Bolivia Discovery: Self-Launched Salar & Colonial Cities

Land at El Alto airport (4,000m) and take an official airport taxi or shared minibus down into the city bowl (~BOB 80-100 / £9-11 for a taxi, BOB 15 for a shared micro). Check into a hostel in the historic centre or Sopocachi. Take it very easy on day one: drink coca tea, walk slowly, and treat the altitude with respect. In the late afternoon stroll the Witches' Market (Mercado de las Brujas) on Calle Linares and get your bearings on the steep streets, then eat an early dinner — try a salteña and api (a purple corn drink) for under £3. Sleep high, walk low.

🚌Airport taxi or shared minibus to the centre (~£3-11 depending on option)

🛏Hostel or guesthouse in central La Paz / Sopocachi, dorm bed or private with shared bath (~£10-14 per night)

• →Witches' Market wander
• →Acclimatisation walk in the historic centre
• →Coca tea and salteña orientation

Either take the early morning flight on BoA (Boliviana de Aviación) La Paz–Sucre, roughly 45 minutes and usually £45-70 one-way if booked a week or two out — or save the money and take a night/early bus (~13-15 hrs, BOB 120-180 / £13-20) if you have the time. Flying keeps you matching the tour's pace. Once in Sucre you're at a comfortable 2,800m, so breathe easier. A self-guided walk covers the whitewashed Plaza 25 de Mayo, the Cathedral, the Casa de la Libertad (BOB 30) and the Recoleta hillside viewpoint — or pay a local guide BOB 80-120 for a two-hour walking tour booked through your hostel. Evening: cheap set menus around Calle Bolívar.

🚌Internal flight La Paz–Sucre (~£50-65) or overnight bus (~£15)

🛏Hostel or guesthouse in Sucre's historic centre (~£9-14)

• →Self-guided colonial city walk
• →Casa de la Libertad
• →Recoleta viewpoint at sunset

A free day in Sucre. Head to Cal Orcko at the Parque Cretácico (BOB 30, plus BOB 10-15 for a micro or taxi out to the cement works) to see one of the world's largest collections of 68-million-year-old dinosaur footprints on a sheer quarry wall. If it's a Sunday, take a shared taxi or local bus to Tarabuco (~BOB 20-30, 1.5 hrs) for the famous textile market — much better than any guided version. Afternoon: chocolate and coffee in one of the courtyard cafés, or head up to La Recoleta for the view. Book tonight for a two- or three-day salt-flats trip with a Sucre or Tupiza agency, or plan to sort it in Uyuni.

🚌Micro/taxi to Parque Cretácico and back (~£3); optional shared taxi to Tarabuco (~£3)

🛏Hostel or guesthouse in Sucre (~£9-14)

• →Parque Cretácico dinosaur tracks (BOB 30)
• →Tarabuco market (Sundays)
• →Café and market browsing

Another full day in Sucre. Options: a hike on the outskirts towards Chataquila or the Mirador de la Recoleta trail (free, just transport), or a half-day mountain-bike ride booked through a local agency (BOB 150-250 / £17-28). If you want pure culture, the Museo de Etnografía y Folklore and the Convento de Santa Clara are both cheap (BOB 20-30). Remember the tour's own recommendation: grab a salteña from the Mercado Central (about BOB 5 / 55p) and eat it standing up like a local. Sort cash today — ATMs can be unreliable outside La Paz, so draw bolivianos before the salt flats.

🚌Local buses/taxis within Sucre (~£3)

🛏Hostel or guesthouse in Sucre (~£9-14)

• →Half-day mountain biking or hiking (optional, ~£20)
• →Museum visits
• →Market food crawl

Take a morning bus to Potosí with a local company (Flota Copacabana, Trans Belén, etc.) — about 3 hours, BOB 30-50 / £3-6. Potosí sits at 4,090m, so keep the pace slow on arrival. Afternoon: join a cooperative mine tour at Cerro Rico (BOB 250-350 / £28-40 including gear, transport and usually a gift of coca/dynamite for the miners) — sobering, memorable and far more personal than a big-group version. Alternatively, the Casa de la Moneda mint museum (BOB 40) is excellent. Note: mine visits are not for everyone and involve tight, hot, dusty tunnels — it's entirely fine to skip.

🚌Public bus Sucre–Potosí (BOB 30-50, ~3 hrs)

🛏Guesthouse or basic hotel in Potosí (~£9-14)

• →Cerro Rico mine visit (optional, ~£30)
• →Casa de la Moneda
• →Plaza and colonial streets

Morning bus or shared minivan south to Uyuni (3-4 hrs, BOB 30-60). Once in Uyuni, shop around the agencies clustered around Calle Ferroviaria and Avenida Arce — a standard 3-day/2-night 4x4 tour of the Salar and the desert altiplano runs about BOB 700-950 / £80-110 per person in a shared vehicle of 6, including driver, meals, and basic lodge nights. Confirm what's included (park entry costs extra) and pay a deposit. Afternoon: visit the Train Cemetery (free walk or BOB 10 taxi) and stock up on water, snacks, sunscreen and a warm layer. Rent a sleeping bag or bring one — nights on the altiplano drop well below freezing.

🚌Public bus/minivan Potosí–Uyuni (BOB 30-60); local taxi to Train Cemetery (~£1)

🛏Hostel in Uyuni (~£8-12)

• →Train Cemetery
• →Uyuni agency comparison
• →Salt-flats tour booking

Depart around 10:00 in a shared Land Cruiser with five or six other travellers. Start at the Train Cemetery then drive out onto the blinding white salt flats — the classic stops are Colchani's salt mountains, the Salt Hotel, the Dakar Monument and the 'Eyes of the Salar' pools. Lunch is cooked off the back of the truck (included in the tour price). By late afternoon you climb to Isla Incahuasi, the cactus-covered island in the middle of the salar (entry ~BOB 30), then continue south as dusk falls. Night in a basic salt-brick lodge with a shared dorm and a simple included dinner.

🚌Shared 4x4 Land Cruiser with local driver-guide (part of tour package)

🛏Basic salt hotel/refugio, multi-share (included in the 4x4 tour, ~£80-110 for all three days)

• →Train Cemetery
• →Salt flats photo stops
• →Isla Incahuasi cactus island

An early start heading south through the high desert: Laguna Cañapa and its flamingos, the red-rock Siloli Desert and the Árbol de Piedra (Stone Tree). This is exactly the landscape the group tour covers, just self-booked. Depending on your agency's routing you may reach the Eduardo Avaroa Reserve's red lagoon at Laguna Colorada (entry ~BOB 150) this afternoon or on day nine. Spend the night at a community-run lodge/guesthouse near Santiago de Agencha, the small agricultural village in a desert oasis surrounded by towering cacti — the same kind of Planeterra-style community stay the operator builds in. Basic dorm beds, hot-ish water if you're lucky, stunning night sky.

🚌Shared 4x4 (included)

🛏Community lodge / basic guesthouse near Santiago de Agencha, multi-share (included)

• →Laguna Cañapa flamingos
• →Árbol de Piedra
• →Laguna Colorada (reserve entry ~BOB 150)
• →Desert altiplano driving

Final morning on the altiplano: sunrise at the Sol de Mañana geyser field (sulphur pools and steam at 4,800m), a soak in the roadside hot springs (BOB 10-20), and the Laguna Blanca and Laguna Verde vistas before the long drive back — most standard tours return to Uyuni around 17:00-18:00. Freshen up, eat a proper meal, then take the overnight bus to La Paz (BOB 120-180 / £13-20, roughly 10-11 hours, arriving early morning). Sleeper-style reclining seats are standard; bring layers, earplugs and a warm hat.

🚌Shared 4x4 return to Uyuni (included); overnight bus Uyuni–La Paz (BOB 120-180)

🛏Overnight bus (included in transport cost)

• →Sol de Mañana geysers
• →Thermal hot springs
• →Laguna Verde and Laguna Blanca

You arrive in La Paz early morning with a full day to play with. Options: a self-guided ride on the Mi Teleférico cable car network (BOB 3 per ride / 30p — the best value sightseeing in South America) linking El Alto's markets to the city bowl; a cheap walking tour from Plaza San Francisco; or, for the adventurous, the Death Road mountain-bike descent (BOB 350-500 / £40-55 booked direct through a reputable agency such as Gravity or Barracuda — the operator sells this as an optional extra, you simply book it yourself). That's a long day after a night bus, so a nap first is sensible. Evening: sopa de maní or a lomo montado and a beer in Sopocachi.

🚌Mi Teleférico (~£1-2 total), local taxis (~£3)

🛏Hostel or guesthouse in central La Paz (~£10-14)

• →Mi Teleférico cable car
• →Free walking tour or Valley of the Moon tour (~£13)
• →Death Road mountain biking (optional, ~£40-55)

Last morning: pick up souvenirs at the Mercado Rodríguez or the Alpaca/artisan stalls around Sagárnaga, and if time allows visit the Museo de la Coca or the excellent Museo Nacional de Etnografía y Folklore (BOB 20). Check museum and flight times against El Alto's notoriously fickle traffic — allow 75 minutes to the airport. Take a taxi or shared minibus to El Alto and fly out. If your flight leaves late, the Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley, BOB 15 entry plus BOB 15 return minibus) is a nice final low-effort outing.

🚌Taxi to El Alto airport (~£9-11)

🛏None (departure day)

• →Market shopping
• →Museum visit
• →Valley of the Moon (optional, ~£4)