Bolivia
The information below is provided by Lonely Planet readers and is not verified by Lonely Planet. For the official lowdown, contact your nearest embassy or check out our Travel Links.
Warnings
Lonely Planet has received several credible reports of very serious incidents involving the drugging and rape of women tourists who have taken guided jungle and pampas tours with independent guides around Rurrenabaque. Women tourists should not in any circumstances take tours on their own or in pairs with independent guides, but should stick to larger group tours run by reputable agencies. Avoid rogue guides or those who have broken away from established agencies.
If taking a 4WD tour in Bolivia, be aware that the conditions on many of these tours are poor. Vehicles are often ill-maintained and commonly break down. Be sure to take food supplies and plenty of drinking water that will last several days beyond the projected length of your tour.
Visas, Embassies & Border Crossings
Travelling from Uyuni (Bolivia) to San Pedro de Atacama (Chile):
It's worth noting that there is now a Bolivian emigration post at the border and so it is no longer strictly necessary to get your departure stamps in Uyuni if you're short of time.
Antonia Cobb, UK (Jan 04)
Travel Tips
It´s possible to change Dollars in almost every bank, but there are hardly any banks changing Euros. There are street money changers at Calle Sagarnaga/Av. Mariscal Santa Cruz as well as at Plaza del Estudiante in La Paz. They offer better rates than banks and usually take as Dollars and Euros. Dealing with street money changers is not illegal. If you chose one changer, don´t walk around and try to get better rates of other ones â?? they don´t like to be played against each other and probably won´t change your money at all.
Susanne Deyerler, Germany (Dec 05)
We were in Uyuni, Bolivia, and stumbled across the tourist office off the main square. The place was great with information on tours and everything else to do with Bolivia, movies, music, games, good and inexpensive food. The staff are extremely helpful and welcoming and the man speaks very good English. It was a great place to spend time waiting for our late train. We strongly recommend a visit for anybody who visits Uyuni, especially to acquire information about the various tours that depart from Uyuni to the salt lakes etc. They have surveys about the different tour operators filled in by independant travellers which would assist anybody taking one of these tours.
Ruth Greenaway, Australia (Nov 05)
One major Concern: Medical Advice. I passed out twice in the streets of La Paz. My blood pressure dropped to half normal values. I was on blood pressure and heart slowing medications. This can be serious at 12000 ft. My US doctor was of no help before or after the trip. If you are 65yrs old and on meds, take care.
Anthony J. Gorski, USA (Oct 02)
When traveling through Bolivia and I was bitten by a dog on the Takesi-trail (just like LP mentioned, haha!). Therefore I needed 2 more rabies vaccinations. I already had 3 in the Netherlands for 180 euro! The doctor in the clinic advised me to go to Centro Pilote, Avenida Peru near the bus terminal in La Paz. There I got my vaccinations for free! I only had to pay for the needle (2 Bolivianos). You can also get other vaccinations for free over there, for example Yellow Fever, Hepatitis, etc. I hope this is a good suggestion for your the Bolivian Guidebook because it can save travellers a lot of money!
Elles van Loo & Martijn Tillema, (Sept 02)
Silver mines tours at Potosi:
Some companies are just doing the tours for profit without any sensitivity to the livelihoods of the community or miners. In particular those that guarantee explosions should be avoided. The level of communication needed between closely packed unmapped mines when dynamite is used is high (in order to avoid injury or worse). Therefore unnecessary explosions for no purpose other than tourist satisfaction are eroding relationships between miners and tourists and wasting a valuable resource. I recommend using only those companies that use miners, ex-miners or those with close association with miners (i.e. local university students studying tourism).
David Higgs, UK (Sept 02)
High altitude sickness tips: I found that drinking Coca Cola (without wanting to make advertisement for them) was quite effective. The glycoramin tablets and the glucose sweets didn't seem to help much. Also having a few oxygen tank sessions (10 min every 3 hours) can help the body if you end up with a swollen face and blueish lips- like my mum did in La Paz. It can be quite scary at night when in the midst of your sleep you wake up in horror gasping for air. You will also find that your partner will breathe very irregularly at night, i.e. Slowly and suddenly almost hyperventilating for a few seconds before going back into slow breathing.
Ian Moody & Isabelle and Y.C. Jost, Switzerland (Jun 02)
Moving About
I travelled to Uyuni 6 times with different bus companies and of the normal bus services Trans Azul is the fastest and most trustworthy. They leave Oruro at 21.00 while some of the others who leave at 20.00 get to Uyuni much later. (the only thing is that the bus itself does not have a lot of space for long legs, they use another type of bus than the others). The cheapest way is buy the tickets La Paz â?? Oruro and Oruro â?? Uyuni and vice versa separately but especially on the way to La Paz in the middle of the night it is very convenient to be with a bus service who offers tickets to La Paz (Trans Azul, you do have to change to another bus company in Oruro but this is organized by somebody of Trans Azul). In some buses it can get very cold at night, therefore travelling with your sleeping bag is recommendable.
Arnold Brouwer, Netherlands (Oct 05)
The overnight bus journey from La Paz to Uyuni is extremely harrowing. It is literally freezing (icicles form on the inside of the windows) so take a sleeping bag. You get dumped on the side of the road in Uyuni at four in the morning and there is nowhere to shelter so be prepared to pay full rates for a hotel room even though you only want it for three or four hours 'til the tour offices open. It is a good idea to jump straight onto a Saltpan deserts tour the morning you arrive because they don't leave until 10.30am and there is nothing else to do in Uyuni, a one-llama town
Bronwyn Spiteri, Australia (Aug 03)
Scams & Warnings
A warning for travellers in Bolivia going from to Uyuni to La Paz: in the daytime there is a new, comfortable direct bus to La Paz, but we took the night-bus. There is no direct bus to La Paz, we had to change in Oururu. We arrived there at 2.30am and had to wait outside, because the terminal was closed. There is a gang of young men who pretend to belong to the bus company and help tourists to buy tickets for the connecting bus and find the new bus. But after helping, they stole one of our pieces of hand-luggage and the backpack of another tourist. This seems to happen there nearly every night, so be extemely careful at this bus station or better take the safe day bus.
Elke Messner-Küttner, Germany (Nov 05)
The area around â??El Cristoâ?? in Cochabamba indeed is very dangerous at the end of the afternoon just before sunset. 4 of us (so there is no illusion to be safe in a group) got robbed by 2 guys with big knives and a girl on the way down along the stairs.
In La Paz I witnessed a play of a guy who dropped a big bag of money, the other guy wanted to share it with me in a corner of the street (just off the busy street 6 de agusto) since the owner was running and disappeared. Of course his mate showed up again, he wanted to check our/my stuff to see if I had his marked money. I noticed in time there was something wrong and simply pushed the lady that all of a sudden was calling in the doorstep away and walked out of there without looking back
Arnold Brouwer, Netherlands (Oct 05)
As so many travelers have experienced La Paz is still a hot spot for scams and theives. I was sitting outside a small cafe opposite the main square when a women came over asking for money. Once we had repeatidly told her no she left. Moments later she was back with a small child asking for money once again. Saying no to her once more she eventually left and so did my day pack which was wedged between the wall and my chair (thinking it was in a safe place) So it is still unclear if the small child had taken it or a gentleman sat behind us in a suit reading a newspaper who hadn't ordered anything. I reported it to the police but never saw the pack again. It is advisable to report it as you can then claim on insurance. Be careful out there but enjoy, it is a wonderful place.
Charlie Earl, UK (Aug 05)
On a recent trip to Bolivia , August 2005, my friend and I ran into a bit of trouble. We caught a taxi and a man in police uniform (and with police ID) entered our taxi claiming to be a special unit of the police doing a random check. We were taken to a building where we were handcuffed and held at gunpoint for 5 hours and were forced to give the PIN to our bank cards which they then withdrew money from. My advice is to never let anyone enter your taxi (including police officers), carry all luggage with you in the cabin (not in the boot). If anyone attempts to enter the taxi just get out and walk away.
Craig Hale, Australia (Aug 05)
Just a word of caution at La Paz airport and all other airports in South America. A mate of mine was flying out to Brasil from La Paz recently. He had 2 bags on him. When standing in a queue chatting to the guy infront, the police sniffer dog came along and went crazy at a bag which had mysteriously appeared at my friends feet. Inside it was cocaine. My friend is now in prison. Keep an eye on your bags at all times and don´t let yourself get distracted. It could have been a drug mule panicking or it could have been a police set up. Don´t trust anyone at the airports.
superhuey70, Thorn Tree (Jul 05)
I´ve noticed that they cheat you in many laundries of Bolivia and Peru. Their scales are fixed so they give more weigh than the real one. I suggest that you inform of this on your next editions about these countries. I suggest that the traveller or tourist carries a bottle of 2.5 litres of mineral water in a plastic bag to the laundry, along with the bag of clothes to be washed. After the worker of the laundry weighs the clothes the tourist should ask the worker to weigh the water bottle. The weigh should be just a bit more than 2.5 kg.
Edu Pedro, Spain (Mar 05)
Gems, Highlights & Attractions
The little villages near Cochabamba (Tarata, Mizque, Aiquile, Sipe Sipe) are all worth a visit especially if there is one of the many culinary festivals.
The Chutillos festival in Potosi is definitely worth it. Especially the first day with the authentic dances and costumes is marvelous.
Arnold Brouwer, Netherlands (Oct 05)
La Paz: A new museum - Centro Cultural Museo San Francisco - opened in July 2005, adjacent to the church and monastery. This excellent museum contains some beautiful art and architecture. We had a great guided tour from a local university student. The staff were very friendly & welcoming and clearly proud of the new museum. You can also get onto the roof, where you have great views of the city. It costs 20 bolivianos & there is also a great coffee shop.
Vicki Mountford, UK (Oct 05)
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