Local Buses, La Paz

The buses that go around the city and much bigger than mini buses and the fare is just 1bs. but if you go to the south you may pay a little more. 1.50bs.
maybe is a good option to take this because there are more space for the legs, but you must know very welll your destination. and don`t try to take this one to get to el alto if you go alone...just around the city or to the south side of the city.

The most common way to move in la paz is taking a mini bus...we call like that because they are smaller than normal buses. these kind of buses my take 14 passengers. and the fare is 1.50 bs. as you see is very cheap but the big inconvenient should be that if you are taller i mean, 1.80m or more you may be really, really incofortable.
and of course, you must know very well where are you going to get off....after the trip.

When leaving La Paz onwards to Peru and Cusco, do NOT buy the whole trip to Cusco, you are better of getting a ticket from the central bus station in LP (there are heaps of services operating the route) LP to Copacabana for an overnight stay in Copa, for then again to buy a ticket fromthe local taxibuses to the border and then again buy a ticket to Puno on the Titicaca lake-shores, and then buy the last ticket to Cusco, this will save you around 30 us,and is not a hassel at all.

There are some places that don`t have public transportation. so definitely you have to hire the service of a travel agency to get to those places. for example if you want to get to chacaltaya you have to hire a private transport. ask to any travel agency that offer that tour.

There are basically 2 kinds of buses here:
- Micros are the big buses
- Trufis are those minibuses
The main difference is the size and the price, as both do regular routes stoping at request. To stop one, just hail them. To go down, tell the driver to stop.

If the city is itself a chaos, local buses make it even more hazardous. There are no bus stops (except those in the big bus stations, where most of the minibuses begin), so people go up and down on-the-fly.
There are 2 ways to know the route:
- Read the signs in the fron window
- Listen to the men hanging out of the doors shouting the destinations.

The first time is hard, as you don't know where those places shouted are. So if they say"Universidad", you wonder if the square you are going to is on the way or not. 2 solutions:
- You study carefully a map of the city (and obviously lose the bus).
- You ask the shouter at the bus (in that case U better know some basic spanish)

For a safer trip, just take a taxi, they are dirty cheap!!

The main bus station in La Paz is home to many different bus companies that offer destinations throughout Bolivia and South America. It is quite a scene as they are all hollering there destinations to entice you over to there stall.

The city itself is easily explored on foot, just watch yourself crossing the streets. The bus from Copacabana to La Paz was about four hours and cost roughly three or four dollars. You go right through the altiplano and get great views of Lake Titicaca.