Colombia

2,773 Views | 24 Replies | Last: 4 yr ago by HBCanine08
P.C. Principal
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Followup from this thread a couple weeks ago: https://texags.com/forums/54/topics/3041498

Going to Colombia in late August for a week. Doing Medellin, then Bogota.

Looking for any and all recommendations in both places. It sounds like these 2 cities have a little bit of everything- history, museums, outdoors, nightlife, food.

I've heard I need to do day trips to Guatape from Medellin and the Salt Cathedral from Bogota.

I've also heard I need to leave the Aggie Ring, nice watches, and expensive clothing at home. And wear a money belt, of course.

Any advice is appreciated!
(removed:10EA24-2)
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I can't do it. I see all these young people going now but all I can think about is Pablo Escobar.
P.C. Principal
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He sounds like a pretty swell dude
(removed:10EA24-2)
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P.C. , Are you so young that you don't know who he is/was? Maybe that's why all you young folks are going over there. Google him, y'all. I'm sure there are more just like him over there even still today.
P.C. Principal
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schmendeler
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AG
Beachbabe19 said:

I can't do it. I see all these young people going now but all I can think about is Pablo Escobar.
FYI, he's dead.
Aggie1391
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I just got back from Colombia last week. Spent 3 days in Bogota, 3 days in Cartagena, and 3 days in Medellin.

Bogota - We stayed in Zona T. It's a little more upscale, but still walkable and we felt safe where ever we went. We did one of the free walking tours which took us through downtown and the Candelaria district. Took about 3 hours and hit some popular spots like the main square. We ate at a restaurant called Leo which was on of the most unique places I've eaten at before. Not cheap, but if you had that meal in the US it would be way more expensive.

Cartagena - Super touristy. Anywhere you go inside the walls, people will try and sell you something every 10 feet. There's a bar that sits on top of the wall overlooking the water that everyone flocks to during sunset to get the Instagram pics. Glad we went, but I wouldn't go back to Cartagena again.

Medellin - By far my favorite place we visited. The views, the weather and the people are amazing. The airport is about an hour from the city due to it being on the other side of the mountain, but they are building a tunnel that will cut the time to about 20 minutes. Parque lleras is where everyone goes out at night, it's just a ton of bars and restaurants. Gusto is the club you want to go to if you want to see some of the hottest women in your life. But beware, every single one of those women is a hooker. We stayed at the Los Patios hostel and it was a really nice hostel. Rooftop bar with a great view, plenty of amenities, and a good place to meet other people. Make sure you do the communa 13 tour, it's amazing. It's incredible to see the transformation from the hood to what the neighborhood is now.

As always when traveling, just be aware of your surroundings while walking around the don't make yourself a target. We had a couple in one of the walking tours and the husband was wearing a chain. Someone walked up behind him in the middle of the shopping area and cut the chain off with a knife. Besides that, no issues with safety at all.

Make sure you brush up on your Spanish as well. Most of the locals don't speak English much, if at all.

Overall, I loved Colombia and will definitely be going back one day. Don't let people scare you away with safety concerns. Be smart, and enjoy the cheap, plentiful food and everything else the country has to offer.
P.C. Principal
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But seriously, Colombia is much, much safer than it was years ago (or so I've heard) and that's the reason tourism there has exploded in recent years.
P.C. Principal
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Thanks so much! I actually booked a bed at Los Patios yesterday. Looks amazing.

And yeah, I'm not big on being a gringo when I go to Spanish speaking countries so I will make a strong effort.
Aggie1391
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No problem. If you have any more questions I'd be happy to answer them
astrosaggie1212
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AG
Went last April and loved it. Went to Medellin, Cartagena, San Andres Island, and ended in Bogota. Cartagena was by far my least favorite.

Medellin - we stayed at the 14 Urban Hotel and I thought it was great. Great location, modern rooms (although pretty small but who stays in the room anyway) and a great price. Do the free walking tour. If I remember correctly it takes about 3 hours but it was excellent. You need to book a spot ahead of time. They ask for a tip at the end but the guide was fantastic and I learned a ton. I think a key message is the majority of the Colombian people are trying to erase the memory of Pablo Escobar. They even tell you during the tour to not use his name when asking questions because it could draw the ire of passing locals - not to scare, but the guy was a murderer and most people hate him. Having said that, we took the "Pablo Escobar tour" - basically a local that drives you to the famous spots, his grave, his old building which I think was recently demolished, where he was shot, the mural etc. Interesting, but it all just felt pretty wrong in hindsight. Guatape is a must. It's quite a drive, but we hired a car to take us out there and back. Make sure you eat Bandeja paisa. Each region of Colombian has their specialty, this is the Medellin specialty.

Bogota - we stayed at the Hilton and got a great rate, think it was somewhere around $90 a night. I think it was Zona T? It was basically the Financial District. I'm sure there's other more authentic places to stay, but Bogota kind of has a Mexico City vibe - tons of people and a crowded downtown area. A lot of great restaurants within walking distance of our hotel. Take the gondola up to the church on top of the mountain. View is outstanding.

We ubered in Medellin and in Bogota, no issues at all. The Medellin airport is a drive - maybe 45 mins if I remember correctly. Have fun!
AggieMainland
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Heading to Medellin and Bogota in mid-August. Staying at Los Patios in Medellin. Still undecided about Bogota. I want to stay at botanico hostel. great reviews but not sure I want to risk it with the questionable safety of the La Candelaria area. Aurora hostel near Chapinero is the other option. Pretty boring (hostel, not area in general) but no safety issues. Probably will stick with Chapinero.

Going on a coffee tour in Medellin that I'm excited about:

https://www.toucancafe.co/medellin-tours/medellin-coffee-farm-tour/
TXCityAggie
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AG
I was in Medelln last week and I'm going back in a few days to stay for 2 more weeks (I'm in Rio now). Perfectly safe and the nightlife was recently voted number 1 in Latin America.

A word of caution about Uber...I use Uber all the time in the city, but it is technically not allowed from the airport. I believe the government has some kind of deal with the airport taxi company. I knew this but took Ubers from airport anyway. The driver would always park and come meet me like he was a friend picking me up. On one of my last trips the cops questioned him because they suspected he was an Uber driver. They were going to take his license but he ended up paying a bribe to the cops and we left. I decided it's not worth it and now just take the airport taxi from the airport.
P.C. Principal
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How much is the airport taxi? I hear the airport is like an hour out from the city
TXCityAggie
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AG
I think I payed 75,000 pesos. Yes, the airport is about 45 minutes to an hour outside of Medellin. There is also a bus service, but I've never used it.
P.C. Principal
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AggieMainland said:

Heading to Medellin and Bogota in mid-August. Staying at Los Patios in Medellin. Still undecided about Bogota. I want to stay at botanico hostel. great reviews but not sure I want to risk it with the questionable safety of the La Candelaria area. Aurora hostel near Chapinero is the other option. Pretty boring (hostel, not area in general) but no safety issues. Probably will stick with Chapinero.

Going on a coffee tour in Medellin that I'm excited about:

https://www.toucancafe.co/medellin-tours/medellin-coffee-farm-tour/
ttt bc I'm going next week.

How was this coffee tour? I may do it. Also did you like Los Patios? Planning on staying there.
AggieMainland
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Ok. Just got back this morning. (direct flight from Bogota 11:25PM to DFW 5AM)

Colombia is incredible.

Los Patios is amazing. They have 2 building with 360 degree great views. It was magical. I live in the "Suites" which was more like a hotel. Very social place. Lots of activities planned.

The Toucan coffee farm tour was great. Its an all day deal so you don't get back until 6pm-ish. The translator that came with us was named Felix from Venezuela. Dude has a great story since he is new to Medellin after leaving Venezuela. Speaks great English (American accent) and lived in the US for a bit back in the day.

Honestly, every tour I did was perfect. I would recommend them all. I learned something new with each of them.

Medellin:

Comuna 8 (watch the documentary La Sierra if you do this....there were zero tourists in this area....very unique and you end up with the greatest view of the city)

https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/345127?source=wl


Downtown + Comuna 13 (very touristy but this is the highest rated Comuna 13 tour for good reason)

https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/199665?source=wl


Soccer game (best soccer experience I've ever been a part of. Even bought an awesome bootleg jersey for cheap)

https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/306890


Bogota:

Full day tour of Colombian finca with horseback riding, food/drinks, tejo, and so much more. This is ranked by Airbnb as a Top 50 experience in the world. I can't recommend this enough. The price should have been twice as much IMO.

https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/320982?currentTab=experience_tab&federatedSearchId=8528175d-0962-4f6b-a91e-2525509bb3b3&searchId=30507e7a-f690-411f-b4d2-7784c70a1e50§ionId=2ec634fb-a2a0-454a-8f2c-306951662389&source=p2
AggieMainland
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From the airports, I used a Taxi. But I used Uber around town. Around town its super cheap....although Medellin and Bogota have crazy stupid traffic so leave early if you need to get somewhere on time. I actually used UberBlack most of the time vs UberX. I had zero issues with UberBlack drivers. The cars were a little nicer (but not luxury or anything like that)...usually a car the size of a Rav4. UberX cars were fine but bare bones at time and drivers could be rough around the edges. Honestly, your rides will end up being like $4USD...so just pay the extra $1USD or whatever and go with the UberBlack.
AggieMainland
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In Medellin, I did take an UberX to the airport. The dude went the long way (north of town) and did not use the new tunnel that opened when I was there that saves you 18 minutes. He was also paranoid that we would get stopped by the cops and I told him that I would say he is my amigo and didn't know about Uber. It was fine just weird experience. I ended up getting charged 120,000COP vs 75,000COP due to the long distance. I sent a message to Uber Support after that and they refunded me the difference in like 5 minutes which was nice.

Every other experience was 100% fine. (although most were UberBlack after that) I also speak zero spanish so Uber is great. Everyone is pretty understanding after you tell them up front that you don't speak spanish. Wasn't an issue.
P.C. Principal
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Awesome, thanks so much!

I'm probably going to do a Guatape day trip and a Comuna 13 tour. I would also like to do the coffee tour.
TXCityAggie
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AG
Santa Fe is another awesome day trip if you have time. The metro is Medellin is also very clean and easy to use. Take a ride up the metrocable from San Javier for some great views.
schmendeler
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AG
thank god escobar didn't get you.
AggieMainland
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P.C. Principal....we are waiting for that update. How was the trip?
P.C. Principal
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AggieMainland said:

P.C. Principal....we are waiting for that update. How was the trip?
Amazing! I loved Colombia! Beautiful place and the people are awesome. Medellin was better than Bogota IMO. But Bogota was very pretty. Guatape was probably my favorite part of the trip.

Wish I could have hit Cartagena too! Next time. I like how easy it is to travel there from the US.
htownag99
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AG
My wife has been trying to convince me we need to take a trip with our 2 young boys (ages 3 and 5) to Colombia next year during Spring Break. I would be all in, if it was just the 2 of us, but kinda skeptical with 2 kids. I'm not worried about safety at all, I am just worried that is there enough kid things to do since a lot of Colombia is walking and seeing views, etc..
HBCanine08
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AG
I've been to Bogota and Medellin and agree with what the other posters above have said. It probably won't be too much to get a reserved car or van from the airport at either Bogota or Medellin. When you're in Bogota, make sure you check out the Bogota Beer Company.
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