Trying something new here, let me know if you like it….
Total Days in Colombia-59
Total Days it Didn’t Rain: 8
Amount Spent: $2254
Average Cost per Day: $38 (when you factor in the free accommodation we got for house sitting for 3 weeks, I think $50 a day is probably a more realistic number).
Places Visited: Bogota (39 nights), Villa de Leyva (2), Santa Marta (3), Tayrona National Park (2), Cartagena (3), Medellin (4), Salento (2), Popayan (2), Ipiales (1)
Biggest Misconception: There are a lot of things people assume about Colombia that simply aren’t true. It isn’t super dangerous , cocaine isn’t everywhere (didn’t see it once) and it’s not hot and steamy all the time- I was actually pretty chilly quite often!
Colombia was also more expensive than expected. Although cheaper than the US, I would not call it a budget travel destination: food, entertainment and transportation in particular were pricey.
Favorite Food: Look, nobody comes to Colombia for the food. It’s just… not the highlight of the place. Nonetheless, in addition to the wide world of fruits, I fell a little in love with Colombian hot chocolate and cheese. Yes the cheese goes IN the hot chocolate.
Least Favorite Food: No question: Arepas. Dry crumbly flat-cakes made of cornmeal. Pretty much tasteless and dryer than the sahara. They are a staple served at nearly every meal but I just don’t get them at ALL.
Most Memorable Moment(s): Watching the stars in Tayrona, getting a “mud massage” at the mud volcano outside Cartagena, listening to live music at an impromptu concert outside the old town of Popayan.
Favorite Night Out: Halloween in Bogota was a crazy experience that rivals even the states. Thousands of people flooded the streets in elaborate costumes to drink and club the night away.
Soggiest Moment: It rained on me a LOT- as usual. Since we unfortunately chose to travel during the rainy season (and during an El Nino year), it rained at least a bit every day, usually in the afternoon or evening. The worst was when we were caught in a downpour in Medellin on our way to meet friends. I don’t know why we didn’t bring umbrellas, we were absolutely soaked through in only 5 minutes.
Most Annoying Thing: The bus rides. This is probably a pan-South America thing (I’m actually told they get much worse) but almost every single bus ride was a nauseating, hair raising experience that took at least 2 hours longer than we expected. The worst was trying to get from Villa de Leyva to Santa Marta. It involved 3 bus changes (including one at 3 am) and constant stops. The entire journey took over 24 hours!
Favorite Place: I really enjoyed Medellin, but my absolute favorite was the little city of Popayan. We were only there for two nights but I really loved this beautiful place, known as the White City. The food wasn’t bad either which was a big plus after weeks of chicken and rice.
Least Favorite: Villa de Leyva- there’s nothing wrong with it, I just didn’t find it worth going out of our way for. It was pretty but dull. Wished we’d went up to San Gil instead.
Biggest Regret: Not leaving enough time at the end to properly see southern Colombia. We spent 5 weeks in Bogota, and by the end it was a race to get out of the country before my visa expired. Would have loved to spend more time in the coffee country (the rain prevented us from even seeing a coffee plantation), to visit San Augustine and to really take my time and enjoy places like Popayan.
Best Advice: Don’t believe the hype about Colombia being a dangerous place. During my time their I never felt unsafe or threatened (which is more than I can say about Quito where I am currently writing this). Colombian’s are some of the nicest, most welcoming people and all of the bad stuff happens far away from anywhere you’d want to visit. It’s too cool a country to dismiss because of bad information!
And don’t go during rainy season. Seriously don’t.
Would I Come Back? I was pretty eager to leave after two months and to experience something else, but yes, I’d love to go back and spend more time in Medellin and the south. Also to visit all my new friends in Bogota!
As a Colombian, our country went trough something like what Mexico is enduring right now back in the late 80s early 90s, yes you’ve probably heard of Pablo E Escobar, although Colombia is now a completely different place (as the links will show at the end of this comment.) we made the terrible mistakes in the 90s, it was devastating, I hope we can help our Mexican brother trough our experiences, as i mentiones Colombia for many years now as un example has been largely free of violence and cocain trade, I am a US citizen, and a Colombian now living in There again, working as an Account Manager at Facebook Latin America. I invite everybody and anybody to come and see for themselves a rich beautiful country like no other on earth, the land of Marques´s Magic realism comed to life! With great opportunities for business and pleasure, the greatest diversity in sceneries in America, highly recommend Cartagena And my hometown of Bogota, its an amazing wonder of the world hidden to the narowminded for the past 40 years. Don’t take my word for it jut read these articles and see for yourself. (and just so you know Cocaine is very frowned upon and not at all part of the countries couture!)
-Frendliest country on earth: http://stesand.hubpages.com/hub/The-Friendliest-Countries-in-the-World
Happiest: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/07/colombia-happiest-country-in-the-world-in-2012-survey-finds_n_2426667.html
-Colombia’s economy among world’s fastest growing: http://colombiareports.co/colombias-economy-among-worlds-fastest-growing/
-Medellin most inovative City IN THE WORLD: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-21638308
10 reasons to choose Colombia as your next vacation destination: http://www.gadling.com/2010/09/29/10-reasons-to-choose-colombia-as-your-next-vacation-destination/
Cheese IN the hot chocolate?? I love trying new things, but this… I’ll have to think about it, my hot chocolate is sacred, haha 😉
Thanks for the list though, it’s a great overview of what to see/do and what not to!
There’s actually a wide variety of food and amazing dishes in colombia that more than surpass American cuisine. However, u have to visit restaurants. The average colombian lives on chicken, arepa, rice and beans. Not everyone in this world can afford steak everyday. Also, beware of the “gringo tax”! Ask people cuanto menos rather than cuanta cuesta. Its not “correct” spanish but it’s a very paisa expression that almost insinuates that youre asking for a bargain.
Great Post! I think that staying in Bogota that long really gave you a pretty skewed perception of costs in Colombia. Bogota is really expensive! Highly recommend coming back and looking around north of Villa de Leyva, much better than Villa de Leyva it self and all around the Coffee Region. It has so many gems that you’d stay another 60 days and maybe more! 🙂 Happy Travels!
Hi Steph, I’m wondering what was your favourite place to travel alone? I really want to go travelling somewhere for a few months.. I’m not the type of person to do anything alone so I think I will really learn loads about myself..where did you find most accommodating to women? Thanks in advance
Hi Tina, it’s slightly pricey but I think Japan is the perfect spot for a first time solo traveler. It’s pretty easy to get around and the people are all really nice and helpful even if they don’t speak English. It’s also incredibly safe and they are very respectful to women so there aren’t too many worries on that point. It’s also an amazing place!
While I do agree that unless the arepas are stuffed with chicken, beef or shrimp like they are in Venezuela, they are pretty bland and just weird to eat. I do have to disagree with the misconceptions of not being dangerous. While visiting for a few months and not encountering danger may have been lucky and happens with many, however what about those foreigners that have gotten killed for not giving up a gold chain, or the blogger that got robbed at gunpoint mid day in his taxi. The stabbings at ATM machines. I think by telling your readers its so safe, they may tend to think it is just like going to NY or Miami.
Hey Steve,
Colombia is relatively safe- all of the things you mentioned could happen to travelers anywhere in South America (I’ve heard plenty of stories in Quito and BA) and yes, even in New York or Miami who are not exactly cities with low crime rates.
Crime is always a danger anywhere in the world, particularly if you are foreign. I did not find the danger level in Colombia to be any higher than anywhere else I’ve been.
I’m in Colombia now. It’s still raining. The Colombian bus I went on the other day is far worse than any other bus I’ve been on in South America (including Bolivia!!). Even more annoying as it was so expensive!!!
So annoying!
The only Colombian city I’ve been to is Cartagena, but I absolutely loved it. The history, architecture, people and culture were all really incredible, and of course the women were gorgeous. My favorite day was the day we went out to the Rosario Islands, which were virtually empty and really beautiful. Did you make it out there?
Sadly no, not on this trip- the look sooo pretty though!