beaches and, most of all, the worldwide known surfing spots in Antofagasta, Iquique and Arica.

Finally, from Iquique you can go to Arica, the northernmost city of Chile, known as the “land of champions” or the “city of eternal spring”. Here you can visit the historical “Morro de Arica”, and of course, it’s beautiful beaches, including beaches La Lisera and El Laucho, where you can practice paragliding, take a dip in the warm, clear waters and have a drink in one of the great bars located in El Laucho.

You can also visit the towns of Azapa, Putre and Colchane; all of them charming places located inland (each one higher that the other). Azapa is well known for it’s irresistible olives (it’s impossible to try just one!) and for being one of the most beauty valleys in the north of Chile.
Putre will amaze you with it’s cementery (no kiddin Ì, go with your camera) full of antique figures and mausoleums right in the middle of altiplanic cordillera; and Colchane, a town near the limits between Chile and Bolivia and located 3730 m.a.s.l., where you will feel that even breathing becomes a totally different and new experience!

Cheap Campervan Hire Trips

Here at Wicked Campers we’ve developed a range of Campervan Trip Ideas for roadtrips around San Pedro de Atacama – check them out!

San Pedro to Arica

San Pedro Loop

San Pedro to Santiago

We have a variety range of van from a 2, 3, 4 and 5-seater campervans, minicampers and 4WD that will accommodate your travel in Chile. Enjoy the country and save your pocket money for beers and tickets to atractions and activities, instead of putting it in expensive accommodation.
Check out our campervans and see which one is the perfect option for you: