BOLIVIA

Best Time to Visit

In terms of weather Bolivia is home to a very varied climate dependant on exactly where you decide to visit within the country. That being, generally speaking it is believed that the winter months (June-August) are the best time to visit as they also coincide with the nations dry season. During this time it is unlikely to experience significant rain, even in the highlands and rainforest sectors, but temperatures can plummet at night so it is worth packing accordingly. The summer months here (December-February) are when the rainy season occurs and whilst the allure of seeing the salt flats bathed in mirrored water is enough for some, travel within the more remote areas of the country can easily become disrupted due to flooding and landslides. The shoulder months (March-May and September-November) see some scattered rain showers and evening thunderstorms but temperatures are generally on the warmer side in comparison to the winter. This can be a great time to visit if you wish to avoid the crowds and still experience good weather. In general the daytime temperature remains pretty constant throughout the year in Bolivia and you can expect plenty of tropical sunshine.

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The other thing to consider when thinking of travelling to Bolivia is cost. In general the country is an extremely cheap place to visit and you will not find too much variation in terms of prices for accommodation, tours and transport throughout the year. The one thing that maybe does get a bit more expensive during the peak months are tours to the major attractions due to an increased demand; expect to pay a little more to visit Salar de Uyuni during this time for example. In all honesty I would not worry too much about costs when deciding when to visit Bolivia - you can easily do everything you want within budget regardless of exactly when you choose to visit.

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We actually travelled through Bolivia in October, having crossed over the border from Paraguay. We found the climate to be very pleasant in general throughout our entire stay but it is definitely worth understanding that the temperature and weather vary astronomically within the various destinations (check out our destination guides below for when is best to visit unique places). We experienced blistering heat in the salt flats, thunderstorms in Sucre, chilly evenings in the heights of Potosi and unbroken sunshine in the mountains of Samaipata. In terms of accommodation we had absolutely no problems finding places to stay during our time. Rooms were very cheap, even in the more upmarket hotels and, whilst there definitely were other tourists visiting in October, they seemed to be predominantly in the south (Sucre and Uyuni) as opposed to in the north, where we spent most of our time amongst the local communities. No matter what time of year you visit, you are likely to enjoy a budget friendly time in Bolivia.

Currency

The national currency here is the Bolivian boliviano (BOB). You will find some tour companies might accept payments in dollars but, on the whole we used bolivianos almost exclusively during our time in the country. Unlike some other currencies, bolivianos uses small denominations (10 BOB equals roughly $1.5/£1) making it an easy cash to handle for those not familiar with the nuances of foreign currency.

We arrived into the country at Santa Cruz de la Sierra airport which meant we used the convenience of an ATM located there to extract our first lot of bolivianos. Getting cash when in Bolivia is easy, there are a lot of ATMs in the major towns and cities but it is worth knowing there is an extraction fee to pay for doing so - which itself varies depending on the Bolivian bank who owns the ATM being used and can change overtime. You can find information on which bank offers the lowest transaction fee by simply searching online but we used BCP/BNB ATMs which we had no problems with and would highly recommend. 

What did surprise us whilst in Bolivia was our ability to pay via debit card. Very few places in the country were cash only - even in some of the more remote places we were able to pay for museum entries, restaurants and groceries with a card. There was never an option really to pay in a different currency when using our card (which was ideal because paying in bolivianos gave us the best exchange rate) and nowhere charged a transaction or had a minimum spend requirement.

Language

Spanish, as it is in a lot of this part of the world, is the official language here. In terms of the whole country do not expect to find much in the way of English and we would highly recommend learning some basic phrases as a minimum. We found ourselves testing the limits of our Spanish language skills regularly whilst travelling throughout the country whether it be at bus stations, restaurants, ordering taxis, paying at supermarkets or asking for directions. The only place we found English speaking was whilst on tours - all offered guides who spoke our native tongue. In Uyuni we booked a Salt Flats tour with a English speaking guide but at our initial Uyuni hotel, restaurants in town and at the markets Spanish was the only language being used. If you are planning a Bolivia visit we highly recommend you have a look at our useful phrases page and/or get yourself practicing on Duolingo. Whilst the locals really appreciate attempts at speaking Spanish most of the time you will find it being a requirement over a courtesy - you came to a Spanish speaking country after all!

Safety

I hope it goes without saying, but you always need to ensure you stay vigilant and street-smart when travelling, we would never want anyone to find themselves in danger as a result of us stating somewhere was 'safe'. With that caution noted, we found Bolivia very safe! 

In Bolivia we used a multitude of buses, both during the day and overnight. Our large rucksacks were always stored within the internal bus compartments but we took our smaller bags, with valuables, onto the bus with us. We had no issues with this form of travel and felt very safe sleeping on the overnight transportation, despite at times being the only foreigners present.

Locals were approachable and friendly, with most just being intrigued by our presence. There were a small number of vendors who would approach us and be a bit pushy, especially in Sucre, but on the whole we had very few issues with feeling hassled. When walking through the streets, especially in some of the bigger cities, there are obviously areas that it is extremely ill advised to visit but, if you know where these are and stick to well-lit, populous areas you will have no issues.

Public Transport

Given that we backpack through most of the countries that we visit we try to make the most of public transport. Bolivia has an extensive bus network with routes being run between almost all the major tourist stops at regular intervals. Using these was absolutely the best way to get around the country. They were surprisingly time efficient (some actually reached destinations early), comfy and cheaper than others we used in South America. We also liked that you could almost always book tickets online before travelling through the use of a collaborative website, ticketsBolivia. Here you can book bus tickets for almost all the major travel routes that you will require. You can book specific seats, find out if the bus has a toilet and/or air-conditioning, prepay all within a process that was far more efficient than we had expected. 

Trains have recently become a method used by tourists more regularly, especially in the south of the country where the network is more substantial. Unless you desperately hate buses, I would stick to the four wheeled transport option as I cannot reiterate just how impressed we were with them (and how cost efficient they were).

When in the major towns and cities you will find local buses that shuttle around the city but these are incredibly confusing. They have no schedule, no exact payment structure and are hated by many locals for blocking the road networks. The best option is to take a taxi. These are readily available everywhere, cheap and used by locals regularly. The local taxis are not often registered so you take a bit of risk depending on the driver you opt for but in some of the larger places (Sucre and Santa Cruz de la Sierra) Uber is regularly available and just as cheap as a local taxi whilst providing you with an added layer of security.