Bolivia

Bolivia, in a few days

From La Paz to the Salar de Uyuni, by way of Lake Titicaca and white Sucre: the map, what is worth booking, everything that costs nothing, and where to sleep at three budgets.

Day by day

1

La Paz

Days 1-2

The highest seat of government in the world, at around 3,600 m, spilling down the sides of a canyon. A network of cable cars, Mi Teleférico, works as its metro.

🎟️ Worth booking

• Cable car and city tour, guidedHalf day · from €20
  La Paz from the cable cars, then its markets and plazas on foot, with a guide to explain how a city grew up a canyon wall.
• Mountain biking the Death RoadFull day · from €60
  A downhill day on the old Yungas road, from around 4,700 m to the edge of the forest, with sheer drops beside the track. Choose an operator for its bikes and its safety record.

✦ Free to visit

• The Witches' Market
• The view of Illimani
• Sopocachi

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Hostal Naira ↗ (€35 a night) · Mid-range: Atix Hotel ↗ (€110 a night) · Luxury: Atix Hotel · Suite ↗ (€220 a night) · All places to stay by budget →

📲 Book things to do in La Paz on GetYourGuide

2

Lake Titicaca (Copacabana)

Day 3 · 🚗 Bus 3h30

The Bolivian shore of the sacred lake of the Incas, at 3,800 m. Copacabana is the lakeside town, and the Isla del Sol a boat ride away.

🎟️ Worth booking

• Isla del Sol by boatFull day · from €25
  The island where, in Inca belief, the sun was born. Boats leave Copacabana in the morning and take about ninety minutes.
• Inca ruins and trailsHalf day · from €15
  Stone terraces and Inca sites along the island paths, with the lake below and the snow of the Cordillera Real behind it.

✦ Free to visit

• The basilica of Copacabana
• Cerro Calvario at sunset
• The lakeshore
• The local market

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Hotel Utama ↗ (€25 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Rosario Lago ↗ (€75 a night) · Luxury: Ecolodge La Estancia ↗ (€110 a night) · All places to stay by budget →

📲 Book things to do in Lake Titicaca (Copacabana) on GetYourGuide

3

Salar de Uyuni

Days 4-5 · ✈️ Flight 50 min

The largest salt flat on earth, more than 10,000 km² of white crust. After rain in the wet season, a thin sheet of water turns it into a mirror of the sky.

🎟️ Worth booking

• Salar 4x4 tour (two days)2 days · from €150
  Two days on the salt with a driver: Isla Incahuasi, the train cemetery and a night in a salt hotel. The coloured lagoons further south need a three-day tour.
• Sunset and a night in a salt hotelEvening · from €40
  Sunset out on the flats, then a night in a hotel built of salt blocks on the edge of the Salar.

✦ Free to visit

• The mirror effect (wet season)
• The train cemetery
• The coloured lagoons and their flamingos

🛏️ Where to sleep · Luxury: Palacio de Sal ↗ (€190 a night) · All places to stay by budget →

📲 Book things to do in Salar de Uyuni on GetYourGuide

4

Sucre

Days 6-7 · ✈️ Flight 40 min

The constitutional capital, a whitewashed colonial city on the UNESCO list since 1991. At about 2,800 m, it is also where you finally breathe easier.

🎟️ Worth booking

• The white old town, guided2h · from €15
  Two hours among whitewashed churches and the Casa de la Libertad, where Bolivian independence was signed in 1825.
• Tarabuco Sunday marketFull day · from €30
  A market town about 65 km from Sucre, known for its weaving and for the traditional dress of the Yampara people.

✦ Free to visit

• Plaza 25 de Mayo
• The Recoleta convent and its viewpoint
• The viewpoints over the tiled roofs

🛏️ Where to sleep · Mid-range: Parador Santa María ↗ (€70 a night) · Luxury: Hotel Mi Pueblo Samary ↗ (€140 a night) · All places to stay by budget →

📲 Book things to do in Sucre on GetYourGuide

Worth sorting before you go

Domestic flights and a 4x4 · Flights save whole days between La Paz, Uyuni and Sucre, where the roads are long and slow. On the Salar itself, the only way across is a 4x4 with a driver.

📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly

🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta

🚗 Car hire
Compare the agencies before you land.
Compare · Booking

💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut

🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer

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Flavours & local habits

🍽️ Worth tasting

• Salteñas: baked pastries holding a sweet, juicy stew, eaten as a mid-morning snack.
• Pique a lo macho: beef, sausage, chips, egg and hot peppers piled on one plate for sharing.
• Sopa de maní: a peanut soup, the best known of the filling soups of the highlands.
• Quinoa and potatoes: the Altiplano grows hundreds of varieties, including chuño, freeze-dried in the open air.
• Api morado: a thick, hot drink of purple corn, served at breakfast with a fried pastry.

⚠️ Best avoided

• Rushing the altitude: take the first two days in La Paz slowly, drink water and go easy on alcohol.
• Drinking tap water, or diving into street food in the first days.
• Choosing a Salar agency on price alone: ask about its drivers, its vehicles and its safety record.
• Planning to the hour: road blockades are common, so leave a spare day or two.

Words that help

English ↔ Spanish

✈️ Flight delayed by 3 hours or more, or cancelled? You may be owed up to €600. Check your flight on AirHelp.

The practical page

Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/bolivia

Packing checklist

Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.