In Bolivia, you’ll find that certain neighborhoods and zones are the best to live in or to stay within the country. These relatively small parts of big cities are located in specific areas, but in those places usually wealthy people and many foreigners live.
The best neighborhoods of Bolivia are Calacoto for La Paz City, Equipetrol for Santa Cruz City, and Cala Cala for Cochabamba City. Other really good neighborhoods are San Miguel, Sopocachi, Miraflores in La Paz, Las Palma, Sirarí in Santa Cruz, and Queru Queru in Cochabamba.
Here we’ll be talking about the best neighborhoods and zones to either live or stay within Bolivia, whether you are a tourist or want to establish yourself in the country. You’ll know why these areas are the best ones and their unique characteristics, pros and cons of each of them.
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Where are the best neighborhoods of Bolivia located?
Of course, there are several neighborhoods and zones within the country that may meet your requirements as a 1st world citizen, in terms of safety, quality of life, activities to do, etcetera. But some neighborhoods stand out among the best ones.
Next, you can see the best neighborhoods according to the city they are located within.
Santa Cruz
- Equipetrol (the best one). Here is where some of the wealthiest people of Bolivia, and lots of 1st world foreigners, usually live. Conveniently located, many skyscrapers, premium shops, and places of many different types.
- Urubo. Almost only residential, it is very similar to the middle to high-income people suburbs in the United States or Canada, with premium and luxury stand-alone houses, many resting and vocational homes, and many green areas.
- Las Palmas. Just next to Equipetrol, a lot more residential but still commercial, more standalone luxury houses and green areas. The same as Equipetrol, pretty near to the historical downtown of the city.
- Sirari. Quite near to the city’s downtown and Equipetrol, mostly residential, with many stand-alone premium homes and green areas.
- Within the city’s 1st ring. The historical downtown of the city and nearby areas, all of them being mostly commercial, but also residential. Many restaurants and shops but really crowded streets that can be risky because of burglars, but still a great convenient place to live in.
- The North and West zones. Between the 1st and 4th ring on this city’s side. The 4 neighborhoods mentioned before are located within this zone, Equipetrol, Urubo, and so on, nevertheless many neighborhoods around are quite good to live or stay in. A mix of residential and commercial places are there.
La Paz
- Calacoto (the best one). Both residential and commercial, lots of people and foreigners.
- San Miguel. Mostly commercial, just next to Calacoto, with lots of stores, entertainment, and restaurants.
- Sopocachi. It’s very near to the historic downtown of the city, both residential and commercial, with crowded streets, and lots of high-rises.
- Miraflores. More residential than commercial, very well positioned to reach any part of the city, near to the downtown of the city.
- The South Zone. It is composed of some of the neighborhoods just mentioned, like Calacoto (right at the center of this zone) and San Miguel, but also other less premium neighborhoods like Achumani, Obrajes, Cota Cota, Irpavi, etcétera.
Cochabamba
- Cala Cala (the best one). Mostly residential but also commercial, very near to the historical downtown of the city, The wealthiest people of the city and many foreigners live there.
- Queru Queru. Just next to Cala Cala, a lot more residential, more resting and stand-alone houses and green areas are located there.
- The Northwest Zone. Both Cala Cala and Queru Queru are located within this zone, but also other important ones like Tiquipaya (which is a mix of very rich and poor people). Usually, neighborhoods that are located in the North part of this city are the best to live in.
The best 3 neighborhoods of Bolivia for foreigners
Now let’s talk in detail about the best neighborhoods that you can find in Bolivia, Equipetrol, Calacoto, and Cala Cala.
Equipetrol (Santa Cruz)
This neighborhood is maybe the best one to live or stay in Bolivia. It has luxury houses and premium buildings everywhere, so has a lot of entertainment places, malls, premium restaurants, green areas with many activities to do, countless high-rises, and it’s also located very near to the city’s downtown.
Very wealthy people and many foreigners usually live and do business here, they have commercial premium spaces there. You’ll also find a decent amount of hotels and countless Airbnbs within this neighborhood.
In regards to the safety and quality of life of this neighborhood, it’s one of the best you will find across the country. Home prices there go from $500,000 to up to $3,000,000, renting there will cost you between $300 and $2,000, depending on the size of the home or apartment.
Calacoto (La Paz)
This is the best neighborhood that currently La Paz city has to offer, lots of rich people and many foreigners also live there. This is both a residential and commercial place. 20 to 40-story buildings are located there, along with luxury standalone homes. You can find many hotels and Airbnb here too.
It’s a very good place to live in, because of its convenient location, it has many kinds of restaurants, shops, and entertainment places you may want to go nearby, without reaching the downtown of the city, which is a lot less convenient place to live in and far poorer. Calacoto it’s like the downtown of the premium South Zone of La Paz city.
This is a very safe neighborhood, where you can walk at night without serious worries along with San Miguel, where almost any place of interest will be about 15 minutes of walking. Home prices there will go from $500,000 to $2,500,000, and apartments within high-rises will be about $100,000.
Cala Cala (Cochabamba)
Cala Cala is about 10 minutes away from the historic downtown of the city, with many high-rises and premium homes around. It also has lots of commercial spaces, malls, restaurants, entertainment places, and many large green areas that are minutes of walking distance.
This neighborhood is very convenient to live in, as it’s pretty near to the city’s downtown, it’s in the center of the premium North Zone of Cochabamba. It has both great houses and many apartments to rent or buy. All of this together with large green areas that look like gardens with many activities inside. The safety is also great there.
You’ll also be able to find many hotels and Airbnbs within this neighborhood, and homes usually go from $400,000 to $2,000,0000 in price there. Buying a common apartment can cost you about $80,000 in this place.
Other 11 very good neighborhoods of Bolivia
Now let’s see other great neighborhoods to stay or live within Bolivia. There are many reasons for this, for example, some of these neighborhoods are great resting and vacation places, and other ones are very well located. In general, all of them are premium residential areas where safety and nearby areas are really convenient and good.
Other very good neighborhoods and zones of Bolivia are:
- Santa Cruz
- Urubo
- Las Palmas
- Sirarí
- Within the 1st ring
- The North and West zones
- La Paz
- San Miguel
- Sopocachi
- Miraflores
- The South Zone
- Cochabamba
- Queru Queru
- The Northwest Zone
Urubo (Santa Cruz)
Uribo is like the resting and vacation place of Santa Cruz for rich people and foreigners. It is far from the downtown area of the city, to reach it you need to first cross the Pirai river, but once there is like a giant well-cared garden with many residential houses, but also some commercial stores in the central streets.
In this neighborhood, wealthy people usually own a second home for weekends, or they just live there but always with a car to rapidly get into the city, a very safe place but the streets are usually empty, and the distances are long, it looks very similar to a residential suburb of the US or Canada.
Las Palmas (Santa Cruz)
This is a neighborhood that is just next to Equipetrol, so it is good residential and commercial but a lot calmer and with a lot fewer people and commercial places than Equipetrol, a more resting and quiet premium neighborhood to live in.
It also has many high-rises and really beautiful stand-alone homes, where rich people and many foreigners live. It is of course mostly residential, you’re not going to find too many large malls or interesting areas at a short walking distance. Houses are large and luxurious there, and many of them have pools and similar premium amenities.
Sirari (Santa Cruz)
A neighborhood that is also very near to both Equipetrol and Las Palmas, conveniently near to the downtown of Santa Cruz. It is mostly a residential neighborhood very similar to Las Palmas, with premium and luxury homes and some skyscrapers around.
Living in this place is quite calm and quiet, with not too many stores or entertainment places around, and also beautiful homes. The safety is good but not as good at night because of its empty streets and avenues, anyway, most of the people living there usually use cars to transport themselves.
Within the 1st Ring (Santa Cruz)
In contrast with the above neighborhoods, the 1st ring is a very crowded and commercial area of the city, where the historical Downtown is located. Despite of this a lot of people have standalone homes there and it’s really convenient because everything is a walkable distance.
There you’ll find a lot of different kinds of stores, entertainment places, restaurants cinemas, activities and stuff of all kinds, but also some open markets really crowded with a lot of burglars inside. Despite this, after becoming used to all of this you’ll find that it’s a very convenient and good place to live or stay in.
The North and West zones (Santa Cruz)
The North and West parts of Santa Cruz city are where people with the highest income usually live. Within these zones are located All the neighborhoods we mentioned before, like Equipetrol, Uribo, Las Palmas, etc. These zones are located between the 1st and 4th ring of the north and east parts of the city.
What you’ll find there is usually a central neighborhood, in this case, Equipetrol, which has a lot of wood commercial and entertainment areas, along with many residential places, surrounded by other neighborhoods that are mostly residential, but all of them are premium areas where many high-income people and also foreigners live.
Quote: We have a complete guide about the best neighborhoods of Santa Cruz, with every detail about each of them. Know more in our dedicated guide: the best neighborhoods of Santa Cruz, a complete walkthrough. Link
San Miguel (La Paz)
San Miguel is located just next to Equipetrol, and it’s a lot more commercial, but it also has many residential places, departments, and homes. It’s like the Great Mall of the La Paz’ South Zone. Within this neighborhood, you will find many different kinds of stores supermarkets and retail spaces.
This neighborhood is quite calm and safe, many high-rises are set together along with countless, shops, malls, also many family homes. If you live or stay there you’ll be at about 5 to 10 minutes walking distance of any entertainment, food, or shopping place.
Sopocachi (La Paz)
This neighborhood is located far away from the South Zone and consequently from Calacoto and San Miguel. It’s also very near to the historical downtown of the city and the Central Zone. It’s actually a neighborhood for rich people, businesses corporations, small shops, and many retail spaces.
There you’ll find very crowded streets with countless shops, commercial spaces, and restaurants of all kinds, lots of skyscrapers and apartment buildings, and not that many family homes. Going through its principal avenues is often difficult because of the large amount crowds and cars everywhere.
Miraflores (La Paz)
Miraflores is a lot more quiet and calm than Sopocachi, but still very near to the historic city’s downtown, about 10 minutes by car. It has also countless high-rises of apartments across both sides of its principal avenue the Bush Av. Also, it’s quite empty at night so somewhat risky.
You’ll find this neighborhood more relaxing and calm with many standalone homes, also without that much noise of a downtown area. What people there want is the convenience of a central premium area, as from this neighborhood, you can’t reach every corner of the city in a reasonable amount of time.
The South Zone (La Paz)
La Paz city can be divided into big parts the Central Zone and the South Zone. The Central Zone is where the historical downtown is located, on the other hand, the South Zone is where most high-income people live and it’s quite far from the city’s downtown. This zone also has better and warmer weather.
Calacoto, San Miguel, and many other residential premium neighborhoods are located within this zone, in some sense it is like a standalone city or a district of La Paz city. If you want to have a good quality of life, surrounded by wealthy people and some foreigners, the South Zone is the best place to settle within La Paz city.
Quote: We have a complete guide about the best neighborhoods of La Paz, with every detail about each of them, know every detail in our dedicated guide: The best zones of La Paz, a complete guide.
Queru Queru (Cochabamba)
Very next to Cala Cala, this neighborhood is also where most wealthy people from Cochabamba live. It’s a lot more residential with fewer high-rises and more standalone homes, also emptier streets, and more relaxed and call places with many green areas around.
It’s still pretty near to the city’s downtown, you’ll find this neighborhood quite relaxing and also safe, like a giant, very well cared garden that is near to a more commercial area, Cala Cala, with less commercial areas, less noise and with a lot of standalone, premium and luxury homes.
The Northwest Zone (Cochabamba)
Within this zone you’ll find neighborhoods like Cala Cala, and Queru Queru, but farther away also Tiquipaya (which by the way has a mix of very expensive homes together with some rural houses). The neighborhoods that surround both of these are also good ones with premium houses commercial spaces and a lot of green areas.
What happens in Cochabamba is that usually people with a better quality of life and more income, also better homes, live in the north side of the city, while people with less resources and poor conditions usually live in the south side of the city. So neighborhoods that surround Cala Cala and Queru Queru are also pretty good to live in.
Conclusions:
In this guide about the best neighborhoods and zones of Bolivia, you’ve seen that there are many really good neighborhoods to stay or live in, but three of them stand out of the crowd. These 3 ones are Equipetrol en Santa Cruz, Calacoto in La Paz, and Cala Cala in Cochabamba.
Because of their convenient location, a good mix of residential and commercial areas, the presence of many foreigners, and premium and luxury homes, these neighborhoods are the best that currently exist within the country. Also, other ones that usually surround these neighborhoods, like Urubo, Las Palmas, Sirari, San Miguel, Sopocachi, Miraflores, and Queru Queru.
In addition to this, you have seen that the best neighborhoods and areas of Bolivia at in certain parts of the cities, for example, the North and East zones of Santa Cruz, the South Zone of La Paz, and the Northwest Zone of Cochabamba cities.
We hope this information has helped you, and if you want to know which ones are the best places to live in Bolivia, with all the details about each one of them, including types of homes, quality of life, precautions, etcetera, visit our dedicated guide: The best places to live in Bolivia, a full overview. Link
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