Hostel Casa Blanca Tarija

We stayed five nights over New Year’s in a private double room. It was clean and the bed was fine, but there’s no window for fresh air. They’ve added a fan, though that isn’t ideal. The facilities are nice and the hostel has real potential, but it felt more like a hostel for the volunteers than a shared place for guests. They smoked together in the courtyard and took up the only chairs and hammocks, and weren’t very welcoming. We felt a bit uncomfortable. Breakfast was scrambled eggs on toast, coffee, fruit, and puffed rice, served from 8-10am. Not bad.

The kitchen is well equipped, and at least there’s hot water in the showers, but the water doesn’t drain properly and the showers are awful. I wouldn’t recommend this place or come back. Some situations with volunteers felt disrespectful: a couple of mornings I woke up to find two of them sharing a bed, and another time they were shut in a room in a way that made it uncomfortable for me and others to go in. It made the atmosphere awkward and unprofessional, without the basic boundaries guests should be able to expect. Most people staying there were volunteers, so I wouldn’t call it a very social hostel. The rooms are small, with a net in place of a window, so you hear everything from the patio and shared area. Volunteers liked sitting out there late and playing music, which made it hard to sleep.

They let me check in early after I arrived on the overnight bus, and even gave me breakfast for free that day. I really appreciated it. A friendly hostel run by volunteers.

The beds were comfortable, and the kitchen was great. The staff were nice, and the hostel was clean. A great place to stay.