Visited in Oct 2018. Unlike the other reviewers we chose to go east and started our visit at San Jose after a hot 4 hour bus ride from Santa Cruz. It was 40C and our bus attendant's idea of aircon was wedging the door open with pop bottles as we drove down the highway. Connections to San Jose are good via train or bus since it is on the main road to Brazil. This is hot, tough country and it takes a special kind of people to thrive here which is probably why most of the settlements and people we saw along the way were Mennonites. 

From the bus station it was about a 20 min walk to the main plaza and the church. Unlike the others it is unique in that it is larger and has a stone facade, which looks a little strange on the wooden church, and is walled compound. We relaxed a bit in the shade of the plaza watching the lethargic movements of the towns folk while waiting for the afternoon opening of the church. Finally we saw someone setting up a stage in the plaza and running cords through one of the doors so we got in to the courtyard of the complex. There is a museum on one side but it didn't look like it would be opening for us anytime soon but we got into the dark church interior for a quick look. The woodwork is nice but unsure if we were even supposed to be there we didn't stay long.

The next morning we caught a trufi/collectivo to San Rafael. Public transport is infrequent and the dirt road uncomfortable but the scenery is interesting with the occassional cowboy and Mennonite buggy thrown into the mix. The guidebooks aren't lying when they say you need to have your own transport or hire a taxi to not get stuck and unfortunately we didn't have time to find the San Rafael church before leaving on another trufi to San Ignacio. This second ride stopped briefly in the central plaza of San Miguel so we were able to at least see the exterior of the church. Stunning. The painting on the facade is beautiful as are the carved pillars holding up the thatched roof. It is scocking to see something like this in such a remote and harsh area. 

San Ignacio is the hub of the settlements in the central part of the Chiquitos and had enough amenities to cater to the few tourists that get this far. The bus station is a few km from the plaza and mototaxis are cheap and plentiful for getting around. Arriving in the early evening, we had enough time to visit the church and have dinner in the plaza. San Ignacio is a larger version of the church at San Miguel with beautiful pillars (inside and out) and painted facade. We probably left too soon after all the effort to get there but got a room for a few hours before catching an onward bus passing through at 3am to the Brazilian border at San Matias (for access to the northern Pantanal).

Overall an adventurous and enjoyable destination for those with the time or money to make the effort. Unlike the Missiones churches in Argentina and Paraguay, these aren't ruins but still working churches for their communities and won't feel like a repeat.