When researching for our trip I spent a lot of time trying to budget for different locations around the world. Cost of living varies dramatically between each country that we are visiting, however, we still try to set an average daily budget of $75.00 USD. We know if we stay around this amount that we can visit all of the locations we hope to. In this post I am going to break down all of our expenses and answer the question, how much does it cost to travel in Bolivia?
*Disclaimer: We are attempting to travel more on the budget side of things so obviously costs can vary dramatically. You can easily spend significantly more or less than what we did depending on your preferences.
We spent 8 nights and 9 days in Bolivia. Within that we spent 2 nights on an overnight bus (between Uyuni and La Paz) and 2 nights during our Salt Flat tour. The Salt Flat tour was something that we budgeted for separately because it was a huge reason as to why we were visiting Bolivia. While significantly cheaper than the Inca Trail trek, we still spent a little over $400 USD between the two of us on it so it was a significant amount of money that we accounted for before arriving.
After visiting Bolivia we both highly recommend it as a place to go in South America! It definitely does not get the same publicity as its neighboring countries, but Bolivia is incredibly affordable and has a great culture with some awesome sights to see. Hopefully this post is helpful in persuading you to visit this amazing country!
Our TOTAL cost of traveling in Bolivia for 9 days, including the Salt Flat tour, was $774.75 USD. Of that, $548.55 was the Salt Flat tour and the overnight buses between Uyuni and La Paz. $226.20 was what we spent as “daily expenses” while staying in La Paz for 6 days.
La Paz
La Paz is the administrative capital of Bolivia and is where most travelers will fly in and out of. We spent 6 days and 4 nights in La Paz. Our total daily expenses including the time we spent there before and after the Salt Flat tour were…….. $226.20 USD for an average of $37.70 USD per day. These costs only include our normal daily expenses for meals, grocery, accommodations, transportation, etc. This does NOT include the cost of our flights from Cusco to La Paz because that differs for everyone depending on the time of year and where you’re flying from. This also does not include the cost of our time in Uyuni for the Salt Flat tour as I will break that out separately below.
Read More: Is La Paz, Bolivia Worth Visiting?
Accommodations – $123.41 USD total / $30.85 per night
In La Paz we spent $123.41 USD for 4 nights. 3 nights were spent in an apartment rental through Booking.com and 1 night was spent in a budget hostel.
- We actually paid extra at the hostel to check in around 7 AM because our overnight bus got in early and we were exhausted and wanted to sleep more. The cost of this was a half night rate (about $10 USD extra) but was totally worth it.
Transportation – $28.90 USD total
Taxi
We took a taxi to and from the airport in La Paz. The airport is actually in El Alto which is a separate city immediately next to La Paz. The rate was pre-negotiated at 70 Bolivianos each way, or about $10.12 USD.
Public Transportation
La Paz, Bolivia has one of the most unique public transportation systems either of us have ever seen. They utilize a system of cable cars all over the city and are continuing to add new lines. The name of the system is called Mi Teleferico. It is an extremely affordable option to get almost anywhere in the city and provides amazing views everywhere you look! It costs about 3 Bolivianos per person per ride, or about $0.43 USD. In total we spent $8.68 for all of our rides.
Meals – $35.84 USD total
When we got to Bolivia we were actually craving home cooked food so we only ate out for 2 meals in La Paz. The rest of the time we cooked our own food in the apartment we rented! We spent $35.84 between the two dinners.
- Because we rented an apartment for the majority of our time in La Paz we had a kitchen that was very well stocked with kitchen utensils. We took advantage of this and also to save a little bit of money before our big salt flat tour.
Groceries – $37.04 USD total
Because we opted to cook rather than eat out as much in Bolivia, we spent a bit more on groceries. In total for 6 days worth of food it cost us $37.04.
Water in Bolivia cost about 10.50 Bolivianos, or $1.52 USD for a 6 liter bottle.
Excursions – $1.01 USD total
While not really an “excursion” we did have to spend 7 Bolivianos on an entrance fee to a park in La Paz that had a great viewpoint overlooking the city.
Uyuni
Salt Flat Tour – $377.16 USD total (for two of us)
We spent $377.17 on our Salt Flat Tour with Salty Desert Aventours and would definitely recommend them! Our guide was great and was extremely passionate about teaching us about the history of Bolivia and promoting tourism there. We paid a bit extra to have an English speaking guide as well since we were going to be with them for 3 days and 2 nights. The cost for the salt flat tour includes the tips we gave the guide and drivers at the end as well. The base price we paid for the tour was about 1200 Bolivianos each, or $173.41 USD each.
Read More: 3 Day Bolivian Salt Flat Tour
Overnight Buses From La Paz to Uyuni and Back – $144.51 USD total
The overnight bus tickets cost us 500 Bolivianos each (250 per person each way). We could have upgraded to the “VIP” section for an additional 50 Bolivianos per person each way which had much larger lay-flat chairs. Ours laid back partially and were plenty comfortable so we opted to save the money.
Meals – $13.73 USD total
When you arrive in Uyuni you have some time to grab breakfast before the tour starts. Our bus arrived at 8 AM and our tour left at 10 AM. Similarly, on the way back we arrived back to Uyuni around 5:30 and our overnight bus did not leave until 8:30 so we grabbed dinner. There are a handful of food options in Uyuni.
Misc. – $3.18 USD total
Bathrooms
Most of the bathrooms on the salt flat tour, outside of the ones in your accommodations, will charge between 1 and 5 Bolivianos to use. We spent 22 Bolivianos, or $3.18 USD on bathrooms.
Groceries – $9.97 USD total
There were a few different chances to buy water and snacks at local markets during the tour. We spent $9.97. By far the best deal of the trip was a 1/4 KG bag of salt at the salt flats that we watched the guy bag and seal right in front of us. It only cost 1 Boliviano, or $0.14!
Overall
Overall traveling in Bolivia was very affordable! We spent less than $20 per person per day while in the city of La Paz! The Salt Flat tour is definitely where the major expenses come in while in Bolivia, but we absolutely loved going on the tour. The landscape is unlike anything either of us have ever seen before and we would do it again in a heartbeat!
