Hi everyone!
I know I’ve been quite MIA for a while but I just didn’t want to put something out there while my heart wasn’t really in it when I was just too busy going back to college and looking for a new job to be able to finance all the travel plans I have for this year. I’m starting to get back in the groove with my classes and I just started a new job so I can finally dedicate some time to this blog again! There are definitely going to be some posts about Detroit and maybe some Cleveland and Windsor impressions and of course a bunch of stuff about my Berlin trip! Next up is a weekend getaway to London but that’s not until the end of June so I have some time to catch up on everything else first.
When I was thinking about what could be an interesting topic for anyone wanting to go to Bolivia (which by now you may have noticed I’m a strong advocate of!), I figured an important part of your trip will be the places you spend the night at. As within our stay we dedicated most of our vacation days to travel inside of Bolivia instead of leaving for the neighboring countries a lot, we’ve been to every major city and some more remote ones as well, so hopefully there will be a hostel for every place you plan on going to!
LA PAZ
We have stayed there on all but one of the at least seven times we’ve been to La Paz because we liked there it from the beginning. Although we tried both, we did prefer the Bed & Breakfast one (they’re both just a couple of feet from each other!) even though it’s slightly “pricier” but it’s got a broader breakfast selection and is a bit quieter. Another plus is thatboth locations are very close to the bus terminal which is incredibly useful at the altitude the city sits at. Also, you get a free beer for every night you stay there!
Dorm bed from 7€/ night
Also close to the bus terminal, we chose this over the Adventure Brew Hostel just one time because we wanted a private room. It was fine for one night but I’d definitely choose the ABH over it!
Dorm bed from 7€, double room from 13€/ night
SUCRE
Now if you’re a breakfast lover, this is the place for you to be. The huge, delicious breakfast buffet is included in the price and the restaurant also throws parties and on top of that, the food is great too. I can only recommend it!
Dorm beds from 6€/ night
This is not a hostel but an airbnb that we stayed at with two other friends and the price can even beat most hostels, so it absolutely deserves to be included. The host Antonio was wonderful, he even took us to the Parque Cretácico way outside of town so we wouldn’t have to take the bus all the way out there! Great accomodation, great price and an even greater host!
19€/ night for up to four people
SANTA CRUZ DE LA SIERRA
This place has got to be among my favorite hostels I’ve stayed at. We slept in one of the dorms for two nights on our very first weekend getaway within Bolivia and got so lucky with it. The hostel’s pool is exactly what you need after some sightseeing in the tropical Santa Cruz weather and what better way is there to start the day with an included breakfast selection of fresh fruits and juices (and more!) outside?
Dorm beds from 8€/ night
COCHABAMBA
This is one of the first hostels that’ll come up if you type in Cochabamba on a website like booking.com, but after our experience at Ñaupa Ñaupa, I would not recommend anyone to book there. Our first stay was fine (although the included breakfast doesn’t really deserve that title), but when we booked it to spend the night there after getting back from the Carnaval de Oruro, we were turned away in the middle of the night. Since we knew that there’s 24-hour front desk (you have to ring a bell but there’s always someone to open the gate for you), we just figured it would be a 24-hour-reception as well. Which it wasn’t and that’s obviously our fault for not checking back with them properly, but I still think it was incredibly rude for them to turn away two teenage “gringas” at 3am in Cochabamba, which is not exactly known to be one of the safest Bolivian cities, when they a had a free room that we’d booked and when we were talking to someone through the gate who could’ve just let us in. Luckily, we were finally able to reach our friends that took us in, but I wouldn’t want to go back to a place where they will carelessly turn you away when you have no place else to go at that hour of the night, which most tourists wouldn’t have had.
Dorm beds from 6€/ night
As we didn’t want to go back to Ñaupa Ñaupa, we looked for something else that wasn’t close to the bus terminal (which is the cheapest area to stay but also the least safe, especially at night, and especially for ‘gringos’) and wasn’t a dorm, as we wanted to go out and didn’t want to bother anyone by coming back in the middle of the night. So we found this hostel which was totally fine for one night and had a good breakfast included as well. It’s not really a place to meet people, but if you want to take a break from the usual dorm and hostel life for a night, it’s a good place to go with friendly staff. It even has a tv in each room which we found quite exciting and we obviously had to catch up on some Calle 7.
Single room from 18€/ night
COPACABANA
This hotel is really a gem although it’s not your typical hostel, but as the price can compete with the rest of the ones I’ve mentioned before, I’m still including it. Breakfast is included and many rooms face Lake Titicaca so you get the beautiful view and cute private rooms for absolutely reasonable prices!
Double rooms from 30€/ night
RURRENABAQUE
This is actually the second hostel we stayed at in Rurre as it’s not as central as the first one (I could not find the name of it anymore, it was just a really cheap and simple place but I preferred the Curichal over it). El Curichal is your typical backpacker’s hostel: dorms, hammocks, a pool, chats over the delicious breakfast with the people you met the night before at Rurre’s Moskkito Bar. You can also organize your bus or flight back to La Paz from there!
Dorm beds from 6€/ night
COROICO
For the Sol y Luna, same goes as for the Curichal. It’s quite a bit out of town so we didn’t stay there on our first trip (I also couldn’t find the other one’s name again but it was right around the corner from the plaza, heading left when you’re facing the church). We were incredibly glad we went there on our second trip to the Yungas though, and I’ve already raved about this place on instagram before. This ecolodge was established by a German lady who has been living in Coroico since the 80s and has created some beautiful gardens surrounding the cabins, several pools, a restaurant with delicious (and for the most part authentic!) German specialties and of course the views are amazing as it’s located above town. If you can’t get enough people together to stay in a cabin, they also offer affordable dorms and a place for you to camp in your own tent on the property. I 100% recommend this lovely place!
TOROTORO
After a first, incredibly cold night in a super cheap hostel right by the plaza, which was the only place left still open when we arrived at 11pm, we stumbled upon this cute place while looking for some breakfast. The French owners of this accommodation were so friendly that we decided to stay there for the following night for about the same price, but with much nicer and really big rooms. The breakfast is good and the staff is so kind which is why I would definitely recommend this to anyone.
Double rooms from 20€/ night
SAMAIPATA
This beautiful place a little outside the center of gorgeous Samaipata is run by a German couple and their two Bolivian sons. The family is so friendly and welcoming and were always happy to chat with us! The Landhaus offers cabins and private rooms for very reasonable prices and so many other services including a pool. Right by it, there is a café where you can have breakfast and German pastries. Unfortunately we were only able to stay there for one night, but I would come back to it any day!
VILLA TUNARI
For Villa Tunari, we booked a one night stay at this cute hostel with amazing river views, a pool, and hammocks including breakfast and a rafting/ jumping/ floating tour for 264 Bolivianos per person. From the hostel, you also have access to the river for swimming (although you have to be very careful as we almost got swept away by the strong current!) and the rafting tour was so much fun (even for me while I was sick with food poisoning during that entire trip but I still went and loved it!) so I can totally recommend staying at this lovely hostel and booking your rafting adventure with them through Ranabol on your way from Cocha to Santa Cruz (or the other way around!).
Now for the major/ popular cities I didn’t include – Oruro, Uyuni, Tarija and Potosí – I don’t have any recommendations unfortunately. When visiting the salt flats, we arrived and left on a night bus so we didn’t have to spend the night in Uyuni, same goes for Tarija and Potosí. As for Oruro, when we went to visit for the famous carnaval, everything was already filled up so we stayed with some friends, which is why I don’t have any insight on accommodations there either.
I found a lot of those places through my Lonely Planet Bolivia Guide
MY TOP 3
- Hostal Sol y Luna, Coroico
- Landhaus, Samaipata
- Hostal Jodanga, Santa Cruz
See you soon!
Fee.
¿Para qué darle vueltas a las cosas si se las podemos dar al mundo?
I’m not working with any of the brands or hostels mentioned nor am I being paid or asked to promote them, they are simply personal recommendations.
flights and freeways 
Leave a Reply