Lois

I will be ending a 2-week Tauck tour in early October next year in Guayaquil and am wondering if I should fly to La Paz and spend a few days there. I would prefer going on an organized tour but am not sure if I even need one. If so, are recommended ones that I could take while there?

John

I think only you can answer your question. Two things you may want tyo consider...

a) Can you afford to travel to Bolivia and stay there (it is very cheap once you get there)?
b) Does the country interest you?

If you have answered "Yes" to both these questions you should go. I would not bother with a tour myself but again it is up to you.

liz

A very seasoned, world-traveller friend of mine from Argentina went last year and said it was incomparably beautiful mountain scenery.

However she was also kidnapped in a scam while sitting on a park bench, the next thing she knew she was told the police wanted to look at her documents and she was whisked away and basically had to give all her cash to the guys to get free. There was no violence involved but it was very scary! She still says she will go back but then, she has done Angor Wat and everything in between.

I would go IF I had local friends, could stay in their home and be shown around by them. Try to connect with your people in Ecuador, maybe you can hook up with a local family. Otherwise I am not thrilled about her experience myself.

John

Liz's terror story sounds bad. However, so long as you stay alert I think it would be very unlikely that this would happen to you. I would not allow this to put me of going to Bolivia, but obvioulsy you need to be careful.

JAMES

We never had any problems in Bolivia and it is stunning - well worth visiting, particularly around Salar de Uyuni