Quick verdict: Bolivia is South America’s cheapest country — $30/day backpacker comfortable. Famous for Salar de Uyuni salt flats + La Paz + Death Road biking.
6 best budget spots in Bolivia
La Paz Backpacker
Capital budget
$8-20/night in Sopocachi/Sagarnaga area. Cable car system (Mi Teleferico) $0.30/ride. Cheapest capital in S America.
Sucre
Cheap colonial
$8-25/night. UNESCO white colonial city. Cheaper than La Paz. Best Spanish schools.
Uyuni Salt Flats Tour
Budget bucket-list
$120-200 for 3-day Uyuni tour from Uyuni town. World’s largest salt flat. Cheapest natural wonder.
Cochabamba
Hidden gem
$8-20/night. Local university city. Authentic Bolivian markets + cheap food. Less touristy.
Death Road Mountain Biking
Cheapest adrenaline
$80-150 for full day biking world’s most dangerous road. Includes bike + guide + transport.
Amazon Basin (Rurrenabaque)
Cheap rainforest
$15-50/night. Pampas (wetlands) + jungle tours. Far cheaper than Peru Amazon.
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Helpful Packzup guides
- Bolivia Travel Guide
- Bolivia itinerary
Why the cheapest Uyuni tour is the one to walk away from
The Salar de Uyuni is where chasing the rock-bottom price genuinely backfires. The cheapest three-day jeep tours booked on the street in Uyuni are exactly where the horror stories come from: drivers drinking at lunch stops, knackered 4x4s, and operators who simply don’t do refunds when things go wrong. The fix isn’t to splurge, it’s to book smarter. Reserve in La Paz or online with a named operator rather than grabbing the first storefront in Uyuni town.
Then there’s the fee nobody includes in the quoted price. Entry to the Reserva Nacional de Fauna Andina Eduardo Avaroa, where the lagoons and geysers actually are, is 150 bolivianos (about $22) for foreigners, paid in cash at the gate. Tours almost never bundle it, so carry the notes or you’re stuck.
- Operators with a long track record of solid reviews include Andes Salt Expeditions, Esmeralda Tours, and Salty Desert Aventours, none the cheapest, all safer bets.
- Get the itinerary, the driver-doesn’t-drink agreement, and the price in writing, since verbal promises evaporate.
- Bring 150 bolivianos cash per person for the reserve fee, plus extra for the tip and roadside snacks the tour skips.
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Updated 2026. Some links on Packzup are affiliate links.
Sample daily budgets for Bolivia
| Travel style | Daily budget (pp) | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Backpacker | $25–35 | Hostel, set-menu almuerzo lunches ($2–3), local buses, free city walking |
| Mid-range | $50–80 | Private room, restaurant meals, the odd domestic flight, a guided tour |
| Luxury | $120+ | Best available hotels, private Uyuni tour, flights, guides |
Bolivia is the cheapest country in South America for travellers. A filling set lunch costs $2–3, long-distance buses are a few dollars, and hostels run $7–12. The one splurge worth budgeting for is a multi-day Uyuni Salt Flats tour (~$120–180 for 3 days, all-in). Other highlights — La Paz’s cable cars, the Death Road, Lake Titicaca, Sucre’s colonial streets — cost very little, making Bolivia ideal for slow, low-cost travel.
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Written by
John Morrison is the founder and lead travel writer at Packzup. Over the past decade he has explored destinations across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania — always self-funded, never on a press trip.