A Month in Colombia

Overall

Take Ubers in Colombia, they’re cheap, reliable and you can pay with card. Take out local currency at the ATMs, many places accept credit cards but some charge a fee and in smaller towns some are cash only. Be aware of your surroundings in the big cities.

Cartagena

Cartagena was my favorite city in Colombia, it’s walkable, has good street food, beautiful art everwhere, I felt the most safe here walking around, interesting history and nice ocean views. Do they free walking tour, I find all my walking tours on GuruWalk but you can also google it or ask any hostel. Visit the fort for good views especially during sunset. Walk around the walled city. Try the street food! I loved the skewers with meat and veggies here, the super fluffy arepas filled with cheese, and the limonada de coco is unreal.  See monkeys and sloths hanging out in the trees at Parque Centenario. You can go on a sunset boat cruise here. Be aware that there is A LOT of catcalling here and noise in general from all the cars and people wanting to sell you stuff.  Stay at Los Patios for a fun but still chilled out vibe. the hostel itself is not very loud but they still have a bar on the rooftop and organize events pretty much every night.

Taganga

You can take a bus from Marsol bus station in Cartagena to Santa Marta and then take a bus from there to Taganga or a taxi, it’s a short ride. Many people stay in Santa Marta when they're visiting Tayrona park and the beaches of Colombia, but I suggest Taganga for a more sleepy fisherman’s village vibe. I stayed at that Hostal Aurora for a cheap private room and they had a pool and places to work with breakfast included. I would recommend it, but fair warning there is a bit of an ant problem and the room is a bit bare boned (for example no shower head lol). However the more you travel the lower your living standards go so this didn’t bother me enough to overlook the <$30/night bill. Go to Babaganoush restaurant for sunset drinks and or dinner, and again the street food is pretty good here. I also really liked Heladeria El Reef (they serve much more than ice cream) for a healthier option which can be hard to come by in the land of friend food aka Colombia. 

Tayrona Park

It’s easy to get to Tayrona park from Taganga or Santa Marta, there is a bus that leaves from Santa Marta or you can take a taxi there.  I took a ride on a moto from someone I had met the previous day.  Unknown to me it is like a 2 hour bumpy ride to get to the park, so maybe a taxi would have been a better choice, but I do recommend taking a car there rather than a lancha because the walk through the park is epic! Once you get to the park just follow the crowd and arrows, it will lead you to multiple pristine white sand beaches sandwiched between the sea and what looks like a rain forest.  This was one of the most beautiful national parks I had seen in a very long time.  At the end is a popular beach with restaurants and drinks, you can also take a lancha back to Taganga from here which I recommend so you don’t have to walk the 2.5 hours back to the entrance.  Look at the boat ride back as an adventure in it if itself because you will get wet and you will get very close with your neighbor whether you intend to or not. 

Medellín

I flew from Cartagena to Medellin and used the bus and metro system to get into the city which was very easy to navigate.  However, I found Medellin to be sketchy and I honestly don’t totally understand why I heard so much positive stuff about it.  As a girl from Chicago I am normally very comfortable in other cities and feel that my city is probably more dangerous than the one I’m in, in Medellin this was not the case.  However, I did love the hostel I stayed at called Rango Hostel, it’s situated in Poblado next to a lovely park, they have areas for working, a rooftop pool and bar and a really cute restaurant attached down below. I stayed in an four person dorm here and it was very comfortable.  Again I do recommend going on the walking tour, it’s easy to navigate the city by metro and helps give you background on why the city is the way it is. This was the home base for Pablo Escobar and you should know that most locals do not like talking about him nor do they agree with the glorification of his legacy. There are multiple cable cars in the city that you can ride in and offer some really good views.   Many people go to Comuna 13 which is a reformed ghetto turned muralist/graffiti area.  Honestly the whole city felt ghetto to me so I did not feel the need to see more ghetto lol. I enjoyed the restaurants and area around Carrera 43B and there is a police protected area with many clubs around called Parque Lleras. Bachata dance is really big here so if you like to dance you can definitely find some good bachata clubs. 

Jardín

I took a bus to Jardín from the south terminal in Medellin, you can book the bus ahead of time or at the terminal. Jardín was beautiful, great for easy hikes, good views, and it is surrounded by banana and coffee plants. I suggest the Ruta de la Herrera and stopping at the mirador along the way for a beer or limonada de coco. I stayed at La Casa de las Flores and it was very tranquil. The city square is popping at all times of day including for a few drinks at night. I suggest going to a restaurant that has a menu del día so you can experience fresh and local cuisine. 

Guatape

To get to Guatape from Jardín I had to take a bus back to Medellin from Jardín, switch to the north terminal via uber, and then catch a bus to Guatape from Medellin. All in all it took me less than 6 hours to do all of this which I was impressed by. Guatape is a super cute town situated on a lake that has a lot to do. again the square always has something going on. I of course recommend hiking El Piedra. Dinner at Don Oscar was very good as well I had the onion soup and the octopus. You can rent a helicopter here and even go out boating with boat sports such as wakeboarding. I took the same bus back to Medellin before my flight out and this time I kindly asked the bus driver to stop so I could buy some mangosteens. This is a fruit I had only known prior to be from Asia but it is delicious and one town between Guatape and Medellin sells them. To get to the airport I told the bus driver where I was going and in true Latin American fashion he dropped me off on the side of the road, told me to cross the highway and wait for the bus going to the airport, so that’s what I did. all in all my 3 hour trip to the airport cost me 30,000 COP which is like 7 dollars.

Bogotá 

I can’t say I did much of anything in Bogota, I was only there during work days and I hadn’t really heard anything good about this town. I stayed at Viajero spa and hostel and just pampered myself with a massage, facial, and daily trips to the free sauna and steam rooms. I couldn’t have asked for anything more. 

All in all, I give Colombia a 5/10. I enjoyed the country side much more than the cities and suggest planning your trip according to that information.