Holidaying in Bolivia



Had a month in Bolivia as part of a longer trip backpacking and hostelling recently.
LaPaz was very good, the cable car network, witches market, choleta wrestling in El Alto, great street and market food,San Pedro prison ,all very interesting stuff. It was supposedly an intimidating city but i never felt that in any way, just take usual common sense precautions . Take a free walking tour and tip the guide at the end is well worth it.

Uyuni- Salar (The Salt Flats) is a must do,,,two nights three days was a great option , cost about £100
Potosi- go down a working Mineral mine with an ex miner, one of the highlights of my 6 month trip cost £15
Sucre- regarded as the capital and not LaPaz, beautiful place very cultural.
Cochabamba - the centre of South America,lovely city very easy going and relaxed
Santa Cruz- the biggest city, was not for me, a bit ordinary in general
Bolivians are lovely warm,friendly and easy going people, it was a hugely pleasant suprise how outstanding the country was, you will see poverty in places ,feel humbled but there is no sense of self pity and they welcome tourists with open arms. One month was not enough and i will definitely go back as i missed out on the death road cycling due to the weather, the game reserves North and South East if the country. Also the Amazon Rain Forest but i had done that in Ecuador.Be aware the bus journeys between cities are long and usually through the night but in my experience perfectly safe and cheap.
 
Wasn't great fun for Butch & Sundance.
That movie is actually one of the reasons I’ve always wanted to go.
Done the main gringo trail places as part of a bigger trip. It wasn't my favourite country to visit but there's plenty of stuff to see. It's the poorest country in South America (or at least was, I guess Venezuela is now) and it shows. I'd agree that Peru and Chile are better.
Have considered touring across Venezuela, Peru and Chile but Bolivia is the main country in South America I want to go to.

I’m going to be going for at least 4 to 6 weeks, and likely starting in La Paz based on the recommendations in this thread.
Not remotely the best country to visit in S America....but some good stuff to see.
Titicaca, Uyuni and the southern desert (loved the desert there) and Sucre.

The whole country looked like a building site when I was there as taxes aren't payable until a building is finished....so they don't bother finishing them.
Sounds like an opportunity for a bit Bolivian stealth camping in an unfinished building. Will save on paying to stay in a finished hotel.
One me mates from work went to Cochabamba in Bolivia. Bit of an adventure he reckons, guns pulled out on him in a store, got robbed 2nd night, passport stolen, all his money knicked, and got kicked to fuxx. But apart from all that he literally enjoyed the place and the nice people.
Makes for a memorable holiday I suppose.
Bolivia is great!

But a holiday might not suit all.

La Paz is an amazing city set high in the Andes, well worth a visit.

The place we stayed in had broken glass in the door, electric wires in the shower etc...different world. I loved it but many won't. Do some research first.

There is a very dangerous cycle ride to do if you fancy it too.
The cycle ride sounds interesting… where abouts is it? Is it in La Paz?
 
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That movie is actually one of the reasons I’ve always wanted to go.

Have considered touring across Venezuela, Peru and Chile but Bolivia is the main country in South America I want to go to.

I’m going to be going for at least 4 to 6 weeks, and likely starting in La Paz based on the recommendations in this thread.

Sounds like an opportunity for a bit Bolivian stealth camping in an unfinished building. Will save on paying to stay in a finished hotel.

Makes for a memorable holiday I suppose.

The cycle ride sounds interesting… where abouts is it? Is it in La Paz?
An hour or two from La Paz, most of the ‘tours’ go from LP.
 
Had a month in Bolivia as part of a longer trip backpacking and hostelling recently.
LaPaz was very good, the cable car network, witches market, choleta wrestling in El Alto, great street and market food,San Pedro prison ,all very interesting stuff. It was supposedly an intimidating city but i never felt that in any way, just take usual common sense precautions . Take a free walking tour and tip the guide at the end is well worth it.

Uyuni- Salar (The Salt Flats) is a must do,,,two nights three days was a great option , cost about £100
Potosi- go down a working Mineral mine with an ex miner, one of the highlights of my 6 month trip cost £15
Sucre- regarded as the capital and not LaPaz, beautiful place very cultural.
Cochabamba - the centre of South America,lovely city very easy going and relaxed
Santa Cruz- the biggest city, was not for me, a bit ordinary in general
Bolivians are lovely warm,friendly and easy going people, it was a hugely pleasant suprise how outstanding the country was, you will see poverty in places ,feel humbled but there is no sense of self pity and they welcome tourists with open arms. One month was not enough and i will definitely go back as i missed out on the death road cycling due to the weather, the game reserves North and South East if the country. Also the Amazon Rain Forest but i had done that in Ecuador.Be aware the bus journeys between cities are long and usually through the night but in my experience perfectly safe and cheap.
Do they still do the unofficial prison tours?
 
Anyone on here ever been on holiday to Bolivia?

Thinking of booking and having a long stay over there, looking for recommendations of places to go and hotels etc?
Went on group tour with Tucan, really good. La Paz is something else. Went to see a footy match there in their version of super League. The Strongest they were called. Standard was shite.
Went all the way thru it to Chile and flew back from Santiago via Panama and Amsterdam to get back in to UK just in time for the AJ derby win in last minute.
It's absolutely class. Can't recommend it enough. La Paz is very scenic, totally surrounded by the snow capped Andes. Also, best way of transport is by using cable cars. They have 5 or 7 different lines, much as we have tube lines for commuters
The lowest is at about 2,500 metres altitude, you go over people's swimming pools, the highest is going over the street markets in El Alto at over 4,000 metres where the poorer indigenous people live. Women wearing bowler hats and ponchos.
On one route, you're going down the middle of the street, at third storey level or so, and blocks of flats on either side going up seven or ten storeys. Surreal.

Did the death road on a bicycle, interesting, absolutely amazing scenery, but the great thing was that you can spend a few hours in the tropical sun after a few weeks at high altitude.
For me the highlight was the salt flats of Uyuni, but we went that way to go onward to Chile
There's one tour company that you stay in the hot springs at night at, I think about 4,500 metres in the Atacama. We timed it for a night when there was no moon and the tour guide pointed out the constellations with a laser pointer. Incredible
Other companies go to the same place during the day, but don't stay there.
Also other astounding scenery on that trip, red lakes, Andes peaks etc etc.
It's also possible to go to Amazonia in Bolivia.
One of the cheapest countries in SA and for me, the most interesting, but liked Peru as well.
There's a company called Peru Hop, that does a hop on hop off bus that will take you from Lima to La Paz.
It stops at a load of places including Paracas, Nazca, Arecena, Cuzco, Titicaca. It takes a lot of stress out of organising travel, if I was on my own, I probably wouldn't have used it, but made for hassle free travel with the wifey. When you arrive/ depart the town you are staying in, they arrange and pay for taxis to your hotel. It cost about £230 four years ago.
Did you do that tour where you go in to a mine and experience the conditions they work ? Cudnt wait to get out.
Uyuni was amazing. The train graveyard at ??? was quirky. We also stayed in a Salt Hotel !
Like you say, some spectacular scenery.
TUCAN were a brilliant company to go with. The Chile part was great too.
 
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Went on group tour with Tucan, really good. La Paz is something else. Went to see a footy match there in their version of super League. The Strongest they were called. Standard was shite.
Went all the way thru it to Chile and flew back from Santiago via Panama and Amsterdam to get back in to UK just in time for the AJ derby win in last minute.

Did you do that tour where you go in to a mine and experience the conditions they work ? Cudnt wait to get out.
Uyuni was amazing. The train graveyard at ??? was quirky. We also stayed in a Salt Hotel !
Like you say, some spectacular scenery.
TUCAN were a brilliant company to go with. The Chile part was great too.
Didn't do the mine trip, we just took an overnight bus from La Paz to Uyuni. The tour company that we used from Uyuni was Red Planet, as they were the only ones that stayed overnight at the hot springs.
Stayed the other night in a salt hotel.
Was a bit iIl, as well, don't think it was altitude sickness, having spent a few weeks already at 10,000 feet. But headache, diarrhoea, hoyed up.etc. I didn't drink enough water and the glare of the sun off the blinding white salt flats could have done it.


We went on to San Pedro de Atacama, but found it a sort of trendy tourist destination after Bolivia. Total contrast.
The salt flats were probably the highlight of the whole 11 week SA trip.
Went to the weird train graveyard, which was close to
Uyuni and another one half way to Chile.
But the scenery man. Andes, desert, volcanos, red lakes, salt flats, incredible blue skies and starry nights, bizarre perspective photos, the drivers chewing coca leaves.
Surreal trip.
If we had more time and a LOT more money, we'd have gone South of Santiago into Chilean Patagonia.
 
But the scenery man. Andes, desert, volcanos, red lakes, salt flats, incredible blue skies and starry nights, bizarre perspective photos, the drivers chewing coca leaves.

If we had more time and a LOT more money, we'd have gone South of Santiago into Chilean Patagonia.
The desert trip is incredible.
Patagonia - wow, just as good - do it if you can
 
Nah just read a bit about it and have read Marching Powder, wasn't sure if it had been knocked on the head.
Plus would have been interesting to hear a first hand view on it.
I was tempted for a minute but being well over 6 feet and fair haired i was getting plenty of stares on the street already let alone going into the prison.
Abduction of tourists has happened for ransom apparently though no documented fatalities and have been released on payment.
 

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