The day tour to the islands (Isla del Sol and Isla de la Luna) costs about 35 bolivianos. You can buy your ticket directly at the port or in your hotel. You can also buy a one way ticket to Isla del Sol and spend the night.
Departure is 8:30am or 1:30pm. You will start with a very slow 2h boat ride and drop off people to Isla del Sol. If you have the daily ticket for both islands, do not get off! You will then have a 30 min boat ride to Isla de la Luna. During the ride, a guide will offer a tour for 30 bolivianos. It’s not mandatory but I chose to take it so I would have more information and it was worth it.
On Isla de la Luna, you will have about 1h to visit, then the boat brings you back to Isla del Sol where you have 2h and then back to Copacabana. To be completely honest, I don’t think Isla de la Luna is worth it…
Each island has an entrance fee of 10 bolivianos (with or without the guided tour).
Our guide insists vigorously that they are descendants of the Aymaras and not the Incas, so the architectural sites on the islands and Pre-Incas and not Incas.
Isla del Sol is composed of three communities: Yumani in the south, Cha’llapampa in the north and Cha’lla, in the center. Much of the accommodation is in the south but the museum and ruins are in the north.
For a few months now, the northern part of Isla del Sol has been closed to tourists. Our guide explained that the North wants to have its indépendance from the Center and the South.
Our guide explained that there are around 3000 people living on the island, most of them in the centre. The inhabitants in the Center maintain a traditional way of life and don’t want tourism to destroy that. But the North wants to capitalise on the tourists.
The closure occurred after a violent incident: the Northerns destroyed new built cabins. For some islanders, this affront was too much because the cabins were on sacred ground. Since then the central community blocked access to the north until the issue is resolved.
So for the moment, you can only enjoy the South! Which is nice for about 2 jours walking.
Just meets World 