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Bolivia Arriving by plane in La Paz you can reach every Bolivian city by bus. The municipal bus terminal is easy to find by asking people for "Terminal de Buses”. Oruro is the closest city, at 2 hours and half from La Paz; Cochabamba from Oruro is 4 hours, I assume from La Paz it is more. And from Cochabamba to the tropical city of Santa Cruz is approximtely 12 hours; one can always take a plane if you are in a hurry, in 1999 I paid some $60 dollars. Still relatively cheap.You will enjoy the weather of Cochabamba, reminds me of the weather of California (Around Oakland) the weather in Santa Cruz is real hot like 90F or 35C on Summer months like February. Oruro is generally a cold city but is fantastic in February, as it is well-regarded as the best location for Carnaval in Bolivia (a folkloric parade, that lasts 12 hours on Saturday, with more the following day). It is loved by tourists all over the world. June 15, 2004: Traveling by bus is certainly the cheapest way to get around Bolivia. Recently, a general benchmark was US$1 per hour of bus travel, with the recent exchange rate being 7-8 bolivianos to the US$. Bus travel was moderately comfortable, although Bolivia's high altitude in the western part makes climate difficult. While it was cold outside, many night buses were so overheated that passengers would sweat it out for 8 or more hours with broken windows. Moral: wear a tank top and bring a t-shirt and a fleece, everywhere! Some approximate bus route times (note that night buses are almost always quicker, as they do not stop for every rural pickup like most day buses do): Copacabana to La Paz: 3 hours La Paz to Oruro: 2.5-3 hours Oruro to Potosi: 7-9 hours Potosi to Uyuni: 5-6 hours Beware of traveling to tropical Rurrenabaque unless you have a very, very loose schedule! The bus takes approximately 12 hours and traverses The Most Dangerous Road in the World. Supposedly, they have recently improved the conditions by mandating one-way traffic on the road and building a secondary road. Historically this is a 1 to 1.5 lane road that supports two directions of traffic and is etched into the mountains, resulting in precipitous dropoffs. Along most of the way, when two vehicles meet, one would have to reverse back along the road until they reached a wide enought point so that one car could pass. The bicycle path from La Paz to Coroico is famed, as cyclists whizz along the dowhill, passing from the Andean highs of La Paz through more temperate zones until they reach the steamy ville of Coroico, en route to the more tropical "Rurre," as it is called. Estimates abound in every travel guide, most citing one vehicle per month that tumbles over the side of the road. Bring Dramamine, or even better, heavy sedatives to sleep through the stomach-turning ride. The other alternative to reaching Rurre is by air. This is relatively cheap, costing US$50-US$60 and offering gorgeous views of the landscapes below. Once in Rurre, most travelers immediately book a jungle trek or two. The problem arises upon departure. The runway in Rurrenabaque is dirt. Rurrenabaque is in the jungle. In a rain forest jungle, it, well, rains! More than a few travelers have returned from their jungle trip, ready to jet back to La Paz and continue on their travels, only to find that they are stranded in a tiny wet town where the plane is grounded due to a muddy runway. Your options are to a) wait it out for as many days as it takes, or to b) eat the money you already spent on your ticket and take the dangerous, windy road 12 hours up to La Paz. Some travelers will choose not to take the risk, and many will vouch that Rurre's beauty is well-worth the effort to get there and back!
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