Bolivia runs at 220-230V on Type and sockets, so an American 110V device will fit and die - except in parts of La Paz, which are still on 115V. UTC-4 all year, and toilet paper goes in the bin.
- Power is a genuine hazard: Bolivia is 220-230V on flat Type and round Type sockets, and parts of La Paz are still on 110-115V. A 110V North American appliance plugs straight in and is destroyed on the 220V supply.
- Time is UTC-4 all year, with no daylight saving.
- English proficiency is low outside tourist hotels and agencies, more so than in Peru, so basic Spanish makes independent travel much easier.
- Businesses run 08:30 to 12:30 and 14:30 to 18:30 with a real midday closure in lowland cities; banks are 09:00 to 16:00 on weekdays.
- Ask before photographing people, especially Aymara women in traditional polleras. Leave alone the Santa Cruz versus La Paz rivalry and the loss of the coastline to Chile - both are live.
- Power is a genuine hazard here, and the exception runs the way round you would not guess. Bolivia is 220 to 230V at 50 Hz almost everywhere - Santa Cruz, Cochabamba, Sucre - and it is parts of La Paz that are still supplied at 110 to 115V, a legacy of the older grid up there. Sockets take flat two-pin Type and round Type plugs either way.
- So the shape tells you nothing about the voltage. A 110V North American appliance plugs straight in and is destroyed on the 220V supply, and works fine in a La Paz building on the old one. Check the label says 100-240V and stop worrying about which building you are in.
- Time: UTC-4 all year, no daylight saving.
- Tap water: not drinkable. A filter bottle earns its place on this trip.
- Language: Spanish plus 36 recognised indigenous languages. English proficiency is low outside tourist hotels and agencies - more so than in Peru. Basic Spanish makes independent travel much easier.
Hours and holidays
- Businesses 08:30 to 12:30 and 14:30 to 18:30, with a real midday siesta closure in lowland cities and small towns. La Paz offices increasingly run straight through.
- Banks 09:00 to 16:00 weekdays, 09:00 to 13:00 Saturdays. Most shops close Sunday except malls and supermarkets.
- Public holidays: 1 January, 22 January (Plurinational State Day), Carnival Monday and Tuesday, Good Friday, 1 May, Corpus Christi, 21 June (Aymara-Amazonian New Year), 6 August (Independence Day), 2 November and 25 December.
Manners that matter
- Ask before photographing people, especially Aymara women in traditional polleras. Being photographed without consent is resented, and rightly.
- Do not call coca leaves a narcotic. They are legal, traditional and a matter of national pride.
- Two subjects to leave alone: the political rivalry between lowland Santa Cruz and highland La Paz, and Bolivia's loss of its coastline to Chile. Both are live.
- Churches: cover shoulders and knees, and take your hat off going in.
- Toilets: public ones cost 1 to 2 BOB, and paper goes in the bin, not the bowl.
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