If you’re looking for a cheap and cool place to stay, here are three Bolivian hostels and hostals we can recommend in some of the country’s coolest cities: La Paz, Potosí and Sucre. (Hostals are kind of like a mix between a hostel and hotel — a step-up in privacy and comfort).

Four reasons you should stay there: 1) You get a free beer for every night you stay, 2) A great view over La Paz from their bar, 3) A central location from which you can easily access the city’s main tourist attractions, 4) Check-out is at 1pm!

To book this hostel click here: Adventure Brew
Location on our Bolivia Map

We stayed in this hostal while exploring Potosí. A large patio offers a comfortable place to hang out and meet other travelers. We stayed in a private room with our own bathroom and hot shower. Breakfast is forgettable, but the real plus is its central location right off the main plaza.

Book this hostal here: Hostal Casona Potosí
Location on our Bolivia Map

Merced is the most popular hostal in Sucre, and vies to be the best in all Bolivia. Famous for its beautiful antique furniture, Merced offers nicely decorated rooms and peaceful sunny terraces, near the San Felipe Neri.

“From the highest terraces you may enjoy one of the best panoramic views over the ancient white city, the green mountains behind it and the bluest of skies.”

You can book rooms right here: Hostal de Su Merced
Location on our Bolivia Map

Sucre Accommodation: Hostels and Hotels

After a month in Bolivia’s constitutional capital, the time had come to move on. Sucre was an incredible temporary home, but Bolivia is huge and diverse, and we didn’t want to miss out on the treasures of its other regions. So, after a detour through the Salar de Uyuni and Bolivia’s barren southwest, we relocated to La Paz for a few weeks.

We were sad to leave Sucre, which had demonstrated a side of Bolivia which we weren’t expecting at all. Clean, historic, largely affluent and relaxed, it was almost the opposite of our preconceived notions. The people were friendly, both the locals who seemed happy to engage us in conversation, and the huge number of gringos who flock there for Spanish courses.

(… though, has anyone else noticed what we’ve dubbed “The Gringo Stare”? When you enter a bar, and there’s a solitary westerner sitting there, probably on his laptop, probably on Facebook. He will almost always look up at you with a look somewhere between disgust and disappointment. This was his bar. Your very presence is infringing on his foreign experience! Making it less authentic!)

(… and the worst part is that I’ve caught myself doing the Gringo Stare! Just when I’d finally found a bar full of Bolivians, after I’ve sat down and ordered in Spanish, so proud of my language mastery and cultural aptitude, here comes a chatty group of blonde Dutch people. Grrr. I had felt special, and so I shoot them a malicious look. I can’t help it.)

Anyway, we would miss Sucre a lot. Such a gorgeous, tranquil place to live, and though we didn’t get to explore the area nearly as much as we wanted, our 91 days was ticking down fast. La Paz promised a big shift. Messy, noisy, hectic and huge.

- Bolivia Travel Guides