Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Notes
come in denominations of 200, 100, 50, 20, 10 and 5 bolivianos; coins in denomina-
tions of 1 and 2 bolivianos (these look very similar), and of 5, 10, 20 and 50 centavos. At the
time of writing the exchange rates were roughly:
£1 = Bs11
$1 = Bs7
€1 = Bs10
Youcancheck current exchange rates inanyBolivian newspaper oronline at
xe.com/ucc
.
Credit cards, travellers' cheques and cash
The best way to carry money in Bolivia is to have your funds in several different formats - a
credit card (or cards), some travellers' cheques and some cash dollars hidden away for emer-
gencies-sothatifoneletsyoudownyoucanturntoanother.Theeasiestwaytoaccessfunds
is using plastic. Banks in all major cities and larger towns are connected to the nationwide
Enlace network of
ATM
s, from which you can withdraw cash in US dollars or bolivianos us-
ing a credit or debit card - Enlace machines accept both Visa and Mastercard. Other than in
the most expensive shops and restaurants (and in some hotels and tour agencies), credit and
debit cards can rarely be used to pay for services directly - where they are, Visa is the most
widely accepted, followed by Mastercard; American Express cards are rarely used.
Outside cities and larger towns, debit and credit cards and
travellers' cheques
are pretty
much useless, so it's important to carry plenty of
cash
with you when you head to rural areas.
US dollars can be changed into bolivianos at banks and by street money-changers almost
everywhere in the country, and are a good way of carrying emergency back-up funds - even
if there are no official money-changers around, you can usually find someone to change dol-
lars at a reasonable rate by asking around in shops or hotels.
Small change
is in chronic short supply in Bolivia and people are often reluctant to accept
larger-denominationbills,soit'sbesttobreakthemateveryopportunity-inbigshops,hotels
and bus company offices. You should also be wary of forged notes - dollars and bolivianos -
particularly if changing money on the streets.
Opening hours and public holidays
Shops, businesses and public offices in Bolivia generally open Monday to Saturday from
around 8.30am or 9.30am. They mostly close for a
long lunch break
between about noon
and 2pm (even longer in some regions), and then open again until around 5.30pm to 7pm.
Some offices, however, have adopted a newer system, known as
hora corrida
, whereby they
work straight though from 8.30am to 4pm without closing for lunch.
Banks
' opening hours are generally Monday to Friday from 8.30am to noon and 2.30pm
to 5pm, and on Saturdays in the morning.
Public museums
usually open on Sundays for at
