Eastern Bolivia

Eastern Bolivia is definitely worth a visit

Santa Cruz itself does not have that much to offer - the best thing is the night life in Equipetrol ( on a weekend) - and a quick stroll through downtown ( SC was only a cow town of 30 or 50.000 people 30 years ago)

The missions are definitely worth a visit - I really like Concepcion - but don't try to do all of them , 2 are enough

Noel Kempff:

I went there on an organized tour and I would not ( =never) do it again that way - next time I would go by myself, get a guide in La Florida (plenty) and head out on my own -

on a guided tour you will only visit secondary rain forest below the mesa - the primary rain forest starts on top of the mesa behind the remains of the former drug laboratory (our guide himself told us that we actually just saw the uninteresting stuff in the park..), that's where the good stuff is - back in 2005 there was just one bus a week going up the road to Noel Kempff fromConcepcion or San Ignacio- hopefully someone else on this forum can help ou out with this - you have to bring ALL food you need all camping equipment+ moscito net malaria pills ( Noel Kempff is one of the few regions in Bolivia where malaria pills are a must) - La Florida is a very poor little village, nothing to buy there and you have to provide food for the guide too!

I'll second Keimbeggra, the eastern half of Bolivia is definately worth some time and totally different to the highlands, gives you a real feel for how diverse the country is. Not sure why it gets relatively little attention, its quite a wealthy region compared to the highlands and (maybe as a result) not much effort has been focussed on promoting it tourism wise.

The Missions are beautiful, how many you decide to see depends on how into churches you are. The first 2, San Javier and Concepcion (where theres also a museum) will give you a good feel and are fairly easy to access; San Ignacio a bit further on is also a bit of a transport hub for trips further afield (the church here has been completely rebuilt). There's also some nice countryside near them you could explore or do day hikes in.

Noel Kempff is superb but hard to get to. Last year (Sept/Oct) there was one bus a week from Santa Cruz leaving Thurs night that went past the turn for La Florida (called La Mechita) en route to Piso Firme and at least one other service from San Ignacio. From La Mechita you'd have to arrange for a vehicle to come in from La Florida to meet you. If theres a few of you you could hire a 4WD in San Ignacio. The northern side of the Park at Flor de Oro is excellent but access is pretty much limited to chartering a light aircraft so beyond most peoples budgets. All visits have to be coordinated via the SERNAP (Nat Park Admin office) in Santa Cruz who are helpful with details and also up to date info on access and conditions. Going with a tour will make organisation easier but wont come cheap and tours seem to really rush the Park (you could easily spend 2 weeks inside).

Other options closer to Santa Cruz are Samaipata and Amboro Nat Park, also the Chapare region. For other ideas on places the best Ive seen are the photos in books by Willy Kenning, a Bolivian photographer based in Santa Cruz. Browsing through some of his books (which are in most bookshops) will give you far more ideas than any travel guide Ive seen!

Have fun!
Images to inspire you.......

I friend o fmine took a boat trip from Trinidad to Puerto Villaroel (Chapare) - loved that one - going up to Guayamerim should also be a nice trip

I agree wtih #2 and #3. Personally, I very much like the Chiquitania and the Jesuit missions located there. The Chiquitania is a different world from both La Paz and Santa Cruz. It is laid back and beautiful. Travel can be a pain, but there are buses passing between all the various towns as well as organized tours out of Santa Cruz.

The reason that you don't see much mention of eastern Bolivia is that is very different from the west.

The west is the high plains. It is barren, cold at night, has spectacular scenery and llamas. Over the mountains to the east, you enter milder climate and jungle. Tourists who want to see jungle usually go to Brazil, but Bolivia's jungle area is worth seeing.