ARGENTINA TO BOLIVIA: THE BORDER CROSSING
I'll be honest with you, I'm not the biggest fan of border crossings overland. Initially really hesitant as a solo traveller to cross into Bolivia from Argentina, however, I decided to give it a shot. If you're starting in Salta or one of the northern Argentinian towns in Jujuy, here's what you need to know when travelling to Tupiza, Bolivia in 5 easy steps.
Bus from Salta to La Quiaca
To get to the Argentinian border, you'll need to head towards La Quiaca. The easiest way to do this is to get a bus from Salta or one of the small towns en route to La Quiaca. Andesmar sells tickets online or alternatively, you can buy directly at the station. If you do buy online, don't forget to print your ticket off before boarding or you may be denied travel!
La Quiaca isn't the nicest of towns to hang around in or stay overnight. My advice to you would be to get a bus that arrives early in the morning and leaves plenty of time to cross the border. The border opens at 7 am and closes at 5/6 pm.
I took the 00:30 bus leaving Salta which was scheduled to arrive in La Quiaca at 7:55 am. Bizarrely the bus arrived 1 hour 30 minutes early! Having arrived before the border had opened, I waited inside the bus shelter.
Handy tips:1. If you do take the overnight bus (I travelled in September) it is absolutely FREEZING!! Wear plenty of layers!
2. You'll need to tip the baggage man 5 pesos for putting your bag on the bus and taking is off. So keep a couple of small bills with you.
Price: $455 AR (£9 GB / $12 US) + $10 AR (£0.20 GB/ $0.25 US)Bus time: 6 hours
Walk or take a taxi to the border
If you really need to you can take a taxi to the border. When enquiring, it would cost around $50 AR.On foot, it's around a 10-minute walk, although not very well sign-posted. When you come out of the bus, you should see the taxis waiting on the right. Walk towards the taxis and turn right to walk down the hill. When you arrive at the petrol station, take a left and you'll be at the border in a few minutes.
Handy tip: If in doubt, you're likely to see other travellers crossing the border too. It's not somewhere you really want to hang around in the early hours of the morning. As a solo traveller with limited Spanish at the time, I was glad to meet another traveller to cross the border with.
Stamp out of Argentina
Depending on what time of day you travel through the border, you may or may not be faced with queues.
Arriving when the border opened, I was stamped out of Argentina in a couple of minutes without having to wait. Travelling on a British passport, there was no exit fee, however, they did provide a paper receipt which you'll need to keep for the Bolivian border.
Handy tip: Keep the paper receipt really safe! You'll see why...
Stamp into Bolivia (or not)
Don't ask me why, but you may or may not get a stamp in your passport entering Bolivia. A fellow traveller on a French passport and myself, neither of us received stamps.We were told by Bolivian immigration to keep the piece of paper that the Argentinian side had printed for us and not to lose it! You'll need it for exiting Bolivia. Neither of us had to fill out any paperwork and we both received 30 days visa-free entry.
Key thing to note: If you get a stamp, great! If you don't, keep that piece of paper safe!
You're now free to walk into Villazon!
Handy tip: We nearly walked straight past the Bolivian immigration building into Bolivia without getting our passports controlled. It's easy to do! Look out for the immigration building!
Walk to the bus stop or collective taxi station in Villazon
In Villazon, if you don't already have Bolivianos, you can change some money at one of the "cambio" (money exchange place). If you're changing USD then careful to bring crisp, brand new notes as they're really picky.
There are also a couple of cash machines, however at the time I was there, neither was working. So best to bring a little cash, even Argentinian Pesos to change until you get to Tupiza or your next stop.T
he bus stop is straight up the road. As I arrived early in the morning, there weren't yet any buses to take so I didn't inquire about the price to Tupiza.
A little further up the road, there are some collective taxis which will take around 5-8 passengers. I paid 20B (£2 GB/ $2.80 US) for the taxi and it took around 75-90 minutes to Tupiza. If you're looking to go straight to La Paz or Potosi, you'll find many options at the bus terminal or taxi stand.
Handy tip: The collective taxis won't leave until they've filled up the taxi. So check out a few before you make your decision.
Finally, arrive in Tupiza!
If I'm going to be honest, I had very little expectations for Tupiza and only expected to spend a night there. I actually ended up spending 2 nights in very affordable accommodation.
The main attraction of Tupiza is to do the Salt Flats tour, however, this little town has some really cool hikes you can do on your own and fresh markets selling every kind of fruit and vegetable. It's worth pondering around, especially with those mountains!!
Handy tip: Buy some freshly squeezed orange juice from one of the juice stands!
In total, I spent £11.20 GB / $15.05 US and it took 8.5 hours of travel time (I left Salta at 00:30 and arrived in Tupiza at around 9 am).If I had to do it again, I would probably look into a day bus to avoid the freezing temperatures!! Also, I didn't feel the most comfortable as a solo traveller in La Quiaca in the early hours of the morning. Whilst there were a few other travellers, I felt completely lost, occasionally receiving strange glares from people. Definitely keep an eye on your belongings and cross the border as soon as you can.
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