The big fat guide to South American bus travel

Long distance bus travel is likely to form a central component of any South American trip. 

For cash-strapped backpackers, an overnighter also helps save money as it gives you a nights accommodation as well as the means to get from a to b.

The level of comfort (and safety) of South American buses depends on the country you're in and the bus company you go for. On one bus, we were served champagne (yes! champagne) after our meal (yes! we were served a meal), while elsewhere, there wasn't even a toilet to use on the bus and the freezing temperature on board meant that we had to seriously layer up (and were still a little cold). 

Here's our guide on how to know what to expect and where! The countries are shown in the order we visited them in.

Crossing Borders: In pictures

We crossed a number of land borders throughout our 6 and a half months in South America - quite a novelty for two Brits! Here are some of our border crossing photos. 

Leaving Peru, we were pleased that the border crossing was well marked with the iconic Peru sign and a big bottle of Cusquena beer!

Nine South American Sunsets

A paddle in the Pacific

1. Lima: Our first South American sunset was in Peru's capital Lima, where on day one of our 6 month trip, I enjoyed my first ever paddle in the Pacific Ocean as the sun

Where we stayed – Bolivia

Overview: 

Bolivia is the cheapest country in South America. Depending on your budget you can find cheaper places to stay than those listed here. Alternatively, you can splash out a little bit and stay in some very nice places. Our choices were largely above complete budget, but were, on the whole, great value for money.

Being vegetarian in Bolivia

We’d been told in Peru from travellers coming north that Bolivian food was rather underwhelming and that there was little choice for vegetarians. I’d had quite an easy time in Peru and so was bracing myself for a month or so of nothing but rice and omelettes.

However, while it was true that Bolivia is less foodie than Peru, there were some good veggie options and I only ate about two omelettes in almost two months. (And they were nice omelettes.)

We did have more time to cook for ourselves, so that helped, but even in our homestay, the family didn’t seem to have too much trouble cooking vegetarian.

And there were some great veggie options both at the street stands street and in the restaurants, particularly in Sucre.

So what did we eat and where?

The highs (and lows) of our visit to the Bolivian salt flats

Our trip to Bolivia’s salt flats and other worldly landscapes of the country’s southwest was somewhat cursed from the start. First off we missed the bus that we had intended to take to Uyuni (where most tours to the salt flats start), as we struggled to find a taxi and then the police decided to check our taxi drivers papers. We arrived at the bus station, just as the very full bus was leaving. This was not too much of a problem as there was another bus in an hour, but if only we’d known it was a sign of things to come!

Siete Cascadas and the road to nowhere

One Sunday in Sucre, we decided to go for a relaxing afternoon to the Siete Cascadas (seven waterfalls). We’d been told it was a beautiful spot, with pools to bathe in and areas where you could jump in. And it was only a short ride outside of Sucre.

By the time we’d got ourselves ready, it was getting a little bit late and so we decided to “splash out” and get a taxi rather than work out where to catch the bus from. But the taxi drivers we stopped didn’t seem to want to take us there. Some of them genuinely didn’t seem to know where it was. Others just said they wouldn’t go there and suggested we ask someone else. 

Highlights of Sucre

The main square in Sucre

We spent 3 and a half weeks in Bolivia’s constitutional capital, Sucre. Independence was officially declared in the town and while most of the administrative functions of Bolivia have moved to La Paz (with the exception of the Supreme Court), Sucre is still officially the capital, according to the constitution. It is considerably smaller than La Paz though and you can get to know it, or at least the central area in a matter of just a few days.

And into the jungle!

Madidi Travel's resident parrot

A trip to the Amazon basin is on most travellers’ bucket list. But it doesn’t come cheap. Our research showed us that Bolivia was one of the more affordable entry points into the jungle. In Peru, we met people travelling north from Bolivia – all of whom recommended different trips and tour companies.

We decided fairly quickly against a 'pampas' or wetland savannah trip, as although you have a higher chance of seeing animals, due to the lack of trees, there are few (if any?) reputable companies that take tourists there and we'd heard that the area gets overcrowded with tourists and their not so conservation friendly guides. We've spoken to people who very much enjoyed their pampas trip, but we decided it was not for us this time.

The world’s most dangerous road

Its a long way down!

Before arriving in South America, I had read about the so called 'death road' in Bolivia, which according to Wikipedia claims up to 300 lives every year. I watched youtube videos of buses travelling along very narrow stretches of road, with sheer drops of over 600 metres. It looked horrible.

Our quest to visit a Peña

In South America, peñas are or (are supposed to be) bars or restaurants where people get together to play traditional folkloric music, eat, drink and be merry. Intrigued, we first attempted to go to a peña in Arequipa, Peru.

La Paz: In pictures

Arrival

La Paz is quite literally breathtaking. At an elevation of between 3,200m and 4,100m above sea level, even a leisurely stroll around the city centre can leave you feeling short of breath. Most people arrive into La Paz from El Alto, which is actually another city in itself, growing fast into the flat plains above the capital.  The view of La Paz as you travel into the city from ,El Alto, is incredible.  

Copacabana and the Isla del Sol

The beautiful Isla del Sol

The Isla del Sol is another island on Lake Titicaca, but is reached from the Bolivian side (see previous post on our visit to Puno in Peru). 

We had been told that the island was a 'must see' in Bolivia and so we left Peru behind, crossed the border and made our way to Copacabana.