I am in love with this country, totally and utterly. Before my trip i thought I would spend 3, max. 4 weeks here - now, 7 weeks later, I have only left because I need to make use of the summer in the south.
Colombia is nothing of what we in Europe think it is. And it is everything that we don‘t think it is. It is safe, if you stick to the precautions and aren‘t stupid, it is absolutely beautiful, it has everything - from mountains to cities to oceans to jungle to deserts… The people are some of the kindest I have ever met. There is culture in every day life, the vendors sind, people dance in the streets…
I think that language is a big part of culture. Here it‘s normal to be called „mi reina (my queen)“, „mi niño (my son)“ or „mi amor (my love)“ even in professional settings.
In those 7 weeks here I saw quite a big. I could have stayed in every single place, except Cartagena and perhaps Bogotá and San Gil. This country is amazing, I still can‘t believe how great it is. I am so sad to be gone.
Should you plan your own trip to Colombia, which i strongly advise you to do, I have written down my experience in short form. Perhaps it can help you figure out where you would like to go :)
Bogotà
Is nice, nothing crazy interesting. The Graffiti Tour is a must! The best pizza in La Candelaria is at Il Fuoco.
Salento
has stolen my heart. A cute, little town, coffee farms all around, and of course the cocora valley with the highest palm trees. Nobody told me in Salento that there is a place called La Carbonera (no, not like the pasta), which is basically cocora without the masses of tourists.
Medellín
As someone who‘s not into cities i was pleasantly surprised! It‘s green, everything works, it‘s safe and there‘s many quiet spots. Of course Comuna 13 is really interesting with it‘s recent history.
Cartagena
Nice city, but way too many instagram and party tourists and even more pushy street vendors. 2 days are enough.
Costeño Beach
A dream for relaxing, there‘s nothing else to do. Stay at the Masaya Tayrona, it‘s a 5 star hostel experience.
Tayrona National Park
Honestly? The part from El Zaino entrance to Cabo San Juan isn‘t really worth it. Do the part from the Calabazo entrance to Playa Brava - i didn‘t do it but a friend told me it‘s way better and she wasn‘t walking in a single line of tourists there. And bring a jacket if you plan to sleep in a hammock, otherwise it‘s freezing.
Minca
More relaxing, hiking, cocoa and coffee farms, waterfalls, jungle… need I say more?
Ciudad Perdida Trek
It‘s expensive but worth every penny. You can read about my experience here or go and look for the lost city yourself. I have my fingers crossed that you don‘t also end up in a tropical storm.
Santa Marta
I quite enjoyed it. It‘s dead and kinda sketchy on sundays, there‘s a lot of cat calling but it‘s relatively safe. There‘s some nice streets with lots of restaurants, bars and cafes.
San Gil / Barichara
If you aren‘t into adventure sports like I am a advise you to stay in Barichara - in San Gil there‘s nothing much going on besides adrenaline. Barichara is nice to hike and walk around.
Villa de Leyva
Very cute village with tourists almost exclusively from Colombia / Latin America. Basic Spanish needed. Good for hiking and taking a breather in between big cities.
Neiva / Desierto de la Tatacoa
Neiva isn‘t great, also not too safe. Don‘t go out at night. The desert makes up for it. One day is enough - it‘s not worth going to Villavieja and staying there IMHO. I stayed at backpackers & travelers hostel and booked the tour with them for around 40€, it was really good!
Cali
When I got there and people told me that many keep coming back to Cali, I thought yeah no absolutely not. A week later I have now left and already want to go back…
Travel times
Including waiting times, taxis to and from the bus stations/airports and whatever. All in all I‘ve spent 137 hours or 5.7 days out of 49 on busses, planes, taxis and so on.
| from - to | hours |
| Wien – Bogotá | 20 |
| Bogotá – Salento | 12 |
| Salento – Medellín | 9 |
| Medellín – Cartagena (Flug) | 4 |
| Cartagena – Costeño | 8 |
| Costeño – Minca | 2 |
| Minca – Santa Marta | 1 |
| Santa Marta – San Gil | 15 |
| San Gil – Villa de Leyva | normally 6, for me 25 incl. the night in Tunja (bus died half way between the cities) |
| Villa de Leyva – Bogotá | 5 |
| Bogotá – Neiva | 10 |
| Neiva – Cali | 12 |
| Cali – Santiago de Chile | 14 |
Let‘s talk money
Well… Firstly, let me say that I was vacationing the full 7 weeks and I didn‘t safe on anything. I barely cooked, did quite a few tours and often booked the more expensive hostels. All in all, without the flight to Colombia and the one to Santiago de Chile, I have spent just over 3000€.
Activities for around 800€, incl. the dance classes and the ciudad perdida trek, which were the most expensive. Accommodation for 650€. Flight from Medellín to Cartagena and all the busses and taxis for a good 400€. Cafés, restaurants and snack shopping for a good 500€, laundry 30€ and souvenirs for 80€. The rest was fees, drinks, toilets, medicine and doctor because of my infection, and some other small bits and bobs.
So, do you wanna go yet? :)
My favourite memories of Colombia
The first salsa lesson with the 3 Norwegians, all of us with absolutely stuck hips and no rythm.
The horse riding in Salento, me and the guide, where for the first time i could / had to speak real Spanish.
Learning about the change in Medellín, from the people for the people.
Reading in a hammock in Costeño and then swim in the pool with a view of the carribean sea whilst knowing that the hostel has aircon.
sleeping in a hammock in tayrona, even though it was freezing, and then watching the sunrise on the beach.
The last, hip deep river crossing of the ciudad perdida trek, where the Colombian guy sang a wedding song to me and saved my day. The trek in general - beoming a family with strangers for a few days, having one mission every day which is to get to the next camp, and learning about the culture of the indigenous people…
Paragliding in the Chichamocha canyon… not the best but one of the funniest. I did it even though i almost shit my pants.
The hike from Barichara to Guane - first the REAL bread, then the beautiful path and meeting this dude that I spent the rest of the day with.
In Cali freitags auf der Straße zu tanzen – ein unglaubliches Erlebnis, das mir bestimmt ewig in Erinnerung bleiben wird. Ich kann es nicht beschreiben, also lass ich es – komm und erleb es für dich selbst. ♡
Muchas gracias, Colombia. Nos vemos pronto ♡
