Bolivia itinerary, day by day

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.

🗓️ 3, 7 or 14 days📍 4 stops☀️ Best time: May to October

La Paz · Photo Willian Justen de Vasconcellos / Pexels

Route map (numbers = order of the stops).

Bolivia in 3 days

2 stops · 10 things to do · flights

1La Paz

Day 1

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.
Book on GetYourGuide →
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.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

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)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Mestizo Cocina de Autor ↗ ★ 4.9 · 208 reviews
Bolivian Popular Food ↗ ★ 4.6 · 1572 reviews
La Suisse Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.6 · 1165 reviews · €€€€
Oliva Restaurant - Cocina Abierta ↗ ★ 4.6 · 938 reviews
YATI Restaurant café bar ↗ ★ 4.6 · 732 reviews

Photo Nair Cristopher Sánchez Muñoz / Pexels

✈️ Flight · 50 min · heading south

2Salar de Uyuni

Days 2-3

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.
Book on GetYourGuide →
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.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

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

🛏️ Where to sleep · Luxury: Palacio de Sal (€190 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Memos Coffee Bistro ↗ ★ 4.9 · 612 reviews
LLAMA CAFE 💚💚💚💚💚🦙🌿🇧🇴 ↗ ★ 4.8 · 756 reviews
The Hot Spot Uyuni ↗ ★ 4.8 · 314 reviews
"La chapaquita" Churrasquería - Restaurante ↗ ★ 4.8 · 248 reviews
Hot grill - Gibas & anticuchos ↗ ★ 4.8 · 226 reviews

Photo Loïc Alejandro / Pexels

Bolivia in 7 days

4 stops · 21 things to do · car & flight

1La 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.
Book on GetYourGuide →
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.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

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)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Nair Cristopher Sánchez Muñoz / Pexels

🚗 Bus · 3h30 · 155 km

2Lake Titicaca (Copacabana)

Day 3

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.
Book on GetYourGuide →
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.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

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)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

KIOSCO #20 TITIKAKA SAGRADO ↗ ★ 4.9 · 342 reviews
Charlis'nack Copacabana ↗ ★ 4.8 · 319 reviews
Kiosco12 aries ↗ ★ 4.8 · 311 reviews
Gustito Andino Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.7 · 166 reviews
Restaurant La fortaleza del sabor ↗ ★ 4.6 · 477 reviews

Photo Roly Vasquez / Pexels

✈️ Flight · 50 min · heading south

3Salar de Uyuni

Days 4-5

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.
Book on GetYourGuide →
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.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

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

🛏️ Where to sleep · Luxury: Palacio de Sal (€190 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Loïc Alejandro / Pexels

✈️ Flight · 40 min · to Sucre

4Sucre

Days 6-7

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.
Book on GetYourGuide →
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.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

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)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Tierra Restaurante ↗ ★ 4.9 · 222 reviews
Restaurante Nativa ↗ ★ 4.8 · 506 reviews
Bocana bistró ↗ ★ 4.8 · 212 reviews
Café Restaurant Potocchi Sucre ↗ ★ 4.7 · 286 reviews
La Taverne Sucre ↗ ★ 4.6 · 767 reviews · €€

Photo Tom D'Arby / Pexels

Bolivia in 14 days

5 stops · 26 things to do · car & flight

1La Paz

Days 1-3

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.
Book on GetYourGuide →
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.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

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)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Nair Cristopher Sánchez Muñoz / Pexels

🚗 Bus · 3h30 · 155 km

2Lake Titicaca (Copacabana)

Days 4-5

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.
Book on GetYourGuide →
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.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

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)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Roly Vasquez / Pexels

✈️ Flight · 50 min · heading south

3Salar de Uyuni

Days 6-9

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.
Book on GetYourGuide →
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.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

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

🛏️ Where to sleep · Luxury: Palacio de Sal (€190 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Loïc Alejandro / Pexels

✈️ Flight · 40 min · to Sucre

4Sucre

Days 10-13

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.
Book on GetYourGuide →
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.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

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)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Tom D'Arby / Pexels

✈️ Flight · 55 min · return

5La Paz

Day 14 · return

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.
Book on GetYourGuide →
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.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

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)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Nair Cristopher Sánchez Muñoz / Pexels

Hotel prices are per room per night, activity prices per person, checked when written. Some links are affiliate links (Booking, GetYourGuide): we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

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Good to know before you go

🍽️ What to eat

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.

⚠️ What to avoid

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.

Plan this trip

📒 The free printable Bolivia guide→ 🗓️ Best time to visit Bolivia, month by month→ 🎟️ What to book before you go→

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