Colombia Safe Travel

27/11/2020

Buenas noticias para el turismo local. Vamos por la reactivación!

Negocios | Portafolio.co

26/09/2020

Es hora de la re-apertura del turismo!!!
Pero, ¿estamos preparados para recibir a los viajeros?

Los invitamos a conocer nuestra guía de protocolos de bioseguridad para establecimientos de hospedaje en Colombia

Conozca los Protocolos de bioseguridad para hoteles y hostales que se deben implementar de acuerdo con la reapertura turística en Colombia

20/07/2020

🇨🇴 ¡Feliz día de la independencia! 🇨🇴 Happy Independence Day! 🇨🇴 ⠀
⠀
At the moment, the times of this crisis are rough and tight, but we all have to stick together with all our pride for this beautiful country and then we will be able to survive this with more pride and strength to the end. ⠀
⠀
Together with all our joy, pride, colors and diversity, we are Colombia 🇨🇴 and love to share our culture, love and people with the rest of the world in better times.⠀
⠀
But today let’s celebrate the pride for our beautiful country! 🥳🥳🥳⠀
⠀
¡Feliz día de la independencia - orgullosa colombia!🇨🇴🇨🇴🇨🇴⠀
⠀
Celebremos hoy nuestra independencia, nuestra pujanza, fuerza y capacidad de resiliencia.⠀
⠀

10/05/2020

¡Gracias por siempre estar ahí, mamá! - ¡FELIZ DIA DE LA MADRE! 💐💝👩 Happy mother day! To all those strong and beautiful moms out there! We say thank you 🙏 and much love ❤️ to you all… You are amazing! ⠀
⠀
❤️ Like Nubia Gaona Cárdenas, a farmer 👩🏼‍🌾 from Chipaqué, Cundinamarca 🇨🇴 and mother of Arley, Jeimer & Leidy. She decided with her two sons to launch a YouTube channel to face the crisis caused by the drop in prices of farm products during the colombian health emergency due to the worldwide Covid-19 epedemic. Aim of their YouTube channel is to teach families around the world to plant their own garden at home. Pachamama is proud of you 😍⠀
⠀
❤️ We love their engagement. So watch out the channel, which already counts with more than 100,000 subscribers, in just one day released.⠀
⠀
❤️ We are proud of all those strong mothers, especially those who have to face as head of family 👩‍👦‍👦and please go on – you are doing an amazing job 😍⠀
⠀
¡TE AMAMOS MAMÁ! 💕 WE LOVE YOU, MOM! 💕 ⠀
⠀

18/03/2020

Important Info for all the travellers in Colombia!
All the national parks are close.

17/03/2020

Relax, rebook and keep on dreaming 😍🇨🇴🌴✈️🌎⠀
⠀
No need to cancel your dreams, it’s just on hold while we all get through this together! 👩🏼‍🤝‍👨🏽👩🏽‍🤝‍👩🏻👨🏼‍🤝‍👨🏾 ⠀
⠀
There are still many adventures waiting for you.⠀
⠀
We hope these tough times will pass very soon and so we’d like to encourage you not to cancel your dream vacation but just to change your trip dates instead and visit 🇨🇴 later. ⠀
⠀
Support us, 🇨🇴 and all the suppliers in the tourism industry. We are more than happy to help and support with your adventure. ⠀
⠀
And for those foreigner visitors that are right now stranded and must stay in 🇨🇴 until further notice: we want to offer our network of accommodation partners. We surely can find a perfect and safe place to pass the quarantine. ⠀
⠀
@ Colombia

10/03/2020

Come to visit 🇨🇴 - All you need is your passport!⠀
⠀
✅ Foreign travelers who want to visit Colombia 🇨🇴 should know which documents are needed to enter 🇨🇴:⠀
⠀
■ ID document: If you come from a Mercosur country (🇦🇷 🇧🇷 🇧🇴 🇨🇱 🇪🇨 🇵🇾 🇵🇪 🇺🇾), you can only enter with a valid DNI or passport (both has to be in good condition)⠀
■ You need a return ticket 🎫 ⠀
■ other countries: a passport is needed ⠀
(e.g. 🇩🇪 and 🇦🇹 do not need a visa to enter 🇨🇴 for travel purpose) ⠀
⠀
✅ The maximum time allowed to be in 🇨🇴:⠀
As a tourist you can stay 90 days. The stay can be extended for 90 more days, when appearing at the Office of Immigration Affairs. In this case, the maximum stay of a foreigner who does not need a visa in 🇨🇴 will be 180 days (6 months).⠀
⠀
✅ Types of visas for foreigners in 🇨🇴:⠀
⠀
■ Resident Visa (RE)⠀
This type of visa is provided to the person who has a Colombian father or mother or in case the foreigner is Colombian because of birth or adoption or also because he has renounced his Colombian nationality ⠀
⠀
■ Temporary Visa (TP)⠀
This is issued to people who wish to enter 🇨🇴 for work, study or volunteering reasons. It is one of the most commonly applied visas and can be applied online on the consulate's website⠀
⠀
■ Business Visa (NE)⠀
This visa is for people who want to enter the country for commercial purposes or business activities and also in the case of economic changes such as company foundation or generation of investments⠀
⠀
✅ Health requirements for entering 🇨🇴:⠀
Among the vaccinations 💉 for travel to 🇨🇴, health authorities require as the only one against yellow fever 🤒, to travel to certain regions of the country and it must be carried out at least 10 days before the start of your travel⠀
⠀

09/03/2020

Wanna get the Jurassic Park feeling? ⠀
Then visit the lush green coffee area of 🇨🇴 with the world’s tallest palm trees 🌴. The wax palms are declared the offical tree of 🇨🇴 & can grow up to 200🦶⠀
⠀
The Cocora Valley & La Carbonera are part of the Los Nevados NP & best way to reach there is from Salento, one of Colombia’s prettiest & most colorful towns.⠀
⠀
🥾 Hiking between the 🌴 in the Cocora Valley:⠀
There is one loop (costs $2.000 + $6.000) with an optional little detour to Acaime (a hummingbird farm where you can get a hot chocolate☕️ with cheese 🧀 - yummy, costs $5.000), taking around 6 hours⠀
⠀
🚵‍♂️ Downhill mountainbiking to La Carbonera:⠀
An hour of driving away from Salento lies the hidden La Carbonara Valley, where you’ll find a thousand times more 🌴 compared to the Cocora. ⠀
Do a 🚵‍♀️ tour there with . After a short downhill bike ride, you will get an astonishing panorama of thousands of wax 🌴. After a short walk into the valley with a profound explanation about the valley & the 🌴, it takes a short Jeep drive to get back up the hill. Enjoy then a 24km long downhill ride towards Salento - for beginner-intermediate & experienced 🚵‍♀️⠀
⠀
🌴How to get there?⠀
By 🚌 - taking around 8 hours, if you’re lucky or by ✈️ to Armenia or Pereira, and from there with a collectivo bus or a taxi drive (50min) to Salento.⠀
Just a 20min drive with a W***y Jeep ($4.000, leaving at the main square in Salento) away lies the famous Cocora valley with its gigantic wax 🌴⠀
⠀
🌴Where to stay?⠀
⠀
⠀
Hostel Tralala
La Serena
⠀
🌴What else to do?⠀
■ Coffee tour on a coffee farm⠀
■ Santa Rita waterfall⠀
■ Horseback riding ⠀
■ Kasaguadua: a wonderful natural reserve insight⠀
■ Play Tejo ⠀
■ Tour to Santa Rosa Hot Springs⠀
⠀
Just contact us, and we will be happy to provide you with more info to the green coffee area & it’s wax palm trees or to organize you a trip with 🥾 or 🚵‍♀️ experience.
⠀

08/03/2020

Feliz día internacional de la mujer 💁‍♀️! ⠀
Happy women day! ⠀
• • • ⠀
⠀
Hey girls, it’s time for a solo adventure! ⠀
Solo female travel to 🇨🇴 can seem intimidating, but the truth is, the country’s amazing culture, warm locals & modern attitude make it a fantastic place to visit by yourself. ⠀
⠀
Here some Tips for Solo Female Travel in 🇨🇴:⠀
⠀
✅ Take the Usual Safety Precautions & ‚No dar papaya‘ – Don’t give papaya. It’s a phrase that means don’t put yourself in a position where you become vulnerable to be taken advantage of. Basically do not flash your valuables, do not walk down dark alleys or do anything else that will obviously put yourself in a risky situation.⠀
⠀
✅ Learn some Spanish⠀
⠀
✅ Stay at a hostel: If you’re traveling alone, staying at a hostel is a great way to meet people, for not only safety reasons but just general fun-having reasons. Your Aguila 🍻 will taste better with a friend or three anyway.⠀
⠀
✅ Watch your drink 🍹 & never leave it unattended. ⠀
⠀
✅ Avoid travelling by night. Don’t take overland buses 🚌 at night. If you really need to take evening overland transport, consider buying a domestic ✈️ ticket. They are really cheap & this can cut down your transport time from 15h to 50min.⠀
⠀
✅ Don’t walk around alone at night. Use Uber or orther Taxi apps or have the hotel call you a cab 🚕. Do not take unmarked Taxis & it is not the best to hail one from the street. When using Uber, understand the risks as it is technically not legal, but it is also not illegal here.⠀
⠀
✅ Explore as much as you can, cause 🇨🇴 is such an amazing & stunning country & some of the best expierences you will make off the beaten tracks. ⠀
⠀
⁉️Contact us, and we are more than happy to support you planning & organizing your solo female trip with a lot of tips & experiences by ourselves in travelling solo as a woman 👩 ⠀
⠀

07/03/2020

Colombians love to dance 🕺🏽💃🏽: it’s practically their favourite thing! And contrary to popular belief, there are a lot more types of dance in 🇨🇴 than just salsa & reggaeton.⠀
⠀
Here some traditional 🇨🇴 dances you should know:⠀
■ Cumbia⠀
■ Porro⠀
■ Bambuco⠀
■ Champeta⠀
■ Joropo⠀
■ Salsa Choke⠀
■ Bullerengue⠀
⠀
Why not learning how to dance 💃🏽🕺🏽while you are travelling 🧳 through Colombia 🇨🇴. Anyone can learn to dance salsa, vallenato or reggaeton & show off their best moves.⠀
⠀
Here are the top 12 places to learn dancing in 🇨🇴 and ensure you can enjoy an unforgettable experience in a country that’s proud of its traditional rhythms & irresistible beat.⠀
⠀
💃🏽Where to go salsa dancing in Cali?⠀
Cali is the salsa capital of the world. ⠀
1. ⠀
2. ⠀
3. ⠀
⠀
And don’t miss the annual , that takes place every December and features dances, music, food & culture from the region.⠀
⠀
🕺🏽Where to dance in Cartagena?⠀
The walled city will swep you away with Caribbean beats such as champeta, vallenato, salsa & reggaeton.⠀
4. ⠀
5.
6.
⠀
💃🏽Where to dance in Barranquilla?⠀
7. ⠀
8.
⠀
🕺🏽Where to dance in Bogotá?⠀
Lose yourself in rock, funk, reggae, salsa & more, in a city that dances to every beat imaginable.⠀
9. ⠀
10. ⠀
11. ⠀
12. ⠀
⠀
No matter whether you’re a complete beginner, or you already have a few dance moves up your sleeve, Colombians ❤️ to share their expertise & welcome everyone onto the dance floor. ⠀
⠀
Contact us, and we will be happy to provide you with more info where and how to learn dancing in Colombia.⠀
⠀

06/03/2020

In Colombia music is a passion that reflects the great cultural, regional & ancestral diversity of its people & geography.⠀
⠀
𝕋𝕪𝕡𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕝 𝕗𝕠𝕝𝕜 𝕞𝕦𝕤𝕚𝕔: ⠀
🎶 Cumbia⠀
🎶 Joropo⠀
🎶 Porro⠀
🎶 Currulao⠀
🎶Bambuco⠀
🎶 Salsa⠀
⠀
𝕄𝕠𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕟 𝕞𝕦𝕤𝕚𝕔: ⠀
🎶 Reggaeton: Jbalvin, Maluma, KarolG⠀
🎶 Champeta: Koffee El Kafetero, El Sayayín, Kevin Florez, Mr. Black ⠀
🎶 Vallenato: Diomedes Diaz, Silvestre Dangond, Jorge Celedón⠀
🎶música popular colombiana: Jessi Uribe, Yeison Jimenez, Alzate, Paola Jara⠀
🎶 more bands & singers: Shakira, Bomba Estéreo, Kombilesa MI, ChocQuibTown, Monsieur Periné, Manuel Turizo. Ghetto Kumbé⠀
⠀
✅ 𝕋𝕣𝕒𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝕋𝕚𝕡𝕤:⠀
⠀
■ 𝗦𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗼 𝗱𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗾𝘂𝗲 declared a Masterpiece of the Oral & Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. The village is considered the first free town in the Americas, so you will find a strong & proud Afro-Colombian spirit which tells the story of human tenacity & a new music genre of hip hop with Afro-Colombian roots, called RFP = Rap Folklorico Palenquero⠀
⠀
■ 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗽𝗮𝗿, a city in northern 🇨🇴 known as the capital of vallenato music. Every april it hosts one of the most important music festivals in the country: The Vallenato Legend Festival⠀
⠀
■ 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗶 For those who love Latin American music, Cali needs no introduction. Cali is considered the Salsa capital of the world⠀
⠀
■ 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗯𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝘀𝘁 Here the music is expressed through a blend of African & indigenous influences. You will find a lot of traditional Caribbean & Afrocolombian music with it’s famous genres like champeta, cumbia & vallenato⠀
⠀
🅲🅾︎🅽🆃🅰︎🅲🆃 🆄🆂, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙤 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙢𝙗𝙞𝙖 𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙯𝙚 𝙖𝙣 𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙦𝙪𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮-𝙗𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙘 𝙩𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙘 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙨. ⠀
⠀

05/03/2020

Hundreds of humpback whales 🐋 visit the 🇨🇴 Pacific coast annually, fleeing the cold 🥶 of winters near the South Pole and avid for warm waters to give birth. ⠀
⠀
Visiting the Pacific coast to whale-watch is one of Colombia’s great natural spectacles, and a must-do trip for anyone with an interest in wildlife. ⠀
⠀
✅ Here are the best places to visit:⠀
⠀
🐳 Gorgona National Park: an island located off the Pacific coast where a large number of whales 🐋 come to breed. Gorgona can be visited by flying from Cali, taking boat from Buenaventura, or a boat from Guapi.⠀
⠀
🐳 Nuqui: one of the most biodiverse places in the world, where you can enjoy a very responsible eco tourism. Nuqui is accessible by light-aircraft flight from Medellin. From here you can do whale-watching tours.⠀
⠀
🐳 Bahia Solano & El Valle: Perfect place with many beaches around and access point to Utria National Park, which is one of 🇨🇴 most biodiverse sites, and an excellent place for whale-watching. Access is by plane from Medellin, Quibdo and Bogota, or 12h speedboat from Buenaventura. Less than 1h south by road is El Valle, a small beach-side town with equally good access to the National Park.
⠀
🐳 Bahia Malaga: This bay in the Uramba National park contains a high breeding population of humpbacks 🐋, and access by flights from nearby airports or a direct boat from Buenaventura.⠀
⠀
✅ When to go 🐳 watching in 🇨🇴?⠀
■ June - October⠀
■ Locals suggest, the best month is August⠀
⠀
✅ Where to stay? ⠀
⠀
⠀

⠀
⠀
✅ What else to do at the Pacific coast?⠀
■ Utría national park⠀
■ Surfing 🏄 ⠀
■ Release El Valle baby turtles 🐢 ⠀
■ Hike to Cascada el Tigre ⠀
■ Hike to the Secret Beach⠀
■ Horse-ride down Playa Cuevita 🐎 ⠀
⠀
✅ How long to stay? ⠀
■ 4-5 days⠀
⠀

04/03/2020

NO more 🤐 about drugs please.
⠀⠀
Have you seen the TV series Narcos from Netflix and did you like it? Fine, but keep it for yourself when traveling through Colombia. ⠀⠀
⠀⠀
Drugs are still a very sensitive topic here in Colombia for understandable reasons, and locals have a feeling that the show doesn't depict the reality correctly, and also they don't want Colombia to be seen as a drug country again, so do not provoke.⠀⠀
⠀⠀
Come to Colombia because it is a beautiful country, with beautiful people 👧👨👵👴👶, with a rich culture and history. If you want to try some drugs while you are here, that is up to you, but probably best if you don't call it a cultural experience. Unless you are talking about the coffee 🍵. Because if you're drug of choice is caffeine, this truly is the right country to come to, as there genuinely is a Colombian coffee culture.⠀🏅

⠀
⠀

03/03/2020

Sweet, sour, large, small ... Colombia 🇨🇴 has fruits for all tastes 😋⠀
⠀
You can find all kind of exotic fruits in supermarkets, tiendas, street stands or hanging at market places, and it’s always fresh products. ⠀
⠀
The variety of fruits is found anywhere in the country: from warm ☀️, temperate ⛅️ to cold ☁️weather areas. ⠀
Some repeat crib, because they have the peculiarity of growing in different thermal floors. Due to this, the quantity of fruits produced is innumerable.⠀
⠀
According to statistics, the most exported fruits are avocados 🥑, mango 🥭, pitaya, pineapple 🍍 & granadilla.⠀
⠀
Fruit cultivation classified by region:⠀
⠀
🥑Andean: ⠀
Here you will find curuba, soursop, blackberry, pineapple, strawberry, avocado, cape, papayuela, custard apple, guava, passion fruit, feijoa, lulo, orange, tangerine, tree tomato, apple , banana, pears, granadilla, melon, watermelon and pitaya, among many others⠀
⠀
🥭Caribbean: ⠀
Exotic fruits such as anon, coastal sapote, loquat, tamarind, cashew, corozo, mango and banana are given⠀
⠀
🍊Orinoquia: ⠀
Ideal for planting citrus fruits such as oranges, lemons, tangerines, and in some parts soursop is planted.⠀
⠀
🥥 Pacific: ⠀
Here you will find the cultivation of several tropical fruits such as borojó, almirajó, loquat and the well-known chontaduro⠀
⠀
🍍Amazon: ⠀
Fruits such as the arazá, the carabolo, the copoazú, the Amazonian anón, the cocona, the camu camu, the maraco, the amazon pineapple and the Amazonian lulo are the most typical of this area⠀
⠀
Fruits of 🇨🇴 constitute another delicious way to know the sweetness of the country.⠀
⠀
Don’t miss out to try all these exotic fruits, at least by drinking a refreshing juice🧃which are sold homemade as ‘jugo natural’ on the street. ⠀
⠀
If you want to know more about the 🇨🇴 fruits and its flavor you should take part on one of our exotic fruit tours in different cities of the country.⠀
⠀

02/03/2020

Colombia embraces diversity and celebrates a q***r, colorful spirit 🏳️‍🌈⠀
⠀
🏳️‍🌈Compared to some Latin American countries, homos*xuality is well tolerated in 🇨🇴 (it was declared legal by the government in 1981)⠀
🏳️‍🌈Grindr or ManHunt are both popular gay networking sites and apps, so travellers can get on there before they go and line up some tour guides⠀
🏳️‍🌈In 2011 🇨🇴 ordered Congress to pass legislation addressing same-s*x marriage by June 2013; if they did not, the ruling dictated same-s*x couples would automatically receive all marital rights. Congress failed to act and 🇨🇴 first gay wedding was performed on July 24, 2013. Full legal rights were confirmed then in 2016. ⠀
⠀
🏳️‍🌈What to do?⠀
Cities like Bogotá, Medellín, Cartagena or Barranquilla have a vibrant LGBT nightlife that makes everybody feel welcome. ⠀
⠀
Don’t miss out one of the many events that are taking place this year or celebrating in one of the gay-friendly nightlife places.⠀
⠀
■ Bogotá⠀
🏳️‍🌈The Bogotá Pride (Jun-Jul)⠀
🏳️‍🌈Gay international festival (Nov) ⠀
🏳️‍🌈LGBT trade (Nov) ⠀
🏳️‍🌈: the biggest gay club in Latin America
🏳️‍🌈Chapinero boasts numerous gay-friendly bars, clubs & cafes⠀
⠀
■ Medellín⠀
🏳️‍🌈The Medellín Pride (Jun-July) ⠀
🏳️‍🌈find a thriving gay culture based in the Parque Lleras section of town⠀
🏳️‍🌈
🏳️‍🌈Vivo Discotek⠀
⠀
■ Cartagena⠀
🏳️‍🌈Rumours Festival (July)⠀
🏳️‍🌈Cartagena Pride (August)⠀
🏳️‍🌈2 prominent gay bars:
🏳️‍🌈Studio 54, a trendy gay club⠀
⠀
🏳️‍🌈Where to stay?⠀
Pereira area ⠀
Bonda, Santa Marta⠀
Guatapé⠀
Bogotá⠀
Bogotá ⠀
⠀
Want to make the most out of your trip wheter travelling alone or with friends, we are more than happy to support you in organizing your trip with a lot of advices and gems, so that your trip is getting a safe and great adventure in 🇨🇴.⠀
⠀
***antravel ***an ***r 🌈

01/03/2020

Welcome to Buritaca, a small town located 48km from Santa Marta, where you will find beaches🏝, surfing waves🏄‍♀️ 🌊 , palms 🌴, a jungle and the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (the highest coastal mountain ⛰ range in the world!). ⠀
⠀
Chill, have fun, tan and dive into the freshness 💦 of Buritaca river or in the calm waters of the Caribbean Sea. ⠀
⠀
✅How to get there?⠀
⠀
🔆From Santa Marta: ⠀⠀
The easiest and cheapest way to get to Buritaca is by bus 🚌. Take the bus marked for Palomino from the market or Buenavista in Santa Marta ($12.000 COP). The bus ride it’s approx. 1:40h. If you are coming from Tayrona hop the bus on the road outside the park exit ($3.000 COP). Let them know you are heading for Buritaca. ⠀
⠀
🔆From Palomino: ⠀⠀
Hop the bus 🚌 headed south towards Santa Marta on the main road outside of town. The cost should be approx. $5.000 COP.⠀⠀
⠀⠀
✅Where to stay? ⠀⠀
⠀
Here some of our recommendations...⠀⠀
■ ⠀
■ ⠀⠀
■ ⠀
⠀
✅What to do there? ⠀
⠀
💦River tubing: organise daily trips where tubers head up river and float back down to their private beach, with plenty of stops for swims and cliff jumps along the way.⠀
⠀
🏄 Surfing: offers surfboard rentals and surf lessons ⠀
⠀
🏇Horse riding: Hop on a horse and discover the natural beauty of the area – whether you fancy a romantic afternoon amble on the beach or a mountain adventure⠀
⠀
🥾 Hiking: There are a number of walking trails and hiking routes around. ⠀
⠀
🚣‍♀️ Boat trip on Don Diego river and you will see howler monkeys 🐒 , caymans 🐊, plenty of bird species birds🦜and more⠀
⠀
🏍 Motorbike hire: Hire a bike to explore the local area of head on one of the many tours organised by (you will find them at El Rio Hostel) or by ⠀
⠀
🛶Paddelboarding or kayaking on the Buritaca river⠀
⠀

29/02/2020

Friendly, happy, open, welcoming… learn a bit more about 🇨🇴 culture:⠀
Colombians are generally very happy 😃, outgoing people, who set great store by social interactions. They love to tell people about almost every aspect of their country and its culture and history, and they do so with such enthusiasm that it may seem like boasting. ⠀
⠀
If you’re lost or confused, find anyone on the street and ask them for help ⁉️. Even with your less Spanish skills, they’ll usually be happy to help.⠀
⠀
🇨🇴 INTRODUCTIONS: When members of the opposite s*x or 2 women meet it is customary to exchange a single kiss😙 on the right cheek. Men shake hands🤝.⠀
⠀
🇨🇴 GREETINGS: In Colombia it's polite to greet everyone in the room when entering with a simple 'Buenas Dias' or 'Buenas tardes.' This also applies when approaching someone on the street for directions or information.⠀
⠀
🇨🇴 INVITATIONS: Generally the party making the invitation to a meal 🥘 will pick up the tab; splitting the bill is not common.⠀
⠀
🇨🇴 HONORIFICS: Show respect to older members of society by using the honorific don (for men)👨🏽‍🦳or doña (for women) 👵🏽 before their name.⠀
⠀
🇨🇴 DRINKING: When out with friends Colombians usually buy a bottle of liquor and all take shots at the same time rather than sipping at their own glass.⠀
⠀
🇨🇴 TRANQUILO: Everything and everyone in Colombia is „tranquilo“. It’s like, a national state of existence. Everyone tells you tranquilo all the time. Lost or stranded? 🤷🏼‍♀️ Tranquilo. Running late, out of money, dropped off hours away from your intended destination? Tranquilo. Doesn’t matter how legitimate you feel your anxiety may be, someone will cheerfully tell you to be tranquilo.⠀
⠀
And last but not least…⠀
🇨🇴 NO more about DRUGS please. Have you seen the TV series Narcos on Netflix and you liked it? Fine, but keep it for yourself, when traveling through 🇨🇴. ⠀
Drugs are still a very sensitive topic here for understandable reasons, and locals have a feeling that the show doesn't depict the reality correctly, and they also don't want 🇨🇴 to be seen as a drug country again, so do not provoke.⠀
⠀

28/02/2020

SAPZURRO, a hidden paradise 🏝in the last corner of Colombia 🇨🇴 ⠀
⠀
It is a small bay with a population of few inhabitants, however do not think it is an inhospitable terrain, it has all the basic amenities. Very decent accommodations ranging from camping ⛺️, hammocks, hostels, hotels 🏨 and cabins.⠀
⠀
It is a place to connect with nature, where you find the green and lush jungle of Darien with the turquoise blue of the warm Caribbean Sea. You are surrounded by nature with all that this implies. Yes, you will see insects 🐞, amphibians 🐸, crustaceans 🦞, all very close to you. Finally we are the ones in their territory, not the other way around, don't forget it.⠀
⠀
Between 3-5 days are enough to explore the place and its surrounding. ⠀
⠀
What to do?⠀
■ Beach day to:⠀
🏝 Cabo tiburon⠀
🏝 Playa del muelle publico ⠀
🏝 Playa de la armada⠀
⠀
■ Hikings to:⠀
🥾 La miel (Panamá)⠀
🥾 Capurgana⠀
🥾 La Diana waterfall⠀
⠀
How to get there from Medellin?⠀
■ Medellín - Necoclí - Capurganá - Sapzurro (the most recommended)⠀
■ Medellin - Acandí - Capurganá - Sapzurro⠀
■ Medellín - Apartadó - Turbo (or Necoclí) - Capurganá - Sapzurro⠀
■ Medellin - Turbo - Capurganá - Sapzurro⠀
⠀
Where to Stay?⠀
■ Casa Mola Hostel (the most recommended)⠀
■ Doña Triny Hotel⠀
■ El chileno⠀
■ HillTop hostel Sapzurro⠀
■ Casa Hotel La Mariela⠀
⠀
Travel tips:⠀
■ Make prior reservations for all, especially sea transport 🚣‍♀️ ⠀
■ On the boat 🚣‍♀️ choose between getting wet 💦 or enduring the blows and jumps. In the back you get wet for sure but the jumps feel less and in the front, quite the opposite.⠀
■ Always use mosquito 🦟 repellent.⠀
■ In Capurganá negotiate with a boatman who takes you to Sapzurro. The payment is in cash 💵. Do not pay more than $ 10,000 each way.⠀
■ Bring your document (passport) to make the hike 🥾 to La Miel.⠀
⠀
⠀

27/02/2020

Handling money 💵 in Colombia. It's a good idea to get familiar with the currency, spendings and payment methods available in 🇨🇴 before your travel. So here some insights...⠀
⠀
CURRENCY: The Colombian peso is the country's legal currency. It is generally identified with the shortcut COP, and you'll find that the official peso symbol $ is used locally. A wide selection of banknotes and coins are used. You will find 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1,000 peso coins and 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000 and 100,000 peso banknotes, highlighting Colombia's wealth and diversity.⠀
⠀
SPENDINGS IN COLOMBIA: ⠀
■ 1 beer 🍺 in Colombia costs 2.500 COP (0,66 €)⠀
■ bed in a dorm 🛌 25.000-50.000 COP (6,60-13,18 €) ⠀
■ double room in a mid-range hotel 🏨 80.000-120.000 COP (21,08-31,68 €)⠀
■ comida corriente (set meal)🥘 8.000-15.000 COP (2,11-3,96 €)⠀
■ main dish in in decent local restaurant 20.000-30.000 COP (5,27-7,90 €)⠀
■ crosstown bus ride 🚌 2.000 COP (0,53 €)⠀
■ short taxi ride 🚕 10.000-15.000 COP (2,63-3,96 €)⠀
■ museum entry 5.000-15.000 COP (1,32-3,96 €)⠀
■ Paragliding 120.000 COP (31,68 €)⠀
⠀
CASH IS KING: 🏧 have an english option and are widely available, but not in smaller villages, Tayrona NP or on smaller islands. Be sure to use them better during the day and be aware of your surroundings, don’t carry large amounts of cash with you. Carry what you plan to spend, and keep the rest securely stored. Credit cards 💳 are accepted in many major shops, hotels and restaurants in the bigger cities. Foreign visitors should be prepared to provide ID to verify a credit card transaction.⠀
⠀
TIPPING: ⠀
■ Restaurants: a government regulation dictates that anywhere, there is a service charge, your waiter must ask you if they can add the 10% service charge to the bill.⠀
■ Taxis: Tipping in taxis is not commonplace but rounding up to the nearest 500 or 1000 pesos is quite normal.⠀
⠀