Self-Launched Highlights of Bolivia: La Paz, Sucre, Potosí Hacienda & Salar de Uyuni

Land at El Alto International Airport (3,600m+ — take it easy from the moment you step off the plane). A shared airport minibus or official taxi into the Miraflores/Sopocachi area costs about £5-8; don't bother with a private transfer. Check into a hostel or budget guesthouse in Sopocachi or the historic centre, then spend the afternoon doing almost nothing: short flat walks, coca tea, plenty of water. In the evening, walk the Mirador Killi Killi for sunset views over the bowl-shaped city and eat a cheap set lunch (almuerzo) or salteña for £1.50-3. Skip alcohol and big hikes today to help with altitude.

🚌Shared airport minibus or taxi from El Alto Airport (~£5-8); walking

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse in Sopocachi / historic centre (dorm £8-12, private £18-28)

• →Airport arrival and acclimatisation
• →Mirador Killi Killi sunset viewpoint
• →Coca tea and local almuerzo

Fly La Paz–Sucre with Boliviana de Aviación (BoA) or EcoJet, roughly £45-75 one way booked a few weeks ahead (the group tour bundles this internal flight; you book it yourself). Alternatively the overnight bus is ~14-15 hours and £12-18 if you want to save the cash. Arrive in Sucre (2,800m — noticeably gentler than La Paz), check into a guesthouse near the Plaza 25 de Mayo, and do a free self-guided orientation walk around the main square, the cathedral, and the whitewashed colonial streets. In the afternoon join a tip-based walking tour (pay what you think it's worth, ~£5-8) covering the city's colonial architecture and rooftop terraces, or simply café-hop and relax. Sucre is Bolivia's most relaxed city — lean into it.

🚌BoA/EcoJet flight La Paz–Sucre (~£45-75) or overnight bus (~£12-18)

🛏Guesthouse or hostel near Plaza 25 de Mayo (dorm £8-12, private £20-30)

• →Self-guided colonial centre walk
• →Plaza 25 de Mayo and cathedral
• →Tip-based walking tour (~£5-8)
• →Café time on rooftop terraces

Spend a relaxed morning in Sucre — the Mercado Central for a fresh juice and breakfast for under £2, or the Museo de la Recoleta for city views. Mid-morning, take a local bus or shared minibus to Potosí (about 2.5-3 hours, £4-6), then a short local taxi (£2-3) out to a working hacienda/farm stay in the countryside around Potosí — small family-run estates and rural guesthouses bookable via Booking.com or local agencies offer the same farm-life experience the group tour includes: helping with the dairy and fields, seeing the chapel and family rooms, and a farm-to-table dinner of local specialities. Expect rustic but warm rooms and genuinely cold nights at this altitude — pack layers.

🚌Local bus or shared minibus Sucre–Potosí (~£4-6, 2.5-3 hrs); short taxi to hacienda (~£2-3)

🛏Family-run rural hacienda / farm guesthouse near Potosí (shared or private rooms, ~£15-25 per person with dinner)

• →Mercado Central breakfast in Sucre
• →Local bus through the southern highlands
• →Hacienda cultural exchange and farm activities
• →Farm-to-table dinner with the resident family

Head into Potosí town in the morning and visit the Casa Nacional de la Moneda — the old Spanish colonial silver mint, now one of Bolivia's best museums. Entry is about £4-5 and English-language guides are available on the hour for a small supplement, or tag onto a shared tour. Grab lunch in the market, then take the afternoon bus to Uyuni (roughly 3.5-4.5 hours on fairly rough roads, £5-8) or, if you're short on time, catch a Potosí–Uyuni flight where available. Arrive in Uyuni town, check into a hostel or guesthouse, and book your salt-flat tour for tomorrow with a reputable local agency on the main strip (full-day shared 4x4 tours run £30-45 per person). Buy snacks, water and cash tonight — ATMs in Uyuni are unreliable.

🚌Local bus Potosí–Uyuni (~£5-8, 3.5-4.5 hrs)

🛏Hostel or guesthouse in Uyuni town (dorm £8-12, private £20-28)

• →Casa Nacional de la Moneda museum (~£4-5)
• →Potosí market lunch
• →Book shared Salar de Uyuni 4x4 tour

Full day on the world's largest salt flat in a shared 4x4 with 5-6 other travellers and a local driver-guide. Typical routes take in the train cemetery, the salt-flat 'eye' springs, the small community of Coquesa at the base of Tunupa Volcano, and lunch on the salt; many operators swap in or add Incahuasi Island with its giant cacti. In the late afternoon, instead of a private group picnic, arrange with your driver for a beer-and-snacks stop out on the mirror-flat surface for sunset — bring your own wine or cerveza and a few empanadas from town and you've replicated the highlight for about £3. Return to Uyuni after dark. Bring sunglasses, sun cream, layers and a headtorch.

🚌Shared 4x4 tour vehicle included in the day tour

🛏Hostel or guesthouse in Uyuni town (dorm £8-12, private £20-28)

• →Full-day shared Salar de Uyuni 4x4 tour (~£30-45)
• →Coquesa community and Tunupa Volcano base
• →Lunch on the salt flat
• →Sunset picnic on the salt flats

Fly Uyuni–La Paz (BoA, ~£40-70 booked ahead) or take the overnight bus (10-11 hours, £12-18) if you'd rather save money and travel through the night. Land or arrive back in La Paz, re-settle into a Sopocachi guesthouse, and spend the afternoon at leisure — the Witches' Market (Mercado de las Brujas) and the Mercado Rodríguez produce stalls are free to wander and great for altitude-friendly gentle strolling. Optional group dinner tonight becomes an optional solo dinner: try a peñas or the cheap set-menu places around Sagárnaga. Take it easy ahead of tomorrow's city day.

🚌Flight Uyuni–La Paz (~£40-70) or overnight bus (~£12-18)

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse in Sopocachi / historic centre (dorm £8-12, private £18-28)

• →Witches' Market
• →Mercado Rodríguez
• →Optional dinner out

Morning excursion to the Valle de la Luna in Mallasa — take a local minibus or taxi (£2-4 each way) rather than a tour and pay the ~£3 entry to walk the canyon of clay spires. Back in town, replicate the guide-led city tour yourself using the Mi Teleférico cable-car network (£0.40 per ride, use the Red and Yellow lines for the best views), hopping off around Plaza Murillo, the San Francisco church and Sagárnaga street for a total of about £3. In the evening, swap the private chef demonstration for a self-bookable Bolivian cooking class or market-to-table food tour via GetYourGuide or a local La Paz operator (~£25-35), or simply eat your way through the Mercado de las Brujas and a quinoa-focused restaurant for £10-15 with a bit of self-guided menu research.

🚌Local minibus/taxi to Mallasa (~£2-4 each way); Mi Teleférico cable car network (~£0.40 per ride)

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse in Sopocachi / historic centre (dorm £8-12, private £18-28)

• →Valle de la Luna entry (~£3)
• →Mi Teleférico cable-car city circuit (~£3)
• →Plaza Murillo and San Francisco church
• →Bolivian cooking class or food tour (~£25-35)

Depart at any time. Take a shared airport minibus or taxi back to El Alto Airport (~£5-8). If your flight is late, a final morning coffee on a Sopocachi rooftop and a last browse of the market is a nice way to close out the trip. Note that if you're flying onward to sea level, the altitude adjustment the other way can leave you pleasantly light-headed — and slightly sad to leave Bolivia.

🚌Shared airport minibus or taxi to El Alto Airport (~£5-8)

🛏None (departure day)

• →Departure