My columbian vacation :]

Lounge
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Some of you may already know i’m planning a trip to Bogota, Columbia for the summer. I’ve got a couple of options which includes a month long stay in an apartment or 8 days at a hotel.

Have any of you been? I’m curious about the safety of the trip although something like that won’t detour me from going (if this is your mission don’t :stuck_out_tongue:). I’m studying a little spanish via rosetta stone to help out on the trip.

My goals for the trip:

  1. Relax. Maybe do some self searching.
  2. Take in all columbia has to offer. This includes authentic food and visiting local bars/clubs/tourist spots/botanical garden).
  3. Spend under 3 thousand dollars. (really aiming at 2k but the extra thousand is there if needed).
  4. Party and club

The airfare is 700 round trip. I have a few options on housing:
1 month in apartment:
2 bedroom with kitchen, full bath, fully furnished (like an american townhouse). 550 USD a month but includes free internet and utilities. Located on good side of town 2 blocks away from the american embassy. This would cost me 275 dollars split.
This will leave me with 1000 dollars to spend for one month plus the ‘emergancy’ thousand. I hear from a columbian friend that for 1 million peso’s i can rent a taxi driver for the entire month to be my personal chauffer. Thats about 550 bucks.

The other offer is the casablanca93.
It is a very basic hotel but is on a good side of town and they cook 2 meals a day (free). It is 100 dollars a night. So 50 each. That will cost 400 dollars to stay for 8 days (versus 275 + food for 30).

I’ve already picked out some clubs and famous spots to travel. Have any of you been? If your looking to go i’d be happy to travel and party with you but i will want to do my own thing part of the time as this is a trip for me to explore myself and get out.

Comments? Suggestions? Ideas?

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I’ve been to Colombia!!!

I had an AWESOME time over there!!

Spent a few months living in Cartagena teaching english in 2005, and travelled across the north coast to Santa Marta, Barranquilla, Parque Tayronna then down south to Armenia, Manizales, Medellin and then to Cali…

I’d so love to go back again…

My girlfriend is from Bogota, and though i’ve never been to Bogota, would LOVE to get there one day.

I would DEFINITELY GO.

it’s A LOT safer than you might bbe thinking, don’t believe what you read in the media or see in those stupid movies! It’s totally different to the way it’s portrayed!

People are helpful and friendly wherever you go, mainly becuase they do not get many tourists. In fact the locals HATE the way the media/hollywood portray their conutry and are toatlly ASHAMED of this image int has, and with good reason, because it ain’t in the least like that in real life. They are well aware that they do not get many tourists because of all th bad press the country gets, but do yourself a favour and go.

I never saw 1 gun, never saw 1 drug (other than your normal prescription drug they sell at the pharmacy) and never at any time felt my life in danger or threatened. I PROMISE YOU THAT!

I guess the only reason I never went to bogota was the whole altitude thing freaked me out, plus everyone in all the other cities said Bogota was not safe, but then again, they said the same things about other places I visited in colombia and they turned out to be very safe for me.

By the way it’s COLOMBIA, not Columbia (another pet peeve the COLOMBIANS have with foreigners, can’t spell their country correctly).

But really mate, GO!

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Haha thanks for the reassurance. Never saw any drugs :open_mouth:! Did you go clubbing and dancing? I’m going to take some salsa dancing and such so i am up to par with the others. I got a similar impression to how the country is from what you said. Glad you confirmed.

Did you ever go to any bars or clubs? That is one of the things i’m very interested in. Also do you have any inside tips on finding an apartment. I am not very good at spanish so english websites and correspondance would be nice (even if i have to pay a little more). Were my prices correct?

I also want to go to Cali and Medellin. Alot of history there.

Thanks mate much reps!

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Well, I guess i never saw any drugs because I never went looking for any, but I’m sure they’re there if you ask around and ask the right people (don’t bring up the D word with any Colombians while over there otherwise you willl be setreotyped as the typical mis-informed western idiot) EVERY Colombian I’ve come across hates being told about the stereotypes of their country, and are highly embarresed and ashamed of this reputation, and quite frankly are very angry about it, throw in my gf there as well.

I didn’t do much clubbing in the bigger cities, just daytime sightseeing.

Went clubbing on the north coast, and was lots of fun. Used tto go out almost every night to bars and nightclubs in Cartagena, and the local taxi drivers all knew me as the “Australiano deficil” (the difficult Aussie guy) because I always tried bargainig them out of their keep! I was the only aussie in town so I was somewhat of a true “novelty” to everyone there.

Nightlife there can be loads of fun, drinks are cheap, and do learn some salsa and reggaeton for up in the north especially. Bars are vibrant and full of happy, fun-loving, partying people, the majority locals due to the lack of tourists there. Colombians sure do know how to party and have fun.

Finding an apartment can be difficult with limited to no spanish. You really need to have a local help you here. I was dating a local girl while in Cartagena, and she organised the apartment for me in Bocagrande - the tourist zone of cartagena. I used to go to her place in the suburbs very frequenty by cab, and never had any problems with theft, rtobbery, or the like. However my gf does tell me that Bogota does have those problems. But then again I spent 7 months in buenos airea, Argentina before I went to Colombia, and I was told the same things about Argentina and the safety of taxis there, never listen to those that told me and nothing happened to me. So it’s all just a media/bad press beat-up in my book to discourage tourism to those places.

Ok. 20$ USA = around 50,000 pesos Colombianos when I was there, cheaper out of the tourist zones.

Yes, your prices are almost spot on. And you get a lot of “bang” for your dollar there, as apartments in the good parts of town are usually VERY modern compared to most places in the world. A country with exceptional value.

Dinig out every day won’t cost you much either, and beers (cervezas) cost you around 2$ US each, once again depending on where you go.

100$US a night for a 4.5 star hotel is also spot on for colombia.

There is a lot of history and beautiful natural parks and sights throughout the country, not just cali and medellin, see as much of it as you can.

Once again, GO!! you’ll have a great time and definitely won’t regret it!! You have my word! But brush up on some spanish first, at least the basics to get you by.

And thanks for the reps, Panda

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PM me if you want some more info, I’d be v.glad to help out :slight_smile: