I'm headed there next weekend for a month and just wondering if people have any recommendations beyond the obligatory hookers and blow jokes. Spending most of my time in the Caribbean coastal area (Santa Marta, Cartagena, Palomino), with about 4 days each reserved for Medellin and Bogota, and a 3 day stop in a tiny mountain village called Minca.
I'm headed there next weekend for a month and just wondering if people have any recommendations beyond the obligatory hookers and blow jokes. Spending most of my time in the Caribbean coastal area (Santa Marta, Cartagena, Palomino), with about 4 days each reserved for Medellin and Bogota, and a 3 day stop in a tiny mountain village called Minca.
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Your trip sounds great, rube. I have never been to Colombia, but I dated a Colombian gal in university, and I think as a general rule, most of the women there are gorgeous.
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My co-worker is from there (Bogota) and is coming back in a couple of weeks after having been there for a month.
One thing I didn't realize is that Bogota is actually a very temperate city due to the elevation. He told me that the temperature is usually in the 3 to 20 C and it is not uncommon to have frost on the ground in the morning. You probably knew that, but I was surprised. He said it is almost always sunny this time of year though.
The coastal areas will be hot of course.
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I was in Columbia on a business trip for 3 days between Medellin and Bogota (couldn’t see much). Medellin was amazing, very hot, very steep hill from the airport to downtown. Wish I could have spent more time there.
How is safety in Columbia? Going to head off somewhere this year for a bit, Columbia sounds intriguing.
From what I was told by my co-worker, there are regular anti-government demonstrations in Bogota and some tension because of the city having issues accommodating Venezuelan refugees (although he said Colombians and Venezuelans typically get along well). It's probably not a danger to tourists generally, but it could make travelling around inconvenient. I was in Athens a few years ago and got caught in some of that stuff.
I watched this recently and it was a little freaky, but also preventable if you are smart.
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I spent a few months in Bogota back in 2013 and loved it. You definitely have to be alert at night, but it didn't seem any less safe to me than a lot of U.S. cities. La Candelaria is a nice area to walk around in the day andake sure you eat at La Puerta Falsa while you're there. For a unique experience, Andres Carne de Res is a crazy steakhouse/club that's worth checking out at night if you can find a way of getting there.
As much as I loved Bogota, Medellin was even better. It's a great city to wander around and ride the cable cars, but the food is also excellent. Get some bandeja paisa at Brasarepa (it's a little outside town, but I made the trip based on an episode of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservation, and it was worth it).
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I just returned home from a 3 month backpack trip in South America between Colombia and Peru. Colombia itself is incredible and the people are amazing, never once felt un-safe or sketched out the entire trip.
Your itinerary sounds pretty good and fairly similar to mine. I went Bogota (3 nights) -> San Gil (5 nights) -> Santa Marta/Minca/Tayrona (5 nights) -> Cartagena (3 nights) -> Medellin (4 nights) -> Salento region (4 nights).
Bogota is a great place to start but I wouldn't spend more than a couple nights there, it really is just another big city but a good place to get your bearings. La Candeleria is the oldest neighbourhood in the city and is cool to wander/check out. I'd reccomend doing the hike up the Monserratte versus taking the cable car, but up to you!
I didn't notice San Gil on your list but if you are into adventure stuff then this place is wicked. We went white water rafting, bungee jumping, waterfall reprelling, checked out some natural water pools and there is a really neat little town a quick bus ride away called Barichara. We stayed at the Macondo hostel and it was great.
Santa Marta/Minca/Tayrona - There is literally nothing to do in Santa Marta. It is definitely just a place most people use as a gateway to the coast. I wouldn't spend more than 1 night there personally, unless you want to just chill and catch up on sleep. The coast is beautiful and Tayrona is incredible - the 'hike' (trail) in is actually decently long but has great views and goes directly through the jungle which is neat. Minca is a great place to escape up in the mountains and just relax - be ready to walk like a goat up the hill or hop on a motor taxi to get to your accommodation though.
I'm not sure what you are looking for on your trip/how old you are but 1 place I highly recommend is spending a couple nights at the El Rio Hostel. It is in the middle of the jungle after Tayrona and between Palomino. It was voted best hostel in SA in 2018 and is a blast, total gong show and party but definitely worth it.
Cartagena is hooooottttt - muggy as heck. Be ready to sweat. We did a free walking tour here which I'd recommend as you get to learn some interesting history here. We stayed in the Gatsemani area of time and I would recommend that for sure. While here you can do a bunch of different Island tours/Island hopping if you are into that type of thing. We spent a day out on Isla Bara and it was pretty great. Be prepared for the local street vendors to bombard you here, it was probably the worst in all of SA.
Medellin is incredible. It is such a cool city and has so much to offer. They are super proud of the metro and it is extremely efficient and cheap so you may as well use that as your form of transportation here. You can take it pretty much everywhere in the city as well as access the 4 cable cars throughout the city. We did a tour through the famous Comuna 13 (highly recommend), which used to be the most dangerous community in the world do to the gang violence and drugs. It has transformed into a super interesting place and the history/what went down there is incredible to hear first hand. Word of caution - the city is not proud of the Escobar stuff / Narco stuff, they even refuse to say his name. So air on the side of caution with anything Pablo related. I know there is tours out there to see his grave, where he was killed and some areas he was famous for, but it is highly frowned upon by the locals.
Our last stop in Colombia was probably my favourite of all. The Salento area is the coffee region and is a tiny little town right near the Cocora Valley. We did a coffee tour through a plantation to learn all about that process which was pretty neat. The Cocora Valley was probably the hi-light of the entire trip. It is a full day trek but the views of the palm trees and the mountains are unbelievable. If you do it (highly recommend) - go backwards and start from the normal exit, the ending scene walking down into the valley is awesome. We also did a day trip to a little town outside of Salento called Guatape which is famous for the coloured streets/buildings and the famous rock viewpoint. It was a super cool day trip and definitely recommended as well.
Feel free to PM me if you have any questions about anything in specific or want to know more about anything. It is an amazing country and I hope you have a blast!
Last edited by emti; 01-03-2020 at 09:46 PM.
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I didn't notice San Gil on your list but if you are into adventure stuff then this place is wicked. We went white water rafting, bungee jumping, waterfall reprelling, checked out some natural water pools and there is a really neat little town a quick bus ride away called Barichara. We stayed at the Macondo hostel and it was great.
Santa Marta/Minca/Tayrona - There is literally nothing to do in Santa Marta. It is definitely just a place most people use as a gateway to the coast. I wouldn't spend more than 1 night there personally, unless you want to just chill and catch up on sleep. The coast is beautiful and Tayrona is incredible - the 'hike' (trail) in is actually decently long but has great views and goes directly through the jungle which is neat. Minca is a great place to escape up in the mountains and just relax - be ready to walk like a goat up the hill or hop on a motor taxi to get to your accommodation though.
I'm not sure what you are looking for on your trip/how old you are but 1 place I highly recommend is spending a couple nights at the El Rio Hostel. It is in the middle of the jungle after Tayrona and between Palomino. It was voted best hostel in SA in 2018 and is a blast, total gong show and party but definitely worth it.
Medellin is incredible. It is such a cool city and has so much to offer. They are super proud of the metro and it is extremely efficient and cheap so you may as well use that as your form of transportation here. You can take it pretty much everywhere in the city as well as access the 4 cable cars throughout the city. We did a tour through the famous Comuna 13 (highly recommend), which used to be the most dangerous community in the world do to the gang violence and drugs. It has transformed into a super interesting place and the history/what went down there is incredible to hear first hand. Word of caution - the city is not proud of the Escobar stuff / Narco stuff, they even refuse to say his name. So air on the side of caution with anything Pablo related. I know there is tours out there to see his grave, where he was killed and some areas he was famous for, but it is highly frowned upon by the locals.
Feel free to PM me if you have any questions about anything in specific or want to know more about anything. It is an amazing country and I hope you have a blast!
This is awesome. Thanks! Yeah, I think the only time I'm really spending in Santa Marta is the night I get there from Bogota and then the night before I fly from Santa Marta to Medellin. Have not heard of San Gil but will check it out.
I'm headed there next weekend for a month and just wondering if people have any recommendations beyond the obligatory hookers and blow jokes. Spending most of my time in the Caribbean coastal area (Santa Marta, Cartagena, Palomino), with about 4 days each reserved for Medellin and Bogota, and a 3 day stop in a tiny mountain village called Minca.
Carnivale is in Barranquilla, is a blast, and it is in February.
Apparently there are places you can get guinea pig as well, although more of an Andes thing, I am told that it is becoming more common elsewhere.
I considered guinea pig in Peru but it was very expensive for so little meat. We did “eat” piranha in the Amazon. Those things have virtually no flesh that we eventually gave up.
Anyone been to Colombia?
