Getting fuel in Bolivia
 

Hello fellow Travellers,
a friend and I are planning to drive with motorcycles from Lake Titicaca over La Paz, Oruro to Uyuni and getting to Chile at Paso Salar de Ollague. We’ve heard from other Travellers and read about the fuel situation in Bolivia. According to https://tuckstruck.net/overland-plan...el-in-bolivia/ it should be possible to get fuel at YPFB-Stations, but their journey to Bolivia seems to have happened in 2016, so that might be old news. On iOverlander we found conflicting information about specific stations so to sum it up, we’ll try to fill up wherever it is possible and try our luck. We’ll also bring jerrycans to extend our range.
Lastly we’ve heard about a strike affecting southwestern Bolivia and gas stations not having fuel at all.

Has anyone been there lately and might be able to give us reliable/up to date information?

Greetings, Richard

Fuel in Colombia
 

Well.....

You can never be sure of anything.
It can happen that there is no fuel left.
But maybe they have in the next village. Or somewhere else
I was riding for three weeks in Bolivia.
And I could always get fuel.
Even if I had to buy in plastic bottles at a mini market in one remote village.
They have reduced price for Bolivians.
They should check the license plate.
So you should pay the normal price, that is higher, but still cheap.
Some fuel station in some large city did not allow motorcycles to enter the gas stations. You had to pick up the fuel with cans. This never happended in teh remote areas that I were in.
Some might give you the reduces price or something between.

=
Tell them that you pay cash
"Pago con Efectivo"
Tell them that you do not wanted/needed any papers.
Be polite and nice and pay what they ask and you will get good service from nice people.

Hi Erik,
thanks for the response. Thats quiet reassuring, we’ll try our luck ☺️

perhaps you are referring to the fact that in Bolivia in this period it is difficult to find petrol even for them? I have information (from a person who lives in Bolivia) from a few days ago that the situation is difficult, it is difficult to find petrol even in authorized distributors, diesel fuel is even more difficult. however I believe that if you are not in a hurry you will be able to find something.

You never know
 

Yes

part of "You can never be sure"
About anything.
Except that things won't go as planned.
But that is part of the travel

This time it is Bolivia


https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/15/w...rales-mas.html

2020 was the Covid.

2 Yeas ago I was stuck in Peru. That had been calm. But a protest (That was close to a civil war) started. And nobody saw it coming.
I was in Julia in January :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juliaca_massacre


1 year ago. In a Ecuador that has always been calm: Criminal gang attacked a prison. To free some leaders and...
=> Fighting between Police and criminals. Police got help from military...
And a lot of restrictions. Getting into Ecuador required papers to prove that you were not criminal. After some confusion, Europeans (and gringos ?) could only get a 10 days transit Visa. Not normal 90 days tourist Visa.

And next ?? Argentina has got a crazy president....

Pictures from Peru

One lesson here is that the way things were a couple of months, years, or decades ago is not necessarily the way it is right now. By all accounts, the situation in Bolivia has deteriorated markedly during the past few months, and fuel has become far more difficult to find in a lot of areas.

This is a change from last year, the year before, or 2010 when I was there...though at the time people said it was difficult to find fuel. I'd suggest attaching dates to all reports that "It isn't so bad," or "You can always find fuel if you search long enough."

Mostly, I feel for residents, many of whom have no realistic choices.

Mark

Yes,
I also suffer with the poor part of the population. Mainly the indigenous population.
Gasoline is not their big problem
I have read Che's diary
And all the injustice and misery he describes unfortunately still exist. 70 years later.
Largely due to the actions of the USA.
That there are big problems is clear to anyone who travels with open eyes and reads their history.

Whether it can be solved. And if so, how, is another question. Without easy answers. That is question outside of this forum.

Thanks for your replies, I wanted to give a quick update: we’ve made it to La Paz and tried to get gasoline yesterday. The state-owned YPFB worked right away (we said that we won’t need a receipt and would pay in cash). We had to pay the higher price for non-residents which is still very reasonable. With our extended fuel-capacity we would now be able to make it to chile without filling up, but since the Chilean side is sparsely populated we will try to fill up before the crossing.
We talked to a couple of locals and asked about the fuel-situation. It seems right now at least gasoline wouldn’t be a problem. Diesel might be problematic (we saw some fuel-stations with trucks standing in line).

Bolivia Detour
 

Now you have your route set.
And are probably on your way.

But maybe some ideas for others.

I entered Bolivia from Argentina.

And I made a detour to the east. It was a fantastic experience.
Not a single tourist. A world that very few have seen.
In Tarjita they said: No tourists come here. And none uses the road over the mountains from La Quiaca.)

At least until I came to Oruro.
From there, I passed La Paz and followed the east side of the Titiacaca lake.
And entered Peru on gravel roads.
(That missed the customs and migration. I found myself inside Peru. With no permissions.
So I had to return to the border and the customs.
Where they were very surprised how I could come from that direction.
But I got my TVIP. The migration was not at the border, but in the first village in Peru)

See attached map

Thanks for the idea. Our route is set but I’m quite sure this won’t be the last time in South America, so I’ll keep it in mind :)

We’re planing to head into Chile relatively direct to pass the Sajama, maybe taking Ruta A 235 and see some geysers. We want to go to Antofagasta to visit the Paranal Observatory (visits are for free, but you have to make an appointment if anyone is interested in going there)