If you're going straight from the airport to Copacabana, a few things to keep in mind:
- The only way to Copacabana is by land and it's a four-hour trip (five hours these days since they are doing road work on the highway). Buses leave from 4 am till 6:30 pm at night, depending on availability. For the most part, you can count on buses leaving till 6:30 pm but this can vary depending on demand, holidays and the mood of bus drivers.
- If you're landing at the airport, you have arrived in the city of El Alto (even though your ticket might say La Paz). With this in mind, the quickest way to Copacabana is to go straight to the bus terminal in El Alto (instructions on doing this below). However, if your flight comes in late (and you can't make it to the bus terminal before 6:30 pm), you'll need to spend the night at a hotel. El Alto (where both the airport and closest bus terminal are located) is not very appealing and can be intimidating, not to mention the crime factor. You may be better off spending the night at a hotel in La Paz. Click here for instructions on Taking a Cab from the Airport into La Paz. With this scenario in mind, the next morning you'd want to head to one of the two possible La Paz bus stops for Copacabana. If this is the case, please click on From La Paz to Copacabana for instructions on continuing your trip.
COPACABANA BUS STOP IN EL ALTO (Heading to Copacabana direct from the airport)
The bus terminal in El Alto has buses running to Copacabana till 6:30 pm. And since the airport is in El Alto, it’s not going to take you that long to get there. If you decide to go this route, take a cab from the airport! The driver shouldn't charge you more than 35 bolivianos (around 5 dollars though he may wait to fill up the cab with another passenger or two.) Tell the driver, La nueva terminal de buses en El Alto. (This bus terminal is brand new. In fact, buses to Copacabana left from a different stop just a few months ago and many taxi drivers aren't up to date. I promise you, this is the only way to get to Copacabana from El Alto, in spite of what any misinformed taxi driver might say to the contrary.)
Once the taxi driver drops you off in the parking lot, start walking around until you hear someone shouting "Copacabana." There will be lots of ticket sellers with clipboards shouting out their destinations. If you can't find the right person immediately, it wouldn't hurt to ask. (This bus terminal is brand new and while some signs have been put up, they don't necessarily correspond with the correct bus stops. It seems the administrative work hasn't quite panned out yet. So just ask around, saying "Copacabana?" and you'll get pointed in the right direction.
The advantage of getting on the bus in El Alto is that you’ll slice two hours off your trip to Copacabana. If you get on the bus in La Paz, you’re kind of going in circles (an hour to get to La Paz, another hour to get back to El Alto).
Sometimes you'll get on a big green or blue bus, other times you'll wind up taking a van. My preference is the vans (called "minibuses") but you don't really get to choose. Depends on what time you arrive (and there doesn't seem to be any logic to the schedule, at least none that I have deduced thus far). All the buses and vans arrive at exactly the same spot and you hop on the one that gets there first.
The bus terminal in El Alto has buses running to Copacabana till 6:30 pm. And since the airport is in El Alto, it’s not going to take you that long to get there. If you decide to go this route, take a cab from the airport! The driver shouldn't charge you more than 35 bolivianos (around 5 dollars though he may wait to fill up the cab with another passenger or two.) Tell the driver, La nueva terminal de buses en El Alto. (This bus terminal is brand new. In fact, buses to Copacabana left from a different stop just a few months ago and many taxi drivers aren't up to date. I promise you, this is the only way to get to Copacabana from El Alto, in spite of what any misinformed taxi driver might say to the contrary.)
Once the taxi driver drops you off in the parking lot, start walking around until you hear someone shouting "Copacabana." There will be lots of ticket sellers with clipboards shouting out their destinations. If you can't find the right person immediately, it wouldn't hurt to ask. (This bus terminal is brand new and while some signs have been put up, they don't necessarily correspond with the correct bus stops. It seems the administrative work hasn't quite panned out yet. So just ask around, saying "Copacabana?" and you'll get pointed in the right direction.
The advantage of getting on the bus in El Alto is that you’ll slice two hours off your trip to Copacabana. If you get on the bus in La Paz, you’re kind of going in circles (an hour to get to La Paz, another hour to get back to El Alto).
Sometimes you'll get on a big green or blue bus, other times you'll wind up taking a van. My preference is the vans (called "minibuses") but you don't really get to choose. Depends on what time you arrive (and there doesn't seem to be any logic to the schedule, at least none that I have deduced thus far). All the buses and vans arrive at exactly the same spot and you hop on the one that gets there first.
IMPORTANT INFO ABOUT THE TRIP TO COPACABANA:
Once you have boarded a bus or van to Copacabana, about three or four hours into the journey, the road ends and you have to hop on a boat. All of sudden, the vehicle will come to an abrupt stop and you'll notice that you're looking at a big body of water instead of a road and the driver may likely say something unintelligible and may repeat this until everyone gets off the bus.
Get off the bus, and take a good look at the vehicle you just got off of because you're going to have to find it again on the other side of the lake. Now head to the right, and you'll see a small ticket office not far in the distance. There pay two bolivianos (around a quarter, U.S.) and then follow the pier toward the motorboat. If this sounds like too much work, you can pretty much just follow everyone else. (When in doubt, act like a sheep.) Meanwhile, your bus or van will get on its own large, vehicle-sized boat. Your bus or van will meet you on the other side of the lake for you to continue your journey.
Since you're going to be getting off your bus or van, your luggage may be a source of concern. The best thing to do is plan for this ahead of time. You don't want to take anything with you on the motorboats other than a wallet, purse or laptop (basically lightweight valuables). You should check all of your other luggage ahead of time so that no one snags your backpack off of your seat while you're crossing the lake. However, to be perfectly honest, I've left stuff on the bus in the overhead bins and always found it waiting for me when I got back.
You'll disembark on a small plaza and the bus will pick you up kitty-corner from there. Again, it might just be easier following the people who seem to know where they're headed.