One of the main reasons to come to Sucre is to study Spanish without many distractions, although they are there if you want to get away from your studying for a few hours or evenings. We studied here for 3 weeks, for 4 hrs a day, and came away with an excellent understanding of Spanish grammar, leaving us to practice our conversational skills in other in Latin America countries. Although there's not a great deal to do around town to distract you from studying, you can take a tour to see The Largest Dinosaur Tracks in the world, which is just out of town; the Tarabuco market is an hour away and held every Sunday for artisans; you can walk up the hill to La Recoletta for great views of Sucre and the surrounding countryside, which provides excellent photograph opportunities and a beer or snack in the nice restaurant; and a couple of museums around town may be of interest too, one where you can see the Tarabuca fabrics weaved.
Quick Tips:
Recommended by other students we had met was our teacher Delia Zuñiga Peñaranda. Her email is dezp117@hotmail.com, and she will reply to your mail if you require lessons in the privacy of your hostel, hotel, or apartment, and can help you with all your needs. She takes you to local markets and restaurants for conversational lessons, and to the cemetery to practice your past tense. She is also a teacher for one of the many language schools in town, teaching both Spanish and English to a variety of tourists and Bolivian students. She also has a good understanding of the Quechua language.
Whilst in Sucre, we stayed in The Grand Hotel, very close to the plaza. After haggling, we managed to pay 100 bolivianos a night for the 1-month stay (about ). A large room came with H/W, cable TV, and two double beds. All rooms are different, but most are large, with window shutters that open up onto the lush, green courtyard. Breakfast is included, but it's extra for eggs and juice, still under .
Best Way To Get Around:
The best bar in town is Joyride. It serves delicious international food and has a mixed clientele, a movie room, and live bands from time to time. They also do mountain bike tours. It is a very well-run place, and you'll always see a couple of students in the corner of the outside courtyard studying away. There are a few other nice places to eat on the side streets once you've had enough of the Joyride menu. Joyride is again just off of the main plaza.
There are also a couple of good clubs, where you'll meet the entire backpacker contingent of Sucre on Friday and Saturday nights.
Tired of buses, we flew from Cochabamba with Aerosur, and because of the political unrest, we flew from Sucre to La Paz with L.A.B. Both flights were good and cheap, and we saved on long overnight bus journeys. The small truck for the dinosaur footprint tour is parked on the Plaza, with the departure times of 9:30am, noon, and 2:30pm Monday through Saturday. We took a taxi to the Sunday market with other backpackers we had met, but there is local transport.