Having Fun in Colombia

Home
Having Fun in Colombia

This blog was made with the purpose of providing information about traveling to Colombia!

04/02/2023

For the last tip, a bonus!

Eat street food!

Colombia is big on street food. If you go there and don’t let yourself try new things, or anything in the street that looks and smells nice, you are going to regret it. Otherwise why are you going so far if you are unwilling to try new stuff?

So go ahead and try, if you don’t like it, you can give it to someone else or throw it away (Please don't throw it away), if you like it, congratulations, you just made your day a little better. You might find some things that you like so much that you keep coming back to them, or you’ll find yourself craving them even after you are gone.

03/02/2023

Tip that no agency will tell you number 5:

Always have cash on hand. (Colombian pesos, anyway)

Colombia is not as advanced as our countries. Perhaps, this is why it’s so beneficial for us to travel here and not spend a crazy amount of money. Because of this, there are many businesses in Colombia that do most of their daily transactions in cash. Always have some cash in hand, now, don’t have TOO much that it’s going to leave you in the street if you lose it, but have enough for what you need, or for the day.

And when I mean cash, I mean Colombian Pesos, so go ahead and exchange your currency for Colombian Pesos. If you try to pay with, for example, US Dollars, they might try to scam you into telling you that something is $24 US Dollars instead of $24.000 COP.

02/02/2023

Tip that no agency will tell you number 4:

ALWAYS ask the price before accepting any kind of service

I’ll repeat it. ALWAYS ask the price before accepting any kind of service or goods, and then, if it sounds fair to you, accept it. There has been a known scam where people try to sell you something without telling you the price, and after you receive the service they tell you that you owe them a stupid amount of money (as much as 10 times what it would actually cost). This is something that, sadly, happens in many touristic countries.

It’s even better if you know what your money is worth, so be aware what’s the exchange rate between your currency and Colombian Pesos, and do your own math.

Also, be smart. Compare prices, don’t just go with the cheapest service because it’s the cheapest. If it looks shady, it might be.

01/02/2023

Tip that no agency will tell you number 3:

Transportation in Colombia, how to move around

You have a couple options here.

Flying inside the country: If you are high-end or traveling between cities, you probably want to book flights ahead of time (As much as 1+ month if you want to) so you get the best prices. I used to travel from Bogota (Capital) to Santa Marta for as little as $30 a ticket with Viva Air just by being organized and booking ahead of time.

LATAM and Avianca would be the premium airlines, with JetSmart and EasyFly on the value end of the spectrum.

Buses: In Colombia, buses move a lot more people than planes do, whether that is in the same city, or between cities. Following the same example as before from Bogota to Santa Marta, you can pay about the same price if you buy the bus ticket the same day, but it won’t take 2 hours, but a 20 hour ride. If you want to save money and forget to book the airplane ticket (That happens), this is an option. Just make sure to have a good hoodie, pillow, some snacks and a book for the trip.

Taxi Service: I personally recommend Cabify in Colombia, since there is a little stigma with people creating Uber accounts with fake IDs (because it’s technically illegal, it’s some sort of dumb discussion that they have with the actual yellow taxis). I have used Cabify hundreds of times with no issues and the prices are fair. I would recommend doing this if (of course) you don’t know the city and have no idea where you are going.

31/01/2023

Tip that no agency will tell you number 2:

Is it safe to travel to Colombia? The answer is "Don't give papaya".

It’s been a couple decades since Colombia was known for its drug lords and cartels. However, as of 2023, Colombia is mostly a peaceful country. The government has successfully contained the issue for the most part except for the jungle areas near the border with Panama and Ecuador (Westernmost part) since this is where the drug cartels operate. The country is very safe and stable on the most part, and there are no armed conflicts anywhere near the bigger cities. However, I would be lying to you if I told you that Colombia is completely safe, or completely dangerous, is not that easy. Keep reading this.

Colombia is not completely safe because you still have to be careful of “No dar papaya”, which is a saying in Spanish that translates to “Don’t give papaya”. This means don’t show that you have anything valuable, even if you feel safe.

Don’t show that you have the newest iPhone 14 Pro Max.
Don’t show that you have a lot of cash in hand.
Don’t leave valuables unattended and unsecured where they could be stolen.
Don’t wander at night in dark alleys.

“Don’t give papaya” means do not make it easy for criminals to benefit from you or your belongings.

It is part common sense, but since we come from safe countries sometimes we don’t assume that situations like this could be bad.

A real issue in Colombia is pickpocketing, so be aware of this and be extra mindful when you are walking in big crowds or going in the bus where the bus driver thinks he can fit 20 more people (Even though you can’t even move).

Try to use an inner pocket if you have it.
If you have a backpack, wear it to the front instead of to the back

30/01/2023

Thinking about traveling to Colombia soon? Stay tuned for the next posts because I will be sharing 5 tips that no agency will tell you about traveling to Colombia.

For the number 1:

Get a SIM card over there.

Do yourself a favor and make sure to buy a Colombian sim card when you get to the country. You can even buy it at the airport (It’s a little more expensive, but I can’t deny it’s convenient). It is going to be exponentially cheaper than if you decide to use your carrier’s international service, which can be as high as $100 for a low-data plan for Verizon (US), and is not even unlimited data.

The carriers that I recommend in Colombia are Claro for coverage (Again, a little pricier, but still way cheaper than the 1st world counterparts), Movistar and Tigo. My number 1 option would be Claro just to play it safe.

To give you a price example, as of 1/3/2023, you can get a 80 gb prepaid plan with Claro for $100.000 COP (Which, as of today is only 20.66 US Dollars, but be aware that this might change, for good or for bad, as with any currency). Keep in mind this is the most expensive prepaid plan, and you can get something way cheaper.

The country code for Colombia is +57. (FYI)

Address

Website

https://havingfunincolombia.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Having Fun in Colombia posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Address
Alerts
Claim ownership or report listing
Want your business to be the top-listed Travel Agency?

Country:

City: