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In Feburary, just booked a cheap flight into Cartegena and flying out of Bogota 10 days apart, but haven't really put an itinerary together of what I'll be doing in either city or between the two. We're planning on flying between cities (which is surprisingly cheap) and also want to visit Cali and Medellin. Any Colombian goons here or frequenters that can advise on travelling there? Really curious about: -Other cities than the above -Are hostels reasonable as far as safety? -Bus vs. plane travel -Anything I should definitely see.
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Dec 20, 2014 23:47
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| # ? Apr 19, 2024 09:22 |
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I spent a few weeks there. I think you just need one full day for cartegena unless you want to chill on the beach (that looked crappy to me). You can travel by car to Santa Marta for a nicer beach but I never went. Also can go to barranquilla but nothing to really see there. Medellin and Bogota you can spend a few days each. Try to visit the original Andre's Carne del Res outside of Bogota. Also outside of Bogota is the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá that you should definitely see. Eat lots of granadilla; http://youtu.be/rAgskecmpWE?list=UUSBPKJ5oa1Av3YOiAfx6KKw Take safety precautions, carry enough cash for the day (some in your sock), don't carry credit/debit cards, and take taxis at night.
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Dec 21, 2014 18:45
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Awesome, thanks for the info. Cartegena's beaches do look a bit "eh" so going to check out Santa Marta. How dangerous did it really feel there?
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Dec 22, 2014 17:41
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Sehnsucht posted:
Honestly it didn't feel dangerous at all. I was nervous walking around bogota at first. But it was fine. Certainly stuff happens and there's areas you should avoid. Did have a fake police officer try to scam me the first day and a 12 year old girl try to pick pocket me outside a club in Medellin. Stuff a plastic bag in your pocket over the wallet this way it can't be grabbed.
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Dec 22, 2014 22:35
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Santa Marta is a pretty ugly city in my opinion. I would not go out of my way to go there! However, to the southeast, there is Taganga, which is a funny little town with some decent beaches and a really laid back (party/drug/420) vibe to it that I would check it out. It is just over the mountains from Santa Marta. Go there. If you're in Santa Marta, definitely go to Tyrona national park, which is roughly an hour east. It is the crown jewel of Colombia's national park system and a must see. Google it. Medellin is a fun city. Stay away from Baranquilla. The hostels, over the course of 6 weeks, always seemed quite safe. Most hostels have some sort of safe you can use for valuables. The biggest danger of theft is getting pick pocketed or mugged, but that risk can be minimized by traveling smart and just staying out of bad areas. In general, I felt very safe in Colombia. You will get a lot of attention in the big cities if you're white, especially in the open air markets/lower income neighborhoods, but in general it's fine. Just use your common sense and ask the staff at your hostels where you should go. If you travel smart, you should be alright Bus vs Flights is really just a matter of what do you have more of, time or money? Buses are considerably cheaper but will take up an entire day of your trip between major cities. If you only have 10 days, bussing it between Cartagena, Santa Marta, Medellin, and Bogota is unrealistic. Thats roughly half your trip right there. Also flights, occasionally, can be really cheap. Check often because sometimes there are deals to be had. hobbez fucked around with this message at 08:28 on Dec 25, 2014 |
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Dec 25, 2014 08:20
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Thank you both! I kind of figured this would be no worse than other areas I've previously visisted; googling "Colombia travel safety" seems like the equivalent of looking up a rash on WebMD as far as getting you all worried. After doing some research, the price difference between buses / planes is pretty negligible (re: $20-40 flights?) so we'll definitely be going that route. Also hostels vs. hotels in most places is about the same difference. Pretty reasonable as we're getting one room. Probably going to wipe Santa Marta from the itinerary. Did you guys happen to visit San Andres Island? Also, you think that 3-4 days in Bogota is too much? What was the best part of Medellin?
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Dec 27, 2014 21:39
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Just got back from Colombia a few weeks ago, been in Bogota a few months for work, and took a side-trip to Cartagena with the girlfriend. I'd been in both cities in years past, as well as Santa Marta. For Cartagena, you don't really go to the beaches right by the town, you walk down to the docks, pay $5 or so, and take a passenger speedboat out to the islands off the coast, and there you can hang out on the beach with a beer, etc. We took one of the slow boats and visited a few islands, but the trip took forever and the extra islands were kinda tourist-trap, so I'd suggest just taking a speedboat right out to some beach that's good for swimming/lounging and spend part of the afternoon there, have some beers, eat some fresh fish. The beaches are still a little touristy, in that local families rent out little shaded lawn chairs, bring you beer, etc. but the one I went to wasn't too obtrusive, and was pretty convenient since they'd just bring us whatever we needed right to our little $5 for the afternoon awning. We spent three full days in Cartagena, and still found things to do, though if you only have ten days I'd spend more like 2 days there so you can check out other places. Are you into museums? Cartagena has a number of small but cool ones in historic buildings. Lots of great seafood, particularly ceviche. We're not into wild dancing scene or anything, but did find cool places to lounge around with a drink and people watch in the evenings. If you can find a hostel in Getsemaní, it's the neighborhood right next to the old city, so convenient but not as pricey as being in the old city proper. Used to be a bad neighborhood (stayed at a hostel there in 2006, kinda rough) but it's cleaned up a lot. There's a great little plaza in the middle (Plaza Trinidad?) with some cool bars, and tons of folks hanging out chilling in the evenings. For Bogota, really the main things worth doing tourist-wise there are museums, nightlife, and general exploration. I wouldn't spend a huge amount of time there, but you can keep busy for a couple days fine. For the cliche touristy stuff, it really is worth taking the cable car or railcar (either/or) up to Montserrate peak above the city, as the views are insanely good. There are a ton of museums within blocks of each other in Candelaria, and the Museo Nacional is small but good and the building itself is amazing (really that's a general trend from what I've seen of Colombia). For nightlife in Bogota, the Uptown area (Parque 93, Zona Rosa) are kinda more upscale/douchebaggy but can be lively and exciting, while down by Calle 19 there are a lot more middle/working class salsa dancing bars and all. If you like artsier stuff, check out the website for A Seis Manos, a French-owned artspace that has galleries, live music events, poetry readings, and decent food and drinks. I misrecall the names, but there are smaller but good indie/artsy clubs in Chapinero and Candelaria. Note a lot of Colombia really shuts down on Sundays (the most touristy parts of Cartagena maybe a little less so). So even finding an open restaurant on Sunday evenings, much less nightlife, can be tricky in Bogota. Though on the upside, Sunday has a couple huge marketplaces: a touristy-artsy one in Usquen, a funkier "Mercado de Pulgas" (flea market) down on Septima, and then huge sprawlings of unofficial street vendors a bizarre assortment of weird crap to locals all up and down Septima, plus great people-watching. Also on Sunday, if you can get up at a reasonable hour, from 7am-2pm on Sunday, they close a major street down and turn it over to pedestrians, dog-walkers, skaters, bicyclists, etc. It's called Ciclovía, and worth wandering amidst. I've never been to Medellin, but I've heard very good things, so it's up there on my list for next time I'm down there a few months for work. I don't want to overwhelm you with info, but if you have any question about foodie, artsy, history tourism stuff about Bogota or Cartagena, let me know and I can give more specific recommendations. EDIT: you're going as a couple/group? Do some comparison shopping on AirBnB to see if it's more cost-effective to get an apartment for a few days in each city rather than at a hostel. In terms of having a wider variety of locations to live in, having a kitchen and own bathroom, even fewer security concerns, etc. TapTheForwardAssist fucked around with this message at 04:26 on Dec 28, 2014 |
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Dec 28, 2014 04:22
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I have it on good authority that legendary poster minya is the descendent of one of the first Presidente's of Colombia, so for fucks sake put together a proper "fit" when you visit his country.
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Dec 28, 2014 23:36
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| # ? Apr 19, 2024 09:22 |
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Sehnsucht posted:Also, you think that 3-4 days in Bogota is too much? What was the best part of Medellin? never went. 3-4 days isn't too much, especially if you see that church of salt which is a bit out of the city and Andres carne del res which is also out of the city. Take the cable car in medellin high up the mountain.
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Dec 30, 2014 22:00
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