Changing money and transport query

I will travel from Santiago to La Paz and would like to know if British Pounds GBP can be exchanged instead of $US. I will take $US if there is no option. Is it a good idea to stock up on local currency from ATMs where necessary, Chile and Bolivia, and what percentage of cash should I set aside. I will stop over at La Serena, where I hope to join a tour of one of the observatories at short notice. Next stop will be Calama as Antofagusta doesn't seem to be attractive. From Calama I will travel to San Pedro de Atacama and use it as the base for the tours in the region. From there I will travel to Arica. I was hoping to ride on the old German streetcar to La Paz that was featured in the Michael Palin TV series Full Circle but it seems to have been taken out of service; Instead I will travel by bus. If I first visited Lauca National Park is it possible to join the Arica-La Paz bus at Sucre or does it fill up at Arica?
Is the visa situation for both countries still relaxed i.e. can a British citizen receive the visa on entry to both countries?

Most of the trip will be spent in Chile so I will only have time to see La Paz and perhaps Copacabana and one of the islands. It seems to be a mirror of Puno and Isle de Taquille in Peru; I was there during 2000. Would you still recommend the visit? One of my earlier options was to enter Bolivia by bus or train from Calama in order to visit the salt lake that looks amazing after one of the showers, but I won't be there at the right time of the year.

Finally, the guidebooks advise travellers to be on their guard in La Paz and Copacabana as there are fake taxis and fake policemen. Is that an exaggeration? Most of the countries that I have visited in the past have been branded unfairly; even the UK can be dangerous; disaster can happen without warning.

you are going to a lot of places i didn't see, so have no feedback.
taxis--we didn't take taxis in either of those places. copacabana is very tiny, so i'm not sure why you would need a taxi unless you stay outside the town, in which case ask your hotel to call a taxi for you. i think we took two taxis in la paz, but they were from ranks with several others, and we followed our route on a map and had no problems. we didn't come across any police and didn't observe anyone being hassled by them aside from the odd very very drunk and disorderly local.

money:

i would recommend only having a few days of cash on you at any time. theft happens. in 9 months we had nothing stolen, but met other people who had everything taken on their second day.

we checked with our bank and cash advances on our credit card were free. so it worked out better just to make transfers from our cash account into the credit card and use that every 3 or 4 days, rather than carrying lots of foreign cash and converting it. ask your bank what the charges are for debit and credit cards because we found out that between three sets of accounts, charges were completely different.

You can change pounds, dollars or any currency they'll buy with no problem in Chile. You can also use your debit card at ATMs. Just get money out as you need it. There is no advantage to having foreign currency in Chile. On entry you will usually be given 90 days as a tourist. If you leave the country and return, another 90 days would kick in. They are phasing out the paper tourist card which you fill in before going through passport control, so you may be given one or not. If you are, don't lose the copy, which you hand in when you leave.

Be careful in bus stations and always keep your hands on your things. Don't set them down or store anything you want to lose anywhere but on your lap on the bus.

Best way to manage money is carry at least two ATM cards and store them separately. Try to get at least one that has free or low withdrawal fees. Carry a few days worth of cash (US are easier to change but pounds can be changed in any large city) in case of emergency.

You can enter both countries visa free at the border.

Fake policeman is scam that unfortunately can happen in La Paz but it's very unlikely. If anyone tells you they are police and want to see your ID, or that you follow them to be searched for drugs just ignore them. The scam often involves an accomplice who acts as a tourist and encourages you to go along. If you are prepared there is no real danger.

Taxi's are generally safe and the risks are over exaggerated in guidebooks such as lonely planet. I've taken at least 100 in my time here in never had a problem. It's best to look for a radio taxi with a company name and number on the roof. If in a radio taxi, don't allow the driver to pick up other passengers. Be especially wary in the Cementerio area where buses go to and from Copacabana. Under no circumstances share a taxi with anyone there no matter how friendly or innocent they seem.

On the whole Bolivia is considerably safe, more so than most of it's neighbours. Petty theft is your biggest concern so always keep an eye on your belongings.

The Salar de Uyuni and the southwestern circuit (three day tour) is spectacular in any season. Most people consider it a highlight so try to work it into your itinerary.

The reason I consider bring cash is that I experienced problems in Oman when using my Visa Debit card; only the HSBC machines accepted it, but I think that the Oman banking set-up was the problem. Fortunately where there was no HSBC machine I used my GBP cash in the exchange bureaus. I have been a little nervous since then on being stranded without the ability to withdraw local currency.
Your advice on the Salar de Uyuni. I will make a decision after doing the tour of sites around San Pedro; I know what you mean about it being spectacular, there was and short item on the TV news showing the reflections of the landscape shortly after a rain shower. Is the journey from Calama by bus or train, I would prefer the train; the Puno to Cuszco journey was really enjoyable.

Thanks everyone for your time and advice.

we toured most of the san pedro sights by cycle, alone. we didn't go to those salt flats because we'd just come from 3 days in salar de uyuni, and the san pedro flats are not as impressive--we didn't have time for both.

we did have problems with cash machines in san pedro, but it turned out to be us needing to pay off cash advances on the card. we'd done several in the last week, and didn't realise that a) there was a limit, and b) we'd hit it. we went to a local internet place and skyped with the bank. do this before school is out, the kids play online games and suck the internet connection.

Just a few more questions:
1) Which ATMs are the most reliable and will accept most foreign Visa debit cards? I am trying to decide on the amount of emergency cash to take should there be problems with ATMs.
2) During my travel around Peru in 2000 I took the night bus from Arequipa to Puno. The majority of the passengers were locals and they brought stacks of woollen blankets on board. I realised during the night why; the temperature dropped so much that the inside of the windows were coated with ice. I only had the jacket that I wore at the UK airport so the journey was very uncomfortable. I did have a sleeping bag for trekking but it was in my main luggage in the baggage hold. Are there occasions when I might need the sleeping bag during bus or train journeys? I haven't planned any treks for this trip so I don't want to take the sleeping bag it is not needed. I remember that the accommodation in Cuszco provided lots of extra woollen blankets and I'm sure that the hostels in San Pedro and those in Bolivia do the same. Can you offer any advice?

1) Depends on your card. Some ATM's work will with certain cards while others don't. You'll figure out which are reliable for you with trial and error. Couple hundred bucks emergency cash should be enough.

2) Most overnight bus journys are very cold in Bolivia so wear your warmest clothing. Any decent hostal will provide enough warm blankets.

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