Santa Cruz de la Sierra

Santa Cruz de la Sierra
<map lat="-17.81" lng="-63.15" zoom="10" />
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Information
Country:	Bolivia
Province:	Andrés Ibáñez
Population:	1,453,549
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Santa Cruz de la Sierra is a city in Bolivia.

Hitchhiking out

North towards Trinidad / East towards Brazil

Collectivos 131 and 61 will take you along Avenida Cotoka, which is full of trucks and petrol stations. Ask to confirm, but I believe that the #104 goes all the way to Peaje Guapilo, which is right on the road out of town, and an excellent spot. The road seperates about 10km beyond Pailon.

Otherwise, since it is fairly cheap, a truffi from the Ex-Terminal in the centre will cost 10B, and go direct to Pailon. Get out as it enters the town, 1 hour, and a good idea.

North towards Montero, West towards Cochabamba, Oruro, La Paz

On the first ring road (Primero Anillo) take the green bus (micro verde) going to ViruViru International Airport. Get off when it exits to the the airport. Stay on the main road (F4) leading towards Montero and start hitching right after the bridge in front of you Coordinates: -17.6574, -63.1577 ^{Map Google OSM} . The first toll booth (peaje) is another 4km down the road. Alternatively you can also get off 4km earlier at the last gas station (ES Bioceánico, Coordinates: -17.6918, -63.1589 ^{Map Google OSM} ) on the way out of town that seemed quite frequented by cars and a few trucks when we passed it in the bus. Unlike the local busses (2BS/0,25€), this bus will cost you a little more (6BS/0,75€), but will also bring you well out of central Santa Cruz.

Southwest towards Sucre, Potosí, west towards Samaipata, south toward Villamontes, Paraguay, and Argentina

To get out of central Santa Cruz and to Ruta 7, take any minibus (micro) going to El Torno. Once out of the ring road around the historic centre most routes run along Avenida Grigotá, which is Ruta 7 exiting the city in that direction. If coming from another area of the city, take a micro along the closest of the concentric ring roads and make a transfer there. Get off at the toll booth (peaje) right after La Guardia (2,50BS/0,30€) and start hitching.

If headed south toward Villamontes, Paraguay, and Argentina, you can take the same micro as above but need to get off at the T-junction with Ruta 9, known as Kilómetro 13 (for self-evident reasons). You could hitch there, but most of the traffic passing you goes no farther than the kilometre of exurban neighbourhood that remains down where you're headed. An even more compelling reason is that not quite two kilometres from the junction is a gas station. If there's no gas and you don't want to wait with a truck you find (or can't find one) there's at least one middling speed bump a ways before the gas station that will help you out. Around 25 kilometres down the highway there's a tollbooth, to where Movethathoof got a ride under those circumstances, with no gas for pumping or desire to wait, flagging a pickup off the road there at the speed bump.

Public Transportation

Santa Cruz is laced by a dense network of minibus routes, the vehicles plying them known as 'micros'. They make it very easy to get into or out of the city, since several routes run on almost every spoke and ring road into or around the centre, meaning you need not pass through the centre to skirt the city or to get to the outskirts. The Cruzero website and app offers an impressive level of detail on routes, stops, frequencies, as well as a trip planning function (though don't necessarily place too much faith in the exact accuracy of all of its information).

Places to avoid

Violence is contained in specific barrios, but we aware at night. Central areas are super safe and well policed.

Accommodation and Sleep

Couchsurfing proved a little difficult here, and you can not sleep in the central squares, for that matter, even put your feet up on the benches. The Terminal is safe enough, but closed up at night. Lots of people sleep around there, and there are guards.

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