Yes. Our private Bolivia itineraries can be adjusted according to your dates, interests, preferred accommodation and onward travel plans.
The Best of Bolivia 7-Day Signature Tour is one of our most popular private journeys and an excellent introduction to Bolivia for first-time visitors.
Overview
Starting in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, the tour travels through the spectacular forests and sandstone mountains of Refugio Los Volcanes and Amboró National Park, before continuing to the colonial cities of Sucre and Potosí and finishing with a private 3-day Uyuni Salt Flats and southwest Bolivia expedition.
This route is also designed to introduce travelers to Bolivia’s higher elevations more progressively. Rather than flying directly from the tropical lowlands of Santa Cruz to Uyuni and immediately continuing into the extreme elevations of southwest Bolivia, the itinerary includes time in Sucre and Potosí before reaching Uyuni and the high-altitude lagoons.
The result is a varied journey combining some of Bolivia’s most important natural landscapes, historic cities and cultural highlights in one carefully organized private tour.
Bolivia’s geography changes dramatically over relatively short distances. Santa Cruz lies in the tropical lowlands, while Uyuni and southwest Bolivia are located at much higher elevations.
Our route was designed not only to showcase some of Bolivia’s most famous destinations, but also to provide a more progressive transition from the lowlands into the Andes.
A note on altitude: Altitude affects every traveler differently, and no itinerary can guarantee that altitude symptoms will not occur. Travelers with medical concerns should speak with their doctor before undertaking high-altitude travel.
Your private Bolivia tour begins with morning pickup from your hotel in Santa Cruz de la Sierra.
Travel west toward Refugio Los Volcanes, a spectacular private reserve bordering Amboró National Park. The journey leaves the tropical lowlands behind and enters a landscape of rainforest, rivers, waterfalls and enormous red sandstone cliffs.
After arriving at the lodge and having lunch, explore the reserve on a guided afternoon walk.
Activities are adapted to weather, trail conditions and your interests, with opportunities for hiking, photography, wildlife watching and enjoying the spectacular scenery.
After breakfast, spend the morning exploring more of Refugio Los Volcanes.
Depending on conditions, you may hike through the forest and valleys, visit viewpoints or waterfalls, photograph the surrounding cliffs or simply enjoy one of the most impressive natural settings in eastern Bolivia.
After lunch, return by private transportation to Santa Cruz.
After breakfast, transfer to the airport for your domestic flight to Sucre, Bolivia’s constitutional capital and one of South America’s best-preserved colonial cities.
After checking into your hotel, explore Sucre with a private guide. Highlights can include the historic center, colonial architecture, churches, plazas, traditional streets and panoramic viewpoints.
Depending on opening times and the final itinerary, you may also visit Cal Orck’o, famous for its extraordinary dinosaur footprints.
Sucre also provides the first overnight stop at significant elevation before the journey continues higher into the Bolivian Andes.
After breakfast, depart Sucre by private transportation for Potosí, one of Bolivia’s most historically important cities.
Once among the wealthiest cities in the world because of the silver extracted from Cerro Rico, Potosí remains one of the most fascinating places for understanding Bolivia’s colonial and mining history.
Explore the historic center and, depending on opening hours, visit attractions such as the Casa Nacional de la Moneda.
After lunch, continue across the Bolivian highlands to Uyuni, gateway to the world’s largest salt flat.
Arrive in Uyuni in the evening and prepare for the start of your private 3-day expedition through the Uyuni Salt Flats and southwest Bolivia.
Today begins your private 3-day Uyuni Salt Flats and southwest Bolivia tour.
Visit Colchani, where local families have traditionally processed salt, before entering the immense Salar de Uyuni, the world’s largest salt flat.
Travel across the salt flats by 4WD, stopping for photography and panoramic views across one of South America’s most extraordinary landscapes.
During the dry season, the Salar is famous for its vast white surface and geometric salt patterns. During suitable rainy-season conditions, shallow water can transform the salt flat into the famous Uyuni mirror effect.
When access permits, visit Incahuasi Island, known for its giant cacti and panoramic views across the Salar. Continue toward your accommodation in the remote highlands.
Continue deeper into the remote landscapes of southwest Bolivia.
Travel through volcanic scenery, high-altitude deserts, unusual rock formations and colorful Andean lagoons.
Depending on the route and conditions, highlights can include the Stone Tree, desert valleys and several flamingo lagoons before reaching the spectacular Laguna Colorada.
The region supports three species of flamingo as well as wildlife such as vicuñas, vizcachas and Andean foxes. This is one of the most spectacular landscape days of the entire journey.
Begin the final day surrounded by the extraordinary landscapes of Bolivia’s high-altitude southwest.
Depending on weather, road conditions and the final route, visit geothermal areas, geysers, volcanic landscapes and Laguna Verde, beneath the imposing Licancabur Volcano near the Chilean border.
The return journey to Uyuni crosses remote desert valleys and traditional Andean settlements, with possible stops including San Cristóbal and other small highland communities.
Arrive in Uyuni, where we can arrange transfer to your hotel, airport, bus station or onward connection.
details
suitability
travel advisory
The Uyuni region and southwest Bolivia reach significant elevations, and some locations visited during the expedition are above 4,000 meters.
Our Santa Cruz – Sucre – Potosí – Uyuni route provides a more progressive transition into the Andes than travelling directly from Santa Cruz to Uyuni and immediately entering the highest parts of southwest Bolivia.
However, altitude affects everyone differently and symptoms can occur even in fit and healthy travelers.
customization
This is a private Bolivia tour, not a fixed group departure.
The itinerary can be adapted according to travel dates, flight availability, hotel preference, group size and individual interests.
It can also be incorporated into a longer Bolivia itinerary including La Paz, Lake Titicaca, Madidi National Park, the Bolivian Amazon, wildlife tours or additional destinations around Santa Cruz.
Our team replies within a few hours. We also speak Spanish and English.
Starting in Santa Cruz allows travelers to experience eastern Bolivia before progressively travelling into the Andes. It also avoids beginning the trip by flying directly from the tropical lowlands to Uyuni and immediately continuing into some of Bolivia's highest tourist areas.
Yes. Our signature itinerary operates privately, giving us greater flexibility with stops, photography and daily logistics than standard shared tours.
Uyuni can be visited throughout the year. The dry season generally offers the classic white salt landscape and geometric salt patterns. During parts of the rainy season, suitable conditions can create the famous mirror effect. Weather and surface conditions vary from year to year, so the mirror effect cannot be guaranteed.
The itinerary above is an example of our Best of Bolivia 7-Day Signature Tour.
Exact activities, hotels, flights and routes may change because of weather, road conditions, seasonal access, flight schedules and local opening hours.
Final arrangements are confirmed before departure.