Bolivia Travel Forum

I'm trying to put together a trip mainly in Bolivia; This is what I've come up with so far:
fly to La Paz; overnight 2 nights;
fly to Cusco; take 6 day tour incl Machu Picchu, Cusco, Sacred Valley, bus to Puno and tours to Uros and Taquille Island; (looking at Magical Cusco tours);
bus or boat to Cocacabana; overnight; tourist bus to La Paz; overnight; fly to Santa Cruz; overnight 1-2 nights; fly to Asuncion; bus to Iguassu; spend 2 or 4 nights; return via bus and plane to Santa Cruz; overnight Santa Cruz; fly Sucre; find a tour that includes Potosi and Uyuni; fly to La Paz; overnight La Paz, 1-2 nights; fly home.

I hate the idea of one night here and one night there, but with so much flying I feel like we need to be in the originating city at least one day before each flight. Would it be better to find a tour of Bolivia instead of trying to patch together something ourselves? Any suggestions for tour operators? I have one proposal from enjoybolivia.com that covers most of what I want to do in Bolivia.
Coments, please

That's a lot of time in Santa Cruz. Why? There's not much there to see.

Buy a book like Footprint guide, organise everything yourself.

Uyuni tour needs at least three nights. You can easily organise that when you get there.

Sucre has several interesting things. Potosí doesn't have much - silver mine and mint is all.

I didn't fancy spending any time at all in La Paz.

Hi John, it looks as if flights to Asuncion from Bolivia leave only from Santa Cruz, which is the reason we would be staying there. I'm concerned that the timing wouldn't be right for a flight from La paz to Asuncion (via 2 separate flights ) wouldn't get us to Asuncion in time to take the bus to Iguacu. and I can't seem to find a good way back to Bolivia from Iguacu except the same way we got there - by bus from Iguacu to Asuncion and fly to Santa Cruz. I don't know why I'm having so much trouble with this! We are returning to La Paz because there is a good price on a RT flight from Miami to La Paz. Perhaps I need to re-think this whole trip.

Hi
Some comments:
-from Cusco to Puno, try & see if teh train is running the day you want to travel, trains are rare in Peru & Bolivia & it is a nice trip.
-from Puno to Copacabana, there was no boat in 2005, it was either tourist bus or a comnination of local collectivos & buses (more fun in my opinion)
-overnight only in Copacabana will not allow you to visit the Isla del Sol, which would be a shame, if you can, try to see this, the air is pure & crisp, the views over Titicaca and the mountains are amazing.
-While in Puno, try to see Sillustani, it's beautiful and cultural at the same time.

See my Puno & Copacabana pages for more details.
A

Some of my photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/john37perry/collections/72157600198681977/

I recommend a day trip to Tiwanaku ruins whilst in La Paz.
You don't really need a tourist bus to La Paz, but it is more comfortable.
That is a long time to spend in Iguazu. you need 2 full days to fully appreciate it.
No need to find a tour that includes both Potosi and Uyuni. you can organize both while you are there to the silver mine and the Salar respectively.
The uyuni salar tour needs 2-3 nights. I recommend Cordillera. and never Colque.

For an all encompassing Bolivia tour operator, i recommend www.turisbus.com

You will be spending a lot of time, effort and probably money to go all the way to Iguazu. it is truly an amazing place but must it be done this trip?

If you are interested, the bike ride to Coroico is awesome and very scary. Rurrenabaque is in the bolivian jungle and is quite cool.

Thanks, everyone for your suggestions. yes, Sillustani is on our list of places to visit as is Tiwanaku. We are spending that much time in Iguazu because of the flight schedules. We'd like to do all these things because we may never get back to this part of the world - these things are all on my "to see" list. The suggestion of waiting until we get to Potosi and Uyuni to arrange tours is a good recommendation. I'll block in the time to do both. and plan to take the overnight train to La Paz.

why dont you check tour operators based on Asuncion for rounded trips to the Falls?

for instance, you have a 18 hours or a one night staying option with http://www.hagotour.com.py/en/excursiones.html