Planning a Trip

Visitor Information

There are virtually no government-sponsored tourist offices outside Bolivia. The U.S.-based Embassy of Bolivia has a moderately useful website, www.bolivia-usa.org. For general travel information, you can also log onto www.boliviaweb.com or www.boliviabiz.org.

For more specific travel-related information, your best bet is to contact travel agencies that specialize in trips to Bolivia. Some of the best include:

• Andean Summits, Aranzaes 2974, Sopachi, La Paz (tel. 0102/2422-106; fax 0102/2413-273; www.andeansummits.com). This Bolivia-based company specializes in active vacation packages, including sea-kayaking trips in Lake Titicaca and treks up Huayna Potosí.
• Crillon Tours, 1450 S. Bayshore Dr., Suite 815, Miami, FL 33131 (tel. 888/TITICACA or 305/358-5353; www.titicaca.com). Based in Miami, this company has a huge infrastructure in Bolivia and is the owner of several fantastic hotels in the Lake Titicaca area.
• Explore Bolivia, Inc., 2510 N. 47th St., Suite 207, Boulder, CO 80301 (tel. 877/708-8810 or 303/545-5728; www.explorebolivia.com). Specialists in kayaking, trekking, and mountain-climbing packages.
• Rutahsa Adventures (tel. 931/520-7047; www.rutahsa.com) offers a 19-day journey that really takes you off the standard tourist trail, starting in Santa Cruz and including stops in Sucre, Potosí, La Paz, Copacabana, and Lake Titicaca, in addition to other towns. Prices start at $2,526 per person (£1,280).

In Bolivia -- Although the Viceministerio de Turismo has an office in La Paz (tel. 02/2358-213), the staff doesn't speak English, and the only resources on hand are some promotional brochures. You're much better off heading to the visitor information office on Plaza del Estudiante, where you can buy regional maps.

Telephone Dialing Info at a Glance

• To place a call from your home country to Bolivia, dial the international access code (011 in the U.S. and Canada, 0011 in Australia, 0170 in New Zealand, 00 in the U.K.) plus the country code (591), plus the Bolivian area code minus the 010 (for example, La Paz 2, Santa Cruz 3, Cochabamba 4, Sucre 464, Potosí 262, Copacabana 2862), followed by the number. For example, a call from the United States to La Paz would be 011+591+2+0000+000.
• To place a call within Bolivia, you must use area codes if you're calling from one department (administrative district) to another. Note that for all calls within the country, area codes are preceded by 010 (for example, La Paz 0102, Santa Cruz 0103, Cochabamba 0104, Sucre 010464, Potosí 010262, Copacabana 0102862).
• To place a direct international call from Bolivia, dial the international access code (00), plus the country code of the place you are dialing, plus the area code and the local number.
• To reach an international long-distance operator, dial tel. 35-67-00. Major long-distance company access codes are as follows: AT&T tel. 0800-1111; Bell Canada tel. 0800-0101; British Telecom tel. 0800-0044; MCI tel. 0800-2222; Sprint tel. 0800-3333.

Entry Requirements

A valid passport is required to enter and depart Bolivia. In 2007, the Bolivian government announced that all U.S. citizens are required to have a visa to enter the country. This must be applied for, before your journey, at the nearest Bolivian consulate. Visas are not required for stays of up to 30 days if you're a citizen of one of 44 designated countries, which include the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, France, Germany, and Switzerland. (Visit www.bolivia-usa.org, or check with your local embassy to determine whether you'll need a visa.) It's very easy to extend the tourist card for an additional 60 days by requesting one at an Oficina de Migración (Immigration Office). In La Paz, the office is located at Camacho 1433. It's open Monday through Friday from 9am to 12:30pm and 3 to 6pm; it's best to go late in the afternoon. For more information, call tel. 0800/10-3007.

Bolivian Embassy and Consulate Locations -- In the U.S.: 3014 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20008 (tel. 202/483-4410; fax 202/328-3712; www.bolivia-usa.org)

In Canada: 130 Albert St., Suite 416, Ottawa, ON K1P 5G4 (tel. 613/236-5730; fax 613/236-8237)

In the U.K.: 106 Eaton Square, London SW1W 9AD (tel. 020/7235-4248 or 020/7235-2257; fax 020/7235-1286; embolivia-londres@rree.gov.bo)

In Australia: The Consulate of the Republic of Bolivia is located at 74 Pitt St, Level 6, Sydney NSW 2000 (tel. 02/9235-1858)

Customs

Visitors to Bolivia are legally permitted to bring in up to $2,000 (£1,000) worth of items for personal use. If you bring in any new consumer goods with a value of more than $1,000 (£500), you must declare it at Customs.

There are very strict laws regarding removing national treasures. Beware: The Customs officials at the airports do search every person (for both drugs and national treasures) leaving the country.

Money

The Bolivian unit of currency is the boliviano (Bs). Besides coins with values of 1 and 2 bolivianos, all the currency is paper, in denominations of 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100. It's very hard to make change, especially for a Bs100 note. If you are retrieving money from an ATM, be sure to request a denomination ending in 50. Restaurants seem to be the only places in the country capable of changing large bills.

Here's a general idea of what things cost in La Paz: A taxi within the center of town, Bs8 ($1/50p); a double room at a budget hotel with private bathroom, $15 to $30 (£7.50-£15); a double room at a moderate hotel with private bathroom, $40 to $65 (£20-£33); a double room at an expensive hotel, $100 to $200 (£50-£ 100); fresh juice on the street, Bs3 (38¢/19p); a 36-exposure roll of film, Bs30 ($3.70/£1.85); a three-course lunch for one at a cafe, Bs15 ($1.80/90p); a three-course dinner for one, Bs50 to Bs70 ($6.30-$8.80/£3.15-£4.40).

Currency Exchange & Rates -- At press time, the boliviano was trading at a rate of Bs7.94 to $1 (50p). The boliviano has been relatively stable for the past few years. You should note, however, that Bolivia is the poorest country in South America, and it's hard to predict what will happen in the future.

When exchanging foreign currency in Bolivia, it's best to head to a casa de cambio (money-exchange house). Some banks will exchange American dollars and British pounds, but the lines are often long and the process can be chaotic. Note: U.S. dollars are widely accepted throughout Bolivia, especially at hotels and restaurants.

ATMs -- ATMs are ubiquitous in Bolivia, except in small towns such as Coroico, Sorata, and Copacabana. Major banks include Banco Santa Cruz and Banco de Crédito; there are Citibank branches in both La Paz and Santa Cruz. Most ATMs accept cards on the Cirrus (tel. 800/424-7787) and PLUS (tel. 800/843-7587) networks; however, they can't deal with PINs that are more than four digits. Before you go to Bolivia, make sure that your PIN fits the bill.

Traveler's Checks -- Citibank will exchange its own traveler's checks. But you can't change American Express traveler's checks at the American Express offices in Bolivia (sounds strange, but it's true). If you're traveling with traveler's checks, your best bet is to cash them at a casa de cambio. Most upscale hotels and restaurants in Bolivia will accept traveler's checks. For lost American Express traveler's checks, you must call collect to the United States at tel. 801/964-6665.

Credit Cards -- MasterCard and Visa are accepted most everywhere in Bolivia. American Express is less common, but it's still widely accepted. To report a lost or stolen MasterCard, call tel. 0800-0172; for Visa, call tel. 0800-0188; for American Express, call tel. 800/327-1267 (via an AT&T operator).

When to Go

Peak Season & Climate -- The peak season for travelers in Bolivia is mid-June through early September, but this is only because most travelers come here when it's summer in the Northern Hemisphere. Ironically, this is the coldest time of year in Bolivia. Fortunately, it's also the dry season.

In the high plateau areas of Bolivia -- La Paz, Lake Titicaca, and Potosí -- it's generally always cold. The weather is only mildly more pleasant in the off season. La Paz has an average daytime high of 57°F (14°C) and an average nighttime low of 34°F (1°C). Santa Cruz has a tropical climate, although it can get chilly from June through September. Cochabamba has a pleasant springlike climate year-round.

Public Holidays -- Each city in Bolivia celebrates its own independence day, which always seems to correspond with a local festival. La Paz's independence day is July 16. The entire world seems to converge on Sucre on August 6, Bolivia's official independence day. In small towns throughout the country, you'll find colorful indigenous festivals on or near the summer solstice (June 21). National holidays include: New Year's Day (Jan 1), Carnaval (dates vary), Good Friday, Labor Day (May 1), Corpus Christi (dates vary; usually in mid-June), Independence Day (Aug 6), All Saints' Day (Nov 1), and Christmas (Dec 25).

Health Concerns

Common Ailments -- Travelers to Bolivia should be very careful about contracting food-borne illnesses. Always drink bottled water. Never drink beverages with ice, unless you are sure that the water for the ice has been previously boiled. Be very careful about eating food purchased from street vendors. I recommend taking a vitamin such as super bromelain, which helps aid in the digestion of parasites.

Because most of the popular tourist attractions in Bolivia are at an altitude of more than 2,500m (8,200 ft.), altitude sickness can be a serious problem. Common symptoms include headaches, nausea, sleeplessness, and a tendency to tire easily. The most common remedies include rest, abstaining from alcohol, drinking lots of bottled water, chewing coca leaves, or drinking coca tea. Coca leaves are readily available at street markets, and most restaurants offer some form of coca tea. To help alleviate the symptoms, you can also take the drug acetazolamide (Diamox); it's available by prescription only in the United States.

The sun can also be very dangerous in Bolivia, especially at high altitudes. Bring plenty of high-powered sunblock and a wide-brimmed hat. It gets very cold in cities such as La Paz and Potosí, but don't let this fool you into complacency -- even when it's cold, the sun can inflict serious damage on your skin.

In general, the healthcare system in Bolivia is good enough to take care of mild illnesses.

Vaccinations -- No vaccines are required, unless you're planning to visit the difficult-to-reach Pantanal in the far eastern end of Bolivia, in which case you'll need a yellow fever vaccination certificate. Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that visitors to Bolivia vaccinate themselves against hepatitis A. Fortunately, since mosquitoes can't live in high altitudes, malaria is not a risk in the high plateau region of Bolivia, but there have been cases reported in rural parts of the Beni area and Santa Cruz.