I'm taking my parents to Peru and Bolivia this year. They
are in their late fifties and reasonably fit, but my mother
has a bad back and won't cope with long hours in badly
sprung buses. Is it possible to take them on a four or
five day trip to Uyuni from La Paz that goes in reasonable
comfort in a well sprung 4WD and with padded mattresses to
sleep on at night? Are there reputable tour companies in
La Paz that I could book this with?
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Every night on the tour we had reasonably comfortable
beds..by Bolivian standards. Everything else is a bit
primitive. I don't advise in booking in La Paz. 1 it will
cost more. 2 you can't inspect the vehicle. In Uyuni you can
get a look at what you will be traveling in. Quality of 4wd
varies greatly. Buy a big piece of foam rubber in La Paz. She
can put that on top of her bed and use for padding in the
car. In the US there is a chain of stores called the Back
Store. They sell a huge variety of not cheap devices designed
to help the back. Maybe you could find something there. Check
also a store that sells supplies for long haul truckers.
You can see Peru by bus quite comfortably with "Royal
Orme~no Express". Orme~no has a national and international
service. Highly recommended. Busses are comfortable and
have tv and hostesses. Viva Orme~no!
The buses from LaPaz to Uyuni are over unpaved roads which
is the biggest problem ... the buses themselves would
probably be wonderfully comfortable if they were on nicely
paved roads...if the back problems are that bad...why not
fly from LaPaz at least part of the way?...maybe to Sucre?
Just a suggestion...Post #1 is right on about the basic
accommodations while on the tour. OR...how about flying in
& out of Chile where there are much nicer paved roads &
taking a Salar trip starting at the San Pedro de Atacama ??
It is possible... Colque Tours (& probably others) start
from both sides...... Airfare is higher to Chile I
think...but not sure if $ is an object or just pain relief.
The buses from LaPaz to Uyuni are over unpaved roads which
is the biggest problem ... the buses themselves would
probably be wonderfully comfortable if they were on nicely
paved roads...if the back problems are that bad...why not
fly from LaPaz at least part of the way?...maybe to Sucre?
Just a suggestion...Post #1 is right on about the basic
accommodations while on the tour. OR...how about flying in
& out of Chile where there are much nicer paved roads &
taking a Salar trip starting at San Pedro de Atacama ?? It
is possible... Colque Tours (& probably others) start from
both sides...... Airfare is higher to Chile I think...but
not sure if $ is an object or just pain relief.
Flying to Sucre as suggested by Sarah won't work.
The road from Sucre is sealed only to Potosi, then dirt all
the way to Uyuni. The road from La Paz is sealed to Poopo,
south of Orouro. Either way you will have about the same
distance of dirt but from Sucre the going is more mountainous
whereas from Orouro it is mostly flat altiplano.
Sorry, can't offer anything more constructive.