10 Must See Spots in Santa Cruz, Bolivia

10 Must See Spots in Santa Cruz, Bolivia

Bolivia was a country we had been talking about visiting for the last five-plus year. Finally the timing was right and we booked tickets flying into Santa Cruz, Bolivia. We had some days in the city and these are 10 must see spots in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

We were so excited to have a month to spend in Bolivia. One of our main objectives as wildlife photographers was to see jaguars in Bolivia. Santa Cruz is a great jumping off point for jaguars, Kaa Iya and Madi Madi National Parks. In a combination of wanting to ensure no travel delays disrupted our tour booking and also snagging the best flight deal, we ended up having a couple days in Santa Cruz to unwind before the big trip.

During that time we hit the streets and saw a lot of the city. We also enjoyed “bench sitting” at the local city plaza like the locals do, and watched the world go by.

Santa Cruz is a great entry destination city into Bolivia because it is not at high elevation. The city is also flat, which makes acclimating to the heat much easier if you are coming from colder climates. There are plenty of money exchanges, good food, and the opportunity to stock up on any forgotten items.

If you find yourself a visitor, here are 10 Must See Spots in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

1- Plaza 24 de Septiembre (September 24 Square)

This was one of our favorite parks to wander around multiple times a day. It seemed every evening there was something always going on. It’s common that locals sit and relax on the benches. Our evening routine became to see if we could even find an open bench to sit on. One evening a grandma and her adult grown son were sitting across from us with two little dogs. The son’s dog was happy as could be. The grandma had a poodle dog that lounged, barked, and startled quite a few people as they walked by. Finally, after the tiny, voracious poodle lounged at a girl carrying a tray of drinks, the grandma had enough.

She had to wedge the fierce little dog under her arm and kept bobbing its head when he barked. She continued to look around, clearly dismayed and embarrassed by her little dog’s actions. Other evenings had live performances, markets, or events at the church. A lot always seemed to be going on. Oh, and serious chess games happened every evening as well.

2 – Enjoy Menu of the Day at Club Social 24 de Septiembre

We lucked out on being able to go here just before the church rush on a Sunday. There was live music, good food, and the place was packed. But the most interesting thing to us was, if you didn’t like the location of your table, you could just ask the staff to move it.

The sun beamed down through the ceiling and moved around the room – so did the tables! Wait staff would wipe the silverware off a table and reposition tables all over the space. Once guests were not sitting directly in the sun, the food service would begin.

An interesting experience and great food – as the video shows above, if you don’t like the locations of your table – you just ask to move it!

3 – Manzana Uno Art Space

WoW  – this place had some incredible art pieces! This is free and a pleasant way to round out a walk around the city. The space is a non-profit run by a volunteer painter and sculptor.

4 – Mercado General Los Pozos

What do you need? What do you not know that you need, this market has it. Huge and spanning several floors, Mercada General Los Pozos has just about everything including, the kitchen sink. A great place to wander around for a while. This is the market at: Calle Quijarro entre Suarez Arana, 6 de Agosto y, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia

5 – Santa Cruz Museum of Contemporary Art

A small and delightful space, this is a must for visitors. At the time of writing, all you had to do was sign the guest book. Lovely architecture with an open courtyard and ability to casually stroll through rooms looking at art.

6 – El Aljibe

This is a great restaurant to try typical food. Go for both the menu of the day for lunch and then dinner and order off the regular menu. Visit enough times to try all the local drinks of Chicha Camba, Mocochinchi, Bitters, and Grosella. This place will not disappoint.

7 – Noel Kempff Mercado Natural History Museum

A charming place with some distinct and some funny displays and taxidermy of wildlife from Bolivia. The lady turned the lights on for us when we went. Not sure if we were the only guests of the day – a great place to support.

8 – Museo Altillo Beni – MAB

Neat museum with nice displays. Another museum where at the time of writing they ask you to sign a guest book. Just watch out for the door way entrances if you are tall!

9 – Arenal Park

A good place to get some steps in during the day time and see what the locals are up. Grab an ice cream and take in the sights.

10 – Walk to the Pirate Airplane

If you happen to have some down time in the city (especially on a Sunday,) take a walk along G. Velasco 226 Street or Route 7. In the middle of the two lanes of traffic is a decent walking and biking path. On Sunday there will be way less vehicles on the road making it much more pleasant to walk around with less exhaust. We got some steps in and walked down to Pirate Airplane. The airplane has become an urban legend among Bolivians.

Bolivia was such a mysterious country to us. In our mind the landscapes always seem to be a token piece of the country. In our 30 days traveling around the country by taxi, uber, yango, flight, bus, and walking, we had the most marvelous time. People were so hospitable and friendly. Getting around was easy. I will leave the links to some of the accommodations that we stayed at, we were very happy we ended up basing around the September 24 Plaza.

Enjoy your time viewing these 10 must see spots in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. It is a country waiting to amaze you with its landscapes.

It is common that international flights into Bolivia arrive at 2am. Gah. Ours did! Without hesitation, I would recommend booking at Ibis Hotel if that is the case for your first night. They were ready to welcome us at 3am, we’re well organized, had quiet rooms, excellent breakfast, and just overall extremely well run. Any taxi driver will know how to drop you off there. We had no hassle walking out of the terminal to get a taxi to Ibis.

We booked this cool Tradicion apartment just two blocks from the September 24 Plaza. It was so spacious and functional. We got to feel like we living like a local in Santa Cruz for our days there. The owner was very nice and quick to respond if we had any questions or needed anything.

Or browse other options and read reviews on booking.com.

For our health insurance, we personally have been using IMG all these years. We have had positive experiences with them and like their offerings.

Want to do this trip but are unsure if it’s for you? Or do you want to do any trip but are unsure of how to get started? I do offer travel consultations if you are needing encouragement to take the leap! Or check out this post and see exactly how much six weeks of travel cost us in Tasmania, Australia.