Why Bolivia
This is by far the most affordable country in South America, and the one where altitude shapes everything. La Paz sits at three thousand six hundred metres, El Alto at four thousand, Lake Titicaca at three thousand eight hundred and twelve.
The Uyuni salt flat, ten thousand square kilometres of salt, is the largest of its kind in the world. Potosí and its silver mines, the Cordillera Real, the Sur Lípez with its coloured lagoons, and the Beni Amazon — green, hot and at four hundred metres — all sit in the same country.
May to October, the dry season: passable roads, clear skies over the altiplano. The salt flat takes on its mirror of water in January to March, but part of it then becomes inaccessible. You choose between the cracked salt and the reflection.
Entry and stay
Requirements depend on nationality. Check yours with the local authorities before booking.
No duration is quoted here, for want of an official source verified at the time of writing — 22 September 2026.
Getting around
Night coaches link the main cities for a few euros, but the mountain roads are long and operators uneven: the cama services of established companies are worth the supplement.
Domestic flights — BoA, Amaszonas — save eighteen hours of coach between La Paz and Santa Cruz for a reasonable price.
La Paz's urban cable car is real transport, the most extensive in the world, not an attraction. It links La Paz to El Alto in minutes where the road takes an hour.
Money
The boliviano. Everything is cheap: this is the country where a tight budget lasts longest.
Cash machines work poorly outside the cities and foreign cards are refused by many businesses. Carry cash before heading onto the altiplano or towards the Sur Lípez.
Health
Altitude is not a formality. Arriving directly in La Paz from sea level brings on acute mountain sickness in a proportion of travellers. Two days without exertion on arrival, and no alcohol the first evening.
Yellow fever vaccination is required for the Amazon regions, and is sometimes checked at land borders. Check against your actual itinerary.
Before you go
Road blockades — bloqueos — are a common form of political action and can cut a road for several days without notice. Leaving margin before an international flight is not excessive caution.
The Sur Lípez circuit, between Uyuni and the Chilean border, is done by four-wheel drive with a driver over three days, above four thousand metres and through freezing nights. Operator comfort varies enormously.
Coca is legally chewed and infused, and it is a daily remedy against altitude. It remains illegal to export, including as tea bags.