COPACABANA
A beach resort on Lake Titicaca about a 20 minute drive from the Peruvian border is a popular pit stop for travellers. It has more of a backpacker feel than Peru, with bars, restaurants and accommodation with lake views and plenty of options for a small town where everything is walkable. It is a perfect base for a trip to the beautiful Isla del Sol.
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getting there
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20 minutes from the Peruvian border and only a few hours from Puno, Copacabana is easily accessible from both countries.
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From La Paz | The bus journey takes 4 and a half hours including a small water crossing in Tiquina. Buses will leave from the main terminal with Vicuna, Trans Titicaca and Peru Hop making the journey. The price of the water crossing may not be included in the ticket price but this is only 2Bs (£0.25) each. Bus tickets start from £4.
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From Puno | The journey takes 2 and a half hours with Transzela and leaves once a day at 7am from Terminal Terrestre Puno. Prices start from £8.
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To Stay
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There are many good accommodation options in the town from beachfront hotels to budget friendly hostels and quirky accommodation like Hostal Las Olas.
Hostel Florencia | We stayed at Hostel Florencia. Not quite on the beach but still only a five minute walk it was ideal for a short stay. We booked a double room with a shared bathroom and seemed to get a family room with a double bed and two single beds. Breakfast is included albeit very basic (bread and jam), the showers are hot and they have a laundry service. The price was 110Bob (£13) a night and for that price we would definitely stay again. I think we were the only guests at the time.
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To do
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Visit the Birthplace of The Sun | Isla Del Sol, the Inca say its the birthplace of the sun. It's is a popular day trip or overnighter and it is beautiful. You can get a collective boat ticket from the harbour on the day for 50Bs (£5.90) each return. The official ticket booth is on the corner of the Malecon and the Harbour Jetty. They will drop you off at the north of the island and pick you up at the south. You will arrive at around 11:00 and pick up is 14:30. The walk is definitely worth doing if you can do it in the timeframe. It took us just under three hours with stops. The beaches are stunning and we hardly saw anyone the whole way. It will take most of your time to complete the walk so make sure you are back in time otherwise the boat will leave without you. This might not be a bad thing though as there are many places to stay and restaurants to eat at. If you don’t want to walk the island you can stay on the boat and spend a couple of hours at the south which has many a viewpoint, ruin and restaurant to wonderfully waste the hours.
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Top Tip - Head Anti Clockwise around the island (away from your destination) from the harbour to ensure you get the viewpoints and Inca Ruins at the Southern Tip.
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NEXT STOP
Cochabamba, known as the food capital of Bolivia. Every local we spoke to mentioned how good the food was in Cochabamba and we agree. The city itself is beautiful with parks and plazas to explore and museums and historical buildings to immerse yourself in...