Garry hit it right, gas is everywhere and far easier away from big centers, distance is not the issue, service is.

The only place to tank up would be from Uyuni to SPDA.

Cheers Andi

__________________
Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Its not clear to me if you are being sarcastic or not, but I'm thinking not. I am not sure what Bolivian are thinking or how they process history into moment to moment interaction. If some foreigners are cheaters, liars general scumbags, wouldn't you expect those on the receiving end to hold some resentment? Projecting? I don't think so. And no ill will from me. I salute the indigenous Bolivians people for taking political power.

You might want to read up a bit about President Evo Morales. If get a chance, watch the movie Cocalero (2007) which documents Morales' campaign to the presidency. Its available on Netflix. There is a segment filmed in Santa Cruz, where there are more people with European heritage. The hostility expressed by the old guard toward the indigenous reminded me of the racial tensions in US circa 1960's. Some will argue things haven't improve much, but I digress. There is clear evidence of hostility between the classes within Bolivia. That some hostility would pour over onto tourists, well, its not too surprising.

To be clear, I said, "...not all Bolivians like tourists." In my experience some do, some don't. If you spent months months in Bolivia and never felt even a drop of tension from any of the locals, then you are either blessed and very lucky or oblivious. Sorry, I don't mean to be harsh, its just inconceivable to me that you did not experience what many others have. You were never turned away from a gas station without your gut tell you they just didn't want to service you? It happened to me enough times to draw an intuition based conclusion. Why bother ranting on about this? To prepare travelers and suggest they be understanding. Lead with a smile and take what comes.

On the flip side, I experienced Bolivians that were friendly, helpful and very generous. Its an amazing country, raw, breath taking and changing radically on many levels. I look forward to returning there one day.

__________________
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

It's a new law, passed recently. I have a copy of it on my iPhone. Basically, foreigners have to pay a much higher rate for gas, and most gas stations either don't want to deal with it, or don't have the equipment (computer codes) to deal with it.

It's frustrating to be turned away before you even pull up to the pump, but gas stations around larger towns are usually accommodating.

Good luck!!

Hi Groschi
we've used one fuel station in Tupiza in the south and one in Sucre. Prices for gasoline are 3.5 Bolivians for locals and 8.5 for foreigners. In Tupiza I asked for a 'Sin Boleto' price and no joy he just grinned at me but in Sucre the lady gave me a price of 7 Bobs instead of 8.5. Diesel is a shade cheaper.
Hope that helps.

__________________
If you think you can, or you think you can't, you're probably right

I´ve been living here for 8 years now, so I guess I know what I am talking about.
Usually Bolivians are very willing to help you BUT they are bound by silly laws and every fuel-station has a bunch of cameras, so they are (rightly so) afraid for their job. Yes they might lie about it, usually because the customers insists. To avoid a discussion he/she will simply say there is no fuel. (Which by the way can also be true as supply is random)

Gasoline is a major substance in the production of cocaine. In the governments fight against cocaine, this makes it a controled substance.
Very annoying, but that is simply the way it is.

Luckily you can buy gasoline just about anywhere. Just ask. Most small villages have a guy that sells it for 5 or 6 Bs.

Fuel-stations can often NOT sell fuel to a vehicle with a foreign license-plate simply because they do not have the permit to do so. They need a permit and special invoices (facturas).
Most systems are semi-automatic and need a license-plate, a ID-number and a name to get the pump going.
Here the only option is to bring a jerrycan and fill that.

At fuel-stations that do have those permits and invoices you pay about 9 Bs. (That is the official price for foreigners), so it is best (cheapest) to avoid those and find the guy who sells from the barrel. This is often cleaner as well.

When in doubt, simply ask. Yes there are ass-holes in Bolivia, but they are in every country. Don´t mistake ignorance, uneducated and scarred for their job for ass-holes. They are not. They are simply not as sophisticated as you because they only had 2 years of school.

I do motorcycle-tours in entire Bolivia (for years) and in my humble opinion people who have bad experiences only have themselves to blame. Change you attitude and your approach and wonders will happen. Even with police and fuel-stations.

I hope this helps you to understand this country a bit better.

__________________
maartensworld.com
beyond-anywhere.com

Ok all, many thanks for your help. We are now out of Bolivia and into Peru. This is what we found in the last 3 and a half weeks travelling through on the route Villazon, Tupiza, Sucre, Cochabamba, La Paz, Copacabana. The locals rate is 3.5 Bobs and the tourist rate is 8.5 bobs. At some stations they didn't serve us but then 200 metres down the road they did. Once we paid the locals rate, twice we paid the full rate and once we got a discount (Copacabana) to 7.5 bobs. Always ask for 'Sin Boleto' and see what they say. It just an impression but it seemed as if the mainstream service stations like YPFB (an offshoot of the Argentine main petrol company YPF perhaps?) were the strictest and the 'rougher' looking stations less strict. There is also fuel widely available from little shops at the sides of the road from drums (although we had no need to use them). The fuel we got does not have it's rating showing but I think it was 84 Octane. Other than the fuel we got in Sucre which caused our bike to not want to start for about 10 turnovers of the engine we had no problems with any of the fuel we bought.
A general comment if it's helpful - in our brief experience we found the Bolivians notably different from the Argentinians and the Peruvians. They are more reserved and quite traditional it seemed to us. That doesn't mean less friendly, far from it, very polite and helpful but more reserved, less 'smiley' and somewhat shyer and less likely to openly look at you and the bike or come up and chat to you. However, on a 4WD tour we went on our Bolivian driver and cook once we got to know them over a few days were as chatty and friendly with us as anyone in South America. The roads are mixed, the scenery is stunning. There are very few places out on the road to pull over and get food (e.g. cafes) just plenty of small stalls selling fizzy drinks like Coke. Grab some bread, make up some rolls for your lunch and find a scenic lunch spot! Bolivia, not to be missed! (& that's from someone who had a dodgy tummy there for 3 weeks so it must be good)

__________________
If you think you can, or you think you can't, you're probably right

Sorry I meant to say before closing off re fuel - we are on a BMW R1200 GSA which is fuel injected, no carbs.
Also, if you are considering riding into La Paz be prepared for extremely congested and fume choked riding down very steep hills into the city from El Alto above and then of course reversing that and coming up hill on the way out. Riding into La Paz is not for the faint hearted, it's challenging. We paid a taxi driver 30 bobs to lead us back out because we got thoroughly lost - but that's just us!

__________________
If you think you can, or you think you can't, you're probably right

having the same experience as pip and mouses: people are a little bit more reserved but definitely friendly all the time. you need to know them better (was on a tour too) to be chatty and start joking, but not cold people at all, love bolivia so far.

also, starting to chat a little yourself at service stations helps to drop the price (some even wanted 9 BOB / litre), just complain about it in a friendly way, it might help (or drive to the next one). noone refused to serve me so far.

the fuel is very bad though, best to have some leftovers from other countries (arg/peru) to mix it like 1/2 when entering (e.g., get some infinia in argentina before heading into bolivia). highly doubt that stuff is anything above 80 octane.

__________________
hit the road jack! tr15a

My gas tank was getting low before I hit the border but I'd been told gas was cheaper in Bolivia so I waited. That proved to be a bad idea. All of the gas stations in the Bolivian side of the border were permanently closed. After riding around searching (and wasting gas) I stopped at a military checkpoint on the way out of town and asked the guard how far out was to the next town with gas. He told me that it was really close. Probably a ten minute ride. Feeling relieved I headed out of the dingy border town along lake Titicaca. Right on schedule and just after I'd switched to my reserve fuel there was a town with two filling stations. Both were deserted. At another military checkpoint I asked how far it was to the next town. Close they said. With a service station, no less. By now I was anxious about my fuel and wasn't looking forward to pushing the bike along the side of the highway but what the hell. I needed gas. When I pulled up to the pumps at the lone filling station in tiwanaku they were taped off. No gas. A man was running some kind of pump next to the building so I asked him what the deal was. No gas. Did he know anyone in town who had gas? Nope. So I rode around through this little town trying to find anyone with gas. No luck. Back near the highway I parked beside a building housing a small market. The woman inside had no suggestions and I knew that if I tried to reach the next town some 40km away I'd be screwed. I stood there for awhile and asked a few passers by if they knew where I could find some gas. "At the gas station. Tomorrow."

Shit. Well. At least I was near a place with food. There was a big field between the market and the filling station. I figured I could pitch my tent there for the night. Not ideal but not the end of the world. Still, it was only about 330 and I wasn't ready to give up yet. Gradually a number of cabs gathered nearby, closer to another brick building. Next to that building was a circle of folks passing around a . Or s, but just one at a time. That's the south american way apparently. In any case one of the cab drivers, a stout woman with long black braids and a colorful traditional getup wandered over to me. How much gasolina did I need, she wanted to know. I said about for liters should do the trick. She wanted to know if I'd pay 15 bolivianos per liter. Sure I said. On the one hand I had no idea what the going rate for gas was in Bolivia. On the other I didn't give a shit. I knew that high octane gas in Peru was about 13 soles. That worked out to about $4/liter. Expensive by us standards but... It usually cost me about $20usd to fill the tank in Peru. At the border I'd changed $100usd for 690 bolivianos. I didn't do all of the math at the time but 15 bolivianos seemed reasonable. And so the cab drivers scrounged up a couple empty 2 liter did bottles, jacked up one of the cabs (a Toyota coruna if I recall correctly), and proceeded to fill the bottles directly from the gas tank under the vehicle. It was hilarious. They thought so and I thought so. I paid the woman whose Toyota had been my blood donor 60 bolivianos and waved goodbye.

Still at 4000m above sea level and now with some pretty low quality gas mixed with a little coca cola the klr sort of sputtered along those next 40km until I reached the next town and- no shit- the filling station had gas. The guy told me that because of some government bullshit it was really expensive. Whatever. I was watching some dark storm clouds on the horizon and thinking about how nice out would be to sleep in a bed in la Paz... He also wanted to know how much I needed before he pumped. Some sort of rationing I guess. The tank held about 20 liters so that's what I told him and that's about what she took. 160 bolivianos.

So I'd paid double for my for liters from the cab ladies. Oh well. Assuming one us dollar is about 7 bolivianos that means I paid her about $8.50. Well worth it to not sleep in a tent during a rainstorm at 4000m.

Tldr; some nice folks sold me gas directly from their tank... For a premium.