Hola from Colombia!

*flew into Bogotá from Rio for $191 with a layover in Panama 

*did not need a visa as US citizens can currently visit for 90 days with an exit ticket (bus/flight proof of intent to leave)

BOGOTÁ

Accommodation:

–Hotel Artístico: $11.65/night for a private room with bathroom, calm place and central location, close to popular museums and a lot of street markets and restaurants. Included airport transfer which was a very nice taxi that picked me up directly and dropped me off at the hotel. 

Activities:

-I have honestly been pretty sick for the past week in Rio and to top it off have an ear infection as well, so unfortunately most of my visit here was just resting and visiting Hospital Universitario San Ignacio where I was able to be seen relatively quickly and cheaply (with insurance I believe, only cost $10) and prescribed some antibiotics. I mainly just explored the streets as many people sell goods in little stands or laid out. -There is such a wide variety in restaurants I’m sure anyone could find something that suits them, and although I didn’t try many one that I would recommend would have to be Omotenashi, a Thai restaurant! 

–Museums: Museo de Oro (5,000COP/$1.20), others I didn’t visit but were recommended are Museo Nacional de Colombia, Museo Botero, and there are also many parks you can explore as well. 

–Monserrate: took an uber to Taquilla Funicular Monserrate, 11711, Bogotá, cable car (both ways) was $7.72 in total, took the car up to the viewpoints which also had a church, garden and birdwatching, and restaurant

*I was here in the city alone, and did experience a lot of catcalling on the streets as a blonde white girl walking around, and had a very uncomfortable uber experience. I didn’t feel unsafe at all walking during the day, only a bit at night when I was more aware of my things (keep phone/money out of sight at all times) but never went too far from my hotel and overall was okay. 

*my overnight bus to Medellin booked on BookAWay took about 11 hours and cost $29.54

MEDELLIN

Accommodation: 

–Cordova Hostel: $13/night in mixed dorm, breakfast buffet included, comfortable and clean with lots of areas to sit and nice bathrooms (stayed 3 nights), not super social and in the center area (other areas are probably a bit safer at night)

Activities: 

–Street Market: Mercado de Pulgas was a huge outside area where vendors had clothes in racks and most of their stuff spread out yard-sale style on tarps on the ground; old phones and devices and such a wide variety, and I found a lot of cool jewelry and charms for $1-2

–Aesthetic Center Spa Bolivia: I paid 95 COP/ $22.90 (+tip) for a 1.5 hour massage experience, which included a regular massage (30 mins), hot stones, a chocolate scrub, and sauna. It was very relaxing and the women working were all very sweet, super relaxing and I was able to walk in and get helped immediately! 

*other options are:

-day trip to Guatape 

-Jardín Botánico 

-Comuna 13 (touristy art district, can take a tour, sometimes DJs at night)

-day tours (our hostel provided a list of different options, can find online as well)

Nightlife:

–Provenza: touristy bar and club street, well known and seemed safe, we visited the clubs below:

1. Salón Amador 
2. La House 
3. Vintrash

We joined a bar/club crawl from Los Patios Hostel for around $8 USD each, and included two of the clubs above, located in Provenza. Overall we expected more for nightlife, but it was okay (supposed to be more popular on fridays/saturdays but we were still a bit underwhelmed on our saturday night out). 

*booked a 14 hour bus to Cartagena with Expreso Brasilia for $47 overnight 

CARTAGENA

Hostels:

–Viajero (centro): $18/night mixed dorm- overall a big pricier compared to what I have been paying in South America for hostels, even for a party hostel, and they only had air conditioning during certain times of day, and although a small kitchen and bar, they were always out of a lot of food and overall the activities were kind of boring/going out was always a super small group and only the people from the hostel were at the club they brought us to. I would give it another chance in a different location since it had such high reviews, unfortunately just didn’t live up to my expectations. 

–Hostal el Balconcito (Getsemani): $20/night private room, Lisa and I split for two nights – very small kitchen, fine location to be central and close to the popular bar streets

*Overall not the best neighborhood to walk around in, we were constantly catcalled say and night and even had someone swing at me when walking back from a club, honestly felt uncomfortable and slightly unsafe the entire time we were here, despite there being some cuter areas with colorful walls and street vendors (a lot of art and jewelry)

Cafes/Food:

-Cafe de la Mañana 

-Amasa Cafe Brunch

-Libertario Coffee Roasters 

-Tahini Kebab

*be sure to try arepas!! a lot of side street shops for these around 

Nightlife:

–Getsemani had a lot of side streets filled with bars, and some bar carts with chairs set up to watch street performers: 

–Clubs: overall disappointed in nightlife here as well, not sure if this is just a less popular time to visit Colombia, but even on friday and saturday there were not a lot of clubs we found, and the ones we did over the five nights we stayed were a mix of free entrance and cover: Taboo, La Farra, Alquimico (this bar has three floors, each with a different vibe, the street also has a lot of bars and clubs around it) and another main bar area on and near Callejón Ancho 

*bus to Santa Marta booked on Bookaway for $21, 5 hours 

SANTA MARTA

Hostel:

–Masaya Santa Marta: $8/night mixed dorm, super beautiful place and comfortable dorm, had free yoga and a few other events during the week, two pools and kitchen and bar on the roof 

–La Gloriosa Hamburgueseria: vegan burger was incredible, and burger meals were all only 25k each ($6)

–Artesanal Restobar 

*taxi to Tayrona bought online through the uber app for 170k ($40ish), 1.5 hour car – you can also take a bus and motorbike but a bit confusing with the directions as there is not a specific route on maps so we chose to split the uber to make it easier in the dark anyway !

TAYRONA

Hostel: 

–Masaya Hostel Tayrona & Beach Club: $13/night mixed dorm, was super nice, very resort style, affordable restaurant and some free activities (yoga, dance class), and you can get to Tayrona National Park nearby, not much else to do other than enjoy the pools and beach as it is super secluded  

*motorbike to bus stop up the road (6k each), then 40 minute bus to Palomino stop (10k each) and another tuktuk to our hostel at the end of the road (12k together) – all paid in cash 

PALOMINO

Hostel:

–Beach Life Palomino & Beach Club: $7/night female dorm including breakfast, right in front of the beach, parties most days with a DJ: we really liked the music, and parties were pretty busy every day, with a show on saturday night (fire show and fireworks)

Activities:

–Tubing: booked through River Tours Palomino at our hostel desk ($15/each) it was a 30 minute hike and then a two-hour slow ride down the river in a small group, honestly was super boring and water was freezing, included moto transport or the beginning of the hike and the tube, but not transport back – we made it fun by listening to music and chatting but overall would not recommend unless you can go in the sun and with a big group because it got pretty boring after 30 minutes and the hike was unexpected in a bikini and flip flops  

-Other activities offered at your desks along the road/at hostel front desks (trips outside Palomino, surfing lessons, etc.)

-Lots of restaurants and small clothes/bikinis/jewelry shops along the road, pretty long and can walk all the way down

–Beach! the beach at the end of the road (in front of Beach Life hostel) was nice, and you can walk along the sand following the left for a while with some small stands with drinks on the way and plenty of space to lay out and enjoy the sun and waves 

Food:

-I didn’t write down anything specific because everything we had was really good, there are a lot of cafes with nice coffee and amazing croissants and pastries, and plenty of other cuisines to try along the road! -Drinks were also super cheap, some places having deals 2x10k (2 for $2.28) but we didn’t think they were as strong as other places we’ve tried elsewhere in Colombia 

*I really enjoyed my time here, and we ended up staying an extra night to go out saturday night (we were told it’s the best and biggest night out in the town, a must experience), and the ocean was pretty warm and it was a nice place to relax but still felt safe with plenty of other tourists and all the cute shops, and didn’t experience any catcalling/un comfort like the bigger areas 

*trip to Minca: motor taxi from our hostel to the bus stop (10k together), bus to Santa Marta (17k each with bag under bus), colectivo van from Santa Marta to Minca center (10k each) and finally 10k each for a car to take us and our bags five minutes drive to our hostel up the hill (La Veranda)

-ALL IN CASH !! (and make sure you ask the price before you go)

MINCA 

Hostel:

–La Veranda Hostel: one night in female dorm including breakfast ($13), was very calming location hidden in the trees off the main road, tasty breakfast and nice restaurant (food was a bit more expensive than other hostels we have seen though), and a very clean and comfortable bed and room, hostel had a lot of open places to chill  (hammocks, lots of open air chairs/beds) and a pool overlooking the city far below

Transport: 

-since the hostel was a bit up the road, with our bags we wanted to go down with the motorbikes, which the front desk called down to and we paid 5k/$1.14 to go up and down each with the bikes during the day and 7k at night, always in cash for the bike and van transport. you can also walk up and down the road but since we only stayed one night and were super tired we didn’t try. if you stay longer you could probably also rent motorbikes if you are confident on the twisty roads uphill 

Activities:

–hikes: we ended up being too sore and tired, but a big draw for Minca is the waterfall hikes, ranging in difficulty and length-you can find more information online or most likely at the hostel front desks

–downtown: the center has a lot of restaurants and small shops, is very cute and tranquil further up the road and seems to be a big of a ‘hippie’ down to enjoy for a few days and explore the nature with more time 

–spa: we went right next to our hostel (literally 20 seconds walk to the side) to get massages at Bosque Sentido Spa ($16 for 30 minutes) much needed and was very calming. they also offered different packages with exfoliation and sauna. another spa was a minute further down the road, and there were a few in the center as well. 

*We only spent around 21 hours there in total, but it again seemed safer than the bigger cities and we didn’t experience any catcalling/uncomfort. We saw a lot of jewelry stands again and different shops and restaurants, including several signs for magic mushrooms/special baked goods if that’s your thing.

*took motorbikes from hostel to bus stop in the center (5k each), colectivo van to Santa Marta (10k each), uber taxi from the stop to the main bus station (10k together), and a two hour bus to Barranquilla (ticket bought at the station, 30k/$6.83 each) and i’ve red to our next hostel – all in cash except for bus tickets with card 

BARRANQUILLA 

Hostel: 

–Mamy Dorme Hostel: private room 1 night ($18 split), not much right around but was fine for the night (cash only)

Other:

-I didn’t spend much time here, only really went to Buenavista Shopping center (HUGE multistory mall with multiple walkways to connecting malls/centers: Magic Nails had mani-pedis for $12 and overall the mall had a ton of shops for clothe and food and I went there a few times for craft supplies and gifts during my yoga training 

PUERTO COLOMBIA

Akasha Yoga School: 

While in Colombia I completed a 21 day, 200-hour yoga teacher training at Akasha School! I booked this in advance in January, and including accommodation in Lila and a Pablo’s beautiful home, three meals a day, and all the classes and certification the total was around $1700 USD. Located in Puerto with a lovely ocean view, we had a 2-3 hour yoga practice to start the morning at 7 am, followed by 1 hour of meditation, and breakfast. We filled the rest of our day with a mix of anatomy, philosophy, principles of the practice and other key topics in classes, lunch and dinner, and usually an evening practice and overview of the day. During the three weeks we had additional workshops on Thai Massage, Crystals, Vedic Astrology/chart reading, and Aromatherapy. Our practices were taught by our wonderful teacher Elo, and we had a wide variety of techniques and class types. We taught our own classes and took each others towards the end, and I am so lucky to have had such a wonderful group. We had 11 students total and everyone was very close instantly, and often did crafts and had dance nights, fires, etc. and I left feeling that I had a family and second home. The experience genuinely changed the way I view life, and I am forever grateful for my teachers and peers. I now have my certificate as a yoga teacher from Yoga Alliance, and will hopefully be completing another training to further my studies in the future! 

Activities/town: 

–Klimandiaro beach club: $12 day entry, restaurant and small craft business stands inside, cute but water wasn’t super nice 

–Downtown:

  ~Food: Heladería Mulato Gelato 

             Tàvolo (italian)

             Momentos Cafe 

  ~Lots of pharmacies and a few grocery stores (Oxxo, D1)

EXTRAS:

-everywhere you pay with card usually charges a 5% fee on top of payment 

-always always have cash with you, for drivers, street vendors, some restaurants, etc.

-pharmacies here you don’t need prescriptions for anything, I had an ear infection and I went to the drugstore multiple times and they just gave me all the medicines I asked for without a problem all very reasonable prices 

I experienced a lot during my six weeks in Colombia, and would return to the quieter places but overall wasn’t the biggest fan of the cities/bigger touristy spots – just my opinion though !! I heard so many good things about the same places I experienced so everyone is different. The people I spoke to were so kind and very supportive with my Spanish. I did feel a lot more comfortable here traveling with another friend opposed to being solo. There is so much to see here and the country is way bigger than I pictured. I will always have a special place in my heart for my yoga school and everyone who made my experience as special as it was. Until next time! 

xoxo,

Ang around the World 🙂