Santa Cruz: Getting there & around

Viru-Viru international airport is 15km (9mi) north of the city center. AeroSur and LAB have daily services to Cochabamba, La Paz and Sucre, as well as several other Bolivian cities. American Airlines flies direct to Miami, Aerolíneas Argentinas flies several times a week to Buenos Aires, and TAM Mercosur flies to Asunción.

The bimodal terminal, the combo long-distance bus and train station, is 1.5km (1mi) east of the center. There are frequent daily buses to Cochabamba (10-12hr), from where there are connections to La Paz, Oruro, Sucre, Potosí and Tarija. Cosmos has a direct daily service to La Paz (16-25hr). Several companies offer daily services to Sucre (16-25hr), Camiri (7-8hr), Yacuiba (15hr) and Vallegrande (6hr). Several companies also offer international services. Daily services connect Santa Cruz with Buenos Aires (42hr). In the dry season, you can attempt the Chaco Rd to and from Asunción, Paraguay (30hr minimum). Smaller micros and trufis (collective taxis or minibuses that follow a set route) to Viru-Viru airport, Montero, Samaipata and other communities in Santa Cruz department leave regularly from outside the old bus terminal.

The Expreso del Oriente (the infamous Death Train) runs to Quijarro, on the Brazilian border, daily except Sunday; it takes around 21 hours, although in the wet season it may not run at all. About halfway through the journey, it stops in San José de Chiquitos on the mission circuit, a good place to layover before continuing to Brazil.

Handy minibuses leave Viru-Viru airport for the center when flights arrive. Santa Cruz's handy system of city micros connects the transportation terminals and all the anillos with the center. Micros 17 and 18 circulate around the first anillo. To reach Av San Martin in Barrio Equipetrol, take micro 23 from anywhere on Vallegrande. For the bimodal bus-train station, take microbus 12 or 20.

Taxis are widely available. Overcharging is common on the way to and from the airport; so it's wise to ask the price in advance.