Colombia is set to become an increasingly popular backpacking country as the word gradually gets out about all it has to offer. It's a fascinating country with people who are heartbreakingly welcoming, and its geography is so diverse that it's like a portrait of South America in miniature. So put aside any stereotypes you might know about Colombia and discover one of the true gems of Latin America...
Why you should go
I have been to over 45 countries and Colombia is one of my favorites! Here's why:
- Huge variety in climate and topography. Colombia has it all: a Carribean and a Pacific coast, rainy jungles, dry deserts, the start of the Andes range and a big slice of the Amazon. It's almost like a compressed version of South America as a whole, with a different environment only ever a bus ride away.
- Huge biodiversity. Colombia has some of the highest biodiversity on the planet and is home to countless species of birds, fish, mammals, etc. making it a wonderful destination for trekking and scuba diving.
- Brimming with culture. Colombia has a lot going on, and it's a country with a very strong identity. You'll be fascinated to learn about its (often dark) history but also be intrigued by Colombian life today.
- Friendly people. Generalizations are usually true, and generally Colombians are a very welcoming bunch. They are happy to see travellers and will sometimes really go out of their way to make you feel welcome.
- Great for backpacking. Hostels are springing up rapidly all over the country. Colombia is not really the cheapest country in Latin America but it doesn't have the break the bank either. Bus travel is affordable and quite modern, and very cheap internal flights can be found through Viva Colombia.
Orientation
Nearly one third of Colombia is covered by the Amazon rainforest. When looking at a map of Colombia, most destinations are in the west and north. The map below shows you some of the main destinations that I've chosen to highlight.
It is not possible to enter Colombia from Panama overland. Well, you possibly could if you were extremely daring and adventurous, but generally speaking this is a no-go area. If you want to travel between these countries without flying, I can strongly recommend sailing from Panama to Cartagena or vice versa.
In the north of Colombia you'll find the colonial old city of Cartagena, as well as Santa Marta which is not so notable in itself but makes for a great base for exploring Tayrona National Park (home to beautiful white sand beaches and jungle) and a good point from which to make the Lost City trek. The town of Taganga, a short ride from Santa Marta, is Colombia's main destination for scuba diving and a bit of a backpacker party hub.
In the middle is San Gil, which is Colombia's adventure sports capital (including paragliding, wild water rafting, caving, etc.). Here you'll also find Medellin, which is a fascinating city that should not be skipped.
In the south you'll find the capital Bogota, the coffee region (where the small village of Salento, close to Cocora Valley, is a popular backpacker destination), the city of Cali (famous for its obsession with salsa), and not too far from here is also Tatacoa desert, which has some attractive scenery.
The amazon at the heart of Colombia is super remote and is even home to some uncontacted indigenous tribes. It's also where FARC rebels are reportedly still present, so these are not exactly touristy areas. If you want to go into the Amazon, flying to Leticia is basically the main (essentially the 'only') option. There are border connections here with Peru and Brazil.
Things to see & do
The Old City of Cartagena
Among the prettiest colonial town centres in South America. Picture lots of quaint houses with flowers hanging from balconies and leafy squares where people play chess and street vendors sell grapes and bananas. The walls and fortresses ringing the town are also worth a wander.
Trek to the Lost City
This 4 to 6 day trek is beautiful, and leads to an ancient pre-Colombian city atop a mountain. It's not exactly Machu Pichhu, but then again it's also nearly not as busy (it gets just 1/100th the number of visitors) so you get to enjoy it so much more.
Adventure sports in San Gil
San Gil in the Santander region is the capital of adventure sports. Go there for rafting (up to class 5 rapids, which is the safety maximum), paragliding (starting at $30), mountain biking, and more. This town is also weirdly famed for its giant-bottomed fried ants: they're crunchy and taste a bit like popcorn. It's a local delicacy that's worth a try.
Go paragliding in San Gil or Medellin.
Colombian nightlife
Colombians love to party. Most bars play a mix of dance, merengue, bachata, raggaeton and salsa. Going to a bar or club can be an interesting experience: often it will have groups of people actually seated at tables, and they'll dance around the tables when their favorite tunes come on. It's a sort of social salsa vibe that is different from typical nightlife in Western countries. The city of Medellin has some of the best nightlife, though Bogota has much to offer as well.
Learn to scuba dive in Taganga
While the diving around Taganga is not really meant to be the best in the world in terms of seeing unique marine life, it's a great place to get certified with internationally competitive rates. Taganga is also a big backpacker party destination.
Medellin has connected some of its poorer neighborhoods on the hills to the city with cablecars.
Enjoy the city of Medellin
A lot of big cities in Central/South America don't appeal to me much as they are often chaotic and overwhelming. Medellin on the other hand has a real cultural heart, while managing to be both sophisticated and grungy at the same time. I wrote a bit about Medellin here (scroll down to the bottom for some sightseeing tips).
Go on the Real City tour (that's the name of the company) in Medellin: it's one of the best city tours I've done anywhere as it tells you in very emotionally engaging ways about the history of the city and Colombia. After this tour you're guaranteed to feel a new emotional connection with the country.
For tons more things to do in Medellin, hit up the Medellin Living blog.
Learn salsa in Cali
Dancing classes can be found all over Colombia, though Cali is truly the salsa capital and great even for just soaking up the salsa atmosphere in its many bars. If salsa seems too complicated, try taking a bachata or merengue class (these require much less footwork).
Relax on white sand beaches
Don't expect the beaches in Colombia to be great everywhere; for example, the beaches around Cartagena aren't all that nice. For those amazing 'picture perfect' beaches you'll have to go to Tayrona Park for example, or venture into the more remote pacific regions. Another great option is to fly to San Andres Island, which oddly is actually closer to Nicaragua than Colombia. San Andres is a huge diving and snorkeling destination, and it's culturally of interest as well as it has a multicultural mix of Spanish, English and Creole influences. I unfortunately didn't have a chance to visit the island, but if you're looking for more info on San Andres I recommend checking out SanAndres-Colombia.com.
Enjoy observing the street life in Cartagena
You can find cute colonial towns in different places around the country. This one is Barichara.
Is Colombia safe?
People keep asking this question. There are two different parts to answering it.
- Regular crime (pickpocketing etc.) - As with any country excercize reasonable caution. If you go out, take a taxi home instead of walking around the streets drunk. Crime does obviously exist in Colombia, though to me it seemed generally much less rough around the edges than Peru, Honduras or Guatemala (to name a few). Those with a little travel experience will be perfectly comfortable.
- Drugs violence / kidnappings / Pablo Escobar shooting you in the face - This is not an issue anymore. One caveat: remote jungle areas not listed in travel guides (including the entire Amazon region apart from Letitia) may still have a FARC rebel presence and are best not visited unless you know what you're doing.
A normal traveller should have no trouble in Colombia. As the Colombian tourism board says, "the only risk is wanting to stay".
If you are in Colombia end of February / early March be sure to go to the carnival in Barranquila. It's the second biggest in the world after Rio.
Cost of travel in Colombia
Colombia is not an ultimate cheapie like some other Latin American countries (e.g. Guatemala, Nicaragua, Peru or Bolivia). However, it's also not as expensive as some others (e.g. Costa Rica or Brazil). As a ballpark budget around $40 a day, depending on your personal travel style. Of course, spend more on things like alcohol or better accomodation and that could rise to $50 or more.
A hostel dorm bed will typically set you back $10 - $15. The higher end of that range is mostly found in Cartagena as it's the prime tourist spot. Food can be very cheap if you eat in local eateries - a daily set meal typically with soup, meat and rice, and fried plantains will usually sell for as little as $3-5. Food in urban centres or a la carte meals are closer to $5-10. A domestic beer costs about a dollar.
'Exito' supermarkets are easy to find in cities, and hostels usually have kitchen facilities available.
Language barrier
English is not widely spoken in Colombia so some knowledge of Spanish will be very helpful. If travelling for a while, it might make sense to learn Spanish if you don't speak any. There are many Spanish language schools around the country; Medellin in particular is a popular place to take lessons. For more information see my post 5 Ways To Learn Spanish When Traveling Latin America
Tayrona has some of the better beaches in the country (Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
More info on Colombia
On my destination pages I try to mix general information with a bit of personal flavor. Hope you find it useful!
There are a couple of resources I use myself when researching a destination. The first I want to mention is WikiVoyage, a free collaborative wikipedia-style travel guide. Since it's collaboratively written it lacks the personal touch (and the information on specific accommodation can often be outdated compared to other sources), but the site is absolutely perfect for high-level research. You can find the WikiVoyage page for Colombia here.
Another little-known website that has a lot of useful information isTravelIndependent.info. It is specifically geared towards budget/backpacker style travel and has some great destination info.
I do also use *gasp* guidebooks! I have used Rough Guides occasionally (and I like them) but my favorite guidebook publisher is still Lonely Planet. People will sometimes refer to the Lonely Planet as "The Book" or "The Bible", and it's easy to joke about newbie travellers who clutch their Lonely Planet a bit too tightly. Nevertheless I find these guides to be indispensible sources of information; their maps and itineraries in particular are some of the best around. As long as you use them as aguide and not as a rule they can help you save a lot of time in figuring out a rough main thread for your journey from which you can improvise the rest. You can check out theColombia Lonely Planet here. These days they're made available digitally as well (whole or by specific chapter).
Finally, for general travel advice that you can use in Colombia or anywhere, check out my book Travel the World Without Worries. It deals with such topics as how to plan a trip, how to "wing it with a plan", how to budget your trip and reduce your expenses, dealing with language, safety or health related issues, how to pack the smart way, how to make your experience more unique and adventurous, and much much more. I've poured two years of continuous travel experience into trying to write a comprehensive guide, so be sure to have a look as it may save you lots of time, money and effort!
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