Villazon

Introduction

Villazon is a border town in Bolivia, just across from La Quiaca in Argentina.

Getting There

By Train

The train station in Villazón is about 30 minutes walking from the border uphill (only slight gradient but in heat and rare atmosphere can be a struggle) or 4 argintinian pesos by taxi from the border (frontier). You can take a train to Tupiza, Uyuni and further on. Trains leave 4 times per week. The train to Oruro takes 16 hours and in Ejectivo class (best) costs 233 bolivas per person. There is a 1 hour less difference between La Quiaca and Vilazon which you should be carfull of when going to the station and the departure time of the train for Oruro.

By Bus

The busterminal in Villazon is 10 Minutes from the Border. There are bus connections to Tupiza, Tarija, Potosí and directly to La Paz.

Eat

There are hearty and cheap menus available upstairs at the municipal market, from about 8bs. Around the bus terminal, there is an abundance of reasonably priced eateries. For better food you have to head to La Quiaca.

Sleep

There is an abundance of cheap hostels between the bus terminal and the railway station, so accommodation will not be a problem.

Keep Connected

Internet

There are internet cafés practically everywhere, they typically cost about 3Bs/hour, or about $0.50 per hour. Wifi is not as common as in many other Latin American countries, but more and more places offer it now, either free (sometimes for a limited amount of time) or at a cost. Avoid using your cellphone (with your home SIM card) when there is no wifi, as that's extremely expensive.

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

The country calling code to Bolivia is: 591. To make an international call from Bolivia, the code is: 0010. Emergency numbers include 110 (police), 118 (ambulance) and 119 (fire). Note that 911 forwards to the police (110).

Bolivia has three cellphone companies, Entel, Tigo, and Viva. If you are staying for a while, consider buying SIM cards for your cellphone. They are quite cheap and you get good network coverage in all main cities and towns. Entel sells good-priced international call possibilities for their SIMs. For example, you can buy 10 minutes for Bs20 (to be used in one day, disconnects automatically after expiration). You will need to register the SIM card at a local office of the telecom. You will need a photocopy of your passport and the mobile phone that you will use.

Practically every single town in Bolivia has an Entel office (almost always located in the main plaza). From here, you can make local, long-distance, and international calls. It's actually much more economical to make your international calls from an Entel office than to use an international calling card. To make local calls from a public phone, you need a phone card. You can buy them at any Entel office or any kiosk on the street. The average local call costs about Bs2 for 3 minutes.

Post

Correos Bolivia is the national postal service of the country. It offers a wide range of services at very reasonable prices. Services, speed and reliability are not up to the level it should be though and it can take several weeks for a simple card to arrive in Europe or North America. Most post offices in Bolivia are open Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 8:00pm, Saturday from 8:30am to 6:00pm, and Sunday from 9:00am to noon. It costs Bs5 to mail a letter to the United States, Bs7 to Australia, and Bs6 to Europe. From time to time, you can buy stamps at kiosks and newspaper stands. There are no public mailboxes, so you'll have to mail your letter from the post office. If you want to send packages overseas it's best to use an international courier company like DHL, TNT, FedEx or UPS, as they offer fast and reliable services at competitive prices.

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