The trip from Santa Cruz to Tarija by bus is a scenic one, with the route taking you through the beautiful Bolivian countryside. The distance between the two cities is approximately 600 kilometers. Several bus companies operate on this route, including Lince SRL and Trans Copacabana SA.
Santa Cruz is the largest city in Bolivia and is known for its vibrant culture and nightlife. The city is home to several museums, including the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo and the Museo Etnofolklorico. The city is also a great place to shop for local handicrafts and souvenirs.
Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. Coordenação-Geral de Observação da Terra/INPE
Tarija, on the other hand, is a charming city located in southern Bolivia. The city is known for its beautiful colonial architecture and is surrounded by vineyards and wineries. The Paleontological and Archaeological Museum is a must-visit attraction in Tarija, with an impressive collection of fossils, ceramics, and pre-Columbian objects. The Plaza Luis de Fuentes is a quiet and picturesque, colonial-style place, surrounded by beautiful restaurants and cafés. From here, the tours leave to the “wine route”.
Main Sq., Tarija Bolivia. Dieter Jungblut.
The bus trip between Santa Cruz and Tarija is ideal for tourists who want to explore the natural beauty of Bolivia and experience the local culture. The journey takes you through the heart of Bolivia, with stunning views of the Bolivian countryside. Along the way, you’ll pass through several small towns and villages, each with its own unique charm and character.
Bus route from Tarija to Santa Cruz.
When it comes to traveling between Santa Cruz and Tarija, there are several options available. Tickets Bolivia offers several bus travel options to make this journey. You can travel directly from Santa Cruz to Tarija with the bus companies Trans Copacabana S.A. and Lince S.R.L. in a lie-flat bus. The buses depart every day at 18:30hrs., 19:00hrs., and 20:30hrs. and arrive in Tarija the next day at around 5:30am. with tickets from 37.08$us per passenger. Alternatively, you can break the journey to Tarija by doing a stopover in Sucre with the bus company Trans Copacabana 1Mem. And from Sucre, you can go to Tarija with the bus companies El Emperador, Andes Bus or 6 de Octubre.
The same bus companies Trans Copacabana S.A. and Lince S.R.L. make the return trip from Tarija to Santa Cruz. The buses depart every day at 17:30hrs, 19:00hrs and 19:30hrs. with arrival time estimated at around 5:00am.
We hope this information was helpful for your travel plans in Bolivia and between Santa Cruz and Tarija. Don’t forget you can purchase the tickets via TicketsBolivia.com with the safest payment options and updated pricing and schedule.
Samaipata is one of the best kept secrets of the Bolivian low-lands. This little town two hours away from the city of Santa Cruz has become very popular in the last years among both national and international tourists due to its warm climate year-round, diversity of landscapes and restaurants, with an array of cultural and tourist activities to choose from. One of its main attractions is how close it is to the Samaipata Fort, a pre-colonial arqueological site where different cultures, such as the Chané and Inca come together, declared Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. In this blog, we’ll tell you all about:
What makes Samaipata an amazing tourist destination
How to travel to Samaipata easily from any part of Bolivia
You can travel to Samaipata by bus easily from Bolivia’s main cities (Santa Cruz, Sucre, Cochabamba and La Paz) though mostly paved highways and different degrees of confort; from confortable lie-flat buses to shared cabs and vans. The prices vary, as well, and there is an option for every budget.
View of the townTraveling by bus from La Paz to Samaipata
The most direct wat to travel to Samaipata from La Paz is to take a bus to Sucre, and from there, take another bus that leaves you in Samaipata. The buses from La Paz to Sucre leave every day from the Bus terminal of La Paz.
The trip from La Paz to Sucre takes between 10 and 12 hours, depending on wether the bus travels via Potosi or Ravelo (the trip via Ravelo is shorter). Either way, the buses leave at 19:30 and arrive in Sucre early the next morning at the Bus terminal of Sucre.
Once in Sucre, you can enjoy the city, its colonial architecture, places of interest and unique cuisine, until your bus leaves for Samaipata at 18:30.
Sunset in Sucre
Travel by bus from Sucre to Samaipata
The bus from Sucre to Samaipata leave at 18:30 and the trip takes around 10 hours, traveling through an almost completelly paved highway. The bus company that works this route is El Mexicano, a transportation company that has modern buses and certified drivers.
The buses from Sucre to Samaipata leave at 18:30 and arrive in Samaipata at 4:30 am. They park on Main Street, since the town does not have a proper bus terminal. The passengers can walk from there to the main square or to their hotel. The town is perfectly safe at all hours.
Exploring the Fort of Samaipata
Travel by bus from Cochabamba to Samaipata
The most direct way to travel by bus from Cochabamba to Samaipata is to take a bus to Santa Cruz, traveling through the old highway which crosses Samaipata. These buses don’t leave from the Cochabamba Bus Terminal, but rather from the corner of 6 de Agosto St and República St.
Information about the trip:
Departure: 7:30 am
Duration: 11.5 horas
Arrival: 19:00.
Another way of making this trip is to take a bus from Cochabamba to Santa Cruz and, from there, travel to Samaipata. The buses leave from the Bus Terminal of Cochabamba, located on the corner of Ayacucho and Tarata St. (see map).
Travel by bus from Santa Cruz to Samaipata
There are two options to travel by bus from Santa Cruz to Samaipata:
Option 1:
Shared cabs (5 passengers) with the company Expreso Samaipata. Cars leave from Omar Chavez Ortiz Av, #1147. The trip takes 2- hours and the price is 30 Bs per person.
Option 2:
Shared vans (minibuses), with the company Cooperativa de Transporte El Fuerte. The vans leave from Sgundo Anillo Av Grigota. The trip takes between 2 and 4 hours and the price is 30 Bs. per passenger.
Take into account that the cabs and vans wait to fill up before leaving, so there are no fixed departure times. The duration of the trip varies according to the state of the roads, and can take longer during rain season (November-February).
Treehouse offered as lodging in Samaipata.
Tourist information about Samaipata
Located at 120 km southwest of Santa Cruz, Samaipata has an average temperature of 23 degrees and the town has a sunny climate most of the year. The town lies at 1650 m above sea level, and there are many tourist agencies that offer visits and tours for the following destinations:
Amboro National Park. This is one of the most diverse national parks in Bolivia, with an impressive array of wildlife including jaguars, mears and pumas. The park is the home of more than 900 bird species. In order to visit, you must hire a tour, which can be arranged with one of the tour agencies in town. The cost is between 100 and 320 Bs, depending on the agency and group size.
El Fuerte: The fort of Samaipata is an archeological site located on top of a mountain at 1950 meters above sea level. The site had ceremonial, religious, bellic and residencial uses during the Inca Empire and is the second most popular archeological site in Bolivia, after the Tihuanacu ruins. This enormous complez includes a square, places for the observation of stars, residencies and a gigantic engraved stone which bears religious figures and symbols. This site this site was pronounced Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
The gigantic engraved stone of Samaipata
The caves: Not actually caves, but a series of sascades in a beautiful area of exuberant nature and a cool natural pool surrounded by a white-sanded beach where you can spend the afternoon bathing, picking oranges, enjoying the view and hiking to the nearby mountain forests.
Condors nest: The hike to Condors Nest takes all day; traveling by car, to the nearest point, then the spectacular hike up the mountain, which is considered an alternative to Colca Canion in Peru. The condors appear around mid day. It’s best to schedule this tour in clear/sky days, to increase chances of seeing condors.
We hope this information is useful so you can plan your trip by bus to Samaipata from any city in Bolivia. Have a nice trip!
If you are a lover of music and travel, if you are keen on getting to know those places still off the international tourist radar, then this post is for you. I’ll tell you all about the Chiquitos Circuit, the amazing music festival held there every two years, and how you can travel easily from Bolivia’s largest city, Santa Cruz, to the Chiquitos Circuit by bus or train.
The ancient Jesuit Missions of Chiquitos, towns founded between 1691 and 1767 in the territories of the chiquitano indigenous people, are some of the most important monuments of Bolivia´s cultural and historic heritage. It is not only the amazing churches that mix indigenous and European imagery, showing off the intricate artistry of indigenous hands, nor the joy of watching children play in an orchestra with instruments they made themselves, nor the lush green forest surroundings that make the Chiquitos Circuit a destination to discover.
A church in the Chiquitos Circuit
It is also the fact that, during the process of restoration of the Jesuit temples in the 70s, an enormous musical treasure was discovered: more than 9,000 sheets of religious music written between the XVII and XVIII centuries, both by European and indigenous composers.
This amazing discovery gave way to turning Chiquitos into the epicenter of the celebration of baroque music in South America, with the creation of the International Festival of Renaissance and Baroque Music “Misiones de Chiquitos”, which is organized by APAC and held in April every two years since 1996. And you can attend the festival easily, by traveling from Santa Cruz to the Chiquitos Circuit by bus or train.
Poster for the festival held in 2023
For the international musicians of baroque music that come from all over the world to play at this festival, it is like going back in history in a cross-cultural experience. The music played is often arranged or composed by local indigenous musicians, a magical moment because of its cultural implications. Most of the concerts are held at no cost to the public and the the local communities participate actively in the Festival, as well as many music lovers who come just for the concerts. In fact, there are special tours offered for those who want to get to know the natural, cultural and historic richness of Bolivia and experience a tour for people who don’t like tours.
The towns of Chuiquitos are very special. Founded between 1696 and 1760, most of the churches have their original structure and facades and the works of art inside made by European and indigenous artists. But it is not just the temples that live on; despite the expulsion of the Jesuits in the year 1767 and the passing of time, the teachings, language, religious and pagan customs, the temples and the music have been kept intact. Thus, the towns are not ruins or museums, but live communities with the inheritance of a rich, complex historic past and a thriving mestizo culture.
Children musicians in Chiquitos
In 1990, UNESCO declared six missions of Chiquitos Cultural Heritage of Humanity, naming them “living towns” for the living and thriving customs that have been kept alive by their communities. These towns are:
But there are other mission towns that, despite not being named in UNESCO’s declaration, are part of the Chiquitos Circuit and also extraordinary destinations. These are:
There are two main ways to travel from Santa Cruz to the Chuiquitos Circuit, and here we tell you all about it.
The Chiquitos Circuit
Santa Cruz to San Jose de Chiquitos by train
The trip from Santa Cruz to San Jose de Chiquitos by train lasts around 6 hours, covering a distance of 272 km. San Jose is the capital of the province of Chiquitos, and it was the third town founded as a ministry of the Jesuits on March 19th, 1697. This town is well-known for its church, built of stone in the 17th century.
To travel from Santa Cruz to San Jose de Chuiquitos by train, you take the train at the Station in Santa Cruz, located on Montes Av. Trains leave every day except on Saturdays. They arrive at the Train Station in San Jose, located on Gallardo Av. If you want to reserve the tickets and heck out times of departure and arrivals, click here: Santa Cruz to San Jose de Chiquitos by train
Traditional dancing at the church of Concepcion
Santa Cruz to San Ignacio de Velasco By bus
San Ignacio de Velasco is one of the largest towns in the Chiquitos Circuit, and it lies at a distance of 471 km from the city of Santa Cruz. Trip data:
San Ignacio de Velasco was founded in 1748 by Jesuit missions at the foot of beautiful mountains and close to the Paragua River. The town is strategically located, making it the receptive center for tours to the Missionary Triangle: San Miguel, San Rafael and Santa Ana de Velasco.
Children musicians in Chiquitos
We hope this information was useful and that you will plan your trip from Santa Cruz to Chiquitos by bus or train. If you are rather a nature lover than a megalomaniac, look out for our next blog, where we explain how to explore the Noel Kempf Mercado Park, one of the most remote and exotic national reservations, located at just 198 km from San Ignacio de Velasco. Cheers and good travels!
A Bolivia Travel Guide