Bus travel from Santa Cruz (via La Paz) to Cuzco (Machu Picchu)

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mr_tobi
mr_tobi

Hello everyone,

my fincée and I will be travelling to Bolivia next summer (July/August). We booked flights to/from Santa Cruz (most affordable coming from Scotland) fully aware that it will take us a while to reach Cusco. We would like to visit Machu Picchu via The Inca Trail at the start of our trip (due to pre-booking requirements at that time of year) and then make our way back slowly via back via Puno, Lake Titicaca, La Paz, etc.

I know Santa Cruz - Cuzco flights via La Paz with Amaszonas are a much faster option but too expensive for us. Instead we are planning to take busses. Having checked the lonely planets for Peru and Bolivia it appears the quickest route would be Santa Cruz - La Paz (15-21hrs) and then La Paz - Cuzco (12-17hrs). I appreciate there might be cheaper options if you want to make more stops on the way but we would probably try to switch as little as possible.

What are the bus companies you would suggest for such long distance travel?

Thanks and all the best,

Tobi

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tunabagel
tunabagel

that is pretty much the only direct route your can take. Trans Copacabana have a good bus that is just 3 rows of seats and fully reclining. It takes about 16 to 18 hours . The you can take a bus Lp to cusco with most leaving at 8am in the morning although there are a handful of service around midday and about 4.30pm This take about 12 hours. There are no fantastic comapanies for this leg but Litoral and Titicaca bus are ok options, Trans salvador is another to check out.

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mr_tobi
mr_tobi

Thanks tunabagel - I will check them out when I get there!

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contenta
contenta

We have traveled from La Paz to Cusco on Litoral and San Salvador. Both were fine, no problems (except that it was freezing during the night!) We purchased our tickets the day before.

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mr_tobi
mr_tobi

Thank you contenta!

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