UPDATED JANUARY 2024

COLOMBIA 
tips
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SAFETY - ACCOMODATION - TRANSPORTATION

HEALTH TIPS: 

If your arrive to Bogota with a direct flight or arrive any other towns in Colombia with an altitude higher than 2500 mt. be cautious and get a rest in the first hours of your arrival to avoid altitude sickness.
In Colombia there is a free emergency number belonging to the Ministry of Health. As quickly as possible an ambulance and nurse come to your place, after checking your health situation they consult to the doctor via phone and decide weather it is necessary to take you to the hospital. It is better to activate a health insurance before your trip, as they make take you to a private hospital as well as a public one.

SAFETY TIPS: 

• Do not show your valuables or use expensive electronics in public—especially in tourist areas.
• In big cities, take precautions when you withdraw money. Avoid ATMs on the street, and instead, use ones within a bank.
• Do not accept drinks from strangers!
• A common fraud scam in Bogota is that a police officer asks you to inspect your money for counterfeits. If this happens to you, just do not give him anything. Instead, simply ask him to bring you to the closest police station.

• Be careful when you pay with big banknotes like 50.000 COP in the taxis in big cities. Some drivers may swap the banknote you give them with a fake one he returns to you. So try to pay by card with an online app or try to carry small banknotes. At most, show him before paying that the banknote is not fake! It is not difficult to notice a counterfeit banknote. Below are some instructions on how to understand if a banknote is counterfeit or not:
  • Counterfeit banknotes have almost no texture. You will immediately feel the difference compared with any other banknote you have.
  • Counterfeit banknotes have no colour change on the front side under the light.
  • On a genuine 50,000 peso note, there is a "50 MIL" watermark under "COLOMBIA" on the front of the bill.

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Money Tips:

Do not ever change your money on the street in Colombia, as counterfeit money is a high risk.

• The best way to get the local currency is through an ATM.
  
• Do not change money in a private Money Exchange Office in the small and touristic towns. The currency rates will be very inconvenient and you may risk to get counterfeit money.
  

ACCOMODATION TIPS:

• In Colombia, especially outside the big cities, and touristic places, do not consider your Booking and Airbnb reservations confirmed (even they appear to be so) unless you contact directly to the property.
  
• In Colombia, hot water is not granted. Especially in rural places with warm climates, hot water is seldom available, even at the cutest accommodation options. Double-check this option before confirming your reservation.
• If you need a hairdryer during your trip, bring one with you. Because except for big cities in Colombia, you will not hardly find one.

TRANSPORTATION TIPS:

BUSES

• Gottogo.co is a useful website to check the bus schedules even though it does not  show all the options of bus companies.
  
• A handy local link for bus hours and prices. https://www.horariodebuses.com.co
  
• If you want to visit the historical colonial villages in Santander and Boyoca Region, you will travel by bus. There are many companies and frequent buses. There is no need to purchase your tickets in advance for any destination.
• What Colombians call a bus may be a minibus. When buying your ticket, you may ask the ticket office to specify if you are taking a bus or a microbus.
• If you are travelling by microbus, try to get the front seats close to the driver to enjoy the road.
• Remember to add at least half an hour more to the total travel time you are told. All roads are narrow and not very well paved. Except for the highways around the big cities, the traffic has almost always double sense.
• Do not rely on night buses. Intercity buses stop operating just a couple of hours after sunset.
• Remember that sometimes you may even need to negotiate the bus ticket price! Often, the price they offer to the tourists is 20% higher than the right price.
  
• The buses rarely stop for a break. You have to go to the bathroom before and not drink much before departure!!
  
• Do not just take a taxi from the bus stations as they can be within walking distance to your hotel.

Taxis

• At the Bogota Airport, as soon as you get out from the arrival zone, there are QR codes for you to check the right price. Use them in order to negotiate with the many `taxi coordinators` that will  approach you to convince you to a double price. 
  
• Before taking any taxi, agree on the price and ensure the driver has the change.
• Do not get on to any taxi you find. In Colombia, the kidnapping rates are high. Even locals use secure apps to get taxis. Some popular taxi apps are; EasyTaxi, Cabif, Tappsi...
• Although UBER is illegal in Colombia, it is still very commonly used. However, when you take or get off an uber, especially in high-risk zones like airports, you must pretend as the driver is a friend giving you a ride.

 

boATS IN AMAZONAS:

Port of Puerto Nariño

• In high season, do not forget to buy your ticket asap from the Leticia port to Puerto Narino
• You can buy your return tickets also in Puerto Narino.
• Boat schedules from Leticia to Puerto Narino 7:00 am 10:00 am 1:30 pm
  
• Boat schedules from Puerto Narino to Leticia 6.00 am 11.00 am 2.00 pm
• The journey takes around 2 hours. You have to be ready half an hour before departure.

FLIGHTS

• At the domestic terminal of Bogota Airport, the Airlines Companies have their own sections.
• It is very easy to transit if you have tickets from the same airline.
• If you transit in Bogota, preferably buy tickets from the same airline company or leave at least 2 hours between the flights.​​