Booking is now live on Triptiv, the tour provider comparison and booking service for travellers. For the moment we’re just doing tours of the Bolivian salt flats (Salar de Uyuni) – the place that inspired us to create this service.

Book your tour at triptiv.com/uyunisaltflats

At the time of writing there are a number of cosmetic updates that need to be made, the site is by no means finished – we’ll get around to that – but we thought that it was important to enable this functionality now rather than later.

Big thanks from me and Cat go to John for the development work and Jenny for talking to tour providers en espanol.

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In addition to our existing reviews and rankings we’ve enabled a number of tour providers to offer online booking through our website. Not everyone wants to book in advance, but some people do. This really is a big step forward. Previously it wasn’t possible to do this online: third parties offered some booking but gave no choice of tour provider – and one tour provider (maybe more) let you email them your details and called that online booking. These systems failed in one or more ways to address a number of important issues:

• Knowledge – Which is the best tour provider for you? Even some issues of Lonely Planet suggest you ask other travellers as reputations change over time
• Security – People don’t like handing over credit card details to Bolivian tour providers – we use PayPal
• Choice – There are so many tour providers and tours, different factors are important to different people – do you want the cheapest? The safest? The most comfortable? …
• Price – Our prices are the same as those offered by the tour provider

In return for delivering bookings to them, tour providers pay us a small commission on each booking – so everyone’s happy!

Ps. If you’re thinking of visiting the salt flats, you really should.

A courtyard in the prison (Photo: brenski).

Famed attraction no longer for tourists

Tourists from all over the world used to bribe guards to gain entry to the prison, many eating and drinking with the inmates, doing drugs inside or buying cocaine to take out, shopping at the market stalls within the prison walls and sometimes even staying overnight. Following the uploading of a prison visit video to YouTube in February, and some embarrassing (for the Bolivian government) TV interviews with tourists emerging from the prison, a crackdown from the authorities has brought an end to all of this – corrupt guards have been replaced, and tourists have been categorically barred from entering the prison.

Not just tourists facing a ban

Many wives and children choose to live within the prison walls (but may come and go in the daytime) where they can work and live easily, as opposed to in La Paz itself where jobs are hard to come by, and accommodation is expensive. The prison is relatively safe during the day, and some think that the presence of women and children keeps the men calm. As part of the crackdown, the families of the inmates are also facing expulsion from the prison.

A unique society “at risk”

The prison, home to around 1 500 inmates, has until now been a society in itself, with laws decided and enforced by elected prisoners with little or no intervention from police. The inmates had jobs which earned them money to pay for accommodation inside, frequently shared with their families. Many of the the businesses that had sprung up to provide money for the inmates revolved around the droves of tourists who would enter daily. Most notably these were drug deals, but also included the running of craft stalls and restaurants. Now, with no tourists to pay for their wares, businesses all over the prison have collapsed.

An inmates’ cell (Photo: brenski).

In a bid from the authorities to make prisoners understand that the prison is a penitentiary, buying, selling and renting cells has been banned, workers from outside can no longer eat cheap lunches at the restaurants which, with no bills or taxes, undercut those on the outside, and the famous cocaine-processing labs are said to have closed. “This was a very original prison,” said Juan Gonzalez, a convicted thief, reports the Guardian. “It was like a little village. It wasn’t so bad. Now all that’s at risk.”

Most of our website visitors are planning well in advance. Photograph by: yoppy

When we started building a tour provider comparison website for the Uyuni Salt Flats we anticipated that the majority of site users would be in the same situation we were in when we visited the Salar: somewhere in South America, a few days to a week away from the salt falts, struggling to work out which tour company to go with. This seems not be the case – just over half of the website’s visitors are actually sitting at computers located outside South America. It seems that most of you are looking to plan well in advance.  Of course, once we had started work on the site we did get some idea that this might be the case given the number of people who post on travel forums each week saying that they are visiting the salt flats in X months time and asking which is the best tour company to go with.

Road blocks: a regular occurrence. (Photo: tearsxintherain)

Road Blocks

In Bolivia, road blocks are a common form of protest, and usually involve blocking a key road with a barricade of some sort in order to make a political statement. It is not uncommon for road block protests to become the scene of stone-throwing melees between supporters and opposers of the policies in question, and injuries often result. Protests in Bolivia frequently start off with a petition and/or peaceful protests but can quickly escalate in number and violence.

Their effect on you

Road blocks can seriously affect tourists on bus trips across the country. Keep abreast of the political landscapes and any big decisions or referendums which are likely to be coming up during your stay. If you can’t get out before such an event, at least build in flexibility to allow for being stuck for a few days. Do what you can to avoid the areas likely to be affected, because road blocks can go hand in hand with political unrest, violence and tear gas.

The Bigger Picture

Of course, it’s not just tourists that are affected: road blocks can make life very difficult, and sometimes extremely worrying, for the local population. Towns become cut off so that children can’t get to schools, farmers can’t get to markets, and supplies can’t get to shops. With protests known to last for weeks, this can be a big problem, especially from the point of view of food shortages.

Why They’re Happening Today

Evo Morales leads the march for the new consititution. (Photo: Edwin Velasquez)

Evo Morales, Bolivia’s first indigenous president who won a referendum in August last year with a two-thirds majority, is currently enforcing some strong leftist policies, including the nationalisations of key industries such as Bolivia’s oil (and possibly lithium) exports, and trying to give more land and revenues to the indigenous majority of the population. These are controversial policies, creating a difference of opinion which has deepened into something of a political crisis in Bolivia today. There are fears that the shows of sporadic violence may break out into larger conflicts.

Make the most of your time on the Salar. (Photo: boywiththethorninhisside)

The Salar de Uyuni is an amazing place. For most, a visit is a once in a lifetime experience – so you want to make sure you get it right. Follow these top tips for an unforgettable salar tour.

10. Avoid common cons

Some tour companies include the entrance fee for Incahuasi island in their tour prices. If you pay this, look out! There have been several reports of drivers taking groups to an island which they insist is Incahuasi, but is actually entirely different, and does not have an entry fee, so the drivers can pocket the cash. Be aware of this, and if you can, ask other travellers about other cons which may be circulating.

9. Beware of tricky agencies

Many agencies employ all sorts of tricks to keep their costs down, and are not always upfront about them. Watch out for: veggie options which are simply non-vegetarian meals without meat; transfers to other agencies in the case of underbooking; prebooked guides masquerading any guide you may have requested; and bottles of wine which are promised but never materialise.

8. Know the seasons

It’s raining, it’s pouring … (Photo: 3rdparty!)

Bolivian winter is from April to October, and it’s cold: nighttime temperatures can drop to -20ºC. The summer is from November to March when nights are a bit less extreme, but it’s also the rainy season which means water on the Salar can turn it into a mirror. This makes for a surreal experience, perhaps more so than when it is dry, but watch out – if there’s been loads of rain, tours may have to be postponed.

7. Don’t waste your money

With most agencies, the driver/guide will spend most of the time driving, so don’t be disappointed if explanations of the area are not forthcoming. Besides, most of the scenery is fairly self explanatory: think about whether it is really worth paying extra for a guide who speaks English.

6. Don’t hang around

Don’t waste your time in Uyuni. (Photo: Michel Filion)

There’s not much to do in the town of Uyuni, so get in and out as quickly as you can. If you get in on a late night or early morning bus, try to book a tour in advance; it saves you time and hassle in Uyuni and means you can get going on the tour your first morning there – which is what you came for, after all.

5. Acclimatise to altitude

The Salar is over 3600m above sea level, so make sure you get the most out of your trip by doing everything you can to avoid altitude sickness. Try to spend some time getting used to high altitude before you leave, and keep hydrated. Alcohol dehydrates you, so avoid it if you’re experiencing symptoms. If you have not acclimatised or are very susceptible, consider paying more for a company that carries oxygen.

More on altitude sickness prevention

4. Carry the essentials

The light is blinding on the salar so if you want to enjoy it, sunglasses are a must. Remember high factor sun protection as well, and plenty of water. Even if the agency says they’ll provide water for you, it’s best to have some of your own spares … just in case.

3. Wrap up warm

Take loads of clothes for the nights and early mornings at temperatures well below freezing: accommodation is basic out in the desert and the nights get very cold. Don’t rely on sleeping bags you may have been promised by agencies – you don’t want to put yourself in a position where you can’t survive the night if they fail to materialise.

2. Don’t over-negotiate

Because of high competition, profit margins are low, so often if providers agree to price discounts (for you or your tour-mates) they will make up the costs elsewhere: smaller meals, shorter routes or maybe an extra person. Be careful of this because it’s not just comfort that can be compromised:unchecked vehicles can mean real problems with safety – make sure you check it yourself before you agree to get in.

See typical tour prices

1. Choose the right agency

With so much competition, no agency can be recommended with 100% confidence; trip providers offer similar tours, and almost all will have problems at some stage. However at certain times, certain providers come out on top. So the best thing to do is find out what people are saying at the moment. Agencies rise and fall like the tides, so take no notice of out-of-date advice: it’s no longer relevant.

See up-to-date reviews and provider rankings