Santa Cruz Department · Bolivia
Santa Cruz de la Sierra travel guide
Santa Cruz de la Sierra is a city in Santa Cruz Department, Bolivia, home to about 3,123,000 people.
- Best months
- May to August
- Nearest airport
- SRZ4 km · El Trompillo Airport
- Currency
- BOBboliviano
- Time zone
- America/La Paz
- Language
- Aymara, Guarani, Quechua
About
About Santa Cruz de la Sierra
Santa Cruz de la Sierra, commonly known as Santa Cruz, is the largest city in Bolivia and the capital of the Santa Cruz department.
Santa Cruz is the most populous city and heart of the second most populous metropolitan area in Bolivia, and it is considered the most economically prosperous city in the country. Santa Cruz is a boomtown whose population has increased tenfold in the last 25 years, it is almost in the center of Bolivia and is the capital city of the department of Santa Cruz. For its first 400 years Santa Cruz was very poor and far from potential markets to be able to grow at all.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Santa Cruz de la Sierra
Do
- Climb the church tower
- Jardín Botánico Municipal
- Sloths of Cotoca
- CineCenter
- Estadio Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera
- Bowling
- Plaza 24 de Septiembre
- Cabañas del Rio Pirai
- Yvaga Guazu park
- Lomas de Arena
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Which part of Santa Cruz de la Sierra to stay in
There are some hotels close to the bus terminal which is a bit further away from the center. A large Bolivia hotels and hostels directory is www.boliviahostels.com, they offer accommodation all over the country and you can make reservations for free.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Hotels in Santa Cruz de la Sierra
1 hotel within 25 km of the centre, as recorded in Wikidata. Each name links to its encyclopedia article where there is one.
| Hotel | Opened | From centre |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel Los Tajibos | 2.7 km |
When to go
The best time to visit Santa Cruz de la Sierra
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Santa Cruz de la Sierra are May to August. November is the warmest month, with average highs of 31 °C; January is the wettest, with about 173 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Santa Cruz de la Sierra: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is El Trompillo Airport (SRZ), about 3.7 km from the city centre in a straight line; Viru Viru International Airport (VVI, 17 km) is also within reach.
Getting in
If you arrive during carnival (during February, sometimes March) it is almost impossible to change money as everything except markets, restaurants and internet cafes are closed. Traders will accept U.S. dollars but at half the going rate. Also be prepared to be pelted with ink filled water balloons, soaked with water bombs and covered in string spray. Wear clothes you don`t mind having permanently stained. There are many bus companies from another cities, like Cochabamba, La Paz, Sucre, Trinidad, that go to Santa Cruz de la Sierra.
Getting around
Micros 17 and 18 travel the first ring, Micros 72 and 73 travel the second ring. To get to the center from Parque Urbano take Micro 69 or 100. You can pick up a map of all the bus routes from many "librerias" or bookstores downtown. There is also a great mobile app called Cruzero (both for iOS and Android) which contains route maps of all micros. It can also find you an optimal route if you just select the source and the destination on the city map. There is a website with the same content as well: http://cruzero.net/. The fare for most micros is Bs.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
SRZ · El Trompillo Airport
VVI · Viru Viru International Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Santa Cruz de la Sierra
Eat
There are several good restaurants in the north of the city. One of the main clusters of restaurants is spread around Avenida Monseñor Rivero.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Santa Cruz de la Sierra: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Santa Cruz de la Sierra?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Santa Cruz de la Sierra are May to August. November is the warmest month, with average highs of 31 °C; January is the wettest, with about 173 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Santa Cruz de la Sierra?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is El Trompillo Airport (SRZ), about 3.7 km from the city centre in a straight line; Viru Viru International Airport (VVI, 17 km) is also within reach.
What currency is used in Santa Cruz de la Sierra?
boliviano (BOB).
Nearby
Destinations near Santa Cruz de la Sierra
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.