Guys I was just reading this thread and I was wondering:

-seems a lot of you filled up from gas barrels in small towns. But what kind of gas is there to be found there? I know that you never can be sure but at least are they claiming to be at least 90? And in gas station what octane level can be found?

1) I have never had to fill up out of a gas tank in a town, I believe that is only needed if you go across the salt flats between Chile and Bolivia.

2) Octane varies, but you will not get 90. From what a local has told me it will be about 70-77. And it is leaded. That is just the way it is.

2 Years ago our fuel injected bikes (Aprilia Pegaso Trails) were fine.

This year we have just spent a month in Bolivia on a Rotax powered carbed Funduro. It still works.

Just biy some STP Octane booster at any main gas station and use that.

Main issue is getting served any petrol in 100k radius of La Paz.

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http://www.ytc1.co.uk

yes, the octaan is low in Bolivia and there is a good reason for it. Your bike will do much better on high altitude with lower octaan.
As far as we could find out, the fuel is unleaded everywhere in Bolivia. Afther Bolivia (the octaan isn't that much higher in Peru, Ecuador, Colombia ....) we drove around 30.000 km extra untill Canada and we had NO PROBLEMS AT ALL ! not for the GS 1150, not for the F 650 GS.

It is right, you might get some problems to get fuel, specially in La Paz. So make sure you fill up and take some extra if you go there.
In the rest of the country, we could buy gas for 5 bolivianos or less. Sometimes in cannisters, sometimes immideatly in the bikes.

If I would go there again, I would fix a "fake" bolivian lincenceplate and put this on my bike, just before entering a fuelstation. I think that's far out the easiest way.

And please, go to Bolivia!!!! It was one of the best expierences on our trip!!!

Kiss the ride,
Ils

We where almost 4 weeks in Bolivia and we never had to buy from barrels. But we did take a extra cannister with us. (good for at least 450 km)

Hi,

I prefered to bay from barrels as they offered me a better price. Otherwise take cannisters with you and walk to the station to fill up. Cannisters are not foreign vehicles.

Adventure Motorbike trip around Southamerica: Chile and Argentina part 1

Tobi

Hey guyz! What is the current state of affairs on this.

I am entering Bolivia tomorrow and I have just learned about this issue.

Cheer!

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Alaska 2014: Hotel Budget ZeroXmas in Death Valley, New Year in Urique

There is no universal state of affairs. Every station is different and every station has different staff who do different things depending on what day it is.
Use the filters on iOverlander to just display the fuel stations and read the recent checkins on a selection of stations along your route.

Even if you are caught out and have to pay foreigner price, it is very little different to what you have to pay in many home countries. No big deal, especially on a bike.

Maximum I paid four months ago was 6.5BOL and that was only because the attendant refused to serve me because there was a policeman on duty to stop selling cheap to foreigners. So I offered 6 Bol to the policeman and his counter offer was 6.5 BOL which was fine. Filled the tank on the F350 plus a couple of 20 litre cans as well. I don't feel bad about trying to get as close to the local price as possible (and mostly succeeding) simply because the stations that refuse to supply at lower than foreign price very rarely give you a receipt for the full amount so they just pocket the extra - so I insist on getting my share of that ripoff. The attendants who pump for local price always get a tip up to around 5 BOL per litre which is fair since they probably run a slight risk because of the cameras everywhere.

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Tony
Click here for Travel Photos & Travel Map

Agree with Tony
The fuel price is still low even if You have to pay an triple price and then compare to Your home price. I drove through Bolivia in July and in La Paz I was able to pay local price but they needed to enter a lot of personal info incl. passport number into their 15 years old PC. In Oruro I refused to pay higher prices than displayed and paid local price too, as I wasn't aware the double pricing system yet, they were a bit angry but ...
The main issue in some places is that a huge number of gas stations have been converted to LPG system only especially in big cities.
Octane number is extremely low, less than 80 but on the high altitude I felt that my 650GS got a new life with extremely fuel consumption level
ziggy

I rode the length of Bolivia in 2013 from south to north. Including back tracking from La Paz to Surce, Salar de Uyuni, La Paz, then Peru... I only recall getting the local price once in a small town late at night.

Paying about the same or slightly more than you do at home is the price of adventure. Same goes for Brazil, where the fuel prices are high and the octane levels are low. In Bolivia, the pain in the ass part is station attendants that will wave you off as they don't want to fill out the secondary receipt and make the extra fee calculation. And then there are the gas stations that truly are out of gas. I paid the extra fee a time or two and the attendant refused a give me receipt. Fill up early and often. In Uyuni, the gas station was out of fuel and a long line appeared the next day after the tank truck showed up. It was refreshing to enter Peru where the gas station attendants are happy for your business.

I have a love hate relationship with Bolivia. It is an overwhelming beautiful and brutal country. One day I will ride her again.

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Peter B
2008/09 - NJ to Costa Rica and back to NJ
2012/13 - NJ to Northern Argentina, Jamaica, Cuba and back to NJ
2023 - Peru, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia...back to Peru.

Blogs: Peter's Ride

Our first trip in late 2014 was pre-ioverlander and getting fuel at any price was a real trial, especially when we needed 100 litres at a time. Quite normal to get waved away at 5 stations in a row and threatening to sit in their driveway until they gave us fuel at any price didn't help at all. Still never paid Full price though although close to it and never a receipt for more than the local price.
Last time (this year), having a long list of places marked on the map that had provided fuel previously to foreigners and at what price and under what conditions made things infinitely more comfortable. Being able to cherry-pick the fuel stations meant that we were never refused and only a couple of times had to resort to filling jerry cans.

As Peter said, fill up early and often

Location of stations visited by overlanders in the last 6 months. There would be many more if the time range was extended to 2 years, but these are all pretty fresh. Some will be at international price, but majority will be at or close to local price

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Tony
Click here for Travel Photos & Travel Map

Hello guyz,

We entered the country on saturday in Copacabana. We filled up (bike and canister) just before leaving Peru and we couldnt get Bobs from the atms in town so we rode to the Cordillera Real and we camped there. (Amazing place!) We spent the day in the mountains and arrived in La Paz at around 3pm. It was Sunday and most gas stations were closed and the few that were open were out of fuel.

Entering La Paz on a Sunday was surreal! Almost no cars on the road, 98% of businesses were closed and the streets had been taken over by pedestrians. Even the beautiful tow lane highway into town had become a soccer field, a pic-nic spot, walking grounds, kids on tricycles in the middle of the highway, food markets, street food, on the highway!. Our first time here and our eyes could not believe it.

Now we know this is typical Sunday for them.(Edit: it was election day)

Got some effectivo from BCP atm and got a hostel.


Today I just went to get gas in La Paz. The attendant made me get in line a second time because I had come the wrong way on the one way street. (For 20ft) anyway after waiting a second time, she looks at my back plate and she asked us where we are from.

"somos de Canada" with a big smile

She replies, "disculpe, no puedo vender gasolina"

With the knowledge picked up in this thread, I respond "puedo pagar un poco mas, tengo effectivo y no necessito factura"

Then she filled me up (63 Bob) I gave her a 100, she gave me 20 back and we were done.

I love HH

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Alaska 2014: Hotel Budget ZeroXmas in Death Valley, New Year in Urique

welcome to Bolivia, I can see you have learned something on your way down from Canada. If you ride the Ruta del Che and you come to Samaipata, let me invite you for a .

Saludos mika

The going rate for tipping a nice attendant is to pay 5 Bob per litre and they keep whatever is over. Same deal if you get a taxi driver to go and get some fuel - 100 Bob for a 20 litre can, he pays local price and keeps the change to pay the fare and a tip.
I'm extremely averse to tipping and have been chased out of the USA several times, but in Bolivia, I'm happy to pay

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Tony
Click here for Travel Photos & Travel Map

After a week in Bolivia:

Filled up in Caraniva, paid local price and attendant refused tip
Filled up on the F3 near Death Road, charged us 5bob/lit and rounded up to nearest liter.
Filled up in Quime and paid local price(3.99)
Pazña on way to Uyuni paid 7bob


So far getting gas has been a lot simpler than getting wifi or a good bed.

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Alaska 2014: Hotel Budget ZeroXmas in Death Valley, New Year in Urique

I was riding in Bolivia 2 times last year. As mentioned by Tony Lee there is nothing firm to this. Sometimes I paid local price, sometimes I paid «Gringo» price, sometimes I paid in between those prices. Sometimes I was even denied to buy fuel at all, not so often though. And one time I really needed fuel as I was going from Cochabamba to La Paz (400 kms) and I was denied to buy fuel at 3 stations in a row I god a bit irritated and let it shine through - and suddenly they let me buy fuel nevertheless! And for local price too!

A good advice is to carry a jerrycan, you can then park your vehicle out of camera reach and walk into the station and in most cases they will fill up the jerrycan for local price.

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In the end everything will be fine. If its not fine its not the end....