TIPS FOR TRAVELING

TO COLOMBIA

Bogota, the Coffee Eje, Cartagena de Indias and the Colombian Caribbean ... are just the best known tourist destinations in a country that surprised us every day. After 50 days of travel in Colombia we can say that there are many false myths about the country, there are almost unknown paradises but also tourist areas very exploited, in some cases positively and in others exaggeratedly ... It is one of the countries where Getting around is simpler, though sometimes bus drivers will believe Michael Schumacher themselves, LOL. We are not experts of Colombia but we already feel able to give some tricks and advice for those who decide to travel to this incredible country.

SAFETY, IS IT DANGEROUS TO TRAVEL TO COLOMBIA?

Before we arrived in Colombia, we had conflicting opinions, from whom we feared for our safety and continued to believe that traveling to Colombia was very dangerous, even to those who told us that Colombia was one of the safest countries to which I had traveled.

Despite the very good publicity campaign of Colombia Travel and its great slogan "Colombia, the risk is that you want to stay", the image that the country has in the West has not changed much. Years of news about the drug cartels, the guerrillas, the FARC and then the paramilitaries have not helped. But of course we can ensure that such a dangerous Colombia no longer exists, although many families still suffer the ravages of those years. Medellín, for example, which was once the center of the fight between drug cartels and police, is today a modern and quite safe city. In general, there is no reason to be afraid. Taking certain precautions will most certainly not have any problems.

PRICES, IS IT CHEAP TO TRAVEL TO COLOMBIA?

A trip to Colombia can be from very expensive to very cheap. Prices vary from the thousands of dollars in package holidays sleeping in the best luxury hotels in Cartagena de Indias or Bogota to the few pesos traveling backpackers sleeping in hostels. Colombia is a country very prepared for tourism and there are all kinds of accommodations and restaurants. In any case, prices are much lower than in Europe and are in the average of South America: more expensive than in Venezuela, Bolivia or Ecuador but cheaper than in Brazil. You can have a good room with private bathroom, air conditioning and cable TV - very important for Colombians - in a hostel for 70,000 COP (about 26 € / 36US $). As for the meals, there are "corrientazos" - the menus of the day that carry a soup and a second with some kind of meat, rice and banana - from 6,000 COP (about 2.3 € / 3US $) but do not expect anything Of the other world, of course. Of course, a dinner in the best restaurants will cost about 25-30 € per person.

REQUIREMENTS AND DOCUMENTS NECESSARY TO TRAVEL TO COLOMBIA, IS A VISA REQUIRED?

To travel to Colombia from Spain does not require a visa and the tourist permit is 90 days. There is no compulsory vaccination and only yellow fever is recommended if you visit the area of the Amazon jungle. Of course, the Brazilian authorities demand the yellow fever vaccine for travelers from Colombia and, apparently, a Colombian natural park also requires this vaccine. As in other South American countries, it is also necessary to have a round-trip plane ticket, although the return, or departure to another country, can be in another mode of transportation as a bus or a boat. If you travel by land, the border authorities usually do not ask for the return ticket, although, just in case, it is always better to have it. If you do not have it because you do not know yet on what date you are going to leave the country you can make a reservation of a plane ticket back in a class that allows the cancellation with full refund of the rate. Another option would be to falsify a return ticket, something unlawful but quite common, although valid only in the case of traveling by land because at the airport the company with which you travel can control the reservation. It is better to reach land borders soon to avoid agglomerations. We entered Colombia from Venezuela along the border from Maracaibo to Maicao - highly frequented by smuggling and travel to Cartagena de Indias from Venezuela on vacation - and we had to spend more than three hours queuing on both sides. By the way, that is the most secure border between Venezuela and Colombia, although the one of Cúcuta / San Cristobal also is it. More dangerous are the borders of the jungle, such as Arauca-Guasdalito, areas of arms trafficking.