Bolivia Route and Recommendations
Waiting for the ferry on Isla Del Sol, Lake Titicaca
Bolivia was unexpectedly one of my favourites. An authentic and truly “raw” experience.
With a combination of the unpredictable, edgy city of La Paz and colourful, picture-perfect scenery of the National Park, Bolivia blew me away. But - it can also be uncomfortable, dangerous, and dubious - especially if you’re going on a $30 per day budget like we did.
TWO WEEKS IN bolivia: OUR ROUTE
Time of Year: November
Lake Titicaca: 2 Days
The world's largest high-altitude lake where you cross the border from Peru to Bolivia
Isla Del Sol: 2 Days
A special spot to enjoy good food, views, and history
La Paz: 5 Days
Bolivia’s capital city, which happens to be the highest capital in the world, at more than 3,500m above sea level
Uyuni: 3 Days
The tiny town that acts as a base to the Salt Flats. Just saying the name out loud gives me shivers.
Salt Flat Tour in Eduardo Avaroa National Park: 3 Days
One of my Top 5 highlights of the year, this place makes you feel like you’re in the middle of a Planet Earth episode. A giant dried up ocean, cactus islands, pink and red lakes, flamingoes, and llama-like vincuñas
Copacabana, Lake Titicaca
Lake Titicaca
The world’s largest high-altitude lake, this is where we crossed the border from Peru to Bolivia. Side note, try to say the name out loud without laughing.
Things To Do
Stay the night in Copacabana. There’s not much to do in this small town on the shore of Lake Titicaca, but we used it as a base to go to Isla Del Sol.
Explore Isla Del Sol - “Island of the Sun”.
Think about visiting the Floating Islands. We skipped these. Apparently they’re overly touristy and it feels like you're in a movie set.
Isla Del Sol
Go to Las Velas for dinner. A MUST, trust me. This “restaurant” has no electricity, and is run by one Bolivian man who does it all - serves, cooks and bartends. Again - without electricity. He’s quite grumpy, but he’s allowed to be. Just don’t arrive hungry, because you might be waiting for over an hour for your food. But the view is incredible, and you can sit outside while you’re waiting for your dinner.
Hike. A hilly island with incredible views, there’s great hiking around the Southern part of the island in which you can then stop at the cute little Pachamama area for lunch. Note that the north part of the island is closed to tourists due to the conflict between north and south, you can only hike to a certain point. For more details on how to get to the hike, contact me.
Where We Stayed
Copacabana: Hostel Joshua - would not recommend.
Isla Del Sol: Casa De La Luna - one of the nicest places we stayed the entire trip, as it was Erik’s birthday so we spoiled ourselves. Highly recommend.
Getting There
Copacabana
Took an overnight Cruz del Sur bus from Cusco to Puno, arriving at 5am. Bought tickets to Copacabana at the bus terminal once we arrived.
2.5 hour bus ride from Puno to Copacabana, and you cross the border to Bolivia. Don't be surprised when they make you get off the bus randomly to get on a boat. The bus will get on its own barge to cross a small part of the lake. You will also have to pay a few extra Soles so make sure you have change.
Note: If a person comes onto the bus at some point before the Bolivian border asking for you to pay "tax", just say no because this is a scam. We fell for it, and some groups behind us said no and he let them go. Clearly the "ticket" isn't necessary.
Isla Del Sol
There are only two ferries from Copacabana to Isla del Sol per day, one at 8:30am and one at 1:30pm. There is no way of getting to Copacabana early enough to catch the 8:30 one if you’re coming from Arequipa or Cusco. So if you stay overnight in Copa, you can take the 8:30 ferry the next morning. Otherwise, you bus directly from Puno to Copa, arrive in late morning, have lunch in Copa, then catch the 1:30 ferry to Isla del Sol.
The view from our hostel, La Paz
la paz
A place you’ll love and hate at the same time, La Paz is something else. Nestled among the mountains more than 3,500m above sea level (Toronto is 76m for reference), it’s the highest capital in the world in terms of elevation.
There’s lots to see and learn - like the fact that underneath many buildings in the city are dead bodies from the days when it was considered necessary to sacrifice humans and llamas before building on Pachamama’s (Mother Nature) land. Rumour has it that some religious construction companies still do it to this day.
Certain areas you have to be careful walking around, especially at night, like many places in South America.
Things To Do
Go on a walking tour. This was the best way to explore the city and learn about its history. The Red Cap Walking Tour is the best and cheapest! You get to see the San Pedro Prison, the Witches' market, and lots more for only $3 USD.
Read the book Marching Powder before visiting La Paz. Based on a true story of Thomas McFadden, a British-Tanzanian man who gets arrested in La Paz for smuggling cocaine, ends up in jail at the notoriously dangerous San Pedro Prison, and starts a successful tour business from jail offering illegal tours to foreigners. It was surreal to see the jail in real life after reading this story.
People watch and admire the Bolivian Cholitas, the women dressed in traditional Bolivian skirts and top-hats, carrying baskets on their heads and selling fruit at the markets. We learned that these classic outfits were originally inspired by the puffy dresses of the Spanish women who came overseas back in the day, and that there's “nothing sexier” for Bolivian men to see than a heavier-set Cholita with strong calves carrying a basket of potatoes and two children up a steep hill.
Watch a Cholita Wrestling Match. These women are so bad-ass, they have weekly wrestling matches in which they wear their sparkliest outfits and beat each other up in a ring in front of a crowd of foreigners.
Bike the Death Road. I opted out because I was too scared and also wanted a day to myself, but Erik loved it. He went with Ride On company.
Visit Mercado Rodriguez, the biggest local market.
Where We Stayed
Landscape Bed & Breakfast - recommend. Located in Supa Cachi neighbourhood, it felt fairly safe and you could walk around at night (which is rare in La Paz). Not many tourists, but we liked that.
Sunset on a 3-day jeep tour, Salar de Uyuni
UYUNI & SALT FLATS
This spot warrants its own post - it’s that good. Read more here or click the next page below.
Note: These recommendations are based on 2017-2018, and may have changed since then.