Colombia has been on my travel bucket list for some time, however it has never been on the top of the list. And usually I fall in love with those places. Perhaps because I do not have any expectations. Colombia is quite large country but because we only had a week there we had to decide which area we would like to explore as we did not want to be rushed.
Why Colombia? If you love history, colourful and vibrant cities, mountains and beaches. Colombia has a bit of everything.
Top Things to see - Cartagena, Medellin, Tayrona National Park, Amazon rainforest.
Best time to visit - December to March are the driest months.
Safety - There are definitely still parts of Colombia that are dangerous, however touristy Cartagena and Medellin are safe. You have to be cautious, be careful with taxis and read government advise before travelling. Fortunately, I found Colombia to be more safe that expected.
Costs - Cheap.
From talking to people who have been to Colombia two areas were highlighted - Cartagena and Medellin. Most people said to skip Bogota. I went to Colombia on a trip in March 2023 and decided to visit Cartagena as Tayrona National Park was high on the list. I thought I will not enjoy Cartagena itself and it will only be a stopover for the park, however I was very wrong. I absolutely fell in love with this historical and vibrant city right by the Caribbean Sea/Atlantic Ocean. The city thrives with music, culture, colourful architecture and history. Food is absolutely delicious and affordable there. There are fruit stands available on every corner. A meal will cost around $5-10 in Colombia. I also felt very safe in the city. Ended up staying in Cartagena for 2 nights before heading to Santa Marta. UNESCO site, Castle San Felipe de Barajas is also worth visiting whilst you are in Cartagena. You will get very nice views from the fortess to Cartagena city.
Public transport and taxi is very cheap in Colombia - Uber cost us $4 from the airport to the Old Town. Bus from Cartagena to Santa Marta was around $15. The bus terminal (Terminal De Transporte de Cartagena) in Cartagena is very far out from the city though and the best way to get there is by Uber costing around $10. We pre-booked bus tickets online, however you can easily buy them at the terminal. Once we boarded the bus there were people that kept coming on the bus trying to sell various food items before we finally departed 45min later than scheduled time. And then our adventure and planned 4.5 hours bus journey began and turn into 9 hour journey. The bus started to break down after an hour of the journey - I am not sure what exactly was the issue as my Spanish is not so good and the driver did not speak English but I thin our cooling system/ engine was constantly overheating. After multiple stops, a/c not working and bus not being able to keep up with the speed we stopped fort half an hour. The driver tried to cool down the engine by just pouring cold water on it. Most passengers got very angry and ended up leaving even though we were in the middle of nowhere. So finally it seemed that the bus was temporarily fixed and only a few of us continued the journey until we were told that the bus will terminate in Barranquilla which is another port city. Then we were told the next bus will come and pick us up in an hour. Finally after long wait, being hungry and tired the second bus arrived and we were welcomed on board. And the same story begun again. Multiple people started boarding the bus trying to sell food and drink. Then we stopped somewhere in the middle of roundabout picking up more people until police pulled up and suddenly ‘bus staff’ jumped on the bus and we drove so fast away. We figured out that it was illegal what they were doing - picking up people from the road and probably keeping the bus ticket money to themselves. After driving around for 3minutes we again stopped at the same spot and kept picking up people - police did not seem to have scared driver and other staff from doing this. Finally once the bus was packed full we left to Santa Marta and luckily with no more stops after long 9 hours we arrived in the city. Unfortunately, Uber was not available in this city so we ended up taking taxi from the road. I had read before that it is not the safest thing to do in Colombia but we had no option. Luckily, all was fine and we were dropped off at our hotel in the Old town.
Santa Marta is much more touristy and busy than Cartagena which I did not expect and also a little bit more pricey. City has a similar vibe and colourful architecture however if I had to pick a favourite of the two it would definitely be Cartagena.
The following day we headed to Tayrona National Park for a 3 mile hike. There are local buses going to the park and they pick you up near the Central Market (Mercado Publico de Santa Marta). The journey takes approximately 1 hour and there are various stops in the park. Ticket is bought on the bus and costs approx. $2. We left the bus near Canaveral and paid the entrance and park fees (around $20 per person per day). The hike is very easy and there are various routes leading to beaches. Along the way locals are selling coffee, fresh juices and snacks. You can also do a horse back riding to the beach which will take an hour. After spending some time at the beach, swimming and enjoying the scenery we headed all the way back to Santa Marta to spend out last evening there before flying our to Bogota.
In my personal opinion, I would not spend more than a day at Bogota. The city did not feel particularly safe and I am sure there are many things to see and do, however we decided to just go to the city centre in between our flights. We walked around La Candelaria and Plaza de Bolivar area before heading back to the airport. One thing to bear in mind is that Uber is illegal in Colombia so we had some issues getting an Uber from the airport as there were police patrols. And this was then sadly the end of a week in Colombia.
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