Bus agencies

by Roland
(South Africa)

Hi Bella, Thanks for a great site and great advice. Me and my girlfriend are travelling through Bolivia in December and would like to know: What bus agencies you recommend? What are the average prices per hour of bus travel?(website of agencies will be fine)

We will be travelling Quijarro - Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz - Cochabamba, Cochabamba - La Paz and La Paz - Puno.

Thanks again!

Comments for Bus agencies

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Oct 21, 2009

bus prices
by: P.S.

Prices for bus travel are subject to change at a moment's notice, especially due to holidays, weekends, or just because they see they're filling up quickly (when the prices go up) or when they're having trouble filling up (when the prices go down), and especially if you are a foreigner haha.

Usually when I notice they are going to charge me a higher than usual price I say:

"But when I called by phone you told me (insert more reasonable price here...)" and the haggling begins.

Translation: "Pero cuando llamé por teléfono me dijeron (....) bolivianos".

Hee hee.
;-)

Oct 21, 2009

bus agencies in bolivia
by: Bella

Hi Roland, wow cool trip.
Well, there are a LOT of bus agencies in Bolivia:

1. Not one of them that I know of has a website.

2. You cannot purchase tickets in advance, over the phone, or with a credit card. All bus tickets must be purchased at the bus station and usually only a few hours in advance.

3. They don't have printed schedules to mail, hand out, or upload online. Most have a small bulletin board sorta thing or a chalk board.

So in sum, you'll have to purchase your bus tickets in cash, at the bus station, as little as 3-4 hours in advance in each city.

When you get to the bus station in each city, you'll see that each bus agency has a booth, and all are lined up against a wall or in rows. Walk along the booths asking prices and get several quotes before you choose. Ask to see their buses if you prefer to be sure they're sorta quality buses.

Unless it's a holiday or something, these are average prices you will pay (it's not per hour).

Pto. Quijarro to Santa Cruz - Bs. 30-50 per person (that's about $6-8)

(Right now the exchange rate is $1 US dollar = 7 bolivianos)

Santa Cruz to Cochabamba - Bs. 40 per person (Bs. 100 if you take a bus cama (sleeper bus, more on that below). It's an 8-10 hour trip depending on the road conditions with a stop for food, usually in Villa Tunari.

Cochabamba to La Paz 10-12 hours, again depending on road conditions, usually with 2 stops.

Also, you might consider taking a BUS CAMA for longer legs of your trip because the seats are set farther apart and the seats lean further back. Choose a seat between the middle and the front. At the back of the bus (on Bolivian roads) it tends to get swingy and bumpy.

Buses tend to travel in the morning between 8 and 11, and the second shift leaves usually between 4 and 8 pm which is usually the latest bus you can take.

You'll see bus company names like COPACABANA, TRANSCOPACABANA (don't confuse the two), BOLIVIA, BOLIVAR (don't confuse these either), COSMOS, and many others. I tend to prefer Cosmos most of the time, although I have also traveled with Bolivar

Please read my page on buses in Bolivia so you can get an idea of all the different TYPES of buses and bus lines we have in Bolivia

Also print out my page on bus stations in Bolivia so you can know where each is, in each major city.

You'll find Puerto Quijarro/Santa Cruz buses on this page.

Hope this is helpful! Here's my brand new page on 40 cool things to do in Santa Cruz.

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