How to visit Sucre, Bolivia

Sucre has got to be my favourite city in Bolivia. Its architecture is so charming, and I loved exploring the many streets and buildings. Best of all: it feels super safe!

If you’re heading to Bolivia, I’d definitely recommend making a stop in the city.

After spending a week in Sucre back in 2023, I’ve written this guide to help you plan your own trip. I hope it inspires you to make a visit!

About Sucre

Sucre is a city located in the south of Bolivia.

Bolivia is one of a few countries with multiple capital cities. Sucre is the judicial capital (where court matters are discussed) whilst La Paz is the administrative capital (where parliament is held). As such, although Sucre is not one of the biggest cities in Bolivia, it’s strategically and culturally important.

Many people skip Sucre during their trip to Bolivia; it’s common for people to travel straight from Salar de Uyuni to La Paz, completely skipping the rest of the country. However, I think that’s a mistake. Sucre is a lovely city well worth the time to visit!

A colonial city

Sucre was founded by Spanish conquerors in 1539, so nowadays you can see Spanish influences all around the city. The centre is mostly thin roads surrounded by white washed or brick buildings, not dissimilar to what you’d see on the Mediterranean: hence its nickname being the ‘white city’.

As with many Bolivian cities, it revolves around one plaza: Plaza 25 de Mayo. Flanked by important historical buildings, the plaza is the perfect place to people-watch, with vendors and many pigeons throughout. It’s also the calmest place to watch Carnival if you have the misfortune of visiting around this time!

I love that this city feels very safe, so we were able to explore in peace (mostly – more on this later).

A high altitude city

This is Bolivia we’re talking about. It’s got the Andes running through it. Therefore, as you’d expect, Sucre is at a fairly high altitude (2800 m). It’s not too bad in terms of Bolivian cities, but if you travel there from the lowlands, such as Santa Cruz, you will feel the difference.

I didn’t find Sucre’s altitude problematic as I’d been travelling at altitude for the previous 10 or so days. However, I still felt out of breath when going uphill. From what I gather, this takes YEARS, not days, to adjust to, as your lungs have to adjust!

Acclimatisation appears to be the best way forward. If Sucre is your first high altitude stop then make sure to spend a few days there before travelling elsewhere, take it slow and give yourself time to adjust.

Sucre during Carnival

When I visited, I accidentally timed my trip to coincide with Carnaval. For those that don’t know, as with other South American countries, Carnival is one of Bolivia’s biggest festivals, occurring just before Lent.

Carnival is a long festival, with a week or so of musical parades and festivities. In Bolivia, you won’t just find orchestras playing in the street, but also parades for neighbours and groups of friends, so there is a strong sense of community. We liked watching these parades and seeing everyone have a good time.

However, for all the good parts of Carnival, I can’t pretend I was thrilled to be in Sucre whilst it was being held. The holiday had already cut short my trip to Potosí due to bus cancellations, and the other aspect of Bolivian Carnival put me off. 

What is this? Outside of the parades, the big activity was throwing water bombs. There would be kids and teenagers walking through the streets to find people to throw water bombs at. There would even be kids waiting on balconies. It was virtually impossible to go outside without being hit by one!

As white tourists we stood out against the locals, and got extra water balloons as a result. This was especially apparent in Uyuni, which is one of the most touristy towns in Bolivia and therefore seemed to have a particular vendetta against tourists being present at their local celebrations.

Carnaval also involves a lot of drinking. It therefore seemed to encourage poor behaviour, particularly towards us females. We got a lot of catcalling and one incident of a group of guys trying to get us to drink from their cups, which we did not appreciate!

Ratings

As part of this blog, I give every place I visit a rating so that I can easily compare destinations and decide whether they’re worth a visit. Those are the scores you see at the top of the page!

This is how Sucre rated:

• Safety: 5/5 – I felt incredibly safe in Sucre, even walking at night.
• Accessibility: 4/5 – Sucre felt generally quite accessible (for Bolivia). I’ve only marked it down for this being the Andes: you can definitely feel the altitude!
• Enjoyment: 5/5 – I love love loved Sucre!
• Value: 5/5 – although it can work out a bit more expensive than more rural areas of Bolivia, in general, Sucre works out good value.

Overall score: 4.75/5

If you’ve already visited, let me know if you agree with these ratings! Just to note, the ratings are my personal opinion based on my visit, so you might have a completely different experience.

More: how I rank destinations using the Everywhere Ratings system

How to get to Sucre

Once you’re in Bolivia, it’s fairly easy to get to Sucre, by taking a flight or bus. Of course, you can also take private transport, such as taxis, but these are expensive compared to the other options and I won’t discuss them further.

By plane

If you’re heading to Bolivia from another country, you’ll most likely fly into Santa Cruz or La Paz (the nation’s biggest cities).

It’s easy to get a domestic flight from either of these cities or other sizeable cities in Bolivia (e.g. Cochabamba). Domestic flights in Bolivia are ridiculously cheap and are worth looking into if you want to save yourself some time on overnight buses.

We flew from Sucre to Cochabamba having booked our tickets only a couple of days in advance, and they were still only £20 (including luggage) – incredible!

By bus

Likewise, there are plenty of buses between Sucre and other destinations in Bolivia. Overnight buses connect Sucre to Uyuni, Santa Cruz, Cochabamba and La Paz. Meanwhile, day buses exist to Potosí and other nearby cities.

When booking buses in Bolivia, I’d recommend heading to the bus station to book them in person. It can be hard to figure out what the timetable is or what bus company you’re going with if not. Depending on where you’re staying, your accommodation may be able to help by calling the station up too.

We found it easiest to book our bus to leave the city at the same time as we arrived for the first time. That way we were already at the bus station already and didn’t have to fret about buying a ticket later on.

Make sure to check online for the “best” companies, but also don’t be too worried by some of the things you read. If you trust all the blogs online, you’ll think you’re walking into a death trap… you’re really not!

We took most of our buses with random companies and it was absolutely fine!

Where to eat in Sucre

You’ll find lots of nice places to eat in the centre of Sucre. Whilst tourist numbers aren’t as high as in other countries, numbers are high enough to result in multiple international and tourist-oriented eateries. Of course, expect higher prices in these places as a result.

Bienmesabe serves super tasty arepas.

Cosmo Cafe is a nice restaurant off the north side of Plaza 25 de Mayo. Their fajita platter was delicious!

Of course, cheap eats can also be found in the market. However, we didn’t try this as we had heard bad things about food hygiene there…

Where to stay

Within Sucre, you’ll find a fair few guesthouses, hotels and hostels catering to international visitors.

We stayed at Dragonfly Guesthouse, which was comfortable, and the owner was so friendly!

Another popular option within Sucre is to sleep in a homestay. That’s where you stay with a local family; some which will take you under their wings, and others which operate closer to guesthouses. Staying in a homestay is particularly popular for those attending a Spanish school. Most will arrange it for you, or you might be able to find them on booking websites too.

How long should you stay in Sucre?

There are lots of things to do in Sucre, and paired with a more relaxing lifestyle, you could spend a week or longer here.

However, if you’re just focussing on the highlights, you could see everything you need to in two full days. Three nights, when paired with travel on either side, would be a sensible amount of time to stay.

We personally spent a week in Sucre, exploring during the day and doing Spanish lessons in the evenings. There was more than enough to do to fill the days!

What to do in Sucre

1. People-watch at Plaza 25 de Mayo

The Plaza 25 de Mayo is the heart of Sucre and is the perfect place to witness Bolivian people and culture. There are many benches to sit on and plenty of activity: people feeding pigeons. Kids running about. Vendors selling snacks…

Just off Plaza 25 de Mayo, you’ll find several important historical buildings that are also worth taking a look at. Arguably the most important of these is Casa de la Libertad, where the Bolivian declaration of independence was signed in 1825. It’s a good place to start for a dose of Bolivian history!

2. Visit the Convento de San Felipe Neri

If you’re wanting to admire the gorgeous architecture of Sucre, there’s no better place to do so than the Convento de San Felipe Neri. This multi-storey convent, set around a courtyard, is absolutely gorgeous. You can go up onto the red tile roofs, which give you panoramic views over the city.

Getting into the convent can be a bit of a struggle. It actually took us several visits to realise the convent wasn’t closed, as there is minimal signage and the doors look locked. But no, that’s just how it appears; don’t be fooled!

Because it’s slightly hidden away, the convent also keeps quiet and feels exclusive. It was one of my highlights in Sucre and I’d 100% recommend a visit.

3. Head to the Recoleta viewpoint

Possibly the best spot for views in Sucre is La Recoleta. This is a plaza with a monastery and school on a hill. There’s a row of rimmed arches along one side which not only open out to a wide view of the city, but also are a great background for gorgeous photos!

La Recoleta Viewpoint is only a fifteen minute walk from central Sucre, but it’s a steep one; I was always out of breath by the end of it. Fortunately, the route is quiet and pretty, so I didn’t mind taking breaks.

4. Take some Spanish lessons

Sucre is one of the top places in South America for Spanish schools. That’s because the Bolivian accent is gentle and comparatively easy to understand; and, of course, because lessons are very cheap!

You’ll find several Spanish schools in Sucre, all of which can be found online. There are also plenty of private Spanish tutors.

Expect private lessons to start at around 50 bs ($7.20 / £5.60) per hour.

5. Drink a smoothie in the Central Market

The Mercado Central is the top place in Sucre to buy all your common goods. There’s plenty of fruit and vegetables, meat, grains and household items. It occupies a large market hall and spills out into the outside areas, with a large food court on the top floor.

I’m not a market person at all, so I can’t say I was a fan of the Mercado Central. However, where it aces things is the fruit and vegetable section. This outdoor covered area is lined with juice and smoothie stalls, which are ridiculously cheap and taste great!

Whilst you’re there, pick up some fruit you might not get at home, like cherimoya. You could also try the chorizo sandwich, a classic market eat in Sucre.

6. Buy some chocolate

Of all the chocolate in Bolivia, Sucre’s has to be the most well known. Their biggest brands – Taboada and Para Ti – can be found all over Bolivia, and have multiple shops across central Sucre as well.

Both chocolate brands in Sucre aren’t cheap. Even by Western pricing standards, they would fall towards the more luxury side. We mainly bought it for gifts, more so than to eat it ourselves.

However, it’s definitely worth a taste at some point.

7. Drink coffee at Café Mirador San Miguel

If you want a unique cafe experience, head to Cafe Mirador San Miguel. It’s set in the bell tower of a former church; you can drink coffee and eat cake next to the bells!

Being in the centre of Sucre, the bell tower has a great view of the surrounding area. It was a fun way to see some more of the city.

8. Observe dinosaur footprints at the Parque Cretacico

Personally I think that, if you’re in Bolivia, you’ve got to check out some dinosaur footprints. Whilst the best place for this, arguably, is Torotoro National Park, the footprints you can see at Parque Cretacico, just outside Sucre, aren’t too shabby.

At the dinosaur park, you’ll find the remains of a former quarry (Cal Orck’o). During previous works, lots of dinosaur footprints were found in the strata, and nowadays they’ve been protected as part of a museum and tourist attraction.

The dinosaur footprints are the star of the show, and you can only visit them on a couple of tours per day. The rest of the attraction – mainly life size models of dinosaurs – is a bit meh and not worth a visit on its own.

Best of all, there is a dedicated dino bus to carry passengers from Plaza 25 de Mayo. Of course when we were visiting, with the chaos of Carnival it was out of service, but hopefully it’s now in operation.

9. Visit the Museum of Indigenous Art

To see a bit more of the culture of Bolivia, head to the Museum of Indigenous Art. This museum is full of fabrics created by the many local indigenous groups, with explanations regarding the colours, threads and motifs used. You’ll also find displays relating to traditional costume and music.

I found a trip to the Museum of Indigenous Art insightful. It was great to learn more about Bolivian communities and the textiles were so stunning!

10. Hike around the Maragua Crater

Close to Sucre, you’ll find the Maragua Crater. This is an area with interesting landscapes, making it a popular hiking destination, both for day and overnight trips.

I never made it to the crater as it felt like the kind of trip best done over multiple days, and I just didn’t have time. However, it looks beautiful so may be worth looking at if you have the time.

11. Sample a tasting menu at Nativa

If there’s anywhere in South America to treat yourself, it has to be Bolivia. With the prices being so affordable for westerners, you can get a lot for comparatively little.

In Sucre, the best place for a treat is Nativa, a fancy restaurant. When we visited, they were offering a 6 course tasting menu with drink pairings for 150 bs ($22 / £17). All the food served was a reinterpretation of classic Bolivian ingredients. It was a lot of fun and so worth it.

12. Walk around Sucre General Cemetery

You might not think of cemeteries as a fun day out – I certainly don’t! However, the General Cemetery in Sucre was a super interesting place to visit.

Unlike other old cemeteries in the world, the General Cemetery isn’t touristy at all. Being buried there is a big deal so, as you might expect, it is a very peaceful place. The gravestones and mausoleums are ornate and it’s easy to get engrossed in the details of each one.

If you’re looking to see an alternative side to Bolivian culture, looking around the General Cemetery is not a bad idea at all.

Conclusion

Anyone making a trip to Bolivia should take a look at Sucre. This charming city has more than enough to keep you busy for a few days, and it makes a great base for longer trips, with its safe streets, affordable attractions and many Spanish schools.

I hope this guide helps you to plan your trip and gives you inspiration on what to do when you’re there.

Do you have any questions about Sucre? If you’ve visited already, what did you think? Let me know in the comments.