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Bargains and Beauty in Bolivia

southern Bolivia tour

For those who want to get straight to the superlatives, Bolivia is still the cheapest country to visit in South America—if you’re staying long enough to offset the exorbitant visa fee for some nationalities.

Bolivia is my last stop in updating the upcoming 4th edition of The World’s Cheapest Destinations, out the first week of January. I’m not going to do a full-blown “Travel prices in…” post here because after a few days on my own in Sucre and Potosi, I joined up with an organized tour that went off the grid for five days. That was in the area around the alien Salar de Uyuni salt flat and in the little-visited region between there and Chile.

Bolivia travel
But to give you an idea of prices, I’ve put some examples below for illustration. Here’s the catch though: like a few other countries in South America, Bolivia makes itself feel better by following a tit-for-tat policy on visa fees. If the USA charges Bolivians $135 to apply for a visa, with all the security checks and interviews that entails, then by God Bolivia is going to charge Americans the same, even though there are no background check expenses. The money is just pocketed, amounting to a tourist tax. So factor that into your budget if you’re from the U.S., Canada, Australia, and some others. Check your own state department website.

I have been seeing loads of backpackers here, especially from the countries that don’t have to pay a high fee to visit. So the infrastructure for budget travelers is good, with plenty of cheap hotels, backpacker tour companies arranging adventure excursions, and restaurants/bars aimed at travelers. You might not want to make this your first stop though: La Paz is the highest capital in the world and Potosi is more than 12,000 feet. Brutal if you’re coming from sea level.

Sample travel prices in Bolivia, converted from Bolivianas to U.S. dollars:

My private room was $8.50 in Sucre (at Wasi Masi, booked through Hostelbookers). It had Wi-Fi, a private hot water bath, a desk, comfy bed, and breakfast. There was a TV/reading room as well, with a huge book exchange.

In Potosi there are only three hotels that charge more than $50 a night and in Uyuni, launching point for the salt flat, it’s hard to find a place that charges more than $40. Dorm beds in Bolivia are frequently $4 or less and many places have kitchens.

You can go online at an internet cafe for two or three hours for $1. A dollar will get you a 10-minute call home as well if you don’t use Skype.

The regular bus I took from Sucre to Potosi (three hours) was around $2.50 and had assigned seats. Had I been able to get a nicer first class one, that would have been around $5.

llama

Laundry washed and dried is a dollar a kilo.

Set menu lunches are frequently $2 or less at simple restaurants, with $1 ones found in local markets.

Indulging your sweet tooth is cheap here. Two scoops on a cone at a good ice cream shop is 65 cents. Many ice cream novelties in a convenience store are less than 50 cents. Bolivia makes great quality chocolates for half what you’d pay in Bariloche and a fifth of what you would pay in Switzerland.

An empanada or some variation on the street is usually 50 cents or less. Packets of peanuts and bags of popcorn are 30 cents.

travel prices

Drinking here is less of a bargain. Typical bar prices are $1.50 to $3 for a beer of 300ml to a liter. Cocktails are $2 to $4. Wine from Chile or Argentina is about 1/3 less in the supermarket than you would pay in the U.S., but has less of a mark-up in restaurants. The sign above is for typical take-out prices, with $1 equal to 7 bolivianos.

Museum admissions seldom, top $1 unless there’s a guided tour included and many are free.

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David

Wednesday 14th of November 2018

Awesome article, thanks for the tips! Indeed, Bolivia a beautiful country in South America that is bisected by the majestic Andes, and is home to the gorgeous Lake Titicaca which straddles Peru and Bolivia.

However, there are tourist-targeting scammers and petty crime to be wary of.

Do be wary of the fraudulent prison tour, overcharging vendors, medical bill extortion, longhauling taxis, bag theft, hotel tax, corrupt police officers and many more!

Martin

Saturday 25th of July 2015

It is utter nonsense that it's more costly and difficult for US citizens to get residency in Bolivia and 90 days/year apply to all tourists, the only difference some (eg European) are visa except and it has nothing to do with any of the things stated above, it's simply rule of reciprocity Getting residency is neither expensive nor difficult, there are no requirements really besides declaration that you want to live here, the only country like this in whole continent, no proof of income, no investment, nada The process itself is time consuming and frustrating though As for the prices Bolivia is currently not that cheap, it's a dollarized country with quasi currency (not exchanble on forex) pegged at 6.9 to 1$ With a strong dollar right now countries like Peru are the same or in fact less expensive Wine is way cheaper and better in Argentina, that is probably the best value right now if you do not plan to invest any money and be ready to live when shit hit the fan Investment wise Bolivia is probably the best value right now together with Peru, skipping real estate bubble cities like Santa Cruz With commodities boom I forecast Tarija prices may easy double in next 5 years, but it's not really a place for speculation, but I'm just saying it's easy to get your money back if you change your mind It's a difficult country to live with people's attitude and lack of any customers rights and pretty much awful healthcare, but that's really not do much different that most of the continent I suggest coming and checking out for yourself and definitely rent first for minimum a year before committing to anything

Harry

Thursday 22nd of October 2015

Actually, it is more expensive for Americans to acquire a residency visa as they must enter Bolivia on an Objeto Determinado which costs around $150 before applying for residency. Group 1 countries, which essentially includes the rest of the first world, no longer need the OD.

Americans paying money to enter Bolivia is technically a reciprocity fee, but it's also politically motivated. Pretty much all of Europe charge Bolivians to enter their countries but Europeans are able to enter Bolivia for free. There's no reciprocity here because they have good relations (and Bolivia really needs their tourist dollar).

Also, there are much more requirements than just a declaration that you want to live there. Applicants must show evidence of their activities in Bolivia, be it for work, study, family or medical reasons. They must also do a long series of police background checks and health checks. I agree though that it's comparatively easy and pretty cheap. The whole thing can be done for a couple of hundred dollars if you don't hire a lawyer.

I've written an updated article on the process for those who are interested. https://gringoinbolivia.wordpress.com/2015/10/18/visa-requests-november-2014-and-beyond/

Harry

Saturday 13th of December 2014

Actually tourist visa fees only apply to Americans out the OECD countries which is due to bad relations as a result of America's war on drugs. Israelis now pay a tourist visa fee because Morales isn't happy with their conflict with Palestine. It has been very easy and cheap for me to receive residency here. Probably more difficult for Americans though :( I've written a bunch of info about the process on my blog, http://gringoinbolivia.wordpress.com/

Tim Leffel

Sunday 14th of December 2014

Thanks Harry and I'll check out your blog. I think it goes beyond the war on drugs (even though Bolivia is now the world's #1 supplier of cocaine by most estimates). Any country that was aligned with Chavez has made it very tough for the Yanks, with not coincidentally similar results in their economy. No biggie though for potential expats. There are plenty of other options in the region.

melissa

Tuesday 5th of November 2013

Hey Raquel...I am moving to Bolivia soon also, I have an online job working for OpenEnglish, the pay is terrible for american standards, but you would be making about the same as a Doctor in Bolivia....check it out.

Raquel

Monday 1st of June 2015

Hi Melissa, can you please send me a link?

Thank you.

Raquel.

Raquel

Thursday 24th of October 2013

Hi there. I'm a 38 year old female who is the daughter of a Bolivian woman who has since become a U.S. Citizen but who is working on being a duo citizen. Mom is retiring soon and is wanting to buy a house in Cocha and to retire there. Since I am not married and have no kids, I was thinking of making the move as well. I gotta say, I have worked as a licensed esthetician in Beverly Hills and have done well as an independent contractor but I'm not so sure whether I would be able to find a job in my field there. My Spanish is not perfect which is a concern for me. I wanted to ask what other choices would an 'American' like me have as far a work. I thought about being an English tutor but I'm not sure whether I can survive with the pay. Also, I practice Hinduism and wasn't sure whether there were any temples there. I did find a Hare Krishna Temple in Tiquipaya which is nice but I haven't found one in Cochabamba.

Anyway, if anyone can help me out I would be very grateful.

Thank you for reading this. :))

Raquel