{"id":2018,"date":"2025-12-21T11:34:21","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T10:34:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ibo.guide\/viru-viru-airport-in-santa-cruz-bolivia-our-experience-with-ibo\/"},"modified":"2026-03-22T19:53:52","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T18:53:52","slug":"viru-viru-airport-in-santa-cruz-bolivia-our-experience-with-ibo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ibo.guide\/en\/viru-viru-airport-in-santa-cruz-bolivia-our-experience-with-ibo\/","title":{"rendered":"Viru Viru Airport in Santa Cruz, Bolivia: our experience traveling with Ibo"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We flew into Viru Viru Airport near Santa Cruz de la Sierra from Asunci\u00f3n with our dog, Ibo. It was a direct flight of roughly two hours, so the journey itself was short and with no layovers.<\/p>\n\n

Ibo traveled again in the cargo hold, in his dedicated crate. After landing, we went through a series of small, sometimes surprising steps\u2014it helps to know about them in advance.<\/p>\n\n

Online registration form and Wi\u2011Fi<\/h4>\n\n

On arrival, we had to fill out an online registration form. Fortunately, the airport has Wi\u2011Fi\u2014slow, but it worked. Without it, things would have been trickier, so we recommend having mobile data or being ready to wait a bit.<\/p>\n\n

Security screening even after landing<\/h4>\n\n

Unlike at many other airports, our baggage went through security screening again after arrival. Nothing major, but it\u2019s good to be prepared for it.<\/p>\n\n

Picking up the dog on the baggage carousel<\/h4>\n\n

One of the biggest surprises was that Ibo\u2019s crate arrived on the same carousel as regular luggage. Until now we\u2019d been used to collecting him at Lost and Found or another designated area. Seeing Ibo riding past between suitcases looked a bit comical, but we were also worried about his safety. In the end, he was fine and everything went smoothly.<\/p>\n\n

Veterinary check\u2014mostly a formality<\/h4>\n\n

Ibo was the only dog arriving on that flight that day. Even so, airport staff called in an employee to verify his veterinary paperwork. Ours were issued in Paraguay, so no translations were needed, as both countries are Spanish-speaking.<\/p>\n\n

The officer simply reviewed the documents, scanned the QR code on the last page, and approved entry without examining the dog at all. Only after all the formalities were completed were we allowed to take Ibo out of the crate.<\/p>\n\n

Practical tip: scissors in checked baggage<\/h4>\n
\n
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Pack scissors or another suitable cutting tool in your checked baggage. Crates are often secured with plastic zip ties before departure, and without a tool they\u2019re very hard to remove. Of course, never put such an item in your carry-on.<\/p>\n\n

Airport facilities<\/h4>\n\n

Viru Viru offers the usual services\u2014car rentals, small restaurants, currency exchange, SIM card vendors, and we even found a small pet supplies shop.<\/p>\n\n

We left the airport in a rental car, but local taxis are available too. Not all will accept dogs, though. Apps like Uber, or taxi services where you can arrange pet transport in advance, are a practical alternative.<\/p>\n\n

Cash comes in handy<\/h4>\n\n

It\u2019s not essential, but we recommend carrying at least a little local currency (BOB), or getting some at the airport. The rate may not be ideal, but you\u2019ll be glad to have it if needed. We didn\u2019t have any cash and hit a snag right as we were leaving the airport\u2014there was a 10 BOB exit fee for cars. The attendant refused 1 USD, so we paid 2 USD and overpaid for no good reason.<\/p>\n\n

Overall impression<\/h4>\n\n

We\u2019d rate arrival and paperwork at Viru Viru as average but fairly pleasant. We landed in favorable weather, which made the whole experience nicer. It\u2019s worth checking the forecast before you fly\u2014heat, strong winds, or rain can sour your first impression of the country if you\u2019re not ready for them.<\/p>\n\n

Despite a few quirks, our entry into Bolivia with a dog was straightforward, and Ibo handled it better than we expected.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We flew into Viru Viru Airport near Santa Cruz de la Sierra from Asunci\u00f3n with our dog, Ibo. It was a direct flight of roughly two hours, so the journey itself was short and with no layovers. Ibo traveled again … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2019,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"Arriving at Viru Viru Airport, Santa Cruz, Bolivia: What to Expect With a Dog \u2022 IBO GUIDE","_seopress_titles_desc":"Arrival tips for Viru Viru, Santa Cruz: form and slow Wi\u2011Fi, post\u2011arrival screening, dog pick\u2011up on carousel, vet check, cash for fees, transport.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[86,92,94,138,132],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-airports","category-americas","category-bolivia","category-by-air","category-with-a-dog","latest_post"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibo.guide\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2018","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibo.guide\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibo.guide\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibo.guide\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibo.guide\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2018"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibo.guide\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2018\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3120,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibo.guide\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2018\/revisions\/3120"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibo.guide\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibo.guide\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibo.guide\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibo.guide\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}