Travel through Bolivia visiting the highlights of this Andean country including the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Tihuanaco, Sucre and Potosi, and the phenomenal Salar de Uyuni salt flats.
Departures: Daily
Length: 11 days / 10 nights
Destinations: La Paz / Tihuanaco / Lake Titicaca / Isla del Sol / Sucre / Potosi / Uyuni / Salar de Uyuni Salt Flats
Highlights: Visit Isla del Sol, a beautiful island in the heart of Lake Titicaca and the mythical birthplace of the Inca Empire. Explore the UNESCO World Heritage cities of Sucre and Potosi and admire the beautiful colonial architecture. Journey on a private 4x4 adventure through the Salar de Uyuni and the surrounding landscape and be stunned by the beauty of the red and green lagoons, the moon-like volcanic landscape, and the overpowering size and tranquility of the Salar de Uyuni.
Tailor Made: This is a suggested holiday that can be booked exactly as described if you wish or that can be used to help inspire you on the fascinating journeys and destinations in Bolivia. Like all our holidays this itinerary can be tailored, customised and crafted by our friendly experts to suit your own travel style, personal requirements, wishes, budget and interests. Simply get in touch to discuss, and we would be delighted to create a truly personalised holiday for you.
Holiday Itinerary
Arrive in La Paz at the start of your holiday. We will meet you at the airport and will escort you to your hotel in the heart of this fantastic city. The rest of the day will be free time for you to adjust to your new surroundings and relax following your journey to Bolivia.
Meals: None
Overnight: Central hotel in La Paz
Today you will enjoy a free day in the Andean city of La Paz at the start of your holiday adventure. We like to include free time here at the start of your holiday to ensure there is time to acclimatise to the altitude prior to continuing your journey maximising the enjoyment of the remainder of your trip.
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: Central hotel La Paz
Today you will journey to the fabulous ruin of Tihuanaco, an ancient UNESCO World Heritage Site dating back thousands of years, and will tour the archaeological site in full. Tihuanaco is one of the most culturally significant places in the Americas and was home to one of the earliest civilisations on the continent dating from over 3500 years ago. After the tour has concluded your journey will continue through Bolivia to the delightful town of Copacobana on the banks of Lake Titicaca where you will board a catamaran and will cruise to Isla del Sol, an island on Lake Titicaca. You will be able to observe the sunset over the lake before enjoying your evening meal on the catamaran.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Meal
Overnight: Catamaran
This morning you will visit Challapampa, a delightful and very typical Lake Titicaca village on Isla del Sol, and will visit the village church as well as a small museum. Afterwards you will cruise to the south part of Isla del Sol and will visit Pilkokaina Inca Palace, Inti Wata cultural complex, Inca terraces and the famous Inca stairs as well as other sites on the island. In the afternoon you will have the opportunity to experience sailing onboard a traditional reed Titicaca sailing vessel before returning to Copacobana and La Paz for the evening.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight: Central hotel La Paz
We will escort you early in the morning to La Paz airport from where you will take a flight to the city of Sucre, the capital of Bolivia and a fabulous UNESCO World Heritage Centre. This city is blessed with beautiful colonial-era architecture and you will tour the city centre visiting the House of Freedom, the Convent of San Filipe de Nery, the facades of the churches of San Lazaro and Santo Domingo, and Bolivar Park.
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: Central hotel in Sucre
In the morning we will collect you from your hotel for a private road transfer from Sucre to the Bolivian city of Potosi which, like Sucre, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Potosi was once the richest city in the Americas with the silver mines of the mountain of Cerro Rico, which overlooks the city, producing vast wealth. You will tour the city visiting the beautiful church of San Lorenzo, the Casa de la Moneda museum (Potosi was the location of the Spanish colonial mint), and the artesan markets in the colonial part of the city. After the tour you will travel by private vehicle from Potosi to the Bolivian town of Uyuni on the edge of the famous Salar de Uyuni salt flats.
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: Jardines de Uyuni Hotel, Uyuni
Today you will start your epic 4x4 private tour through the region of the famous Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt flat in earth. Leaving Uyuni town behind your first visit is the ethereal train cemetery where rusted hulls of ancient steam trains have been left to bake in the harsh environment - it is a bizarre and enthralling location offering a great backdrop for fantastic photographs of this isolated and barren landscape. The tour continues to the colonial church of San Cristobal and the Valley of the Rocks where wind erosion has carved the rocks into fascinating and bizarre shapes creating a natural beautiful landscape spectacle. The final stop of the tour is the village of Villamar where you will visit cave paintings nearby before arriving at your hotel, located in isolated splendour in the middle of the Bolivian altiplano. Due to the altitude and the lack of light pollution on clear nights the Milky Way can be seen in all its fantastic glory.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Meal
Overnight: Jardines de Mallku Cueva Hotel
Although this region of Bolivia is perhaps more famous for the salt flats themselves the surrounding region contains some of the most awe-inspiring scenery in the world and today you will visit some of these magical locations. First stop on the tour is Laguna Colorada, a large shallow salt lake with waters that are tinged pink due to sediments and algae and which is home to grazing flamingos. The tour continues over the altiplano to the hot springs that overlook Chalviri Lagoon - where you can enjoy a natural thermal bath with possibly the finest view in the world, and "Salvador Dali's Valley" which contains eroded rock formations in naturally artistic shapes. The final visit of the day is the stunning Laguna Verde, a rich vivid turquoise-coloured lake in the shadow of a conical volcano.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Meal
Overnight: Jardines de Mallku Cueva Hotel
In the morning you will set off early from your hotel in the Bolivian altiplano to visit the Salar de Uyuni. You will enter the Salar and in your 4x4 vehicle will travel across this giant lake of salt making stops to admire the landscape and for photographs. You will visit the "island" of Incahuasi in the middle of the salar where you can explore and admire the giant cactus and spot for the local wildlife that lives in this oasis in the middle of the barren landscape. After enjoying lunch in the centre of the salt flats you will continue to Tunupa Volcano, a fabulous mountain on the edge of the salar, and will see pre-colonial ruins and ancient mummies before returning to the edge of the salt flats to watch the sunset over the Salar de Uyuni. You will spend the evening in a luxurious salt hotel nearby.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Meal
Overnight: Palacio de Sal Hotel, Salar de Uyuni
In the morning you will depart the Salar de Uyuni and we will escort you to Uyuni airport from where you will take a flight back to La Paz. On arrival in La Paz we will first escort you to your hotel to check-in, then you will set off on a city tour through La Paz visiting the famous witch-doctors market full of weird and wonderful paraphernalia as well as the colonial church of San Fransisco and the famous Jaen street where you can admire the wonderful colonial buildings. The tour continues to Moon Valley on the outskirts of La Paz where you can observe the bizarre natural structures that have formed here.
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: Central hotel in La Paz
At the appropriate time we will meet you in your hotel in La Paz and will escort you to La Paz airport so you can connect with your international flight bringing your Highlights of Bolivia holiday to an end but leaving you with fantastic memories of this truly unique and beautiful country.
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: N/A
Included
- Two domestic flight within Bolivia (La Paz - Sucre / Uyuni - La Paz)
- All excursions
- English-speaking guides for all excursions
- Entry fees to all sites included in the itinerary
- Accommodation
- All meals detailed
- Private transfers to / from airports or hotels
- All transport and travel within Bolivia
Not Included
- International flights to/from South America. We exclude international flights to give the option to compare flight pricing or use air miles, however we can include and provide international flights as part of your holiday and any international flights booked through us would be ATOL-protected as part of your package with us. Depending on time of year, departure airport and airline preference flight prices start from around £800pp economy for return flights. If you would like us to include international flights or provide a quote just let us know your preferred departure airport when you enquire.
ATOL PROTECTION
This is a flight-inclusive package holiday. All the flights and flight-inclusive holidays on this website are financially protected by the ATOL scheme. When you pay you will be supplied with an ATOL Certificate. Please ask for it and check to ensure that everything you booked (flights, hotels and other services) is listed on it. Please see our booking conditions for further information or for more information about financial protection and the ATOL Certificate go to: www.atol.org.uk/atolcertificate.
Contact Us if you want more information or want to book this holiday. One of our Bolivia holiday specialists will be more than willing to help.
