Underrated and often skipped in favor of more popular South American countries, Bolivia offers a surprisingly diverse and beautiful landscape along with unique experiences like biking on the “world’s most dangerous road,” exploring the jungle and pampas, relaxing in mountaintop hostels or on quiet beaches, and even sipping local wine under the South American sun.
The highlights of Bolivia are many, but you’ve really got to want to see them; air tickets to Bolivia are expensive with few direct connections from the US, and Bolivia visa fees for US citizens make the trip an even pricier one. The visa application requirements including passport-sized photos, round trip tickets or an explanation of the route you’ll take and a yellow fever certificate, for the hefty sum of US$135 at the border (or $100 if you take care of it all ahead of time). When you add those costs to the not-insignificant costs of visiting another South American country with visa fees, like Brazil or Chile, a trip this otherwise affordable country make become prohibitively expensive.
One way around these mounting costs is to start your trip in Peru. Peru charges no additional fees for American visitors, and as you’ll most likely need to connect from the US anyways, why not do it in Peru? Explore the streets of Lima or knock Machu Picchu off your bucket list before moving on to Bolivia. The flight from Lima to La Paz is under 2 hours, or if you have more time than money, you can take an overnight bus.
Adding Bolivia to your Peru trip (or vice versa) can help you see more in South America for less.
Photo by nomadical