Safety in Bolivia: what overland travellers should know
Our summary of the country advice published by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Viaggiare Sicuri) on 13 August 2026.
Safety
- Protests and roadblocks — The political and social situation keeps shifting and protests with road blockades can start without warning, in the cities and on the main roads between them. Plan your movements with that in mind and keep following the news while you are in the country.
- Border and no-go areas — Travel is advised against in every border area away from public roads and official crossings, and mines may be present in some zones along the Chilean border. Avoid the Chapare region, where police and coca growers clash. Take particular care in mining areas, the isolated parts of the Andean altiplano and the rural areas of Santa Cruz, Beni and Pando departments.
- Robbery hot spots — Armed robberies have happened at Muela del Diablo and Palca near La Paz, and thefts have risen sharply on the Santa Cruz to Cochabamba road, mostly in the evening and where speed bumps force you to slow down. Violent robberies and express kidnappings for ransom have hit foreigners around Lake Titicaca, in tourist parts of central La Paz and in Santa Cruz, while money and documents are stolen at bus terminals and on public transport on the La Paz - Oruro - Salar de Uyuni route. Crime is now also growing in the residential districts of the main cities.
- Approaches to refuse — Tourists have been robbed and assaulted by people claiming to be police, in uniform or plain clothes, who tell them to get into unmarked cars: do not get in, and say you must first speak to your own embassy. In bars and clubs, drinks have been spiked with drugs that knock people out and leave them open to theft, assault and sexual violence.
- Guides and no coverage — The ministry advises visiting the Yungas valley from La Paz to Coroico, the Salar de Uyuni, the Rurrenabaque circuit and the neighbouring Madidi rainforest park with authorised guides, and checking that guides on trips far from towns carry satellite phones. Phone and internet coverage can fail entirely around Lake Titicaca, in Madidi, in the Lagunas Coloradas region and at the Salar de Uyuni, so leave your hotel and agency contacts with someone before you head out there.
Before you rely on this
This is our summary of advice written by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Italian travellers, published on 13 August 2026. We summarise in good faith, but we cannot guarantee it is accurate, current or complete, and we take no responsibility for decisions made on the basis of it. Rules change without notice and are applied by officials at the border, not by websites. Always read the original source and the travel advice your own government publishes for Bolivia before you travel. GuideMeet has no way of checking whether an individual guide meets any standard mentioned here — ask them directly.
Source: Viaggiare Sicuri — Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, updated 13 August 2026. Last checked by GuideMeet on 2026-09-20.