| Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 | |
"Gringo Trail?" and is Bolivia expensive?!Country forums / South America / Bolivia | ||
Hi, I'm headed to Bolivia in 10 days. I've the the visa, etc. and a first night in a La Paz hostel booked. Now I'm trying to figure out where to go. My return is from Lima, so I'll do a HOP bus from La Paz to Lima and see Copacabana/Lake Titicaca/Isla del Sol on the way. I know I want to see the salt flats, and a couple day trips out of La Paz, but other than that.. it's all open at this point. People mention the "Gringo Trail" here. What is the typical "Gringo Trail"? Is there a good reason to follow it too? If not, what's a great alternative? Also, I've heard countless times about how inexpensive it is to travel in Bolivia. Some even say it's as low and often lower than traveling in India. However, I keep seeing people asking questions about tours costing anywhere from $300 to $600, and up. That doesn't sound very "inexpensive" to me at all. Are these just people paying for premium, wealthy tourist packages? Or, is it really that expensive to experience the best of Bolivia? I don't mind public buses, hostel dorms, or street food. So, if I'm winging it and want to get a reasonably awesome trip in Bolivia (38 days in Bolivia plus 10 days for the trek from La Paz to Lima) what's an average daily budget if I can't throw monetary caution to the wind? I don't care about any "extreme adventure" stuff, ie. bungie jumping, paraglide, white-water rafting stuff. Mostly cultural experience, awesome stuff to photograph, exotic landscapes, and the people. | ||
The 'Gringo Trail' is the succession of places that most tavellers in a country take ...there may be slight varieties,but most people will follow a variation of the trail. In Bolivia....for overlanders...it would be probably Titicaca/Copacabana-La Paz-maybe Rurrenabaque (jungle/pampas)-Potosi-Salar.Reason to follow it...most of these places have a lot to offer tourists,and good infrastructure..transport options,restaurants,hotels etc. Reason not to follow it.....you don't want to do what all the other tourists are doing ;-) Everey country in South and Central America has one..... | 1 | |
On cost....tours are not the cheapest for sure.Though you can still get very reasonable prices for tours in the pampas,or in the salar,compared to many countries. If you travel without tours..as you can in La Paz,Sucre,Potosi etc.etc.and many other less famous places....then Bolivia is a really cheap country.The cheapest in SA....you can live on US$20 a day comfortably. | 2 | |
@lucapal Thanks. Yes, I know what a "Gringo Trail" is. I've traveled a good deal and know there are routes you keep running into the same backpackers and seeing them at the same hostels. ;) But, I don't know what the typical gringo route is in Bolivia. There are typical gringo routes in Mexico. If you're not familiar with the country and possibly don't speak Spanish, it would likely be a good idea to stick to the Mexican "gringo trail". I do speak Spanish. I wouldn't say I'm completely fluent, but I get by just fine most of the time. Usually, I have a few ideas of where I might want to go before I arrive but no firm plan at all. I'd planned on just getting to La Paz, finding a decent room or hostel dorm for 2-3 nights, doing a couple day trips, then deciding what I want to do from there. When I went to Peru several years ago, I was in a bit of a hurry, flew into Lima, then up to Cuzco a day or so later. The altitude, even with the mate de coca, was extremely tiring. I didn't get altitude sick, but I told myself that if I ever go in the region again, I'd allow for more time to acclimate before pushing on. However, I see all these people refining their entire trips specifically down to the day, and was wondering if you really have to pre-plan that much for Bolivia? Also, if I can't pay $300-$600 for tours, am I going to miss the best of Bolivia? Or, does that mean I'll just have to take longer bus rides, have no guide, and sleep in less comfortable beds... while still seeing the same great stuff the people with deep pockets and fat wallets are seeing? | 3 | |
I was thinking about whether "tours" really are that expensive. So, I looked at a comparison of a 3 day tour in Southwestern Bolivia with a similar tour elsewhere in the world. Bolivia: Salar de Uyuni - a long way from infrastructure, crossing a desert in 4 x 4 vehicles, vehicle, driver, and food provided. I picked a "high end" tour, staying at the Tayka Hotels. Cost = USD 167/day Algeria: Tamanrasset - a long way from infrastructure, crossing a desert in 4 x 4 vehicles, vehicle, driver, and food provided. I found a tour with accommodation in tents. Cost USD 169/day. Now this is obviously only a single comparison; it would be interesting to do some more comparisons of other South American "tours" against similar destinations (e.g., Pantanal versus Okavango, El Cocuy versus Kilimanjaro, and so on). I guess my point is that when you take into account the infrastructure and resources needed to run these tours in South America, they're not that expensive. | 4 | |
@alanymarce You missed the point entirely. It doesn't matter if the tours cost as much as they do in other countries. What is the point, and what my question is... if you don't have $167/day to spend on tours in Bolivia, can you still see the best the country has to offer on a backpacker budget? I'm not going to argue about whether $300-$600+ tours are "worth it". That's not the question. The question is can you still do Bolivia on a shoe-string budget. If a traveler has that kind of bank and wants some comfort, speed, english-speaking guide, then more power to them. However, if a traveler has a backpack, not loads of money, can speak Spanish, and doesn't need a guide to transport them in comfort... can they still have a great experience and see the best stuff without spending money on $167/day tours? | 5 | |
Found this Uyuni tour price-based post helpful. Looks like if I'm willing to wing-it and not have an english-speaking guide like I usually do, etc. then a Salt-Flats tour isn't all that pricey. This person did a 3-day 2-night for $108 a year ago, that's doable for me. :) | 6 | |
I guess I was in "reflection mode" rather than focussing precisely on your question(s), my apologies. re "However, if a traveler has a backpack, not loads of money, can speak Spanish, and doesn't need a guide to transport them in comfort... can they still have a great experience and see the best stuff without spending money on $167/day tours?". In short: yes. With a caveat; what do you mean by "the best"? If you mean the best possible access and understanding, then I suggest that you would benefit from the best guide, the best transport, the best etc. Good guides don't price themselves cheaply, safe and comfortable transport tends to be more expensive, and so on. However, you can undoubtedly have a great experience without going for the most expensive alternatives. In fact some of the most expensive tours don't offer the best experience in my view, an air-conditioned vehicle in the Pantanal cuts you off from contact with nature, for example. Perhaps the key is to manage your resources to get the best "bang for the buck" overall; for example many years ago I hitched from southern Africa to East Africa (with a backpack, without loads of money) and slept in a tent or a truck much of the time. However, when I wanted to walk Kilimanjaro I paid what it took for a safe, well-run trip, and benefited accordingly. | 7 | |
Sounds exactly like how I travel. I'll go without hot showers, walk, sleep on the ground, etc. But spend the money when it matters the most. What inspired the question was all the posts on the Bolivia forum about booking tours. Not so many about doing it on your own, etc. Lots of costs in the several hundred US dollar range. Was making me nervous. I don't have to go all "shoe-string" with it, but I just came off another long trip via motorcycle that cost me more than I thought it would, and then I booked this Bolivian trip without much time to recover the old wallet health. ;) Just didn't want to get there and discover that I can't see any of the awesome stuff I've seen photographs of, without having to buy several hundred US dollar tours to do it. I don't have any problem haggling, staying in dodgy accommodations, eating street food, etc. in order to save enough budget for tour transport every now and then. | 8 | |
I had a look at the post you mentioned - some good advice there. Since you speak Spanish, you obviously don't need a bi-lingual (or multi-lingual) guide, and will also be more likely to encounter Bolivians/other South Americans on the tour. The one thing I'm sure that you've realised already is that time is your best ally. Take the time to choose the best deal, wait for the best bus option, take the long way round when it costs less (which will give you more experience as well). Bolivia is wonderful, the people are a little cautious compared with those from most neighbouring countries but warm and friendly once the ice is broken. It is inexpensive, certainly by comparison with Brazil, Chile, and Argentina. You'll have a great time! | 9 | |
Judging by my research on a similar trip so far, I think you'll do fine with that mentality in Bolivia. Figure out which inaccessible places are high on your wishlist and save money for these tours. Take public buses, stay in cheap hostels (or even camp if you are bringing a tent), etc. exactly as you planned. Other than the tours, Bolivia is one of the cheapest countries in S.A, and even the tours seem affordable in comparison to surrounding countries. | 10 | |
I ordered the 2015 Rough Guide. I'd picked up the LP guide in the book store, but it was from 2013 so I returned it. The 2015 Footprint one doesn't release until October after I'm already gone, so I went with the 2015 RG instead. And, it just arrived today! Been going through it and it looks like it'll serve me well. I have no idea how accurate it is yet, but I looked up the usual stuff and it was easy to get to. As an example, I checked info on the Uyuni tours. It shows $118 for a 3-day on the low end. Considerably more if you book in advance in La Paz (maybe this is where those higher prices quoted here are coming from?). It also mentioned the 4-day out of Tupiza, and that can be had for $192. That's still not too bad. | 11 | |
Slightly off topic, but a question about pre-booking tours? | 12 | |
In general, no. But there are a lot of caveats. The reason most tours are cheaper when you book on the spot, is because they have a couple of people who booked, and want to fill the tour (or in a more general case: guides are sitting around doing nothing, so taking people for less money, but still enough to make a profit, is still better than earning no money at all). The reason you pay more in advance is because it allows you to eliminate all the uncertainty. If you don't book in advance you might show up in town, and find that there is no tour available for that day (or the next 3 weeks). Now if you have plenty of time, that doesn't matter, but if you had scheduled everything tightly, then suddenly your holiday plan doesn't work anymore. The other reason is because you know some specific guides are good, and you want to book with them. You're generally not the only one with that info, so you book in advance and pay top dollar for that. Finally, there's trips that take significant preparation and are not done very often: if you don't book those in advance you don't go. | 13 | |
Thank you andrewk81. That's very helpful. I have sufficient time in all the places I am visiting so will just book when I arrive and hopefully get them cheaper. Thanks again. | 14 | |
Most of the places you can manage without a tour or a guide. | 15 | |
If you are on a budget and speak some Spanish, you certainly don't need a tourist "hop bus" company to get to Cusco from La Paz, via Copacabana. Normal buses will do the job, and are much cheaper. In addition to Potosi and the salar, Sucre definitely also is on the gringo trail in Bolivia, and some gringos say Cochabamba is too. Corioco in the las Yungas region is not, but it's a great place to check out for a couple of nights, and you can get there in half a day from La Paz. If you want the best price for a tour of the salar, just go to Uyun, arriving early afternoon. Then check out several different travel agenicies, and let them know you are comparing prices. If you do it that way you can be absolutely certain you'll be leaving on a jeep tour the next morning, at the current cheapest price. | 16 | |
Thanks for the info! By the way, I'm not taking a "hop" bus to Cuzco. Not even going to Cuzco. Went there a few years ago when I traveled to Peru. Was thinking of taking the "hop" bus from La Paz to Lima for my return. It's $169 for 8 hops from La Paz to Lima, Peru. Most of the stops sound like places I'd stop anyway. They also claim to make it easier crossing the border from Bolivia to Peru. However, I haven't booked that yet. Figured I'd wait until I get there and get a feel for how difficult it is to do on my own. The "hop" option sounded appealing because it's a long haul from La Paz to Lima and I wouldn't have to deal with finding the bus stations in each stop, etc. They also pick you up at your hostel/hotel. I've learned enough about shoe-string traveling to know that sometimes it's worth spending the extra $5 for a much easier experience and possibly faster time or better comfort. I've spent many years traveling, wandering around some city looking for the cheapest room, or taking a 3rd class bus somewhere that took an extra 5hrs and only saved me $10 off a 1st class bus. If the 8-stop "hop" bus from La Paz to Lima costs $169, what would that same trip cost on public buses? | 17 | |
However, I haven't booked that yet. Figured I'd wait until I get there and get a feel for how difficult it is to do on my own Easy. Booking at bus stations is quite straight forward. You can even book online or at travel agencies. Theres usually ample room on any given day. If you are worried about overbooking then you can easily book ahead of time too but thats a rarity. For 169 dollars its probably just as cheap as buses. For example a bus from Puno to Arequipa with Cruz del Sur (one of the more reputable companies) is 19 USD. You can definitely get cheaper buses than that - but they won't have be as good. Whether the hop on/off bus is worth it is debateable. To be honest from La Paz to Lima you would only stop at Lake Titicaca, Arequipa, Nazca (possibly) and Ica/Huacachina/Ballestas Islands. So realistically only a few bus rides. Unless you want to go back to Cusco. So say 4 bus rides at an average of 20 USD per ride is 80. Round that up to 100USD to be save. Taxis to he bus station are really only a few soles. | 18 | |
Correct on the much much cheaper prices for ordinary buses. Plus, the ordinary buses leave more frequently, so offer more flexibility. From La Paz or Puno or Arequipa, the ordinary buses north would be leaving approx. every 1/2 hour or so. | 19 | |
Defininitely cheaper to wait until you get there for transportation and accomodation, for many reasons. Also, you have more flexibility. The exception may be places like TdP refugios, Macchu Picchu entry or certain Galapagos services that relly get booked out far in advance. Most places (like Uyuni tours) are always looking for more customers. In addition, there are often disconnects between out-of-town tour organizers and the local companies that actually provide any service you actually need or want when you are there (if it is something you cannot do on your lonesome). It is better to arrange on the ground, and you can be sure they are ready for you. | 20 | |
Is that really sensible given you only have 10 days and apparently have in mind seeing a fair bit of Bolivia rather than Peru. When I took a bus from La Paz to Puno with a decent lunch stop at Copacabana on the way it took all day. Have you checked the details of getting to Isla del Sol and how it fits with transport to/from La Paz and Puno? Then Puno to Cusco takes all day (or overnight if you can tolerate it). And I think Cusco to Lima is about 20 hours. And what's the point of going to Puno or Cusco unless you actually stop there and see what is to be seen? You've only got 10 days, and it sounds like about half of them will be in Peru. You don't get to see much of Bolivia in 5 days. In Bolivia it is usually difficult to improve upon taking a day to get to the next place, then then a day to do something when you get there. Then you have the Bolivia factor that tight timetabling is dangerous in Bolivia because stuff happens. | 21 | |
Where the heck is anyone getting the idea I'm going to Cuzco? I'm NOT! I've already been there. I'm only going from La Paz to Lima for my return flight. I'm spending 38days in Bolivia, and saving 10 days to get from La Paz to Lima. Will make a few overnight stops to break up the trip. Bolivia in 5 days?! Are you kidding? I've never said anything of the such. I've got 7 weeks total. I've been told I need to allow for a week minimum to get from La Paz to Lima for my return. I've allowed for 10 days. There are only about 4 stops I really want to make anyway. From what I've read, even with a 3-day bus strike, I should be fine with 10 days. Once again, I'm NOT going to Cuzco. I've already been there a few years ago. Not really interested in going back. It was ok, but I've been there and done that already. | 22 | |
Lot of people doing "cheap" Bolivia trips are Trekking and really are backpacking--not just throwing their pack on a bus. I was disappointed to arrive in Rurre and discover it was not like Iquitos where any guy with a canoe will take you out on day trips for $10. The tourist people in Rurre appear to have made sure any one with a canoe is under contract to them. I did the jungle tour for something like $80 a day..but in my group were two young women who were doing the tour for free as they promised to stay for two weeks to teach English & German to the staff. Another couple from Belgium were getting a free jungle tour for taking pictures to be used on the Lodges website. Ayahuasa trips are only $100 in Rurre! As to the salt flats--Big Toyota Landcruisers are not cheap and eat up a lot of gas each day. Don't think you could do it cheap...Unless you like walking across miles of Nothing. And lot of Europeans are in La Paz to do relatively cheap (compared to Europe) mountain climbing up nearby 6,000 meter hills. And Bolivia is inexpensive--lot of hostels or hotels for $5 to $8 a night with TV and bano. Easy to find great lunch for $1. | 23 | |
I've been going through the 2015 Rough Guide now that it's arrived. All looks quite doable on a fairly modest budget. I guess what I've been reading in the LP forums are a lot of people paying big bank to book in advance and have more comfort, etc. Doesn't appear to be quite as expensive as it was looking. Jungle tour for $80 a day seems a bit steep. I did a jungle tour out of Iquitos, alone with one guide, a boat to get a few hours down the Amazon, a hulled out canoe, a basic stilted-jungle-cabin for the first night. The guide carried food, water, a shotgun (for big cats), and a spear (for boas). I stayed with a medicine dude for about 5 days. It was 2 days in and 2 days back out. The currandero took me into the jungle to show me the plants he'd use in the Ayahuasca, and he made enough for me to have 2 trips. The guide showed me some pink dolphins on the trip back to Iquitos. The whole thing cost me about $125 total. This was a few years ago though. Hard to believe the pricing has spiked that much. Did you mean that $100 US just for an ayahuasca trip is a good deal? If so, geez! I didn't realize the ayahuasca trip had become so fashionable with Williamsburg-hipster pricing. ;) | 24 | |
Sorry, misread what you wrote, understand now. Via Cusco is the most straightforward way from La Paz to Lima by surface, but you are not in a hurry so that isn't necessary. | 25 | |
La Paz to Lima via Cuzco is the most direct?! Look at the map from this "HOP" company HERE they show 2 different routes from La Paz to Lima. One of them is via Cuzco, is more expensive, and appears to be MUCH further and MUCH less direct. What am I missing here? To be clear, I'm not necessarily even going to use the HOP service. If it's half as much to use public busses, I'll likely do that instead. | 26 | |
I would like some credible reports about "Hop". It sounds like a new expensive service, there are no prices yet on the website. Hopefully it works better than the disasterous pass companies like Southpass, Bamba and Green Toad. Guess we'll have to see. In the meantime, I would probably just use the regular buses. I do not like the way they are dismissive of the "public buses", which are in fact private bus companies as well, and some of them in Peru and Bolivia are quite good. Funny how the OP is mentioning this new company so much. | 27 | |
Its been going for about a year to two now. I haven't used it in Peru. Nor have I read any reports on it. Local buses are fine. Cheaper and definitely have more flexible departure times (that is much more frequent departures). There was a poster who used to rave about this company (I always got into arguments over him about it) and I haven't seen him post recently. | 28 | |
There are actually prices their site posted a link to. You have to click on the route you want to show the prices. And I have absolutely nothing to do with them. I found them after doing a search for transport from La Paz to Lima. They came up in a Google search. There are reviews of them on TA. Most good, but a few bad too. However, it looks like the owner responds to the bad reviews. I just wanted to see approximately what would cost to go from La Paz to Lima overland. Nothing more. They have some maps showing the stops they make and some of them I hadn't thought of. I don't even know if I'll use their service, but I did email them and got a reply back within a day. That's all I know, other than the info on their site is well laid out. You can see their prices by clicking on the route of your choice. The route "pass" I was looking at from them has 8 possible "hops" in route to Lima for $169. There's another "pass" that adds in Cuzco (9 possible "hops") for $199 I think. They have other routes too, but none I was interested. Look for yourself if interested. I've never used them before. Can't speak for the quality of their service. If I feel comfortable going it alone with "hopping" and it saves me money, I'll likely just do that. If they have some advantage of getting you over the Bolivia/Peru border easily and without getting hit up for a bogus fee or bribe, and they don't cost that much more, then I might consider using them. Once I get there, I'll ask around if anyone has used them. If it looks like an over-priced service that doesn't offer any real benefit over the "public" companies, then I won't use them. Does anyone who's been there and passed from La Paz to Lima, know if there would be much benefit to their published fees? I wonder how much just a one-way flight between La Paz and Lima would cost? FYI: Just did a quick Kayak search for my departure date to see how much a one-way from La Paz to Lima costs. Best price I could find is $325 Most likely, after get acclimated to using Bolivian transportation, I'll just save the money and do public busses. I've been to Peru before, but I didn't go to the South and I didn't go to Titicaca. If I bus it overland, it looks like there are some good options/stops to break up the trip. The Oasis place where you can sandboard looks cool. The deep canyon and condors sound cool, didn't do Nazca the first time, and a couple of the cites on the way seem worth a stop. | 29 | |
La Paz to Lima would be costly. You could get the bus from La Paz to Cusco and grab a cheap Star Peru flight to Lima for 70-100 bucks. | 30 | |
Buses--from past trips to both Bolivia and Peru, I have found it worthwhile to go to the bus station and see what is available yourself. Tourist agencies and Hostels get a commission for directing you to the more expensive over night bus rides. However you also must be aware that some mountain roads take a lot of time in bad weather. I flew from Rurre to La Paz while friends took bus--they got stuck in mud a few times and their ride turned into a 30 hour trip. | 31 | |
Did you mean that $100 US just for an ayahuasca trip is a good deal? If so, geez! I didn't realize the ayahuasca trip had become so fashionable with Williamsburg-hipster pricing. Price for full blown ceremony involving fasting, etc, runs about $1500 to $1800 in Peru. ayahusca is in as it clears up wrinkles on womens faces better than Botox. ELLE magazine had an article about it being used by models several years ago. CCN recently had an hour long show on Iraqi Vets using it near Iquitos for PTSD treatment. In Rurre, I was quoted $100 for following; ride across river on canoe; get on back of motorcycle and ride out into jungle for 2 hours; get off moto and walk for an hour into jungle . Meet shaman and take Ayahusca about 1900; Projectile vomit and projectile diaherria from 1900 to about 2300. Get visions all night. Problem--you must do it alone! Did not trust them. | 32 | |
@xinloi there's the rub... "trust". I didn't mention that with my 8 day $125 Ayahuasca trip... the guide disappeared for 4 days with my food and water. The shaman dude fed me, and I at least had brought a collapsible water bottle with iodine tabs. I was told later that shouldn't have been enough for that water. They said you have to boil it for 2hrs first THEN put in the tabs. I just put the tabs in, shook it up, and drank it after waiting about half an hour. Didn't get sick. Another hiccup I didn't mention... is that when the guide did come back, evidently he'd run off to some neighboring village to get drunk with a girlfriend and spent the cash he was carrying to pay the shaman. Turned to me to cough up $43, but I told him his boss instructed me to bring no cash, or passport, or anything of value. I tripped twice just to make sure I'd got the full effect. I took a one night break before the second trip. I got much less sick the second time, but it was still unpleasant because at this point I was really starting to worry the guide wasn't coming back. I didn't have any money or anything to trade to get myself back to Iquitos. I'm sure I could've convinced someone with a canoe to get me there with a promise of getting paid once I made it to Iquitos. But still, there was a little fear involved. All in all, I didn't really think all the projectile vomiting and diarrhea was worth it. I've done a fair amount of tripping in other countries with various local plants, and peyote is still my favorite. More controlled and less chaos. To be honest, it may just be that I'm getting "old", but I'm starting to simply appreciate balanced brain chemistry much more than rolling the dice and tossing my psyche into bio-chaos for a few hours. I don't regret the times I've done it, but at some point it feels like you're just on the same old roller coaster trying to get the same adrenaline rush you got the first time you road it. Not gonna happen. I know that when I did it, it wasn't "all the rage" yet. Most I met hadn't even heard of it. The only reason I'd heard of it was because I'd been reading about William Burroughs and his Yage fascination letters. I think I also remember Terrance McKenna's talks influencing me a little too. When I was in Bogota, Colombia a couple years ago... they were running Ayahuasca tours out of there. I don't remember how much, but I think they were in the $200 range. That included transport an hour or so outside of Bogota, food, preparation gathering, fasting, etc. You stayed in a tent, did the "ceremony" with about a dozen other travelers, then rest a day before getting a ride back to Bogota. I think it was basically a long weekend. I didn't want to do it then because it seemed too "touristy". A friend in Brooklyn just did a pre-paid Brazilian ayahuasca retreat that cost him about $3500. It was for a week. That might've included RT from NY too. Now that I think about it, I think I'd rather do a touristy version and pay a bit more. As you and I'm sure other's here likely know, if you're going to scramble your brain chemistry into some weird psychedelic chaos soup, you should feel 100% comfortable with your surroundings and feel safe. You don't want any fear in the mind that can manifest into a bad trip. When you're a gringo, alone, hoping on the back of a motorbike, canoeing over the river, etc. then sitting there going into a controlled insanity in the jungle, after just got over projectile vomiting and explosive diarrhea, it's easy to let fear creep into your mind. "What am I doing here? This is insane! These guys could easily just hit me over the head and no one would ever know... etc." Not the kind of internal dialogue you want to be having right before your neurons get soaked in a serotonin/dopamine rush. ;) | 33 | |
You have to read "One River" by Wade Davis. Great book on plants along the Andes. he has another article somewhere about how you do NOT lick frogs, but wipe their froggy sweat on tobacco and then smoke it. Anthony Bourdaine TV show in Peru--he does ayahuasca but will NOT talk about what happened! | 34 | |
Just added it to my Amazon wish list :) Another rather amusing detail I left out was that when I finally got back to Iquitos and tracked down the old guide I'd arranged it with, I let him know about the guide taking off with my food/water, and the attempt at a shake-down in the jungle, etc. He seemed genuinely apologetic about the whole thing and asked me if I wanted to go again free of charge. I don't him "No, I'm not interested in going through all that roundtrip jungle treking again." He replied, "You don't have to go to the jungle. I can arrange a ceremony in town at my friend's place. He has a beautiful garden." With a baffled look on my face, "You mean I didn't have to go to the jungle and stay with a shaman, etc.?" He said, "No. They do the ceremonies right in town. I just thought you were after the jungle experience since that was what you were asking about." I didn't even know that was a possibility. I still likely would've gone for the jungle trek because it sounded way cooler and more "authentic", but it would have been nice to have been offered the option. ;) | 35 | |
All these hop on hop off bus pass are an unnecessary expense aimed at those incapable of booking their own tickets. Last year I travelled LA Paz to Lima on a great cama bus for just over $50 Many backpackers travel Bolivia for 20-30$ per day. | 36 | |
One aspect of the "hop" busses that was somewhat appealing, is that they say they stop every now and then for photo ops. I'm guessing that's something you don't get on the other busses. I'm not sure I'd want to pay triple the cost just for that, but I am a photographer... so that would be a little advantage I think. | 37 | |
Going to the Uyuni and Colorado 3 days tour, you need a tour. We booked it for 600Bs per person but it wasn't peak season and we tried to book it as late as possible to get a better price. If you are up to go to Salar de Uyuni by yourself, you may check this up: http://wp.me/p5kgaf-2J We spent a night in the middle of the Salt flat for 60Bs pp and it's awesome. I didn't follow the whole thread but you are planning to go to Amazon? If you want to go for a non-touristic route, you can take a cargo boat from Puerto Villaroel, northeast of Cochabamba, to trinidad. But it takes 4-10days to finish the whole trip as the boat is irregular and you need to bargain with the captain. And it's not necessary cheaper than bus. I didn't do it myself coz I didn't have enough time. I only talked to the locals and they told us that. I did some search on internet and also found travelers who did it. Seems very interesting and challenging. I would have done it if I had more time. | 38 | |
I'm probably going to go for a longer tour from Tupiza if the cost is reasonable. Trying to decide if I should just head straight to the salt flats first (mid Sept) or go the other way around and save it for the end portion of the trip mid/late October. I'm not sure about the Amazon. I went to the Amazon in Peru via Iquitos... so I'm thinking I may spend the time going to Pantanal and Chaco instead. Another user made a good argument that it's more likely I'll see wildlife in the Pantanal and there are less tourists there. Can't decide though. Others say the same thing about the Pantanal being a preferred option. | 39 | |
There's higher chance for raining in mid/late October. That's more beautiful for photos if you'd like to see the mirror effect on the Salar. I agree going to Pantanal and Chaco will be better if you'd been to Iquitos. I like Trinidad, it's quiet and small, not like Iquitos but you may like to see something different. Pantanal and Chaco have more wildlife, less tourists, and people are very friendly in Chaco. | 40 | |
We came back from Bolivia 1 month ago. We did a 4d3n tour from Tupiza, just showed up the day before and booked one with Tupiza Tours. The major tour agencies seem to be booking and filling up jeeps up to the night before, so you do not have to book ahead of time. It was a great trip, a very comfortable jeep with only 4 tourists in it (Uyuni based jeeps squeeze in 6), an experienced and safe driver, one cook for 2 jeeps providing 3 great meals a day (including lots of vegetables!). All jeeps from Tupiza (in our case about 8) stick more or less together, and together bring a car mechanic (needed..driving over rough terrain). Prices from Tupiza seem to be a bit higher than from Uyuni but are worth it (better quality, drivers,food, less crowded , 1 extra day ). We paid 1250 Bolivianos/person excluding another 250 Bv entry fees. | 41 | |
Thanks! I've pretty much decided to do the Tupiza tour instead of Uyuni. It ends in Uyuni doesn't it? Was hoping to check out the train cemetery too. If your Tupiza tour ended in Uyuni, was it difficult to get a ticket out of there? I've read that you need to buy the tickets leaving Uyuni ahead of time since everyone is usually trying to leave at once. And, how did you get to Tupiza? I'm wondering if it would be better to break up the long trip by stopping in a couple cities/towns along the way, instead of a long night bus, etc.? | 42 | |
The standard tour from Tupiza ends in Uyuni (customized ones can end elsewhere but are harder to organize) and does include the train cemetary. For us it was it bit hard to leave Uyuni, but that was due to the strikes in Potosi at that time. Normally there are long distance night buses to places like La Paz (the people who used this booked their tickets in the afternoon for the same day). There are also frequent buses and micros during the day to Potosi (think around a 3 hour ride) for which it is very easy to buy last minute tickets. | 43 | |
Oh cool. Great info! I'm leaving Texas this coming Tuesday afternoon. arrive La Paz early morning Wed. Planning on just hanging out in La Paz for a few days hopefully getting acclimated. If you think of anything else, or suggestions... please let me know. Thanks! | 44 | |
Altitude might be an issue.You might be Ok. If not , consider going 'downhill' (Coroico and Chulamani are relatively nearby at around 2000m). Coca leaves help. | 45 | |
Excellent. Sounds similar to the extensive cable car system in Medellin. I started taking ginkgo biloba because it's supposed to help with altitude, and drinking loads of water. | 46 | |
Skip--Will be in Bolivia from Oct 7 to 23--might run into you somewhere. Not sure where I'm going yet. Thinking of doing the two day bike ride and three day boat ride from La paz to rurre with Gravity Assisted--if they ever answer my email! | 47 | |
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