APEX 7 POST EXPEDITION – TIPS AND ADVICE
Please find below a few pieces of information which might come in useful for your travels post-expedition. The following is relevant whether you’ve signed up to a Bolivian Mountains trip or not, and we’re very happy to help with any more specific questions should you have them.
Please also note, the information below is a guideline to the best of our knowledge, and not an official endorsement of any particular operator. It is important that you take the time to do your own research any company in terms of their reliability and safety.
IN AND AROUND LA PAZ
- Hotels in La Paz – there are a range of options of course, at all levels of price and quality. Hotel Sajama (where you will be staying in La Paz) can be used after the expedition ends, and the hotel have offered a price of US$20 per person per night should you like to stay on. Please note, the night of the 12th July is covered by the Apex Expedition, with checkout by 11am on the 13th.
- Wild Rover, Adventure Brew and Rooftop Hostel are some of the more backpacker focussed places, with Selina a slightly more comfortable option.
- Mountain biking – the world’s most dangerous road is a popular day adventure, biking on a combination of paved roads and dirt roads, downhill from 4,600m all the way down to 1,200m altitude in one day. There are many operators, but the longest standing option is https://www.gravitybolivia.com/. Check their website for more remote and technical routes if that’s your thing.
- Coroico – a nearby cloud forest retreat, perhaps a nice escape in the warm after a long stint in the hills. It is the end point of the downhill biking route, and you may choose to stay down there for a night. Public transport from La Paz to Coroico departs regularly and takes around 3 hours, about US$5 per person. Many hotels and hostels available there.
OTHER DESTINATIONS IN BOLIVIA
- Rurrenabaque – the main starting point for jungle expeditions. Bus journeys from La Paz take around 14 hours (buses depart from a different terminal to the main one), with flights around 45 minutes. Tours from Rurrenabaque are mainly split between jungle and pampas. Jungle tours involve more walking in the forest, pampas is mainly travel by boat spotting animals from the river.
- Volunteering – if you have a little more time on your hands, perhaps consider volunteering at a wild animal sanctuary www.ciwy.org has refuges close to Rurrenabaque and also near Trinidad.
- Lake Titicaca – possible visit on the way to Peru. Copacabana is the main tourist stopping point, with the Island of the Sun a beautiful place to visit if you have time. Puno on the Peruvian side also has tours onto the lake, with visits to the Peruvian islands. Buses to Copacabana and Puno leave daily with departures almost directly opposite Hotel Sajama. Approx 3 hours to get to Copacabana, 6 hours to Puno.
- Sucre – Bolivia’s official capital, a colonial city with beautiful architecture and a more laid back atmosphere than La Paz. Buses take around 10 hours from La Paz.
TRANSPORT WITHIN BOLIVIA
- Flights are often worth checking as prices can be quite reasonable for some routes. https://www.boa.bo/ and https://flyecojet.aero/ are the two domestic airline options.
- The main bus terminal is about 15 minutes taxi from Hotel Sajama. Long distance buses tend to be overnight journeys. As a rule, you can normally book a bus just a few days in advance with no problem and generally the price you pay is reflected in the comfort and safety of the journey, so do bear that in mind when comparing options. El Dorado and Trans Copacabana are two of the more established operators.
- Buses to Uyuni – there are many options, most of them overnight journeys, typically 7-8 hours drive. The main tourist service from La Paz to Coroico is https://todoturismo.bo/en/page-inicial-en-eng/ – tickets can be booked online.
TRANSPORT BEYOND BOLIVIA
- PERU HOP / BOLIVIA HOP – A hop on hop off service which you can make use of all the way from La Paz to Cuzco and beyond. Routes can be found on https://www.peruhop.com/ – once you’ve paid for a route, you get access to their app and timetables. Apex participants (and friends) have a 10% discount on their services if you enter the code APEX7BM at their checkout page.
- Other buses to Peru – there are direct services from La Paz to Cuzco which leave from the main bus terminal, around 14 hours in total. Similarly, you can break up the journey with a bus to Puno via Copacabana, visit Lake Titicaca, then continue onto Cuzco. Bus companies in Peru are more regulated than Bolivia, with the main operators offering comfortable and safe routes. Many options available, Cruz del Sur (https://www.cruzdelsur.com.pe/) has one of the more extensive networks of routes.
- BUSES TO CHILE – There are daily departures from Uyuni to Calama (or San Pedro de Atacama) which typically leave around 5am, arriving late afternoon into Chile. Trans Salvador (https://trans-salvador.com/inicioEn.php) is one of a number of options. You can also go by bus from La Paz to Arica, or of course check flight options to Santiago.