Tarapoto lake, Amazonas
Regarding this specific post, I am about to give only details and information on my trip to Colombia, as well as how I experienced everyday life in this unappreciated country. I will not refer to historical evidence or tourist guide information, but only to personal experiences. The recent history of the country, to those that are not aware, is dark because of criminality, drug dealing and trafficking, tourists’ kidnapping, political corruption and other criminal offenses. Tourism has been limited and mainly concerned S. Americans and cruise ship visitors to the Caribbean coast.
Fortunately, over the last few years and in particular after the peace treaty between the Government and the rebels in 2016, all criminality incidents have been limited to specific regions and the country has already become a quite safe destination. However, international (and especially mass) tourism is still under-developed, even more in the mainland, as the city of Cartagena anyway welcomes visitors from the USA by cruise ships. Individual tourists from various countries around the world you may find everywhere, yet in a much lower rate than in the rest of South America.
Therefore, one of the main reasons I selected a 3-week trip in this country was exactly this and, thus, I would strongly advise whoever wishes to visit Colombia in the future, to do it asap! Even though tourist services need major improvement, just the lack of mass tourism alone is a huge advantage for visiting the country. But first thing first and so let’s see some more details based on my personal experience:
Plaza Bolívar, Bogotá
The trip and arriving in the country:
The trip to Colombia is very simple. You book the flight that best suits you (Ι flew with Air Canada from Munich to Bogotá via Toronto in about 15h), you arrive at the city airport of your choice and you get your luggage. Having already filled in all necessary entry documents, you pass through a couple of control desks and you get a visa on site (with a Greek passport it is just a stamp, check out for yours on the official page) along with some documents that need to be returned when leaving the country. Then you pass a luggage check. Because of the serious drug smuggling problem in the country, this control is scrutinizing, but usually it is just a formality, except for the long queues at the airport. From thereon, you exchange money in the airport or withdraw directly from the ATMs (more details below) and you are off the airport…
Bienvenidos a Colombia!
Sunset over Puerto Nariño, Amazonas
Money exchange:
In Colombia, the official currency is Colombian Peso $ (with the same symbol as for USD). With the exception of Cartagena (where they also accept $USD), the rest of the country uses only their local currency. You can get pesos ONLY from the ΑΤΜs, which are abundant everywhere (and with a daily withdrawal limit of course), or in the airport currency exchange bureaus (unless you hold $USD which can then also exchange in any bank in the country).
Me and my co-traveler faced a big problem with our euro currency in Bogotá during our first day there. We had 1000€ on us, as we were flying to the Amazon the following day and had to pay our tour in cash (in pesos) in Leticia. Hence, as soon as we woke up our first day in Bogotá, we needed to exchange our euros into pesos and our nightmare started: we didn’t know that none of the numerous banks in the capital make no other currency exchange except for $USD!! So, we lost half of our day asking around in banks, as in the beginning we thought it was a matter of the bank branch (nobody informed us that no one would change our euros). Later on and after several attempts, I asked and they informed us that this is a general rule across the country. Of course communication takes place only in Spanish, as very few people speak English in Bogotá and only those that are working on the tourism industry and services. So after the bank nightmare ended, the exchange bureau nightmare started: «first go left and then right», «not that way, there is none here, try the other way», «eh, I don’t know», «that way and then the other way».
How does a tourist feel like when carrying on him a large amount of money in cash and wandering around notorious Bogotá? Really stressed, feeling that everybody is watching to rob him!
Accidentally we found an exchange bureau after asking a policeman. In the entrance, a security person interrogated us to find out where we come from, what we want and so on. No bags, sunglasses and hats were allowed and only one person per transaction was allowed to enter. My co-traveler would enter to change the money, as he had more pockets to hide it inside, but as he couldn’t speak Spanish, I had to accompany him as well. After a lot of begging, the security guy was convinced to allow us both in. Fortunately they had no problem exchanging the whole amount, but not of course without a huge commission, plus we lost half our day for nothing! The next days we withdrew money directly from the ΑΤΜs and with much lower commission.
Tip: if you need to pay something costly as soon as you enter the country, we strongly recommend you directly exchange your money into pesos in the airport and avoid doing so in big cities, especially in Bogotá. ΑΤΜs are really efficient in smaller places, for smaller amounts and wherever of course they are available (e.g. in the Amazon region you can find one only in Leticia, where also the daily withdrawal limit is lower than in other cities: we had already taken from Bogotá so we do not know the exact limit). In the rest of the country, this limit was about 180€ per transaction and this varied slightly among banks. You’d better use ΑΤΜs that are located within the bank and not outside, on the road. In the commercial and financial district of Bogotá, police patrols take place 24/7 from both the police and the army, but, no matter what, withdraw money only during daylight.
Salento, Quindío
Prices:
The country is generally cheap. Depending on the exact area, the more touristy a place is, the higher the prices in restaurants and hotels get. The biggest expense was the 4-day tour in the Amazon, as we pre-booked an organized tour with a local guide.
In Leticia in the Amazon, we found a double room in a local hotel with only 20€ including breakfast, while in the rest of the towns we visited, this ranged from 20 to 50€ (in most cases via booking.com). In the palm valley we stayed in a wooden cabin of the eco-hotel “Las Palmas de Cocora” paying 50€, and in the island of San Andrés we payed 50€ for a room close to the center. All of them had private bathroom and hot water, except for the ones in the Amazon and San Andrés (where anyway there isn’t hot water).
For food and drinks we didn’t spend that much, as meals costed about 10-15€ for two persons. Street food is safe and cheaper than restaurants. Supermarkets are also cheap. The island of San Andrés was the most expensive of the places we visited in Colombia, and Cartagena was the second one. But these locations are anyway the most touristy of the country. Moving around – by bus, taxi even airplane – is cheap too.
More details about local life and safety here