As much fun as it sounds, there are still some things to consider, first of all, the vans do not come with showers and you're in a desert! We were lucky as we found an unlikely source of water to shower, more on this later. Punctured tires, injuries, and getting stuck are other things to consider. There are no quick stops anywhere and you can go days without seeing another person.
Getting stuck in the Atacama Desert
We didn't suffer from punctured tyres but we did get stuck. Our total stay was just under a week, despite the arid and barren conditions of the Atacama there is still a lot to see. One day we ventured deep into the desert to visit one of the more distant attractions, on the way back to our 'watering hole' we decided to post up and have an early night. We found a safe-looking off-road spot near some hills. Seemed perfect but looks can be deceiving...
What we didn’t realise in the pitch-black night was we had driven off-road onto loose sand, if you don't know why that's an issue then keep reading. If you are oblivious to desert weather, the days are scorching hot with little to no shade but nights are bitterly cold. Especially for the time we went, which was winter in Chile. We ate some food and fell asleep.
As you can see from the image of the van, it holds a tent (that sleeps two) on the top and a bed space behind the driver's seat for another two or a snug three inside.
Thirty minutes into my sleep the van started to become bitterly cold but the freezing ambience wasn't what woke me it was in fact the wind howling and pushing against the van rocking it back and forth. I didn't expect the wind to last but it did... for the whole night.
For the people who choose to sleep on the top of the van, here's a message for you - I hope you can sleep through tornadoes because that's what it felt like.
Picking the correct location to camp is one of the most important decisions you can make while camping. It's safe to say we picked incorrectly.
As dawn was getting closer the temperature continued to plummet, from a balmy 30-odd degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) during the day to what felt like zero at night, it was impossible to sleep in. It helped that our trip to Chile also involved skiing, so not only were we inside the van we were all fully dressed in ski gear and still unable to sleep!
Daytime broke and we got up as soon as there was light, still bitterly cold outside, however. The weather changes so dramatically that with each hour that passes, a layer of clothes is stripped off. It was at this point that we could see the state in which we parked and realised we were going to have trouble getting out as our wheel was halfway buried in the sand. Sure enough, upon trying to leave our overnight spot, the tyre wheel spun and slipped even further below the sand. No amount of digging helped, and neither did placing sticks and rubble (anything we could find) under the wheel to try to grip something. Pushing the van was completely useless too. So we found ourselves stuck in the middle of one of the harshest deserts, no car had passed us all night or morning and we were running out of ideas.
That's when Lady Luck smiled in our direction. It was like the sun shone in the direction of a nearby quarry to light up the path of our escape. We could see trucks and tractors readying for their day. We walked over to ask for their help and they were more than happy to. A tractor drove over, they attached a metal chain to the tow hitch and steadily pulled us out. This was after they tried with a rope that had snapped under the pressure.
If we had stayed overnight in a place slightly more remote who knows what the consequences would have been? So please take care in the desert.
