Colombia Vacation Costs: What Does a Trip to Colombia Really Cost?

Are you planning a trip to Colombia and wondering what costs to expect? I have meticulously documented my expenses over four weeks in Colombia-from flights and accommodations to activities and dining. In this article, you will get a transparent overview of the costs of a vacation in Colombia, including tips for saving and realistic daily budgets for different travel styles.

Colombia is considered one of the more affordable travel destinations in South America, although it is pricier than destinations in Southeast Asia. This year, you can still experience a lot on a small budget-street food, good accommodations, and affordable public transport make it possible. Of course, your daily budget highly depends on how you choose to travel. Here's a rough overview:

Personally, I usually travel in the mid range, I'm not a backpacker, I avoid hostels as much as I can, and here are all the details on flight prices, accommodation costs, food, transport, and activities.

The costs of traveling in Colombia cannot be generalized. They depend on the following factors:

Your travel style

The duration of your trip to Colombia

The places you want to visit

The activities and excursions you want to undertake

How much time you have, which will determine whether you take buses (affordable) or book domestic flights (more expensive)

Whether you stay in hostels (dorms) or B&Bs/hotels.

-> Read my detailed report on traveling in Colombia here

-> All travel stories and tips for Colombia at a glance

To experience as much as possible, we not only traveled with the (excellent) buses but also booked quite affordable domestic flights. Just for the routes Medellín - Cartagena and Cartagena - Bogotá, we saved many hours on bus rides.

I try to avoid hostels and dormitories. I value privacy. However, there are places in Colombia where you can only stay very simply. At the moment, there are no alternatives.

We prioritized staying in Bed & Breakfasts, private apartments (via Airbnb), and even on a coffee farm. This way, we were closer to the locals than in a hotel. We always booked our accommodations locally through booking.com.

A major expense in your trip to Colombia will be the flights. I monitored prices over a long period and recommend that you pay close attention when booking flights.

Average flight prices (round trip from Germany):

Cheapest period: May, June, October, November - from $700-$800

Peak season (December, July, August): often $900-$1,300

Average price: approx. $800-$1,000 including luggage

I usually book my long-haul flights around 4-6 months in advance and use tools like Kayak or Google Flights with price alerts. That's how I got my flight to Bogotá for $750-with a short layover in Madrid.

BOOK FLIGHTS ✈️ We always search for cheap flights on Kayak. Here are my tips for booking cheap flights. Make sure to indicate checked baggage, as basic fares only include carry-on luggage. This can initially distort the price, making it appear cheaper.

During my 4-week trip to Colombia, I stayed in a variety of accommodations-from charming boutique hotels to a coffee farm. All prices are actual costs per accommodation, based on two persons, some with breakfast included.

My conclusion:

In cities like Bogotá, Cali, or Medellín, you can find nice rooms starting at $50.

In rural areas like San Agustín, Salento, or the Tatacoa Desert, you usually pay $20-$50, with limited options.

On the Caribbean coast (Palomino, Buritaca, Cartagena), prices are significantly higher-up to $180 per night.

If you're looking for accommodations with charm and proximity to locals, I recommend B&Bs, small hotels, or farms, best booked directly through booking.com or Airbnb.

Tip: In Colombia, you often get more comfort for your money than in Europe. I recommend booking early, especially in peak season and on weekends, particularly in Cartagena.

Food in Colombia is significantly cheaper than in the USA-especially if you enjoy eating locally. I dined in both casual eateries and more touristy spots. Here are a few examples of my actual expenses:

Location | Meal Type | Cost

Quimbaya | Meal for 4 at a local restaurant | $22

Salento | Dinner for 2 at a tourist restaurant | $17.20

Bogotá | Dinner at 'Capital Cocina y Cafe' | $36

Bogotá | Street food + drinks on the go | $4-$8

San Agustín | Lunch menu with 'Plato Típico' | approx. $2

Tatacoa Desert | Lunch for 2 at the accommodation | approx. $7

Popayán | Breakfast at Hostal Caracol | approx. $3.60

Supermarket | Water & snacks in Bogotá | approx. $4.20

Street food & simple dishes: $2-$5 per person

Lunch in a restaurant: $5-$10

Dinner (mid-range): $12-$20

Snacks, drinks, coffee: $0.50-$3

With about $10-$20 per day, you can get by well-including coffee, snacks, and a nice dinner. If you self-cater or eat locally more often, you can save even more. Especially in rural areas like the coffee zone or San Agustín, food is incredibly inexpensive and delicious.

Colombia is large, and if you want to see as much as I do in a short time, you need a good mix of buses, flights, and private transfers. During our 4-week trip, we utilized all methods-depending on the distance and time budget.

For two long distances, we intentionally booked domestic flights. Both with Avianca, as I've had good experiences with the airline in South America. Budget airlines had significant delays for friends or flights were outright canceled. We wanted to avoid that.

My flight costs per person:

Medellín -> Cartagena: $80

Santa Marta -> Bogotá: $80

I booked both flights through Kayak.

Here's an overview of all the trips I noted. The prices apply-to the extent not stated differently-per person and come directly from my records:

We mostly decided on private drivers when we were three, and a destination would otherwise only have been reachable with significant effort-like Guatapé from Medellín or from Popayán to Cali.

Long-distance buses are inexpensive (usually $10-$15), but often time-consuming.

Domestic flights cost around $80-$90 and save you many hours.

Private drivers are worthwhile with 2-3 people and provide flexibility.

I recommend sticking to buses or taxis for short distances-and planning flights for long distances. This way, you can experience more without spending too much time on the bus.

I undertook many excursions in Colombia on my own-supplemented by a few organized tours. Entrance fees and excursions were almost uniformly affordable. Here are my actual expenses, sorted by location:

Street Art Tour: 50,000 COP (approx. $12)

Bike Tour: 80,000 COP (approx. $19)

Monserrate (entrance + funicular round trip): 27,000 COP (approx. $6.50)

Gold Museum: 5,000 COP (approx. $1.20)

Salt Cathedral Zipaquirá: 80,000 COP (approx. $19)

Motorcycle taxi into the desert and back: 40,000 COP (approx. $9.50)

Entrance Parque Arqueológico: 50,000 COP (approx. $12)

Jeep tour to further archaeological sites: 150,000 COP (approx. $36)

Museum entrance: 5,000 COP (approx. $1.20)

Entrance to waterfall: 2,000 COP (approx. $0.50)

Entrance to Valle de Cocora: 15,000 COP (approx. $3.60)

Map & tips for hiking: free at the hostel

Piedra del Peñol in Guatapé: 25,000 COP (approx. $6)

Boat tour Guatapé + Villa Pablo Escobar: 50,000 COP (approx. $12)

Free Walking Tour Medellín (tip): 30,000 COP (approx. $7)

I didn't manage to do this hike during my trip. However, my co-author Chris was on the Ciudad Perdida Trek.

For this 4-5 day trek to the 'Lost City', you should budget around 2,000,000-2,200,000 COP (approx. $460-$510) including guide, accommodation, meals, and entrance fees.

Most excursions in Colombia cost less than $15-many under $10. With a budget of $100 to $200 for four weeks, you can get by well if you, like me, explore many places on your own. For special tours like boat trips, jeep excursions, or multi-day treks, you should additionally budget $100-$300.

In almost all accommodations, cafés, and restaurants in Colombia, I had stable Wi-Fi-even in smaller towns like San Agustín or Palomino. Still, I didn't want to forgo mobile internet on the go, for navigation, WhatsApp, or spontaneous restaurant searches.

I bought a prepaid SIM card from Claro as soon as I arrived-the provider with the best network coverage in Colombia. The SIM card was available for just a few euros at the supermarket. Data packages are very affordable:

For about 30,000 COP (around $7), I got 10 GB of data + unlimited WhatsApp usage.

Tip: Make sure to have the SIM card activated in-store or at the supermarket-the menu is entirely in Spanish.

If you don't want to use a physical SIM or your phone doesn't support dual SIM, there are several reliable eSIM providers for Colombia. Since these providers (operating via an app) frequently change their offers, it's worth comparing before your trip:

Provider | Used Network | Example Plan | Note

Airalo | Claro | 10 GB for 30 days from ca. $34 | Good coverage, affordable plan

Holafly | Movistar | Unlimited data from about $6.90 (5 days) | Easy setup, but weaker network

Jetpac | Claro | 1 GB from $1, 10 GB from $35 | Ideal for short trips and flexible consumption

Saily | variable | 1 GB from $7 | Simple entry, worldwide offers

My recommendation: If you want consistently good coverage, choose Claro directly or select an eSIM from Airalo or Jetpac, as these providers access the Claro network. In more remote regions, Movistar (as with Holafly) often has significantly poorer coverage.

Laundry: We sometimes did our laundry ourselves and sometimes had it done in hotels. In Cali, we had laundry for three people done for around $15, which was very cheap considering the amount we had. In Medellín, we paid only $8 for the laundry of two people (done by the cleaning lady of our Airbnb host).

Tips: unfortunately not recorded.

Category | Amount

Flight | $750-$800

Accommodations | $900-$1,100

Domestic Flights | $150-$200

Transport & Transfers | $150

Food & Drink | $450-$500

Activities & Entrances | $200-$300

SIM & Internet | $10-$20

Others (tips, laundry, snacks) | $50-$80

Total: | approx. $2,500-$2,800

Colombia remains a travel destination with excellent price-performance. If you travel independently, plan a little, and stay flexible, you can experience nature, culture, and the coast for around $2,500-$2,800 for four weeks-safe, delicious, and diverse.

Only those who rely exclusively on private drivers, prefer luxury hotels, or book many organized tours will land at $3,000 or more.

If we hadn't treated ourselves to the two more expensive accommodations in the last week, we could have saved at least $500. But we didn't want to do that, and it turned out well.

Colombia is one of the more affordable travel countries in South America for me. Even though Cartagena is very expensive compared to the rest of the country, it is still generally possible to travel here on a budget. My absolute tip, as the country is super beautiful and will soon be overrun by tourists.

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