10-DAY BOLIVIA MOTORCYCLE TOUR

Bolivia is the tour in our catalog where the word "otherworldly" stops being an exaggeration. The scenery is spectacular and at times genuinely moon-like — nowhere more so than on the world's largest salt flats near Uyuni, a blinding white horizon we ride across on our way past Isla Incahuasi, an island studded with ancient cacti, some of them more than 500 years old. Our route is built as a climb: we start in the low eastern plains around Santa Cruz and work our way up the highest Andean peaks until we are riding the Altiplano itself, finishing in La Paz at an elevation exceeding 3,600 meters (nearly 12,000 feet) — the highest-located capital city in the world.

Because this is a one-way expedition rather than a loop, no kilometer is repeated. Ten days carry the group from the sub-tropical lowlands of the Santa Cruz department, along "La Ruta del Che" to the remote village of La Higuera, through the white colonial streets of Sucre, up to the silver city of Potosi at over 4,000 meters, across the salt flats at Uyuni, and north over the vast Altiplano to La Paz. Along the way the wildlife changes with the altitude — llamas, alpacas and the elusive vicuña, native to this region, appear beside the road as the terrain climbs.

And then there is the ride Bolivia is famous for: the "Death Road". Riding the famous descent east out of La Paz is optional on this tour — for those who want it, a 1-day/night Death Road extension (+$799) adds the exhilarating drop down to the sub-tropical village of Yolosa, with the return via the "new" highway. Riders on a tighter schedule can also take it as a day trip on the final day before departure. Either way, it is your choice, not an obligation — the tour stands on its own without it.

We publish a terrain profile for every tour so you can match the route to your skills before you book. Bolivia rates 30% off-road, 60% comfort and 100% fun — in plain words, this is a genuine adventure tour for riders who can handle a little bit of every type of terrain. We ride both paved and unpaved roads and everything in between. If road-focused tours like Greece, Thailand and Oman stay around 95% on pavement, Bolivia sits firmly in adventure territory: not the expert-only dirt of Namibia, but a route where gravel, dirt roads and altitude are part of the plan, not a surprise.

The rhythm of the route tells you what to expect. Day two, "La Ruta del Che", covers 265 km (165 mi) from El Torno through scenic curves and awe-inspiring landscapes toward Vallegrande — and as the day progresses we leave the pavement behind, navigating a dirt road to the remote village of La Higuera. Day three runs 282 km (175 mi) of back roads from La Higuera to Sucre, crossing from the Santa Cruz to the Chuquisaca department. Then the climbing starts in earnest: from Sucre at 2,750 meters (9,000 feet) we make a gradual ascent to Potosi, towering at over 4,000 meters (13,000 feet). From Potosi we descend toward Uyuni, an old railroad town beside the world's largest salt flats — the moment you catch your first glimpse of that infinite white expanse is one of the images riders take home. The salt-flats riding itself is like nothing else in motorcycling: a surface so vast and flat it feels like riding on the moon, with lunch on Cactus Island and a hotel at the salt flats' edge offering a front-row seat for a stunning sunset. The final riding days head north from Colchani to Oruro on well-maintained roads with captivating scenery, then finish with a leisurely run across the great Altiplano into La Paz.

Crucially, the itinerary builds in recovery at altitude: day five is a full rest day in Potosi, with mine and mint tours instead of saddle time. And you are never alone out there — a professional multilingual tour leader rides with the group, a local guide and support vehicle travel alongside the entire way, and fuel and road tolls are covered. Nine nights of accommodation, all breakfasts and a pre-tour preparation guide and briefing round out the 60% comfort score: this is an adventure, but a supported one.

Bolivia packs more history per kilometer than almost any route we run, and the itinerary builds the stops in. These are the cultural anchors of the tour:

• La Higuera and "La Ruta del Che" (day 2). The dirt road ends at the remote village where the revolutionary figure "El Che" Guevara was executed — the schoolhouse is one of the tour's headline highlights. We stay at Casa del Telegrafista, a rustic yet cozy setting that preserves the legacy of the event.
• Villa Serrano and Sucre (day 3). En route we pass through the charming town of Villa Serrano, famed for hosting the world's largest charango. The day ends in Sucre, Bolivia's judicial capital — "La Ciudad Blanca" — with its pristine old city center of 17th and 18th-century churches and mansions.
• Potosi (days 4–5). The silver city's architectural wonders are recognized by UNESCO, all of it overshadowed by El Cerro Rico, the monumental dome housing the world's most valuable silver mines. On the rest day we don miner's gear and enter the Silver mountain through one of the many old mile-long mining tunnels, and visit the Casa de la Moneda for the story of the city's monetary history.
• Uyuni and the salt flats (days 6 and onward). First the train cemetery near Uyuni, a fascinating relic of Bolivia's railroad past, then the flats themselves — Isla Incahuasi, the ancient cacti, and a night at a hotel on the salt flats' edge with a sunset and gourmet dining to match.
• The Altiplano and its wildlife (days 8–9). The northward leg from Colchani to Oruro is a wildlife corridor of llamas, alpacas and vicuñas, followed by the vast emptiness of the Altiplano on the final ride into La Paz.
• La Paz (days 9–10). The world's highest capital city closes the tour with time to explore its marvels and a farewell meal — or, for those extending, the Death Road descent to Yolosa.

Group activities and entry fees for these stops are included in the tour price, so there is no ticket-counter arithmetic along the way — when the group walks into the silver mine, everyone walks in.

The motorcycles. The base bike is the Kawasaki KLR650, included in the tour price — a proven workhorse for exactly this mix of pavement, gravel and altitude. Prefer something more modern? The Yamaha Tenere 700 upgrade is available for +$499. All bikes are professionally maintained, and a motorcycle damage and theft liability reduction insurance plus mandatory third-party liability insurance are already included. A refundable security deposit on your credit card is required to take the bike out, sized according to the rental bike you choose.

The group. We keep Bolivia deliberately small: minimum 6 riders, maximum 10, led by a certified multilingual tour leader with a local guide and support vehicle alongside. Riding two-up? The Add Pillion/Passenger option (+$2,999) covers your co-rider. Accommodation is in shared rooms by default, with a single-room upgrade available for +$799.

What the price covers. The tour starts at $5,499 per rider on the Kawasaki KLR650 in a shared room. That includes 9 nights of accommodation, all breakfasts, fuel and road tolls, group activities and entry fees, airport transfers from Santa Cruz (VVI) on arrival and to La Paz (LPB) on departure on the official days — remember, this is a one-way tour — a pre-tour preparation guide and briefing, a MotoDreamer apparel gift, up to 25% discount on riding gear from our partners Klim, Giant Loop and Mosko Moto, and all taxes. Airfare, lunches, dinners and drinks, personal paperwork, permits and visas, tips, and travel insurance are not included — for travel and evacuation cover with cancellation protection we point riders to Global Rescue.

Booking and payment. Hit Book Now, pick your date and pay the deposit; we accept bank transfer, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, PayPal and Bitcoin, and you can split the balance into monthly payments with no interest. Booking as a group is rewarded: when 5 riders pay, rider number 6 travels free (valid on the base tour price). Every booking is backed by our price match and departure guarantees. The next scheduled departure is March 1 to 10, 2027, and private or customized group dates are available on request.

Who can join. You need to be 20 or older with at least one year of experience on a 500cc-or-bigger motorcycle, hold a valid driver's license with motorcycle endorsement, and carry a passport with at least six months' validity at tour start. Add a willingness to ride a little bit of everything — pavement, dirt and altitude — and that is the whole bar.

Seventeen-plus years of operating tours and more than 4,000 riders have shaped how we run Bolivia. From the low plains of Santa Cruz to the salt of Uyuni and the heights of La Paz, this is the route we point to when a rider asks us where the word "adventure" still means something.