Colombia Travel Tips

Colombia has not yet arrived on the travel map for many people. Why is that? The fact is that the beautiful country in South America repeatedly makes headlines due to guerrilla warfare in the south. The country of drug wars, guerrilla fighting, and related kidnappings often evokes negative associations.

However, I strongly recommend that you travel to Colombia. The country is safer than Mexico, and everyone who has been there, besides me, raves about the northern country in South America. Colombia offers everything a traveler desires: Caribbean sandy beaches in the north, colonial cities like Cartagena, deserts, rainforests, a rugged Pacific coast, vibrant and increasingly modern cities like Medellín and Bogotá, as well as significant archaeological sites around San Agustin that hold great meaning for South Americans.

In this article, you will find all my travel tips for Colombia with all the information you need to know before your trip. After over four weeks in Colombia, I did not want to return to Germany and am planning my return to discover even more of this beautiful country.

Here, I have written down all my expenses for 4 weeks in Colombia. You can find my travel report for the Colombia trip here.

Here I have gathered a few things that are useful for your travel planning.

You should know this:

Now is the right time for a vacation in Colombia. The country and especially its inhabitants enjoy exploring their own land in peace. This was not possible for a long time. Everywhere you meet friendly Colombians with big hearts who are happy that foreigners dare to visit their country as tourists. A country that has long made negative headlines due to drug wars and guerrilla fighting.

These times are long gone, and tourism is beginning to take off. Nevertheless, you can still discover the authentic country in most places - even though the tourist infrastructure is not yet as well developed as in neighboring countries. The bus connections and domestic flights are great and affordable.

Also, the overall costs for a trip to Colombia are minimal - except in Cartagena, where cruise ships have long been flooding the beautiful old town and prices for hotels, tours, and restaurants have skyrocketed. Regardless, it is worth it!

It would be too easy to name just a few highlights for Colombia. Colombia itself is the highlight - a wonderful country that I predict a very successful tourist future for.

There are the beautiful Caribbean beaches in the Tayrona National Park, Palomino, or in the Santa Marta region. The Pacific beaches must be just as wonderful, albeit rougher. Unfortunately, I have not been there yet.

The Tatacoa Desert fascinated me right from the start, especially the starry sky on a clear night in the desert heat.

Or the UNESCO World Heritage Site Valle de Cocora with its incredibly tall wax palms. Don't forget the proximity to the Zona Cafetera - the Coffee Zone. Wonderful landscapes, coffee plantations everywhere, and idyllic coffee fincas nestled within. Salento and Filandia also amazed me. I must stay longer on my next Colombia trip.

The big cities do not have to hide behind the stunning landscapes. While Medellín is booming and being hyped everywhere, I found Bogotá to be much more welcoming. I also found Cali to be not as bad as one often reads. Everywhere, you can admire great street art and join tours, which I also did.

When you are in Medellín, you should definitely take a trip to Guatapé - the next highlight of my trip.

Cartagena is not only called the Pearl of the Caribbean; it truly is. It is very tourist-oriented since cruise ships dock here, but I could have wandered aimlessly through the alleys of the old town for more days. Whether during the day or preferably at night!

Colombia is generally very approachable throughout the year. However, there are still small differences depending on the region. Therefore, I have devoted a detailed article to this question:

Read more: When is the best time to visit Colombia?

In short, I recommend that you travel during the dry season between December and March or from July to August if you want to be sure it won't rain heavily for even a short period. This can be of great advantage, especially during the multi-day hike to Ciudad Perdida or in Salento, if it remains largely dry.

On New Year's Eve, almost all restaurants and museums in Bogotá are closed. You should be aware of this if you are traveling to Colombia for the New Year. Popular seaside destinations are very crowded around Christmas since there are holidays in Colombia (Tayrona National Park, for example).

In general, Colombia is a very easy country to travel. The infrastructure for buses is great, and the buses themselves are (mostly) also good. Only in smaller regions do you have to switch to collectivos or minivans, which are a bit older. But this makes the fun of traveling more or less.

Flights are inexpensive as well, and you can often spontaneously find cheap flight tickets. I would always travel individually in Colombia. This saves you money and allows you to remain spontaneous if, for some reason, you don't like a particular place or favor it highly.

Check out my travel report for Colombia and find out how easy it is to explore the country on your own.

I generally always recommend traveling as long as possible. I am a fan of longer trips - especially due to climate change. I spent four weeks in Colombia and couldn't even visit many places and regions.

Therefore, my tip: Don't rush, choose your highlights, and come back.

It depends on what your style of travel is. If you stay in hostels (dormitories) and hammocks, skip flights and expensive tours, then Colombia is inexpensive. I always stayed in bed & breakfasts or hotels. Sometimes I also booked an apartment through Airbnb or stayed at a (more expensive) coffee finca based on locals' recommendations.

For Guatapé, we hired a driver, which was more expensive, but we saved a lot of time on transportation compared to public transport. Colombia is (except for Cartagena) one of the more affordable destinations in South America. However, I believe that tourism is rapidly developing here and prices will quickly rise. More and more people are discovering how breathtakingly beautiful Colombia is.

In this section, I have summarized what you need to know about entry and flights to Colombia.

Direct flights from Germany: With Lufthansa directly from Frankfurt. The fastest way with a stopover is with Iberia via Madrid (on the modern A350) or KLM via Amsterdam to Bogotá. I traveled with Iberia via Madrid to Colombia and was very satisfied. There wasn't a faster or cheaper option available at that time. The direct flight with Lufthansa was more than double the cost.

To find cheap flights, I always check the flight search engine of Skyscanner. My tips for booking cheap flights can be found here.

Direct flights from Frankfurt take 11 hours and 45 minutes to Bogotá. My flight went via Madrid. It takes about 2 hours and 40 minutes to get to Madrid. Then about 10 hours and 30 minutes to Bogotá. It's manageable, and you arrive in the early evening.

No, as a tourist, you do not need a visa to enter Colombia as a German citizen.

To enter Colombia, you need:

In general, normal tourists receive a stay of 30, 60, or a maximum of 90 days. If you want to stay longer in Colombia, you need to apply for an extension at the DAS. More information can be found here on the government website.

Further information is available on the website of the Colombian Embassy.

As a tourist, you receive a 'visa on arrival' in the form of a stamp in your passport. The visa is valid for 30, 60, or 90 days. I received a stamp for 90 days.

If you travel to Colombia via the USA, you need an ESTA for the United States. I have explained how to fill out the ESTA form in detail in this article: How to Fill Out the ESTA Form for the USA.

For my trip to Colombia, I bought the Lonely Planet Guide (check here). Alternatively, I also recommend the Stefan Loose travel guide for Colombia, although that one was older than the newer Lonely Planet during our trip.

Pay attention to the publication date, then you will be well advised with both guides. Also, make sure not to buy a guide generated by artificial intelligence, only those from established publishers. The others often have flashy covers and contain a lot of misinformation.

Colombia offers accommodations for every budget. We stayed in hotels, Airbnb apartments, and very basic accommodations (Tatacoa Desert).

Nevertheless, all were great! Here is a list:

I can't make a blanket statement for Colombia. We visited almost all regions except for the Amazon: Bogotá was quite cool (you'll need a jacket here), the south was very rainy, and on the Caribbean coast, it was very hot.

Since you can wash clothes everywhere, you should pack for 7 - 10 days and not forget a jacket and long pants.

Here you can find my printable packing list.

For Colombia, you will need a travel adapter to charge your electronic devices. Since the outlets are the same as in the USA, I recommend buying the Skross World Adapter. I use this plug on all my travels and can also connect 2 USB cables simultaneously. You can also use this adapter for other trips to China, Australia, or Italy.

If you bring a hairdryer (which is sensible for cooler regions), make sure that you can switch the voltage.

The sockets in Colombia are type A and B. The voltage is 110 V with a frequency of 60Hz.

In Colombia, you can travel short and long distances by overland bus. This is also the cheapest way to travel within the country.

We traveled depending on the region with Bolivariano and Expreso Brasilia (Bogotá - Neiva; Neiva - San Agustin; Filandia - Quimbaya; Quimbaya - Medellin). In some places, we had to rely on collectivos. It's actually beneficial if you speak a bit of Spanish (Neiva to Tatacoa Desert).

Much faster and more comfortable (but not sustainable) are flights. Therefore, we booked domestic flights for two longer routes:

Medellín - Cartagena and Santa Marta - Bogotá. The flights cost 75 Euros each with Avianca. I looked for the flights locally via Skyscanner. All airlines you can use in Colombia are listed here.

In the cities, we also used taxis or UBER (from the Bogotá airport to the accommodation or the bus station), as well as in Quimbaya since there were no bus lines to the remote coffee finca.

In Medellín, we also used the cable car, which is a great experience!

You can find the exact list in my article about the costs of the Colombia trip

In almost all accommodations and restaurants, bars, and cafés in Colombia, there is WIFI. Even most buses have well-functioning WIFI. Airports also provide WIFI. For the 'normal' traveler, this is usually sufficient.

When you arrive in Bogotá, you can first use the free WIFI at the airport. However, we only had good reception shortly before the exit. You can buy a SIM card from Claro directly at the airport (2nd floor), but they are very overpriced here.

After arriving, I bought a SIM card from Claro, which is the largest provider with the best coverage. It's best to get this at a supermarket (Oxxo) so the staff can make the right settings for you. Buying packages and selecting the right one is somewhat more complicated.

My starter package with a SIM card and credit cost 18,000 COP$ (about 5 €). The SIM card cost 3,000 COP$, plus 15,000 COP$ of credit. I chose the 'Datos-Plan,' which for 20,000 COP$ included 1 GB for use within 15 days. WhatsApp (including WhatsApp calls), Facebook, and Twitter are included for free.

It was often a bit complicated because you have to book everything through the menu in Spanish. I didn't fully understand it until the end. I hope the data packages will soon increase in size, so you won't have to keep adding more. I still think that for the average traveler, 1 GB will suffice.

For Colombia, you should consider which regions you want to visit. Vaccination against yellow fever is recommended for the Amazon and the region around Tayrona National Park. Since I already have this vaccination, the spontaneous trip to the Caribbean coast was not a problem.

I also advise you to take out travel health insurance. I always use the travel health insurance from HanseMerkur. If you are traveling for an extended period, you can buy long-term travel insurance from the same provider.

Here are my tips and information about money and how I handle it:

In Colombia, you pay with the Colombian Peso (COP or COP$). For one Euro, you get approximately 4,200 COP.

I withdrew cash at the airport with my credit card immediately upon arrival. Withdrawals and payments in local currency (Colombian Peso, COP) went smoothly thanks to my ideal travel credit card (check here for my current recommendation).

Wherever possible, we paid with a credit card to avoid carrying too much cash. However, in some places, there is no internet connection, so everything must be paid in cash (Tatacoa Desert). Find out in advance if you can transfer money in advance or if you have to bring cash.

Currently, the best free credit cards for travel are the DKB Bank debit card, GenialCard (Hanseatic Bank), and the Mastercard Gold from TF Bank. With a setup of at least 2 of these cards, you can almost always withdraw cash from ATMs abroad for free and pay on-site without incurring foreign fees on foreign currencies!

-> Here you can find all tips from my experience on the best travel credit cards compared.

Since we were unsure at the beginning of the trip, I will explain here how we handled tipping.

Like in Germany, giving a tip is considered a reward for good service. Similar to the USA, people rely on tips. In restaurants, pay attention to whether a service charge is already included in the bill (10% service charge). This gives you a rough direction, and you can give more if you were very satisfied or at least round up to that amount.

Tipping for taxi rides is rather uncommon, but you can still round up if you would like.

A guideline for maids is 2 US dollars per night, and for porters, it is 1 USD.

In Colombia, Spanish is spoken. Basic knowledge of Spanish is actually essential if you want to travel beyond Cartagena, Bogotá, or Medellín. The Spanish spoken in Colombia is relatively easy to understand, but you often have to ask them to please speak more slowly. Only in Medellín ("Paisas" - farmers) and especially on the Caribbean coast did I have a hard time understanding anything at all.

In tourist areas, some English is spoken. Tours and guides often only speak Spanish. Therefore, basic knowledge of Spanish is very advantageous.

Before a trip to Colombia, I recommend that you at least know the most important words in Spanish.

Before my trips to Colombia, I took online courses with Babbel to refresh my Spanish skills. With Babbel, you can learn the most important words in Spanish in a short time. This way, you can communicate on-site and won't feel completely lost. Don't rely on locals speaking English.

You can learn Spanish online with Babbel here (I have extensively tested alternatives - even free ones - and always return to Babbel. I now have a lifetime flat rate for all languages.)

The food in Colombia was extremely delicious! Since the country consists of so many different climate zones and regions, the food is very varied.

You get plenty of fruit and freshly squeezed juices everywhere, fish and arepas on the coast. Be careful to order your juices without added sugar, as is the norm. It was too sweet for me.

Colombian specialties include arepas (corn flatbreads served with rice and beans or filled), pan de yuca (bread made from cassava palm), empanadas, buñuelos (fried dough balls), rice dishes with chicken, meat grilled as BBQ, or pandebono (cheese bread based on cornmeal). On the coast, fish was almost exclusively served, mostly fried with coconut rice.

The specialty in Medellín is a thick soup (ajiaco) and the very hearty dish bandeja paisa, which often comes as a huge portion that two people can comfortably share. The plate includes various kinds of meat, beans, rice, and sometimes vegetables.

One thing I probably don't need to mention: In the coffee land of Colombia, the coffee tastes great everywhere!

Be sure to try a lulo juice because this fruit isn't available with us.

How safe or unsafe is Colombia really? You often hear that traveling to Colombia isn't entirely safe. But don't believe everything reported in the media.

Colombia was known for drug wars, cartels, and smuggling in the past. Those times have changed. Colombia is safe, except in non-touristy regions in the south where rebels occasionally still operate.

By the way, Mexico is currently far more dangerous than Colombia. Of course, there are areas in the cities of Medellín, Bogotá, and Cali that you should avoid as a tourist. Speak with locals (for example, at your accommodation) and ask which places and neighborhoods you should better avoid. They know best. We were always informed about how far we could walk without problems.

In Cali, we walked a little further, while in Bogotá, my guide advised me in the neighborhood with a lot of prostitution and drugs to put my camera in my backpack. They are indeed very concerned that nothing happens to us tourists.

I always felt safe in Colombia. Still, I always advise checking the Foreign Office for current travel and safety advisories.

What was your highlight? If you have more tips for Colombia, I would love to hear your comments at the end of this article. If you are currently planning your trip and have questions, feel free to leave them here as a comment!

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