The Bolivian Border Crossing

In a follow up to the Peru Hop Debacle, we thought it only right to share how we actually made it to the dizzying heights of La Paz. Whilst relatively painless and stress free, the trip wasn't without some minor hiccups.

For example, trying to secure an actual bus ticket in advance proved slightly more tricky than we first imagined. Like all good millennials, we headed straight for the wisdom of Google to tell us exactly how to cross the Bolivian border. Unfortunately most posts online dated from 2013/14 and the reviews of the tourist buses were slightly scary. In the end we went directly to the bus terminal with the idea of purchasing a Panamericano bus ticket.

When we got to the terminal, their booth was empty, and after waiting half a day to see if they'd arrive we ended up buying a ticket to Copacabana (a half way point over the Bolivian border) with a company called Titicaca Bolivia for a 6am bus the following day.

Fast forward to 5am, as we try to leave the hostel in Puno, wearing three layers of clothes with all our essentials strapped to us for security. We open the door to find ourselves behind padlocked gates. Much panicking ensued as we realised we were locked inside and that the reception didn't open until our bus was actually due to depart. Luckily for us, a few commuters passed along the street and using a mixture of pigeon Spanish and strange charades, we got them to ring the bell on the outside of the hostel so we could be set free.

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The bus itself from Puno to La Paz was most definitely dated. The double-decker coach had none of the promised seat belts and the windows were partially falling out of their frames. However, one of the benefits of being in such a dinosaur was that it was unable to gather the required speed to pull off the dangerous driving tricks we had previously witnessed. All in all the journey of about four hours was about as comfy as any other we'd had in Peru.

The Peruvian/Bolivian border was a point of some apprehension, as we'd read stories of buses leaving passengers stranded. Our bus company kept our bags on board (which was definitely a little scary) as we carried our valuables over the crossing ourselves in day packs. Getting stamped in and out was painless and required little to no Spanish. Our bus had a guide who spoke a small amount of English to assist with the customs forms and the whole thing took around half an hour. We joined our bus on the Bolivian side and got back on for the journey into Copacabana.

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One thing to bear in mind is to change some money into Bolivianos, as this is required for some nominal taxes on entering Copacabana. Once we arrived in the town (which is situated on the shore of the worlds highest navigable lake, Lake Titicaca) we were easily able to find a number of buses travelling directly to La Paz for around 20 Bolivianos each (around £2.50).

The bus was relatively new and used by locals and tourists alike. The scenery was truly incredible and the journey involved an exciting lake crossing, whereby passengers were shipped across in a small boat and the coach was floated across on a barge. Again the crossing requires 2 Bolivianos per person but was a very welcome opportunity to stretch your legs and spend some time off the bus.

All in all the journey cost around $7 per person and actually resulted in quite an adventure, which in hindsight was more enjoyable than an overpriced bus.