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Tips & Traps
Insider advice from Local Friends and travelers. What to do, and what to avoid, city by city.
- TipA place or a move worth it
- TrapWhat to avoid, and how
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Insider advice from Local Friends and travelers. What to do, and what to avoid, city by city.
Join RALF to share your own tips and traps
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New postLa Casona Boutique Hotel occupies a restored colonial building dating from the 17th century, half a block from the San Francisco church and square. Brick floors, adobe walls, cañahueca arches and hand-carved stone doors survive, and the rooftop terrace looks over the city. The historic center is steep, so take the…
Peña Huari, on Calle Sagárnaga, is a long-running place for live Andean folk music, with charango, zampoña and bombo played over a sit-down dinner. Shows are in the evening, usually starting around nine, so confirm the start time and book a table for weekends. Expect a mostly visitor crowd and visitor pricing, with a…
Every 21 June, at the winter solstice, Bolivia marks the Andean Amazonian New Year, also called Willka Kuti, the return of the sun. The main gathering is at the Tiwanaku archaeological complex, about 70 km from La Paz, where thousands wait through the early morning for the first sunlight. It is a national holiday, so…
On 1 and 2 November, families in La Paz and El Alto visit cemeteries or home altars with flowers, candles, fruit and t'antawawas, bread figures sold at markets and supermarkets beforehand to represent the dead. By tradition the souls arrive at midday on the first and leave on the second. Go as a respectful guest and…
El Alto's Feria 16 de Julio runs on Thursdays and Sundays and stretches across about 200 city blocks, so it feels more like a district than a market. Go early on a market day, take only the cash you need and leave cameras and spare phones at the hotel. Pick one or two areas instead of trying to cover it all, and check…
Strikes and roadblocks are frequent in Bolivia, and in 2026 blockades at the toll on the La Paz to El Alto highway lasted through May and disrupted traders and trips. A nationwide state of emergency was declared in June to clear roads. Before an airport transfer, day trip or long bus, check local news and ask your…
Taxis in La Paz have no meters, and the UK and Canadian governments both advise against hailing them on the street, especially at night and around bus terminals. Ask your hotel or restaurant to call a radio taxi with a company name and phone number displayed, agree the fare out loud before you get in, and do not board…
Around Calle Linares, Calle Murillo, the Obelisco and Plaza Murillo, people posing as plainclothes officers have approached foreign visitors, claiming counterfeit money or drugs and inviting them into a car to check their wallets. La Paz police detained a suspect over such cases in October 2026. Under Bolivian law you…
Chacaltaya tops out at 5,321 meters, so treat it as a serious altitude day, not a casual drive. Tours leave central La Paz in the morning, spend about two hours on the road to the base refuge and finish with a short climb of roughly 200 meters to the summit. Spend a day or two in La Paz first, bring warm layers, and…
The old Yungas road down from La Cumbre is a long day on a gravel descent, and operators differ a lot. Squeeze both brake levers before you start, ask how many riders each guide looks after, whether a lead and a sweep guide ride, and whether the support van follows the whole descent. Ask for the insurer and policy…
Mercado Lanza is where locals buy fresh produce, a short walk from Plaza San Francisco. Order an api, a thick purple corn drink flavored with cinnamon and cloves, and ask for a hot pastel cheese fritter or a humita to go with it. Come in the morning, when the market kitchens behind the fruit and potato stalls are in…
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