Bolivia Itinerary
Hey all...Very early in the trip building for mine and my fiance's honey moon around SA. We'll be coming in via Peru and out via Argentina, most likely coming through Bolivia in November 2013. We have a few extra days built in to each country to account for delays/places we love but here was what we're thinking for Bolivia. Just wanted to make sure we weren't missing anything or wasting time in certain spots. We like pretty much everything travel wise....nature, adventure, culture, nightlife, beaches, backpacker trail, off the path, etc so we're pretty much up for everything (I know Bolivia might not offer all of these but giving you guys and idea :) )...we're also not strapped for $ but trying to be frugal with it to maximize our trip / minimize the hole in our bank account when we return home....
anyway here's what we're thinking...
-Lake Titicaca 4 days (coming in via Peru)
-La Paz 3 days
-Rurre 7 days (jungle trek thrown in and an extra day incase of flights/delays)
-La Paz 1 day
-Sucre 4 days
-Potosi 2 days
-Uyuni 4 days
-Tupiza 2 (move onto Argentina)
total 27 days...
anything we're missing? any tips or info would be amazing as we're still early in our planning
Thanks!
1
I think that itinerary looks good overall.Personally, I would cut a day from your first stay in La Paz--most of the classic attractions can be seen in one long day, and since you're coming back through anyway, I wouldn't worry too much about building in enough time for the city. Odds are you'll get stuck there at some point anyway.
BUT, you could always use one or two of those La Paz days to bike the Death Road/WMDR to Coroico and stay there overnight, returning to La Paz the following day.
If you're doing a tour from Uyuni, be sure to go ahead and go for the full Southwest Circuit through Reserva Eduardo Avaroa. In many ways I think that strecth of the high, high altiplano is more remarkable than the Salar itself.
Also, flying in Bolivia is cheap and easy. Never hesitate to take advantage of the country's wonderful air network (it looks like you're planning on using it anyway).
2
Congratulations!! Looks a pretty good plan and gives you some flexibility. If you're going on to Argentina I'd suggest you do the SW circuit tour from Tupiza rather than Uyuni. 4 day / 3 night trip, covers same sights as Uyuni tours plus some more, agencies are generally better standard in Tupiza and doing it this way you get to see sunrise over the Salar which is surreal. Jeeps will take you back to Tupiza at the end of the tour. Tupiza's a nice place to chill out for a couple of days, do hikes etc, while theres very little to see in Uyuni outside the tours.If you've already spent some time on Peru side of Titicaca you might find 4 days on the Bolivia side a bit much. Most obvious place to go if you want something different and have a couple of spare days is Coroico / Yungas area not far from La Paz.
3
I second James' suggestion to do the Salar/Southwest tour from Tupiza. The scenery follows a more interesting progression, and the operators do seem to be fewer and better. I had a good experience with Torre Tours.4
Thanks for the help! Taking the tour from Tupiza of my thinking...is there any kind of tour that leaves Potosi does Salar and then arrives in Tupiza? I think I read something about that somewhere but I could be wrong.5
#5 I dont think so, in the past most operators in Potosi just booked you a bus ticket to Uyuni and a tour from Uyuni rather than doing it themselves. Were often complaints by people who'd booked in Potosi being promised English guides and all sort of extras, none of which actually materialised when they got to Uyuni. Dont know if that is likely to change now the new Potosi Uyuni road has finally been officially opened, probably not as Uyuni operators are quite jealous of outsiders trying to intrude on their "patch"...! By Nov 2013 the Potosi - Tupiza road may be paved as well (its in progress); with elections coming up in 2014 there seems to be a sudden interest in finishing projects that have fallen behind schedule.... ;-)
