Hotel El Dorado, La Paz

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

...looking for a luxury city break, la Paz is probably not the ideal destination. That is not to say, however, that the wealthier tourist is not entirely unaccomodated for. In the 'rich' quarter of La Paz, there are a number of four and five star hotels which offer all the modern conveniences of room service, swimming pools, fine restaurants etc for fairly reasonable prices compared to other locations. Far better catered for, however, is the traveller on a budget. In the poorer areas of this vast city, there are countless hostels, hotels and bed-sits which offer beds, showers and breakfasts and showers for some of the best prices in the world. A general price is $5 a night including breakfast and whilst the rooms may not often be the height of luxury, the Bolivians are generally extremely friendly and the service is excellent. We stayed... 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

Advantages: World's highest capital that's high on life.
Disadvantages: Oxygen tanks are expensive.

..., is Hotel Italia. Some described it as a dump, others extolled the balcony that comes with each room. Whatever the truth its tariff of 40B certainly means it's worth a look for those travelling on a shoestring. ATTRACTIONS Football is popular in Bolivia and the cable channels screen matches from all over the world pretty much 24 hours a day. The biggest team in the country playing out of La Paz are sensibly called the Strongest FC. Boliviar are another top team (Santa Cruz) who perennially do well in the continents version of Champions League, the Copa America. All the big cities have decent sized stadiums and if you get a chance seeing a game is great entertainment. In Santa Cruz we watched local team Oriente Petrolero trash La Paz's Iberoamericana 5 - 1 in front of a small but noisy crowd. With the terraces in constant motion dancing... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful