What to know before going to Colombia

When you say Colombia, you immediately think of Pablo Escobar and his famous drug cartel. Terrorized for decades by drugs, communist guerrilas and the government’s endless fight against them, Colombia’s reputation remains shattered by its violent past. Once a place nobody dared even thinking to visit, Colombia has undergone an incredible transformation during the last twenty years. In this post we would like to share with you the most important things to know before going to Colombia.

Colombia has now started unveiling its treasures to the world: the lofty Andes with great hiking trails and astonishing views, fascinating colourful little towns like Salento or Guatape, the cultural and historical lesson-sharing Bogota, the contrasting city of Medellin, strong Spanish colonial influences in Cartagena, the amazing Amazonian Rainforest, fabulous caribbean beaches on San Andres island and last but not least – salsa music!

When’s the best time to visit Colombia?

Located in northern South-America, Colombia is crossed by the equator. Thus, its tropical climate stays fairly constant throughout the year. However, it is a vast country with diverse terrain and variate topography, so temperatures can range between 15° C in Bogota and 35° C on the Caribbean coast. The best time for visiting the country as a whole is between December and April, during the dry months. Beware though, this is also Colombia’s peak tourist season!

Plane tickets

As expected, plane tickets are probably the biggest hassle when it comes to budgeting your holidays in Colombia. Coming from Europe, prices usually range somewhere between 650-750€. But lots of patience and commitment were the key to us finally booking our return flight for 498€ each (KLM/Air France). Good to say, these flights included one piece of carry-on luggage (10kg) and a small handbag only. After serious thought we decided not to buy extra checked-in – I will come back to that later on. Both flights took around 15-17h, including layovers.

Visa and immigration policy

European citizens visiting the Republic of Colombia for tourism purposes are entitled to 90 days of legal stay inside its borders and do not need a visa.

Currency in Colombia

The official currency in Colombia is the Colombian Peso. As of January 2020: (aprox) 3700 COP = 1€.

Card payments are usually available in bars and restaurants. However, there are also many places where you will only be able to pay in cash. I suggest you always have a reasonable amount of COP bills in your wallet.

How to get cash? Don’t go to the exchange houses, rates are worse than directly withdrawing money from ATM’s. We always used ScotiaBank and Davivienda ATM’s in airports for security reasons. With Revolut, there were no extra fees. Yep, it works perfectly fine in Colombia.

Safety concerns

I am sure this is the question you all have in mind. In fact it’s the question everybody asked us when we unveiled where we were heading to. My answer is definitely YES. People were unexpectedly friendly and we never felt in any kind of danger or uncomfortable situation (like in Marrakech, for instance).

Of course there are some common sense rules to follow. The most important thing to know before going to Colombia – do your research! Get informed about no-go areas in advance. Don’t walk on shady, empty streets at night and most important, don’t give papaya! 🙂 If you’re wondering what the hell that means, it’s a very common local idiom telling you not to show off (cause papaya is a soft, easy to cut through fruit). So don’t be an easy target: leave your expensive jewelry and watches at home. Always keep an eye on your belongings and maybe think twice before taking your ultimate photo gear out of your bag around fishy places!

Safety tips

Almost everywhere in Colombia, there are people selling all kind of stuff on the streets. However, if somebody approaches you, don’t freak out. Politely turn them down and they won’t bother you again. Not really the case in Cartagena though – where street vendors tend to be a bit more pushy!

We didn’t encounter any dangerous situation during our stay. However, it’s always good to have an idea of how to behave if any unpleasant event occurs. If you are being physically assaulted for some change or even your mobile phone, don’t fight back. It’s not worth it! You never know how wrong this can go. Best thing to do is keep a “fake” wallet with you. Stuff it in with some cards you don’t use anymore and a small amount of money you can easily get rid of and hand it to the robbers if need be.

Internal Transportation

Infrastructure inside the metropolitan areas of Colombia is impressive. You can find multiple efficient common transportation options. For instance, the Transmilenio rapid transit bus in Bogota or the metro and cable car lines in Medellin. As well as that, taxis are very cheap and quite handy to use via the Easy Tappsi app. We only took cabs through the app when possible and I suggest you do the same. Also, although Uber is not officially legal in Colombia, there are still drivers who practice it so you could also give it a try.

Plane or night bus?

However, due to high altitudes and the country’s extensive mountain and rainforest areas, there is no railway network in Colombia. Roads and highways are also quite poorly developed. Travelling from one city to another by terrestrial means can take A LOT, even if distances may not seem that long. This is an important thing to know before arriving in Colombia, especially if you have limited time here. Therefore, your best bet is to fly! Every district capital in Colombia has an airport and domestic flights are numerous and affordable. If you still need to take a bus trip out of route or cost reasons, we highly recommend night bus rides. It’s safe, buses are comfortable and have reclining seats. Moreover, you also save the money you would normally spend for that night’s accommodation!

During our trip, we had 4 internal flights. We also had one night bus, just for the sake of experience. It eventually turned out to be a real success:

Flight1: Bogota-Salento (BOG-AXM travel time 1 h) 60€/2p
Night bus: Salento-Medellin (travel time 7h) 31€/2p
Flight2: Medellin-Santa Marta (MDE-SRM travel time 1:15h) 68€/2p
Flight3: Cartagena-San Andres (CTG-ADZ travel time 1:30h) 90€/2p
Flight4: San Andres-Bogota (ADZ-BOG travel time: 2:15h) 115€/2p

Check out this article to see our full (and awesome) itinerary:

Suitcase or backpack?

Considering the number of flights and how crazy our itinerary was, we had to face it. There was no way we could comfortably handle big, heavy check-in luggage. This had to be our first backpacking trip. Two weeks with a 40l backpack – yep, we were also in doubt whether it would actually work. Fortunately we don’t usually overpack so it wasn’t that hard to prepare for this journey, with all space constraints. Now, I don’t think we’ll ever travel with a large suitcase again!

Vaccinations and health advice

Insect repellent shouldn’t miss from your bag, especially if traveling to remote places with rich vegetation. Leaving the discomfort they bring aside, mosquitos may carry tropical diseases such as the dengue or the yellow fever. Speaking of vaccinations, the yellow fever vaccine is recommended if going to the areas around Santa Marta, and you MUST have it to be allowed inside the Tayrona National Park.

However, don’t worry, as long as you stick to big cities, the risk is nearly none. Also, if you chose to follow our itinerary, you shouldn’t fear any health damage!

Keep in mind that tap water in Colombia is not drinkable! Food contamination is also possible, so better have some medicine with you in case you get that unlucky.

What to eat in Colombia?

Food lover or not, there are some local dishes you must try while being in Colombia. Colombian cuisine is quite heavy and traditional foods will usually keep your belly full for some time. Arepas are a type of dough made of corn flour, which Colombians are eating any time of the day – alongside a main dish, with cheese(con queso) or filled with other stuff. Another thing people go crazy about are the empanadas, some deep-fried pastry with a meat filling. You’ll basically find those at any corner! When in Bogotá you should have ajiaco, a very nourishing soup with chicken, corn and potatoes, topped with cream and served with rice and avocados. The typical bandeja paisa is a must if you get to Medellin, but make sure you are VERY hungry before you order it!

Oh, I nearly forgot. Whatever you’ll have for your meal, you’ll always get patacones aside – fried plantains!

If dessert is what you crave for, you have a wide variety of fruits to pick from. There are plenty of fruit stalls on the streets, all ripe and delicious! Don’t forget to taste dulce de guanabana, some local sweet, and chocolate con queso – yep, they have hot chocolate with cheese too!

Tips and tricks

• Almost nobody speaks English in Colombia. Be ready to learn at least a few common day-by-day Spanish phrases, which you will use a lot! Here‘s a good place to start.
• Tips are most of the times included on the bill
• Departure and arrival times for buses are indicative only. Don’t really expect them timetables to be true!
• Colombian people’s definition of personal space is different from ours in so many ways
• Eat as much fruit as you can!
• You will notice that Colombians tend to skip queues from time to time. Be patient and don’t let this get on your nerves.
• Don’t be afraid of altitude sickness. You may feel you’re getting tired a bit more quickly at the beginning, but you’ll get used to it.
• If you really hate salsa and reggaeton music, bring some noise-cancelling headphones! You will hear it EVERYWHERE. (Just kidding, you can’t hate their music 🙂 )