Colombia – quick travel guide

South American caribbean beach country with many different vibes.

Colombian is an interesting mix of many things. Most people know it as Caribbean beach destination with parties and beautiful people…but it has much more landscapes and personalities than just that. It also has the Pacific Ocean, San Andres island near Nicaragua, Amazon river like Brazil, also jungles, deserts and mountains. Colombia’s hippest city (Medellin) is actually a mountain town.

Culturally and economically…Colombians are also very distinct. Generally, they are poor and things are cheap. You will feel a much bigger cultural divide between them and the visiting gringo/foreigner. Whereas in Mexico or Brazil, where locals seem to bond better with foreigners or at least can vibe with them…in Colombia, it’s a bigger gap. You’re just too different and won’t be accepted into their circles like you would elsewhere. (This isn’t to say that they aren’t friendly!)

Which means you’re likely in Colombia to party cheap with foreigners. Or you want to explore more local and off-the-beaten-path destinations where there are zero foreigners. There’s no in-between.

Major destinations can be done within 3-4 weeks, but you’d need 2 or 3 months to really see everything. See if you like the vibe before you stay longer. Many people would easily camp out here 3-6 months enjoying the beach, party life, or just Colombian vibes.

General tips for traveling in Colombia:

• Mobile carrier – I recommend the big 3 in this order…Claro (best coverage), Tigo (fastest in big cities), Movistar (cheapest price, worst connection). To get eSIM, you must visit the official store…I only had luck with Movistar and Tigo, Claro store said they don’t sell eSIM (even though their site says it does). I would honestly not recommend Movistar whatsoever, it doesn’t work well in many small towns and remote places.
• Transportation – public transportation is pretty solid and really cheap here.
• Bus transportation – is always late! If it says 13hrs, you can expect at least 2-7hrs delay. At least the nice thing is when you arrive at the bus terminal, company reps will easily flag you as a foreigner and direct you to the right ticket booth. Or you can ask the info desk to recommend you.
• Rideshare apps – Uber (card), InDrive (cash only), Cabify (card). Indrive is very popular here and you can name your price (but you have to pay cash)…Cabify has that option as well and takes card. I try not to use Uber but it’s popular here as well.
• Weather is usually pretty hot everywhere and cooler in mountain places like Medellin. They like to say “Medellin is cold” but for me it was perfect.
• Tap water – is drinkable in the major big cities. Definitely not for small towns.
• Preflight Customs – you might not be able to check-in into your flight if you haven’t bought an outbound ticket yet.

Miscellaneous tips:

• Small towns on weekends – small towns can get very quiet during weekdays. Probably best to be there during weekends so you can see their town squares light up with music and life.
• Salsa dancing – everywhere has salsa music and dancing. But the salsa capital is Cali.
• Tango dancing – in case you’re here for that…the best tango is found in Medellin, Bogota, and Cali.

Safety tips:

• Organized crime – the cartels/narcos here seem very organized. In the areas where they operate, everyone seems at peace and not at war with each other.
• Unorganized crime – random muggings with guns and machetes. Avoid bad places on the street and also many parks (read reviews). For some reason, lots of people get robbed in parks.
• Dating for guys – don’t go for those super hot Colombian girls. Many will drug you and rob you using scopolamine. Worst case is they put too much and you die, it happens!
• Beware of parks – for whatever reason I felt many parks (especially the ones in the city) in Colombia felt sketchy and had shady characters and drugdealers lurking about. I also heard of people getting robbed in parks. Read Google reviews before you go, and be careful about having valuables on you.

Crime in Colombia absolutely exists. Danger and sketchy characters are lurking around every corner. Don’t flash, don’t be an obvious target.

Foods to try:

• bendeja paisa
• arepa
• patacones
• limonada con coco – lemonade with coconut. Delicious mix. Try it if you see it.

Honestly, I didn’t like Colombian food so much. At least not the street and most restaurant foods. It’s too much fried stuff for my liking, or other times just too simple and lacking flavor or complexity.

Customs:

• dsf

Colombian cities (* = recommended, ** = must see):

Central Colombia – main cities, and nearby small tourist towns.

• Medellin** – the hip artsy party city of Colombia, medium size of 3.5 million. Located in the mountains, cooler weather, and different vibe from usual beach Colombian town. People hang out here for the parties, and also check out the Comuna 13 (transformed favela neighborhood on the hills).
  • Guatape** – of all the small cute towns you must see in Colombia, this one you should see the most. Must climb beautiful rock called Piedra del Penon and look down at picturesque water landscape. Nice colorful town and peaceful. Everyone I know recommends staying at least 1 night. Get some friends together and rent a huge cheap AirBnB and enjoy nature views.
  • Santa fe de Antioquia – recommended small colorful colonial town. usually skipped.
• Bogota** – big fun city, with more areas to hang out, things to do, nice old town colonial area, more interesting architecture, bigger party area. I actually much prefer Bogota over Medellin. Bogota does have worse weather though, usually colder. It’s also higher altitude than Medellin.
  • villa de leyva – nice small town with old historic buildings. most people visit for its “charm and lovely streets”, many rural landscapes, like traveling back in time. it doesn’t have much tourist stuff going on. can see the whole town in a day, but so many nearby things make people recommend 2-4 days.
    • San Gil – small town known for extreme sports and nature…paragliding, white water rafting, biking, canyoning, bungee jumping, skydiving, etc. Bucaramunga is main city here.
• Manizales – smaller version of medellin. coffee country
  • Pereira – coffee and bird diversity. nice and cheap to live but nothing for tourists. Compared to Armenia…Pereira is bigger, more people, more options for things. Some suggest just stay in the bigger Pereira and visit nearby smaller towns from there.
  • Salento – another small colorful charmy town in coffee country. coffee & hike cocora valley for sky wax palms (tallest palm trees in the world). Finlandia nearby is smaller, lesser Salento. La Carbonara is alternative to cocora valley, and possibly see more trees with fewer tourists.
  • Jardin – some ppl say they like it even more than Salento.
  • Armenia – often compared to Pereira. Considered cheaper, nicer, friendlier, safer, more young folks, and alternative lifestyle. Some people also say Armenia is boring.

Most people start here. Planning their Colombia tour in a way that flies into Medellin and out of Bogota, or vice versa. It makes sense since those 2 airports are the cheapest.

North Colombia – warm weather, more cultural diversity.

• Barranquilla – I heard boring, quiet, skippable. Definitely not much touristic value compared to the much more picturesque Cartagena.
  • Cartagena** – has historical touristy old town (#1 tourist destination in colombia), but many people say to leave as soon as you can. 2 days is enough, one for old town and other for beach. Reminds me of Salvador-Brazil (busy colorful old town with nice-so-great beaches). I personally liked Cartagena and spent 3 days and could have stayed even longer. There felt like a lot to do, and many restaurants and bars to check out.
    • Isla Grande – largely sold as eco-tourism but massive lack of infrastructure and options, can be super inconvenient. Also nothing to see and/or unswimmable waters. Where you stay greatly determines what you experience.
    • Tierra Bomba – just 15 mins boat ride away. Usually sold as day tour and commonly called a big tourist trap and scam, you often get ripped off by your guides who end up charging you for every extra thing (although they previously said “all included”) and they don’t take you back to Cartagena if you don’t pay up. Beaches look just as dirty as the ones on Cartagena. I’d recommend you organize your own trip with these tips. Then find the beach club with the right vibe for you.
    • Rosario Islands – very paradisal. Beautiful.
    • La Guajira – desert beach. Check photos and decide.
    • San Bernardo Island – beautiful beaches with white sand and blue water. Annnnd pigs and monkeys! (Enough said, I hope you don’t go here.)
  • Santa Marta – everyone says this is better (beaches, relax vibe) than Cartagena definitely, but that you should still visit Cartagena. Tayrona Parque is nearby here. I personally preferred Cartagena as there was more to do and see. Santa Marta however is more chill and way less crowded. Most of your day will be at the restaurant, on a beach tour (cuz no beaches nearby are nice), or hanging out at your hotel/hostel resort. I have a hard time recommending this place. It’s where you go if you want nothing. But if you’re looking for something, then this place has none of it.
  • Tayrona National Park – super popular nature park with prettiest beach landscapes, 45 min from Santa Marta and Minca. Quickly becoming colombia’s top tourist destination. Can be day tour, or find accommodation nearby or inside the park.
  • Minca – hippie eco-lodge type of place. I assume eco-lodge somewhat like Guatemala’s Semuc Champey vibes. It’s close to Tayrona national park and other attractions nearby, but most people are just chilling (or partying) in their hotel/hostel in nature, and enjoying panormaic views. If your place is high up enough…you can get lovely views of mountains.
  • Palomino – I heard boring and nothing to see. But I also heard beautiful, chill, hippie spot. So I’ll have to check it out sometime!
  • Taganga – super small beach town. I didn’t go but imagined it would be what people thought Santa Marta would be.
  • Jardin – nice vibey colonial town in the northwest.
• San Andres islands
  • Providenza – more beautiful than San Andres

South Colombia – coffee country and bordering Ecuador, Peru, Brazil.

• Cali – Colombia’s 3rd biggest city, known as the salsa capital and “city of rhythm”.
  • Popayan – well-preserved white buildings. nice stop if you’re between or on the way from or to ecuador. most people skip it, not as much tourist stuff to justify the visit. some say most beautiful in colombia.
  • Tatacoa Desert – red rocks. 1 day is enough to see the unique stuff. Put 2 days if you want to see the less-spectacular grey rocks, and do hiking stuff, etc.
  • Ipiales – check out Las Lajas Sanctuary (look up the photos).
  • Jerico – heard from some people that it was nice.

The south is beautiful, cheap, and many people say is even friendlier. But most travelers spend their time in the north and on the beaches. The only ones passing through the south are usually planning to continue onwards into Ecuador. Generally few people explore the south of Colombia. So it’s cheaper here.

Nearby countries:

• Panama – known for the Panama Canal alongside other interesting fun facts.
• Ecuador – known for biodiversity and eco-tourism. From Galapagos islands, to the Amazon rainforest, to the Andes mountains.
• Peru – beautiful mountain country (also rainforests), good food, and iconic tourist destinations.
• Brazil – one of my favorite countries definitely. Some areas nicer, some areas less nice. Overall, I like everything about Brazil more than Colombia (some people do complain Brazil is more dangerous than Colombia). Beware that your Spanish won’t help you much there. Some places speak English…some almost exclusively only Portuguese.
• Venezuela – I feel politically it’s not a good situation right now. Most people will tell you not to go.

Unfiltered notes:

• Best Colombia Islands to Visit – The Jetsetter Diaries
• Popayán and Salento – hiato