In the five weeks that I was there I experienced one rain-shower (La Paz), and one heavy snowfall (Uyuni).
If something is omitted here, it's because I either did not do it, or have no hard information on it either way.
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There are money-changing facilities in the airport now, so there is no need to take an expensive taxi to the centre of town. (There is a direct bus up to the airport for $1 which can be caught in San Francisco; ask in your hotel for where to catch it.)
Departure tax is $20.
There are no truly outstanding budget hotels in this city - I stayed in the Torino, which is not the most friendly of hotels, but supposedly no worse than the rest, but it does have left-luggage and book exchange facilities (but you can forget about approaching the manageress for either of these).
The Hotel Republica was frequently reccomended as excellent value, although it's not a true cheapy.
Reccomended restaurants: El Texano at Commercio 1381 has an excellent, cheap, four-couse lunch in very civilised surroundings; El Lobo at Illampu y Santa Cruz serves delicious Israeli meals.
The British Embassy has no reading room - just a collection of month-old Daily Telegraphs.
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Flota Yunguena are the main company plying this route (20 hrs - avoid the back row if at all possible as the seats don't recline), but Trans Amazonas also do it in minibuses (12 hrs, but more expensive).
Stay at El Tuichi (between the bus office and Santa Ana). The hotel only opened recently (so is in none of the books) and is far and away the nicest of the budget hotels in town - Eli, the manageress, is very friendly, and does a good deal on breakfast. Besides, any place with hammocks is definitely worth a couple of nights.
El Trapiche next to the bus office is an excellent cheap restaurant, and the owner speaks English and German.
A yellow house in the square was frequently reccomended for lunch by the locals, but I never actually visited it.
Tico, who runs the Agencia Fluvial (from a boat on the river) offers the standard four-day jungle tour for $50 and a three-day pampas tour for $60 (no haggling). (His tours are great, and no other agency in town is any cheaper; but don't believe what the guide books say about the quality of the food - it's little more than fuel food.) Those interested in animals such as river dolphin and cayman (sp???) will be better served by the latter trip. Getting a group together once in Rurre, or joining another one, should take about an hour unless you want to do something more original than stay in a much-visited tourist camp, so don't check into a hotel when the bus arrives in the morning if you want to go on a trip immediately (they leave at 9-10am).
Do walk up the hill behind the town on a bright day (a hard twenty-minute slog).
Those intending to visit the waterfall mentioned in TSK should note that it is a mile upstream on the opposite side of the river to what the book says, and (according to a local) the path from San Buenaventura is very tough. Much better to try and get a lift from one of the motorised dugouts going up and down the river. (Note that there are two waterfalls, the higher one being the more impressive, so don't spend a day at the 'wrong' one.) Try to be there for midday when the sun can get through the trees.
Do catch the stunning sunsets from one of the waterfront bars.
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If you arrive in Yolosa too late to head up for Coroico (for example on the bus from Rurrenabaque), you can roll out your sleeping bag in front of the police station.
Cheapest beds in town are in the Sol y Luna dormitory.
The artesania is massively overpriced.
For stunning views on the way back to La Paz, take a camioneta down to Yolosa and hitch a lift with a passing truck (note that this ride gets very cold in its later stages); the ride is truly exhilerating and really gets the adrenaline going. However, ensure that you arrive in Yolosa at a time when there will be passing traffic (ask in Coroico).
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Eduardo, the exceptionally odd German owner of the recently-relocated Hotel Copacabana will probably meet you at the bus-stop - it's definitely worth a look (although the excellent meals, even breakfast, are expensive), but I never had a chance to check out the competition.
In addition, he organises guided tours for $15pp/day (plus food) along any one of a dozen routes, and these are definitely reccomended. He also rents out all the equipment you might need. Your guide will take a full pack, so you don't need to carry too much yourself.
Those with more time would certainly find it much cheaper to base themselves in one of the hotels in town, and let the owner fix you up with a guide for the going rate of $5/day (plus food) - which means that Eduardo's cut for a group of four is over 90%, possibly explaining why he's such an unpopular boss - but I never met anyone who'd tried this.
For non-serious walkers, the three-day trip up to the glacier lake at the foot of Illampu and Ancohoma (over 5000m.) is highly reccomended for some stunning views.
On all hikes, note that you will be going to high altitude, so expect headaches - and don't stand up too quickly or the head-rush could make you keel over. (Don't forget some coca.) In addition, make sure that your tent, sleeping bag, and stove are up to the extreme conditions (I can at least vouch for the quality of Edward's sleeping bags).
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Those heading to Copa from Sorata should note that you should catch the first bus to La Paz (paying full fare, unfortunately), get off at Huarina, and make your own way to Tiquina, cross the lake (there's an organised system for doing this), then complete the trip by camioneta (7 hrs total, and be prepared for a cold final leg as it will be getting dark by this stage).
No particular hotel/restaurant particularly stood out in Copacabana.
Note that the town fills up with Bolivians and Peruvians around the August 6th Independence Day celebrations (and simultaneously empties of gringos), causing room prices to soar.
A standard day-trip to the Isla del Sol can be organised at one of the travel agents in town for $8 (no particular reccomendation), but the trips tend to be highly disappointing with few definite sights, and more time spent in the boat than on the island. A much better idea is to overnight on the island, wander around the next day, then catch the boat back in the afternoon (usually free if returning with the same company). On the other hand, you might like to try walking all the way back.
Do walk up the fourteen stations of the cross above the town on a bright day.
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Uyuni is most easily reached from La Paz by the 'Expreso del Sur' train which runs to Argentina on a Friday (the only Bolivian train I took, and reputedly the best in the country), other types of train daily, or from Potosi by bus.
If arriving by train, you will almost certainly arrive on a bitterly cold station platform at five or six o'clock in the morning, so consider getting a group together for a tour to leave at nine o'clock the same day (relatively easy as this is the only reason tourists go to Uyuni) rather than heading straight for a hotel.
The best hotel in town (and only a few cents more expensive than the rest) is the Avenida.
The tours on offer from the various travel agents are all more or less identical, with the standard one being a four-day trip for six or seven people for around $50pp (plus food), although you will certainly have to push hard to get down to this level. The only real difference between them is the age of the vehicle - whether your Toyota Land Cruiser is ten years old, or only nine - and if the four-wheel drive actually functions. This latter is only important as if the snow does fall (which it did in midAugust this year), as getting back to Uyuni can be extremely hard work (if you're not as unlucky as we were and get snowed in completely). The agency provides cooking equipment and gas, and also blankets if you feel that your sleeping bag won't be sufficient. (The Spanish for `to be four-wheel drive' is `tener roster'.)
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A very hectic, bustling city, whose pace might not be to everyone's taste.
Changing dollars in Potosi can be a challenge if none of your notes are in mint condition (millimetre-long tears along the fold of a note will get it refused everywhere).
The mines are, indeed, well worth a visit. All tours are the same, but guides named in a guide-book seem to charge $5 instead of $4. Note that because of the size of the passages, any group larger than five is too large; all groups seem to be larger than five.
-- Bob Tinsley (mauqx@csv.warwick.ac.uk)
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