Thoughts on Bolivia in early October?

[Anonymous]

I'd love to visit Bolivia and see some soccer matches. LaPaz looks like fun with all the cable cars. All three Bolivian clubs in the greater LaPaz area made Copa Liberatadores and Copa Sudamericana, so there's lots of chances to see matches. And If you want warm and tropical, you can visit Santa Cruz de la Sierra.

One thing that stinks about flying into LaPaz from DC is all the flights arrive at 3 am. Not optimal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is not the board for any sort of adventurous trip. The posters here are exceedingly boring type. Go for it OP.

Fine. Drink all the wine you want during your stay. Get drunk at high altitude. We’ll see how fun it will turn to be. Don’t blame Bolivians.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd love to visit Bolivia and see some soccer matches. LaPaz looks like fun with all the cable cars. All three Bolivian clubs in the greater LaPaz area made Copa Liberatadores and Copa Sudamericana, so there's lots of chances to see matches. And If you want warm and tropical, you can visit Santa Cruz de la Sierra.

One thing that stinks about flying into LaPaz from DC is all the flights arrive at 3 am. Not optimal.

OP here
The flight I found (Avianca, with 1 stop in Bogota) leaves IAD at 7:45 am and arrives in La Paz at 6:20 pm!
The way home is less ideal, but I feel like I can handle landing in a familiar place in the middle of the night better than an unfamiliar one.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, honestly I wouldn't take the advice of people on this forum for travel to developing countries. If you're tempted to go it probably means you're plenty hardy enough to enjoy a trip there.

I've been to Bolivia a few times for work and play and it's great. It's a low key place and very interesting - La Paz, Lago Titicaca, Copacabana, salt flats, etc. Cholita wrestling in El Alto. It's got an interesting history, including in the last 20-25 years related to the country's indigenous political power.

Anonymous wrote:I went to Bolivia for the salt flats. When I got there in biting cold I felt it was underrated. In general I was glad when I got out of Bolivia. And this was when I was in my twenties and hardier. I don’t recommend and say you should go to a more well beaten path like Peru. It’s not worth the I went to a remote country bragging rights

People who go to places like Bolivia -- and there are lots of us -- don't go for bragging rights. That's a silly take on it.

Anonymous wrote:Also it’s not like the salt flats are safe. There’s an element of risk in everything, we heard stories of all guides and tourists got lost and that was it. Since it’s all the way out in the wilderness you are not going to get comfortable arrangements in the salt flats. I just wouldn’t do it.

Of course accommodations in rural Bolivia are not four stars. But it's a very unique experience and worth a couple nights of a firm mattress or whatever.

[Anonymous]

I went to Bolivia back in the late 90s and loved it. La Paz is ok, Lake Titicaca was awesome, stayed in Copacabana, and we also went to a random town called Torotoro where you can see fossilized dinosaur footprints (it's way out in the middle of nowhere, and buses were not comfortable, I was in my early 20s), and Santa Cruz. This was part of a larger backpacking trip and then we went down south somewhere and crossed into Argentina. If I went back, I'd like to go to the salt flats and maybe to the eastern Amazonian region.

Drink lots of water and coca tea to help with the altitude, and don't drink too much alcohol. Chocolate also helps with the altitude.

[Anonymous]

I’ve been to Bolivia a few times. One of my favorite places to visit. Gorgeous varied landscape, interesting culture (highest % of indigenous vs European heritage in SA), not overrun with tourists like Cusco (en route to Machu Picchu). La Paz is in a stunning location on a bowl. Go for it!

La Paz is high altitude, you likely have to travel a bit to get to a wine region.

[Anonymous]

I lived in Bolivia when I was young. La Paz is rough, everyone is a bit different when it comes to altitude, it usually takes a few days to acclimate. They have pills you can take that may help, and coca tea bags (mate) is readily available to take. Personally, I get a splitting headache for a day or two due to lack of oxygen. So make sure you build about 2 days to acclimate. Bolivians are very political and not very pro-American. Be very careful with your belongings and luggage, don't wear anything showy or a lot of jewelry if you are going to be in the city and walking around.
There is not a lot of tourist infrastructure, if you are on a guided trip that should help. If you are experienced with independent travel in a developing country, it shouldn't be an issue.
Peru is similar to Bolivia but is more developed for tourists and has more touristy activities.
Only La Paz is at a high altitude. Cochabamba is only at 6,000 or so and much more pleasant than La Paz and Santa Cruz does not have much of an elevation. Once again, La Paz is rough.