San Pedro de Atacama · With kids

Tocopilla 201, open Tuesday to Sunday from 16:00 to 19:30 and closed Mondays; CLP 7,000 for adults, CLP 5,000 for children and students, free under four. The visit takes about 50 minutes with an audio guide in five languages, and there are no reservations — it is first come, first served.

Warm terraced pools in a gorge 28 km north of San Pedro on route B-245, sold as a morning session (in from 09:30, out by 13:30) or an afternoon one (in from 14:30, out by 18:00). There is no public transport and the operator runs none, so you need a car or a tour seat.

The excavated circular adobe village a few kilometres southwest of town, inside Reserva Nacional Los Flamencos and reachable by bike or a short transfer. Small, shadeless and quick — an hour is enough, and it lands better with children than a four-hour lagoon circuit.

Village of volcanic stone about 38 km south on the Salar road, with a walled fruit gorge you can walk into — running water and shade, which counts as a novelty out here. Usually bolted onto a Salar de Atacama tour, but it also works as a standalone half-day.

The village sits at 2,400 m and the standard tours climb to 4,200 m and above; young children feel that, and the geyser trip leaves around 4am in sub-zero cold. Give the first 24 hours to the pool and the plaza and keep the highest tour for late in the stay.