Bolivia is a huge country with so much diversity to offer, yet I (like many tourists) allowed for only one week in my South America itinerary. While I really wish I budgeted more time in the country to get from Peru to Chile, I feel as though my one-week itinerary gave me just enough time to see the most popular attractions in Bolivia.
This one-week itinerary assumes you’re traveling in and out of Bolivia via land borders, specifically Peru and Chile. I entered Bolivia via a bus from Cusco, Peru and left the country for San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. My itinerary can of course be flipped if you’re traveling south to north.
I hope you find this one-week itinerary for Bolivia helpful!
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The visa fee for Americans (and several other countries) is currently a hefty $160, in addition to other extra hassles like showing proof of exit from Bolivia. Many Americans I met decided to skip Bolivia completely in their South America travel itineraries, especially if they had only planned to spend just one week there.
However, I think it’s worth the fee, as this one-week itinerary will take you on adventures and places you can’t experience anywhere else in the world. From mountain biking the Death Road to visiting the world’s largest salt flat, Bolivia was one of my favorite countries to travel in South America.
Also, if you come with dollars in cash, you can buy bolivianos at a better rate than the official rate, meaning your home currency will go further in this already affordable country.
Because the Bolivian currency (bolivianos or BOB) is based on the USD, the dollar is in high demand and you can get bolivianos at a better rate than the official rate.
Therefore, if you’re looking to stretch your money in Bolivia, you can get more bolivianos if you exchange your dollars or euros with cambistas. While the official exchange rates was just under 7 bolivianos for 1 dollar, most cambistas quoted over 10 bolivianos per dollar. Keep in mind that they prefer 100 dollar bills. Of course, you will be exchanging on the side of the street and make yourself a target, so do keep in mind it’s less secure than going to a bank or casa de cambio.
The intersection of Av. Perez Velasco and Sagarnaga in La Paz is where I spotted some cambistas, although I wasn’t actively looking elsewhere so there may be other places.
If you feel comfortable with the risk of exchanging money on the street, Bolivia is one of the few places where I wouldn’t recommend relying on a good travel debit card for ATMs (like Schwab—no international ATM fees!) or travel credit card like Chase Sapphire (no international fees and best exchange rates). Paying by card or withdrawing from an ATM means you’ll pay with the official rate. But if you exchange your cash from a cambista, you’ll be getting more than the official rate.
If you’re traveling into Bolivia from Peru by bus, you can go to either Copacabana or La Paz.
Going to La Paz means the bus goes straight there, although you of course have to get off to stamp your passport at both the Peruvian immigration office and then the Bolivian immigration office.
Going to Copacabana was a bit more complicated, involving getting off the bus, getting a taxi to the border and then getting a colectivo on the other side of the border to Copacabana. But this was all organized by the bus company, so was easy albeit a bit of a hassle. I would recommend the company I chose (), as the guy guiding us across the border was helpful and waited for me when I had an issue with my border crossing.
If you’re traveling on an American passport, keep in mind you need to apply for a visa in advance and pay a visa fee (see more above).
You have two choices for the beginning of your one week in Bolivia when entering by land from Peru.
If you choose to start in La Paz and take a day trip to Copacabana and Lake Titicaca.
But if you’d like to stay overnight like me, you’re better off buying a ticket to Copacabana first to save some time.
If you choose this second option, you can either stay overnight on Isla del Sol or on mainland in Copacabana. I chose the latter, which gave me more time to explore Copacabana.
Copacabana itself doesn’t have a ton of things to do, but that’s good since you only have one week in Bolivia. Many just pass through if just coming for a day trip to see Isla del Sol on Lake Titicaca.
But if you have the time, eating fresh trout at the kioscos by Playa de Copacabana, visiting Basilica de de Nuestra Señora de Copacabana and hiking Cerro Calvario are top things to do. If staying overnight, I’d recommend Cerro Calvario for sunset views.
Taking a boat cruise to Isla del Sol (birthplace of the sun) is a must-do in Bolivia. I’d recommend one-day tour that also stops at the smaller Isla de la Luna (birthplace of the moon). It’s best to buy a ticket for this tour from one of the many agencies on Av. 6 de Agosto.
These two islands are perhaps the best spots to visit on Lake Titicaca (which is also located in Peru) in terms of historical and cultural significance, as they both have important temple ruins.
Whether you’re on a day trip from La Paz or on your second day in Copacabana, I’d recommend going to La Paz for your second night in Bolivia so you can start your sightseeing in La Paz on day 3 early.
If you’re on a day tour from La Paz, they will handle your transport back to La Paz. Otherwise, you can catch a bus from Plaza Sucre until the last bus at 6:30pm.
Hostal La Cupula is perhaps the most unique place to stay in Copacabana, with stunning lake views and quirky architecture more reminiscent of Santorini than Bolivia. Even if you don’t stay here, I’d recommend their café and restaurant to get a taste of the serene beauty.
If you’d rather spend the night on Isla del Sol, Sol y Luna Lodge (or Inti Wasi Lodge, more rustic but also more budget friendly) also offers amazing lake views.
I loved La Paz. Most big cities around the world look quite similar, which gets boring. But La Paz is uniquely positioned in a valley surrounded by dramatic mountains and rock formations. It’s the highest major city in the world and its main public transport system is made up of cable cars.
I’d recommend taking a guided walking tour around the city. It’s a great way to get to know the history and culture of the country, get your bearings around the city and gain local tips.
Not interested in a walking tour? Points of interest in La Paz include Plaza Murillo, The Witches Market, San Pedro Prison (do not take photos of it—police will take your phone—or attempt entering—dangerous) on Plaza Sucre and museums such as the Museo Nacional de Etnografia y Folklore.
If you love trying local food, this evening foodie tour is for you (and quite budget friendly!).
If you’re in La Paz on a Sunday or Thursday night, you can see a cholita wrestling show in the evening. It wasn’t exactly my cup of tea, but watching women in traditional wear body slamming each other is certainly a unique thing to do in Bolivia and also supports domestic violence survivors.
On your second day of exploring the highest city of the world, I’d recommend taking a self-guided tour of La Paz: from above. Bolivia’s cable cars (or telefericos) are what make this mountainous city so unique. It’s the best way to travel in the city (no traffic!) and super cheap, even for the locals.
The main lines are connected, so it’s possible to see almost the whole city without even leaving the stations.
I’d recommend going to the south part of the city, which you can actually reach by cable car (take the green line to Irpavi). Alternatively, you can take a taxi. This is the rich part of the city, and it shows. It’s a good place for shopping or fine dining (Gustu is most famous).
I would highly recommend going on a day trip from La Paz, as the surroundings offer a variety of unique things to do. In fact, if you have more than one week to spare in Bolivia, I would extend your stay in La Paz as a base to explore the country more.
Your options for a day trip from La Paz are varied. If you prefer a historical and cultural day, visit Tiwanaku(pre-Incan ruins).
If you’re up for exercise and hiking (beware of the altitude), you can hike Austria Peak or Charquini on a day trip. Alternatively, if you have extra days and are looking for a bigger adventure, you can climb Huayna Potosi, which is a 3-day ice-climbing trip to a summit over 6000m. It’s said to be the easiest peak over 6000m to summit in the world, so you can do it as a beginner mountaineer.
And if you’re looking for an adrenaline-fueled day, mountain biking down the Death Road will perhaps be the most unique and exciting thing you’ll do during your one week in Bolivia. It’s the option I chose for my day trip, and it was a thrill going from 4700m down to the entrance of the Amazon at 1200m.
There are also many interesting rock formations very accessible from La Paz, like Valle de las Animas, Moon Valley and Devil Tooth. However, if you’re following my one-week Bolivia itinerary into Chile, you’ll see much more impressive rock formations when you cross the border into San Pedro de Atacama, so I’d skip the ones near La Paz.
I stayed at Anata Hostel, which has a nice rooftop. It’s located in a quiet part of the city within walking distance of Plaza Murillo and several cable car stations. If you’d prefer to treat yourself with a luxury stay in the nicest part of the city (the south), Met Hotel offers free breakfast and pool/spa.
I added the 3-day Uyuni tour into my Bolivia itinerary because other backpackers told me they traveled into Chile this way. I wanted to see the Uyuni salt flats, so this tour seemed like the most logical way to exit Bolivia by land into Chile.
Beyond the salt flats I had no idea what else to expect. While you’ll certainly see the salt flats, that’s only the first day. The following two days will be filled with extinct and active volcanoes, colorful lagoons, geysers, unique wildlife and hot springs.
There is no question whether you should do the 3-day Uyuni tour, even if it does eat up almost half of your one week in Bolivia. This will be one of the highlights of your trip in South America.
So now the logistics question.
It is possible to get off the night bus, head to a tour office to book a tour and embark on the tour that same day, just a few hours later. That’s what I did.
But I wouldn’t recommend it, especially if you’re not traveling solo. Each tour has only 6 spots, since you’ll be traveling the three days in a jeep. I met three travelers while I was having breakfast in a café waiting for my tour to start, and they couldn’t find a company with three open spots that day, so they had to spend the night in Uyuni and wait until the next day. If you only have one week in Bolivia, you won’t want to risk wasting a day like this, as there really isn’t anything to do in the town of Uyuni itself.
So I’d recommend either contacting a tour agency ahead of time (I went with Tours TransAndino and recommend it) or book online. This 3-day Uyuni tour includes border crossing to Chile and a transfer to San Pedro de Atacama.
If you’re going on the tour the day your night bus arrives in Uyuni, you don’t have to worry about accommodation, as the next two nights will be included in your tour (including a salt hotel!).
But if you don’t manage to get a tour the day you arrive like the three travelers I met, or if you don’t take the night bus from La Paz and arrive after 10 am (when most of the tours leave), then Piedra Blanca Backpackers Hostel is well reviewed and offers free breakfast.
It’s fairly easy if you go by tour, as your guide will help you and all your transport will be pre-arranged to San Pedro de Atacama.
But it was bit of a hassle, so here’s all you need to know:
First you’ll visit the immigration office in Bolivia, where you will need to fill out a form online.
Your driver will then take you to another office at the border where you’ll get an exit stamp from Bolivia. This is where you say bye to your tour guide and hop on a mini bus to the Chilean border.
Upon arriving to Chile, you have to fill out a paper form where you must declare fresh fruit and vegetables, plants and animal origin products. They’re quite strict about this and even x-ray your bags. I sadly lost an apple to this border crossing. But other than that, it was a smooth border crossing.
You then get back on your bus and your driver will take you to San Pedro de Atacama.
Unfortunately, this is where your one week in Bolivia ends, but it’s where you Chile adventure begins!
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Omg it so beautiful and the flamingos! I can't believe its $130 for a visa! I don't think i've ever paid that much for one! Visting the Uyuni Salt Flat is on my to-do list though. Was it crowded and touristy?
No, I didn't find it very crowded at all when I went in early December. The tour groups are so small (6 people per jeep) and the salt flats are so big, so the drivers have a lot of space to spread out. Sometimes we were the only jeep around!
Yikes, that visa is expensive (and I thought Tanzania was bad at $100!), but I'm sure it's worth it. I've had the salt flats on my bucket list for years!