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| Country Guide > South America > Bolivia |
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Travel - Internal Air Airlines operating internal flights are AeroXpress, LAB and TAM (the military airline). Because of the country’s topography and tropical regions, air travel is the best method of transport, although delays, cancellations and general unreliability is highly possible. La Paz (El Alto) - which is the highest airport in the world - and Santa Cruz (Viru-Viru) are the chief internal airports. Departure Tax Usually Bs15, but variable depending on airport and destination. It is advisable to check locally. River/Lake Double-decker passenger boats operate between the various small islands on Lake Titicaca and traverse the many rivers of the Amazon basin (the main thoroughfares being Ichilo, Mamor, Beni, Madre de Dios and Guapor rivers); most of them leave from Copacabana. Rail Bolivia has 3697km (2297 miles) of track which goes to make up separate and unconnected networks in the eastern and western parts of the country. Since privatisation, the railway services have been reduced and services are, by and large, slow and disorganised. The Eastern network is particularly inefficient. Some trains have restaurant cars, but there are no sleeping-car services. The railways have recently renewed their rolling stock with Fiat railway carriages from Argentina. There are joint plans with the Brazilians to link Santa Cruz and Cochabamba. Road The internal road system covers 50,419km (31,330 miles). Work is in progress to improve the condition of major highways, since the overall road network is rather poor, due to the lack of paved roads. Traffic drives on the right. Bus: Long bus trips off the main routes can be erratic. Most long-distance bus trips are overnight. Taxi: All have fixed rates and sharing taxis is a common practice. Tipping is not necessary. Car hire: Hertz and local companies exist in La Paz. Documentation: An International Driving Permit is required. This can be issued by Federacin Inter-Americana de Touring y Automvil on production of a national licence, but it is wiser to obtain the International Permit before departure. Urban Bus services in La Paz are operated by a confederation of owner–operators. There are also some fixed route taxi ‘Trufi’ and ‘Trufibus’ systems which show coloured flags for particular routes. Fares are regulated. In some cases, catching a 'truck' can prove a better means of transport, being half the price of a bus and usually more reliable - although transportation less comfortable. Travel times The following chart gives approximate travel times from La Paz (in hours and minutes) to other major cities/towns in Bolivia.
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