La Paz is generally regarded as a safe destination, especially when compared to other Latin American cities. Visitors consistently mention feeling comfortable walking around, and the locals are described as friendly, although sometimes reserved. Affordability is another strong point — while pricing can occasionally be inconsistent, overall costs for food, lodging, and transportation are low when compared globally. Digital nomads may find the city appealing; while internet speeds vary, some accommodations, particularly coworking hostels like Selina, provide reliable connections (20+ Mbps reported by some users).
The atmosphere of the city is somewhat polarizing. It’s described as messy and unorganized, and the urban aesthetic might not appeal to everyone. However, the surrounding natural landscape is stunning, with easy access to destinations like Death Road, Moon Valley, and Uyuni. La Paz’s high altitude cityscape may take getting used to, but once acclimated, it becomes a great hub for exploring Bolivia. The city’s climate is consistently cold throughout the year, including indoor environments, so packing warm clothing is essential. While the expat and digital nomad scenes are limited, socializing is still possible — especially via hostels and nightlife spots.
AI-generated summary of reviews
I stayed one month (28 male) in La Paz and during this time I worked in Selina Cowork. No problem with INTERNET, both at home and Selina I've had at least 20 mb/s on WiFi connection. I felt very SAFE compared to other latam countries, the city is very calm and also CHEAP. Bolivians from La Paz are very nice people, a bit more reserved but I was able to make friends anyway. There are no big expats groups / digital nomads, however there are some hostels where one can go for a party and meet some international people.
Although the city is pretty small (less than 1 million) it's a good point to see Bolivia and area, it has great culture to explore there are comfortable buses going to Uyuni and other places in Bolivia, so it's a good point to see other parts of Bolivia. Especially that staying in the city gets one accustomed to the altitude. It's both amazing city and the country and makes for a memorable stay.
1 year ago
La Paz and Bolivia in general is a very interesting place to visit!
The city is fairly cold all year around, and so is the hotels and restaurants… basically make sure to bring warm clothes.
The city is messy, ugly and unorganized, but the city have a character! The surroundings of the nature and environment around is amazing, beautiful mountains and such.
When getting a SIM card it is 3G and LTE.
I never found Wi-Fi reaching 10 Mbps (At the Selina Hostel where I stayed).
Prices here doesn’t make sense. You basically never know if a bottle of 0,5 water is going to cost you 30 cent or 3 USD. I’ve eaten a burger that cost as much as 5 courses fine dining meal. And so on.
I always felt very safe in this city. There is a lot of poverty, but I didn’t find them as aggressive as in example Rio de Janeiro.
There is plenty of things to do here:
Death road cycling, Moon Valley, Weekend trip to Uyuni, and also going out in this city (They have a similar drinking culture as the UK when the brits go on vacation to Spain)
2 years ago