How to get from Santa Cruz to Rurrenabaque by bus
It might be easier to take a plane, but this version is less boring as the roads go through the jungle. However in the rain season between November and Mai, it is not possible.
The jungle road-trip
From Santa Cruz there are leaving several busses to Trinidad, the capital of Beni, all between 9pm and 10pm. The price range is 10-18$. Which means you will arrive around 9 am in Trinidad.
There you have the choice of a bus, that leaves at 11am (18$) or a trufi, which leaves as soon as it is full (28$). As the road between Trinidad and Rurrenabaque is closed during the rainy season you know what to expect from it, that’s why I recommend the trufi. It is more flexible and even though it’s loaded up as well, it’s more comfortable. The chance that you get stuck in the mud is smaller too, and if you get, it’s easier to free a small car than a bus.
The travel between Trinidad and Rurrenabaque is exhausting and lasts longer than they predict. They say 8 hours and it took me 12. So maybe you want one night in Trinidad, if you have time. This also gives you the advantage to start before 10am.
Nevertheless this travel is wonderful. The landscape is amazing and changing. You see the flat part of Bolivia, a lot of cows walking on the streets and also the typical villages of the amazon region. Crossing the river twice with a boat and having lunch in San Ignacio de Moxos, with a colourful church. You also pass by the region that recently is calling the interest of Chinese investors for the resources. A topic the Bolivian environmentalists are talking about, as it is ground of the indigenous people.
