Who knew a week in Bolivia could be such an adventure? With the help of Lonely Planet’s: South America on a Shoestring book, I managed to get a glimpse of three main highlights of Bolivia: Isla Del Sol, The Yungas and the Salt Flats in less than a week.

Getting There

I entered Bolivia with a group of fellow English teachers via an overnight bus from Cusco, Peru to Copacabana, Bolivia.

Pro Budget Travel Tip: I have taken a lot of night buses when traveling around South America, Asia, and Africa as a means of saving money (since an overnight bus doubles as accommodation and transportation).

But if you’re not entering Bolivia via bus from a neighboring country, you can always fly into Bolivia via La Paz, Cochabamba or Santa Cruz. For purposes of these activities, it probably makes sense to fly into La Paz’s El Alto International Airport.

If you do enter Bolivia via international bus, just be warned that you need to deboard the bus and cross the border on foot (typically they don’t announce this in English).

Visas & Money

U.S. citizens will need to get a $160 30-day tourist visa to enter Bolivia, which can be purchased at any land or air border, or at . You can pay in U.S. or local currency, but you’ll need to provide crisp, untampered bills (bills with any damage may not be accepted).

You’ll also need an International Certificate of Yellow Fever vaccine.

Always check the U.S. Embassy for visa ant entry requirement changes.

The official national currency of Bolivia is the Bolivian Boliviano (BOB).

The exchange rate is around $1USD= 7 Boliviano.

If you only have a week to spend in Bolivia, I highly recommend the itinerary below.

1. Take a load off on Isla del Sol

Isla del Sol is a small 70 sq. km. island in the middle of Lake Titicaca, accessible via the town of Copacabana. Copacabana is about a 3-hour drive from La Paz.

From Copacabana, you can take a ferry or hire a private boat to take you to Isla del Sol. Be warned, it’s a bumpy two-hour boat journey, but you’ll be greeted by stunning views from this unique carless island.

You’ll probably also be met by children A.K.A. eager porters who want to carry your bags (for a small fee) up the steep 200 stair climb that is necessary to enter the island.

Indulge yourself with trucha (trout) and wine in one of the several quaint cliffside cafes that will give you the perfect viewpoint to take in the beauty of the sunset over Lake Titcaca.

Then take in the sunrise over the snowcapped mountains bordering Lake Titicaca on the terrace in front of your hostel, while watching llamas graze in the fields below and the locals wandering by with donkeys in tow.

Get yourself a solid “Americano” breakfast consisting of eggs and coffee, then set off on a leisurely stroll to the Templo del Sol archaeological ruins located on the South end of the island.

Accommodation

To enjoy a picturesque view of Lake Titicaca, you can book a room at the Hostal del Sol (located on the south side of the island) through Hostelworld.

2. Explore Witch Markets in La Paz

La Paz is the highest capital city in the world, and it sets on top of the Andes’ Altiplano plateau at almost 12,000ft. 

La Paz is an extremely beautiful city from afar, however, its beauty is overshadowed by a level of chaos once you are in the center of it. Despite the endless traffic, and imminent fear of being robbed, the city has a certain charm similar to Cusco. The snowcapped mountains peak out beyond the infinite hills and not a single spot seems to be uncovered by some form of architecture.

I spent my day in La Paz wandering around the city and visiting the witch market where they have an assortment of taxidermy llamas and preserved llama fetuses.

3. Chase waterfalls in Coroico

Catch a bus to The Yungas (the valley) where you can stay in Coroico a lovely town located near the jungle.

While the quaint tropical town has a lot of charm and frequent festivals, I came for the nearby hike to the Tres Cascadas (three waterfalls) on the outskirts of the town, where you can enjoy a swim at the base of the falls.

Two of the Tres Cascadas in Coroico (The Yungas)

From there, you can take a 12-hour bus to Uyuni. Fair warning, the bus journey is long, freezing, and bumpy. I also advise that you get a receipt when you purchase your bus ticket, we didn’t and we were abruptly woken in the middle of the night by a new bus conductor who didn’t remember us and demanded to see our tickets that we did not have. The local bus companies often purposefully oversell tickets and fill the aisles with people, therefore blocking the path to the bathroom.

Moral of the story: don’t choose the bus company “Panasur” for your transportation needs anywhere, especially from La Paz to Uyuni.

4. Have a photoshoot in Salar de Uyuni

Uyuni is an odd ghost-like touristy town near Salar de Uyuni (the Salt Flats) with an eery feel that you’ve just walked onto the set of “the Hills have Eyes.”

We spent the day relaxing in our hostel where we finally got to save some money and cook our own food and take a hot shower.

Don’t make the mistake we made of paying 100 Bolivianos to get to some nearby “hot springs” which consisted of a concrete walled-off area full of dirty water and naked locals. Needless to say, we chose to pass on them and climbed some nearby hills instead.

Despite the odd vibe of the town it is worth the stop to see the visually astounding salt flats that are nearby.

We chose to do a one day salt flats tour with visits to salt mounds that look like giant ant hills, a cactus island surrounded by salt, several wide open spaces where you can see salt for miles, and a train cemetery.

Train Cemetery (Uyuni)

If you have more time, I recommend doing an overnight tour and staying in one of the salt hotels.

Exploring the salt flats was surreal and felt like we were on another planet. After hours of photoshoots of some successful and some failed optical illusions we called it a day and headed back to La Paz on yet another night bus.

 

After our previous night bus experience, we decided to splurge a little and swing for the comas (fully reclining seats). Unfortunately, the better seats came at the price of having no bathroom aboard. This made for an interesting bonding experience when we stopped in the middle of nowhere for a bathroom break and all the girls did their business behind the bus and the boys to the side.

Overall, Bolivia was very similar to Peru in architecture, clothing and souvenirs, however, there was noticeably more poverty. The Yungas were a pleasant change of pace, and Isla del Sol was a dream that reminded me of a Latin version of the Amalfi Coast in Italy. The Salt Flats were truly worth the several night buses it took to get there and were an excellent finale to our adventure.

Logistical Tips for Booking Your Trip
Booking Flights
I typically use Skyscanner to book my flights because it allows you to search through websites and airlines worldwide all in one convenient search engine. You can also get price alerts for flights you’re interested in.
Booking Accommodation
I always book my hostels through Hostelworld. If I’m not staying in a hostel, then I often book an AirBnB.
Using a VPN for Online Bookings
I also use a VPN (a powerful virtual tool that provides you with a private, anonymous, and secure internet connection) when searching for flights, accommodation, and rental cars. Since websites track your online activity and location, then use these factors to make the rates you are given dramatically higher than their true value, a VPN ensures that you get the best rates, by eliminating artificially high prices based on your country and internet search history. I recommend an affordable VPN like Surfshark to make sure you are getting the best travel deals online!
Travel Insurance
I always travel with insurance, because I know all too well how many things can go wrong while traveling (and sometimes even beforehand). Travel insurance can protect you against certain cancellations, theft, lost luggage, trip interruptions, medical emergencies, and more. I use and highly recommend InsureMyTrip to find, compare and buy the plan that makes the most sense for each trip.
Other Travel Resources
Check out my Travel Resources Page to see the best companies, apps, jobs and other resources I use when traveling on a tight budget.

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About Author

Anna is an optimist with pessimistic tendencies who enjoys making a short story long, listening to soundtracks from musicals, and watching anything in the post-apocalyptic sci-fi genre. These days you can catch her learning about off-grid living and gardening the hard way, wandering with her partner and dogs through forest roads in a camper, or hiking to waterfalls or glacial lakes. You can also find her on YouTube at Anna and Ryan.

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