Camino Real Aparthotel, La Paz

Advantages: beautiful
Disadvantages: altitude sickness

...I visited La Paz a few years ago. The city is the highest anywhere - many people suffer altitude sickness for a day or two, although we found that it wasn't too bad when we took it very easy to start with! The city is very beautiful - set in snow - capped mountains. There are many historic areas, as well as many new (half - built) houses. A great place to buy Bolivian goods - fabrics etc. Take warm clothes even in the summer - you can tan and catch cold at the same time. I cannot wait to get back there - a real adventure of a city if you care to look.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Amazing sights, very cheap, unique city, great shopping
Disadvantages: Altitude sickness, hard to get around

...half hours walk of one another, and generally this will work out quicker. Of course walking is not always practical, especially for locations further afield and particularly in the first few days when the altitude makes walking up the steep streets like trying to climb a mountain. Three alternatives thus remain: Hire a car: Its certainly possible to hire a car in La Paz, though you have to be over 25 and the driving conditions are some of the toughest in the world. The road system lacks any real coherence or markings and it is a requirement that you drive aggressively(!) Parking's never a problem though, as you can generally park by the side of any road. Bus: There are two types of bus in La Paz. The iconic Dodge buses (looking similar to an American Yellow School Bus only painted in colourful stripes) and these tend to be fairly... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Experiencing a different culture
Disadvantages: Possibly experiencing high altitude sickness

...We went to La Paz for 3 days in September 2006. We flew from Buenos Aires and arrived at the airport in La Paz and immediately noticed how different we felt. The air was very thin and we had to slow down. We had been warned to take it easy and providing you take the advice seriously, there is no reason why you cannot enjoy the delights of La Paz. After checking into our hotel we had a stroll around the wonderful markets, decided where to return the following day and then headed back to the hotel for an early night. It is wise to have a long sleep, so arriving in La Paz at night is a good start, so that you can go to bed more or less straight away. I was not too keen about eating from the market stalls even though the smells were delicious, instead we ate at our hotel which had an excellent restaurant. We did buy popcorn... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful