La Paz · Backpacking

Nearly every hostel is in the ten or so blocks above Plaza San Francisco, mixed in with the agencies selling Death Road, Uyuni and jungle trips. Competitive on price and convenient; also the steepest and loudest part of the city.

A set almuerzo in a La Paz eatery averaged Bs 17.52 in March 2026 on national statistics, and the municipal sights are small change: Bs 3.50 at Laikakota, Bs 3 at the botanical garden, Bs 10 at the zoo. Your bed and whatever tour you book are the only two lines that really move.

The municipality sets maximum and minimum bus fares out of the La Paz terminal: Potosí Bs 48–63 in a normal seat and Bs 106–129 cama, Sucre Bs 65–90 and Bs 131–180, Uyuni Bs 68–95 and Bs 151–197. If you are quoted well over the top figure, that is the number to argue with.

Death Road, Uyuni, Rurrenabaque and Huayna Potosí are all sold from the same handful of streets, and any single one of them costs more than a week of beds and market lunches. Decide how many you actually want before you start comparing agencies.

The centre climbs a couple of hundred metres between the Prado and the upper markets, and at 3,600m that is work. The cheapest thing you can do on arrival is nothing at all, and it saves you paying twice for a tour you are too ill to enjoy.