San José de Chiquitos is halfway along the rail route that runs from Santa Cruz to Puerto Quijarro on the Brazilian border. There are three different services on this route: the Regional service, which stops more often than it moves but is pretty comfy in pullman class; the Expreso Oriental, with dining car, reclining seats, steward service, A/C and television; and the Ferrobus service with food included, steward service, cama and semi-cama seats, A/C and television as standard.
To Santa Cruz:
The Regional service is scheduled to arrive in San José at 1.25 a.m. Monday –Saturday (it takes a bit of time before it actually leaves for Santa Cruz) and takes approximately eight hours. Normal tickets cost around $3 and pullman class $7.50
Expreso Oriental leaves in the early hours of the morning (2.20 a.m.) on Wednesdays, Fridays and Mondays and is scheduled to arrive in Santa Cruz at 8.40 a.m. It costs $8.50.
Ferrobus leaves at 3.10 a.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and should take between 5.5 and six hours. A cama seat with set you back $29.50 and a semi-cama $25.
To Puerto Quijarro
The Regional train arrives in San José at 6.45 p.m. Monday to Saturday, arriving in Puerto Quijarro at 7.10 a.m. the following morning. Tickets cost $14 in Pullman class and $4.50 in normal.
Expreso Oriental leaves on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 10.20 p.m. arriving in Puerto Quijarro at 8.45 a.m. the following day. Seats cost $15.50.
Ferrobus leaves just after midnight (12.10 a.m.), in the early hours, on Wednesdays, Fridays and Mondays, arriving in Puerto Quijarro at 8.40 a.m. At cama seat costs $22.50, a semi-cama $19.
Bus
Buses along the dirt road to San Ignacio leave every day in the early morning. Universal and Expreso San Ignacio both run this service, it takes about seven hours and costs around $4.50. There’s no bus station so you will need to go to the individual transport offices to buy your ticket – it’s best to get it a day in advance.
Buses leave daily along the shaky dirt track to Santa Cruz (10 hours) and the smoother, asphalted road to Puerto Quijarro (4/5 hours, $8.50). There are also services to Roboré, Aguas Calientes and other destinations on the way to Puerto Quijarro.