rharrisuk

Prior to my stay in Rio for the Carnival in the New Year I'm going to be travelling with a friend to La Paz.

Any recommendations on where to stay? Are there any clubs/bars in the city - I've not been able to uncover much about the gay scene in Bolivia.

Thanks for any help!

anonplz

I think one must be rather cautious in South America, Bolivia especially. The US State Department has an interesting profile of the dangers of travel there. Also, get a copy of the Spartacus - that's usually pretty good at giving you an idea of what to expect.

rharrisuk

Thanks for the reply.

I've actually bought Spartacus and Lonely Planet guide to Bolivia. Both don't seem to indicate an active gay scene.

It's not a major problem as I'm not going there for the scene - but it would be interesting if anyone has any local knowledge.

Thanks again.

Richard

alanw

A good friend spent a winter there training for a cycle race a couple of years ago. He was quite sure he was the only gay person in the country. Most of his time he spent in bed with the runs. His take was that it's an interesting place to look at, but there isn't much to do.

I got a couple of beautiful alpaca sweaters out of it though

-alan in seattle

ILuvParis

My first reaction to your posting was, "Why?" I avoided responding to this, waiting to see what kind of response you would get. To be honest, Bolivia is probably the only country I have visited to which I have no desire to return. There is not much of anything there other than the spectacular view of La Paz from the Altiplano - looking down onto the city from above.

If you want to see some of the Andean life, I would go either to Peru or Ecuador, both beautiful and fascintating.

------------------
Jeff

rharrisuk

Thanks for your replies.

Well my trip to La Paz is only for a few days to get over the jet lag before the real fun starts in Rio :-) (Also the reward on Varig required no extra miles to fly on to La Paz)

Sounds like we'll just stick to the main tourist sights.

Cheers

Richard

grumpymonkey

I was there with a gay tour group last spring. There are no gay bars/clubs in La Paz.

None.

And believe me, I was looking.

barpaza

Hi there! There are actually a few places to go there. There are two small gay clubs in La Paz. They are not very good, but night life in La Paz is intense and you will be able to go to any bar (good bar) and find people of any sexual orientation
I am half Bolivian only by birth, but fully European by blood and I can tell you that La Paz is one of the most amazing and wonderful places I have ever seen in my life
Also, there is a very strong electronic scene in la Paz. Most of my own friends are the ones in charged of all these events.
I know I might be way late for an advice to you, but if you know anybody that is going to Bolivia and would like to have some info; hey I am here to help.

barpaza

It is so funny you say that because Bolivia is actually very safe. I have seen more things going on in Washington DC than in La Paz.
The US Government has the bad habit of inflicting fear to anything that is stranger to them as well as to cultures and countries they do not wish to explore.
La Paz is a fun place. People are nice and with very little money you can have a ton of fun
I have seen many many people from all over the world, going to La Paz for a few says and staying for years..

barpaza

Richard,
Being gay is not a problem in Bolivia. You can go to a bar and find people to hangout with any day of the week.
I think you will be very happy there. If you have any questions please ask me

barpaza

I do not recommend the gay clubs in La Paz. I know that there is a good one in Santa Cruz, but not in La Paz.
Most of the nice gay community goes to regular bars.
The best thing to do in la Paz, is to go to one of the nice bars that you can find in Sopocachi or Calacoto and old downtown.
Sopocachi is more for the tourists not in price, but I do recommend; Calacoto is more for the white Bolivian preppy crowd.
The Ram Jam is a great place to have fun. The owners are Jill and .... (Kique) they are very good friends of mine and the place if FUN
You also have Mongo’s that is only four blocks away from Ram Jam.
To chill early in the night there is The Lounge; right next to Ram Jam.
There is also Hard Rock Café and Traffic, they both offer food and fun.
There are many other places where you can find live music, jazz, rock and also some Real Rave parties in the mountains.
Great restaurants where you can buy a first-class meal for about 20 Dollars; places such as La Suisse in Calacoto or any of the five stars hotels that have very nice restaurants.
I suggest having Book and my favorite beer in Bolivia HUARI made from underground water. A very refreshing Pilsner
If anybody had any questions PLEASE CONTAC ME.
[email protected]

barpaza

barpaza

That is soooo not true

rickinlb

Nobody has written in here for a while, but I'm going to Bolivia in July 2009 and would appreciate ANY info that there is out there, hotels, nightlife, anything at all.

jmc123

We have friends who are in Bolivia working for the US gov't and invited us to stay with them in March / April. We wouldn't visit Bolivia but for the fact that we have friends there staying in a very nice house with full staff on hand. From everything I read about Bolivia, sounds like it would be a somewhat rough experience for someone who likes to travel in 1st world countries and enjoys 2nd world countries that aren't really like 2nd world countries (like Argentina). For example, last year we went to China, and I'm not looking to go back again any time soon. I also don't do well on long road trips (motion sickness). Any compelling reasons why we should go to Bolivia? From the FT posts, doesn't seem like it... Anyone have any recent experiences to share with the community here?