Bolivia: Getting there & around

Only a few airlines offer direct flights to Bolivia - many people fly into another South American country and travel overland, which is generally cheaper.

You can enter Bolivia by road from any of the neighboring countries. Routes are poor from Brazil and Chile, and those from Paraguay should only be considered with a 4WD. Routes from Argentina and Peru, however, pose no major problems. Foreigners entering from another country need a hoja de ruta (circulation card), available from the Servicio Nacional de Tránsito at the frontier. This must be presented and stamped at all police posts along highways and just outside major cities. Peajes (tolls) are often charged and private vehicles may be searched for contraband. Depending on where you enter from, you may need to change buses across the border.

If you're determined to fly, flights to/from Chile and Peru are the cheapest. Santa Cruz is an increasingly popular entry point from Western European hubs. Flying into La Paz is more expensive than into Santa Cruz. Bolivia's principal international airports are La Paz's El Alto (tel: 2281 0240) and Santa Cruz' Viru-Viru International (tel: 181). At the time of research, Bolivia's national carrier, Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano was in financial trouble and unreliable at best. AeroSur, the nation's other airline, is more reliable.

An international departure tax (around B$25.00 ), is payable in cash at the airport. There's also a 15% tax on international airfares purchased in Bolivia.

All flights on the national airline, Lloyd Aereo Boliviano (LAB), were suspended on 31 March 2007 until further notice. Alternative domestic air services are provided by TAM (military airline), Aereoste, Amazonas and Aereo Sur - be prepared for delays, cancellations and general unreliability.

Bolivia's road network is great, mainly because of the lack of paved roads. Most long-distance buses depart in the evening and travel through the night. If you want to see the countryside between towns, you're better off catching a truck, which is a popular mode of transport among campesinos - they're are half the price of buses, and half as comfortable.

Since privatization in the mid-90s, passenger rail services have been drastically cut. There are two rail networks: one in the west and one in the east. The eastern network is completely chaotic; the western network is just disorganized. Don't be fooled by trains with zippy names like tren expreso ; apart from the ferrobus , they're all excruciatingly slow.