Bolivia. Overland travel or flying?
 

I am planning an independent itinerary in September (just under 3 weeks), for which I will need to travel from Santa Cruz to Uyuni and, later on, from Sucre to Santa Cruz. There are Amaszonas direct flights for both stretches, but I am bit weary of this option because of the risk of cancellation or huge delays that could create havoc in my plans. Anybody to comment
- on how to get most reliably from Sta Cruz to Uyuni and
- on the option by flota/coach to cover the long stretch Sucre-Santa Cruz? Recommended? Sucre-Sta Cruz in one go or with a stop-over in between? Obviously, overland is more time consuming, but I do have time, and I'd rather travel more slowly and reliably, rather than potentially faster but with huge risks of my flight being cancelled and not getting to destination at all on the programmed day.

Is Amaszonas really so unreliable as I perceive it from my reading?

Itinerary:
- arrival from Europe in Santa Cruz
- Misiones jesuiticas (S Javier and Concepcion)
- flight to Uyuni and a 4 days tour of the salar
- Uyuni - Potosi
- Potosi - Sucre
- Sucre - Sta Cruz
- from Sta Cruz a day trip to El Fuerte
- departure from Sta Cruz to Europe
I do not take in La Paz surroundings and Titicaca because I have already visited that on an earlier trip.
Plse feel free to comment on the itinerary and to give me ideas. I have not booked anything yet, so I can easily adapt my plan.

I have flown a few times in Bolivia either with BOA or Amaszonas and felt that BoA were by far the better airline - although that is not saying much! Bolivia is an amazing country but there are risks to travelling there either by bus or plane. We did one night bus trip there and that was enough. Never again!


To get from Rurrenabaque to Sucre in 2013 we flew with Amaszonas via La Paz. Trying to take of from we had to disembark twice as the plane wouldn’t start. The windows were so scratched we could barely see out! Possibly because the pilot seemed to skim the treetops most of the way to LP!

Landing in Sucre we were greeted by the sight of the previous plane lying on its side on the edge of the runway where it had "landed" a few hours previously.

That said we have never experienced any major delays or cancellations with either of airlines. Since that experience I have made sure to fly with BOA which seemed a lot better.

A few random thoughts re your itinerary.

Both times we have visited the Salar we went from Tupiza rather than Uyuni. A bit longer in terms of time and distance but I think a better route as you visited the various places of interest at different times to the vast majority of tour which emanate from Uyuni. Both times we went from Sucre via Potosi the first time by bus the second time we rented a taxi as there were four of us. The owner of our accomodation in Sucre was very helpful in sorting out the transport. Tupiza itself is also a pleasant place with some great scenery and horseriding if that is your thing.

Santa Cruz I didn’t find that interesting and much preferred Samaipata close to El Fuerte. We didn’t do the Jesuit circuits though and I imagine that would be a highlight of the area.

Sucre is a very pleasant town with loads to see in the city and surroundings. San Felipe is exceptional and a decent day trip outside of the city is to Managua crater. We stayed at La Dolce Vita. A nice place with exceptional hosts.

Traveling by bus is certainly no more safe nor reliable (especially if there is a strike). I was glad I flew to Uyuni, even if it was on Amaszonas. But, that was the only option available at the last minute (which tells you it is the last choice). The BOA planes looked a lot sturdier so if you are planning ahead, book those.

Don't worry if you can't do the tour from Tupiza...I still enjoyed it from Uyuni. The timings are different so see what works for you.

I also liked Potosi for one night and one day to see the Moneda and the market. Didn't do the mine tour thing.

Agree that night buses are to be avoided.

Many thanks for the responses. I will modify the planning and take Tupiza as a basis. Guide books agree that the Salar tour timings are better from Tupiza but I had not given it much thought because of lesser accesssibility. Taxi for 2 persons from Potosi is feasible, I guess, and reasonably affordable?

I can’t recall the exact cost but I think the cost from Sucre to Tupiza was around $100_120 US. I woud 5hink around half that for Potosi - Tupiza. It used to be possible to go all the way by bus but it was no longer the case in 2016. As I recall the buses from Sucre left in the morning only and the same from Potosi to Tupiza so if you are staying overnight in Potosi it should be pretty straightforward by bus ( and all during daylight hours!