La Paz to Uyuni

v.e.r.b.a.l

A quick question:

We're going from La Paz to Uyuni to do the Salt Plains (as soon as I recover from altitude sickness!) and then onto Santa Cruz to head across to Rio De Janeiro afterwards;

We want to do Potosí and Sucre along the way. But the question is: is it more feasible to do these on the way from La Paz to Uyuni or from Uyuni to Santa Cruz???

Cheers

Tikkal

Best to check out the Lonely Planet Forum to decide which route. You will note that there are hassles with road blockages in Uyuni at the moment (and a festival on 11th July).

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1779111&tstart=30

Personally I would do the excursions on the way from La Paz.

p to the e

there's buses that go from La Paz to Uyuni but be ready because they are quite long and extremely cold at night. when you get to Uyuni make sure to visit the extreme fun bar and do the 10 shot challenge.

v.e.r.b.a.l

Trust me, I've been on enough crazy bus rides in Mexico, Cuba and Ecuador to be used to cold long journeys. Sometimes it just has to be done to save money and most of the time ends up being a real experience (of one type or other!!)

So, refining the question... is it possible or easily-doable to do Sucre and Potosí on the way down (maybe Cochabamba too!)?? Anyone remember bus company names? Can't seem to find much tourist info in La Paz

kraggy

Wouldn't bother with Cochabamba myself. Not much to do there as far as I could see.

And regarding Potosi and Sucre, I'd definitely try and see them after Uyuni. You'll be going back on your tracks otherwise and it'll cost you a day or two.

Neamhshuntasach

Probably better to head back to La Paz. The road is paved from there to Santa Cruz. Going from further south is only a bit shorter and that is if there are no problems along the way. The road is in crap conidition. I done both ways and would go back to La Paz if i had to do it again. Enjoy Santa Cruz if you get there. My favorite place in Bolivia. Women are like 6 to 1 to men and amazing looking. Plus the plaza is cool and laid back overall. Feck all tourists. Can't remember the name of the bus company i took. For some reason i am thinking El Dorado. I just looked at whatever buses had decent looking double decker ones.

v.e.r.b.a.l

Neamhshuntasach, did you go on from Santa Cruz to Brazil at all? There's a train that goes to the border, but after that I'm at a loss... Very hard to find decent info about it here...

I'm in two minds whether to go to Uyuni, then back to La Paz across to Santa Cruz, train to border then a bus of some sort to Rio or...

go to Uyuni, down to Salta, bus to Iguassu then bus to Rio...

The second option is getting something I want to see done on the way, so I'm undecided...

Neamhshuntasach

Nah i didn't go to Brasil that way. I went on into Argentina. I suppose it wasn't that bad from Sucre to Santa Cruz. Actually if i knew the roads were gonna be okay, no rain or whatever i'd probably avoid going back to La Paz. Even though they look a lot different in distance on a map they aren't really that much in different. Although traveling back to La Paz would add extra hours on it. If you are like me and don't mind bus trips then go for it. The buses are okay enough. Not as good as Peru or Argentina but better than a lot of places.

If you didn't feel the need to go to Santa Cruz you could just go into Argentina after Uyuni and get the bus to Formosa and then cross into Paraguay and then across to Ciudad del este. The falls are right there over the border. From there you can easily get to Rio. It actually works out cheaper because you avoid a longer bus journey in more expensive brasil. The train from Santa Cruz can be a nightmare so i heard. Especially if you get a slow one. If it's anything like the on from SC to the Argentine border i would def try avoid that. But because i never went to Brasil that way i can't speak on it.