Bolivia Guide
Getting around
By boat
Although Bolivia is a landlocked country, there are still several regions – particularly Lago Titicaca and the Amazon – where water is the best way of getting around. There are no longer any scheduled passenger services between Bolivia and Peru on Lago Titicaca, but several upmarket tour agencies run hydrofoil and catamaran cruises on the lake, and smaller passenger launches run between Copacabana and the Isla del Sol.
There are two main forms of river transport. Dugout canoes powered by outboard motors are still the workhorses of the back-country river network and the only real way to get deep enough into the jungle to see the wildlife. Tour agencies use these to take groups into protected areas like the Parque Nacional Madidi and irregular passenger services operate along some rivers.
The second (and much more economic) form of river transport are the larger cargo boats that ply the two main water routes not yet supplanted by roads: the Río Mamoré, between Trinidad and Guayaramerin on the Brazilian frontier, and the Río Ichilo, between Trinidad and Puerto Villaroel in the Chapare. Though generally far from comfortable, these slow-moving vessels allow passengers to hitch hammocks above the deck for a small fee and are a great way to see the Amazon if you're not in a hurry.