Budget/Backpacker Travel Guide: Bolivia
Experience authentic local culture on a shoestring budget with hostels, street food, and public transport
Daily Budget: Bs. 160-490 ($23-71) per day
Complete breakdown of costs for budget/backpacker travel in Bolivia
Accommodation
Bs. 45-120 ($7-17) per night
Dorm beds in backpacker hostels and bare-bones budget guesthouses, usually with shared bathrooms and thin mattresses that feel like a reasonable trade for the price. La Paz, Sucre, and Potosi have the widest hostel infrastructure in Bolivia, with dependable options clustered near the main plazas.
Browse budget/backpacker accommodation →Food & Dining
Bs. 50-110 ($7-16) per day
Street stalls and market comedores serving the daily almuerzo, a set lunch of soup followed by a protein-and-rice plate that tends to be the single best-value meal in Bolivia. Breakfast from juice-and-bread stalls, dinner from local pensiones or late-night street carts where charcoal smoke drifts over the sizzling grills.
Transportation
Bs. 15-60 ($2-9) per day
Shared micro minibuses and trufi taxis within cities, and Bolivia's extensive long-distance public bus network for intercity travel. City fares are remarkably cheap, and the La Paz cable car system doubles as affordable and scenic rapid transit across the bowl of terracotta rooftops.
Activities
Bs. 50-200 ($7-29) per day
Free exploration of historic city centers and open-air markets piled high with bright textiles and dried herbs, budget group tours to the Salar de Uyuni, and modest entry fees to national archaeological and natural sites. Many days will cost almost nothing. Days anchored around a major tour push toward the higher end.
Currency: Bs. Bolivian Boliviano (BOB)
Money-Saving Tips
Eat the set almuerzo lunch at local market comedores every day. This single course of soup followed by a main plate with a drink typically costs a fraction of what the same calories cost at a tourist restaurant, and the food tends to be fresher and more Bolivian.
Use public micro minibuses and trufi shared taxis within cities rather than private taxis. Fares are a small fraction of a private ride, and in La Paz the Teleferico cable car covers much of the city quickly and cheaply while giving you sweeping views over the snow-capped Illimani in the distance.
Book Salar de Uyuni tours directly through operators in Uyuni or Tupiza rather than through agencies in La Paz or online platforms, which typically add a meaningful markup for the same vehicles and identical itineraries.
Travel overnight on long-distance buses between major cities to cover ground while you sleep, effectively saving a night of accommodation costs. Bolivia's intercity bus network is well-developed, and overnight flat-cama seats tend to cost less than a hostel dorm bed in most cities.
Withdraw local currency in larger amounts from city center ATMs to reduce per-withdrawal fees, and carry smaller Boliviano notes since market vendors and micro drivers often cannot break large bills.
Prioritize the open-air markets and historic plazas where the most vivid local life happens without any entry fee, and visit state-run museums on days when entrance is waived, which many Bolivian institutions observe on Sundays or national holidays.
Enter Bolivia overland from a neighboring country rather than flying in if your itinerary allows, as international airfares into La Paz can add a disproportionate cost to an otherwise very affordable trip while border crossings from Peru and Chile are straightforward and inexpensive.
Common Budget Mistakes to Avoid
Relying on domestic flights between every city to save time, when Bolivia's overnight bus network covers the same routes for a fraction of the cost. The accumulated expense of flying La Paz to Sucre to Santa Cruz can easily consume more budget than everything else combined on a short trip.
Eating every meal in the tourist-facing restaurants clustered around the main plazas, which typically cost considerably more than the local comedores and market lunch spots a few blocks deeper into the city where most residents eat.
Treating Bolivia's daily costs as similar to Peru or Chile. Bolivia runs meaningfully cheaper than its neighbors across nearly every category, and travelers who budget conservatively for South America often find they have room to upgrade a room, add an extra tour, or simply stay longer than originally planned.