I'm going to Colombia for 3-4 weeks. I want to got to Medellin, and the Lost City. And I also want a good jungle trek. Is it worth going all the way to Leticia at the very southern tip? I see some jungle treks down there, but it's so far from the Lost City. Is it worth all that travel within country? Or is there somewhere else that's as good for jungle treks?
I do want some river tours and dolphins and stuff with the jungle.
also any other recommendations for places to check out in Colombia are welcome
barichara is very pretty
Leticia is more about the Amazon. It's remote and not a cheap flight to get there. You can do "jungle" trekking all around teh country, Lost City has plenty. Santander has plenty. ANtioquia around Medellín has plenty as do Quindio and Caldas.
>not a cheap flight
?
https://www.kayak.com/flight-routes/Bogota-El-Dorado-BOG/Leticia-Gen-A-V-Cobo-LET
has multiple flights under $200, what am I missing?
Americans are so out of touch with the rest of the world holy shit.
and do those other places have the same monkeys, parrots, dolphins, etc?
In Inirida you literally see dolphins right there in the central plaza overlooking the river while having a beer at sunset. Don't expect pink ones though, regular silver
Leticia is not bad, but it's the place wheremost Columbians go to see the Amazon so it's a bit touristy already.
If you really want the true jungle experience and in a safe place, go to Inirida. Won't be easy but you will have a white guy in the 19th century experience
>Inirida
is that safe? I've been told to stay away from anywhere close to the Venezuela border.
And do you have any recommended tour companies to go with for a jungle tour? I'm looking for a more rustic/primitive tour. Even some nights camping in tents innawoods if that's an option, and hopefully some canoeing or something down a river.
It's very safe.it looks close to the border on the map but lack of infrastructure means they are days away. No tours, literally take a flight, stay at one of the 3-5 hotels they have and talk directly with the Indians to organise a tour with them. Doesn't get more real than that
>talk directly with the Indians to organise a tour with them
how? Does the hotel help me set this up or do I just go around town asking random people if they can take me into the jungle to see monkeys and parrots? And what are the tours like, are they multi-day tours where we camp out or what?
I looked into it more and it looks like Inirida is known more for birding than regular jungle stuff. I think I'll probably just do a tour in Leticia. Although I have a free week with nothing planned so I might pop over to Inirida and check it out, it seems like a nice little town.
Go to Taganga. It’s a backpacker slum on the coast. There are jungle treks available from there, including Ciudad Perdida, and the hotels are cheap. Also it has great scuba diving
How nice and safe is Cartagena? I was thinking of going there in May during the slow season.
As someone who has spent 8 months in total in Colombia, frick Cartagena and frick the Carribean coast. The only time I ever had bad things happen to me was on the Carribean coast, and I probably only spent about 10% of my time there.
Sure, there are some nice beaches and some cool shit to do but it's like a different country.
OP here, what parts of the country do you recommend? And have you done any jungle tours? I want to go deep in the Amazon and be actually in the jungle, not one of those "let's just walk around a couple miles from the cabins" type of shit that some places have.
Leticia seems good but also far, is it worth it?
I haven't done any real jungle tours in Colombia. I went to the Amazon when I was in Peru so I can't comment on that. You could do the Lost City trek but it is hardly isolated as there's proper camps set up on the way and you'll pass other tour groups and people selling shit but it's a good experience.
Places I recommend:
Medellin
>great nightlife
>good food restaurants/cafes if that's your thing
>comuna 13 tour (very touristy but still interesting)
>Museo Casa de la Memoria (museum about the relatively recent history of violence in Medellin and surrounds)
>Good metro and each trip is only $0.80USD
>Good one/two day trips to Guatape, Jardin and other little towns.
Eje Cafetero/ Coffee Triangle
>Cool towns like Salento and Finlandia
>Some nice hikes
>Valle de Cocora which is beautiful
>Coffee farm tours
>Thermal baths like Santa Rosa de Cabal
Boyaca
>Cool towns like Villa de Leyva, Mongui etc.
>Some cool hikes and places to explore
>However, it's a bit out of the way and I feel like it's more of a place you go with your girlfriend/wife
Unfortunately I can't really give you any advice about visiting the Amazon via Colombia or any really isolated/out of the way jungle treks but I'm sure you can find some.
Basically if you want to party, Medellin and the Carribean Coast are the places to go. If you want sleepy towns, hiking and a bit more of an """"authentic"""" Colombia and its culture The Coffee Triangle and Boyaca are the places to go.
I hope this gives you some insight, if you want more specific information on places let me know.
All of Colombia’s major cities are fine to eat in if you’re just looking to not have to cook. Cali is one of the poorer cities in the country and I still found food there that fit my very specific dietary restrictions.
Yeah sorry, what I meant is Medellin (and Bogota) has a bit more international cuisine and range things to choose from where the other, smaller cities offer 99% tipical, Colombian food which is fine.
>This was my experience as well. Bogotá isn’t a city I’d walk at night, but it’s absolutely full of police.
Yeah this accurately describes Bogota haha.
Exactly mate, it's about the principle. These c**ts scam people and they're either unaware that they've been scammed or are too afraid to confront them so the cycle continues. Sure me confronting them will probably do frick all but it makes me feel a bit better about the whole situation. It's somewhat cathartic, I guess.
Granted, I wasn't in any real danger as it was broad daylight and there were hundreds of people around and I'm sure police were close by.
Of course they're real bro. I gain nothing from coming on this board and making shit up.
I must make it clear that I love travelling to Colombia and have had some of the best experiences of my life over there. However, I just wanted to share my experience of the Carribean Coast.
Is it like scams and pickpockets are bad? I'm curious to know what's so bad about the Caribbean coast.
Okay, let me just preface this by saying that I lived and studied in Bogota which is often touted as the dodgy/sketchy shithole of Colombia that tourists can skip but none of my experiences in Bogota or the rest of the country were remotely like what I experienced in the Carribean coast.
When people say that Colombians are some of the friendliest, most welcoming people in the world, it's true. However, that is true for the interior of the country and stops being true on the Carribean Coast (I can't comment on the Pacific Coast as I never really went there).
Here are just a few of my experiences on the Carribean Coast
#1
>go to buy water off street vendor at the port in Cartagena
>doing like 2 things at once and a bit hungover so hand him 20,000 peso bill.
>he hands it back to me asking for smaller change
>I instantly realise that he has swapped the bill for a fake
>Rip the bill in front of him and ask him 'wtf, that's not my bill'
>he starts arguing
>I argue back, it gets heated
>some of his boys come over and try and be intimidating, I realise its not worth getting jumped over and tell him to keep the money and frick off.
#2
>Walking in the early evening with a female friend in the tourist area of Cartagena
>Walk through this one dark street which didn't really have anyone around
>Instantly followed by two fricking ladrones (thieves)
>Tell the girl we're getting followed and we basically leg it out of there into a busy area and thankfully nothing happened.
#3
>In Cartagena, leave a nightclub very drunk at about 1am.
>Go to take the short walk from the nightclub to my hotel
>In the most touristic neighbourhood in the whole country with quite a few people still meandering about and chilling
>Get approached by some hookers and they do the whole 'come with us blah blah'.
>One of them pickpockets my phone as I'm quite drunk
>Realise in about 20 seconds and tell them to give me back my fricking phone
>About 4 guys appear out of nowhere.
TBC
#3 (continued)
>realise it's not worth getting stabbed over my cheap android
>Go to tell the Police and of course they do nothing.
>go back to my hotel and sleep it off.
#4
>The day after getting my phone stolen go to buy a cheap phone at the local mall
>Taxi there, buy phone
>Take a taxi back to my hotel
>Taxi driver says the fare is 8,000 pesos, I hand him 10,000 pesos
>He says he doesn't have change
>I'm like 'wtf c**t, how do you not have 2,000 (0.50USD pesos change?'
>He insists he doesn't have 2000 pesos change
(by this point I was so fricking over the scamming, the thieving and the dishonesty of these c**ts - just to provide some context)
>I tell him I'm not getting out of his taxi until he gives me my fricking change and that he can't keep the extra 2000 pesos
>We sit there in a bit of a Mexican stand off
>He realises I'm not going to relent and magically pulls out the change right there.
>I tell him to go frick himself and slam his door (taxi/uber drivers absolutely hate this and will lose their shit if you slam their door)
All those 4 stories were just in Cartagena over one weekend. I also visited Santa Marta and Barranquilla but I can't be fricked typing anymore stories.
Even Colombians despise the people from the Carribean Coast. It doesn't matter if you're a local Colombian, a native Spanish speaker from another country (Mexico, Panama etc.) or a gringo (like myself), they will try and scam even their own grandma if it makes them a buck or two. Whilst I'm sure there are some nice, honest Costeños (people from the coast), there are that many dishonest ones it sours the experience.
I know some c**ts will be thinking that estaba dando papaya, especially when they pickpocketed my phone, and whilst that may be true it still doesn't excuse the absolute lack of morals, honesty and just civility that you expect from one of the country's most touristic areas that everyone seems to be encouraged to visit by vloggers and shitty top 10 websites.
lmao these stories are all real, Colombians have some weird thing about slamming car doors.
Yeah I went to Santa Marta and left a club drunk af with a group of other white people and got jumped by 4 mallets. They slashed my bag and tried taking it from me while they were punching my face and kicking me and still failed. The morons did it in front of a fire station so they eventually ran and I kept my bag and when I went over to talk to the police 10 ft away some fricking hobo took my flip-flops I had kicked off. Frick the Colombian coast
>Go to poor country
>get drunk and act lose
>get targeted for being a drunk loser
Noooooo the colombians are so mean
This was my experience as well. Bogotá isn’t a city I’d walk at night, but it’s absolutely full of police. I never had any problems in Cali, but there was a notable absence of police and the plaza for restaurants was guarded by militia.
I get that it’s the principle of the thing but you did all that over $4?
As a guy literally from Cartagena, dont go there. Any other coastal town will be better. Only unexperienced coomers should go there
lmao gringordos lmao. Im sure you deserved it
Inirida is as deep jungle as you will ever get, not just in Columbia but anywhere in the world. Im talking no cellphone coverage, no roads, travel with a canoe through the rivers and that stuff
lmao gringordos lmao 2.0. totally deserved it
If you arent a KHV and not morbidly obese, you shouldnt need to retort to hookers in Columbia
confirmed. Dont mess with the doors brah
>Dont mess with the doors
Isn't this more of a cabbie thing? I don't think regular people care that much about their doors. It's just the cabbies who have doors falling off because their cars are shitty.
It began with the cabbies for sure. Most of them had shit cars that had to be slammed down. Then the cabs got a lil better and the slamming wasn't necessary anymore but the culture of slamming is already on a lizard brain level for all cars when you are leaving in the middle of the street lol
>There is a 5% chance this door won't close properly
>Let's SLAM just in case
And of course, 1 in 10 times you WILL get the old cab that won't close properly so will reinforce your slamming reflex for all cars lmao
I had multiple people tell me I closed car doors too hard, and I wasn’t even slamming them shut like I would at home. Not just cabbies, but friends, girls I was out with - everyone.
You really think we believe you’re from Colombia after you spelled it “Columbia?” Gay larp.
Columbians really got ballistic when it's spelled Columbia and I made a purpose the minute I left columbia not only to spell it that way but to tell everyone that it's spelled Columbia in English lmao
>As a guy literally from Cartagena, dont go there.
Really? I heard it was good
>Any other coastal town will be better.
Okay, if you say so--
> Only unexperienced coomers should go there
now you're contradicting yourself. First you tell me not to go and now you're recommending it.
If I'm a coomer, should I go to Cartagena or Medellin? Which is better for prostitutes and which is better for picking up non-prostitutes?
>If you arent a KHV and not morbidly obese, you shouldnt need to retort to hookers in Columbia
where do you meet girls? Tinder or another dating app? Or just go down to some random bar and pick up girls there somehow?
Yeah, remove the "should". Only unexperienced coomers go there.
Medellin is definitely better for non prozzies (they all are at the end but you know what I mean) as its way bigger but also, you are going to the top coomer destination in the world right now. Lots of competition and the real girls either are jaded/turned semi pros by now or have actual international Chads to chose from.
My suggestion: Columbia has a lot of intermediate cities. Im talking 500k to 1M. Some of them are as close to poosy paradise as you can get because they havent hit peak gringo such as Bog/Med/Car. My top 5 suggestions
A- Bucaramanga
B- Pasto
C- Manizales
D- Ibague
E- Monteria (ugliest and hottest city of the bunch but you will be 1 of only 10 gringos in a 1M city)
>where do you meet girls? Tinder or another dating app? Or just go down to some random bar and pick up girls there somehow?
If you can do tinder, sure, go for it, but you will always have the paranoia if youre being targeted lmao. the usual, coyly, wormly, sexpat in denial route is to join "language exchange" groups. Everyone knows what is going on, but hey, still works
Why would you say Monteria is uglier than Pasto? It's hot as hell, yes, but the riverwalk promenade is quite appealing, especially on a Saturday or Sunday evening.
I didn't like Pasto very much. There were very few restaurants for a city of its size, and much of the city is hideously industrial. It also has a reputation for insecurity.
Popayan is far cleaner and prettier than Pasto. Taking a van across the paramo to San Agustin is a fun adventure, and San Agustin is an amazing town to visit as well, very 420 friendly with many cheap hostels.
Ipiales has a modern-looking downtown, huge central plaza and some great eateries. You can easily take a day trip to Ecuador from Ipiales.
Manizales is the whitest city in Colombia, also one of the safest and most appealing. The downtown streets get so full of people on weekends.
Never spent time in Ibague or B'manga, so can't speak for either.
>Why would you say Monteria is uglier than Pasto?
I dont know/care if you are lucky/ropleaying/coming from a hot place, but for most humans, columbians included, Monteria is unliveable. The only reasons to be there are A- For columbians, exploiting the population boom and make money B-for gringordos, be the only gringo in miles and become King Gringo of the Coom. Im not judging, I would consider it if I were on your shoes
>I didn't like Pasto very much.It also has a reputation for insecurity.
lmao gringordos lmao
>Popayan & Ipiales.
Good places but now you are getting into small towns territory. If you want to roleplay as a clean gringo (you arent) and get your perfect columbian waifu, these arent bad options as you say, but if you settle there with cooming intentions (you do) the whole town will know about you after your first sexcapade. Another columbian saying: "Pueblo pequenho, infierno grande"
>Never spent time in B'manga
You missed out. By far the best city in Columbia. Leterelly an amalgamation of the country in itself regarding people/size/weather. And not too many gringos
Dude, if you dont have the minimum social skills to find and join those groups on your own dont go there. Ill repeat again:
>If you are a 1-3 robot with no social skills & no game you will either lose your money or get manhandled by the malandros (and well deserved lmao)
>If you are a 4-5 cyborg and willing to put out you might get lucky and get some cooming and start living the life you were supposed to enjoy since HS. Most of them will be prostitutes, dont lie to yourself
>If you are a 6-7 normie you might still become King of the Gringos and claim poosy paradise. This is the segment that has experienced the worst devaluation. You will have a lot of competition now and might end up with semi-pros and you lying to yourself about not being a sugar daddy
>If you are an 8 and above you have no business cooming in columbia
Dont forget to like, hit the bell and subscribe
>sexpat in denial route is to join "language exchange" groups.
where/how to join? Are these online groups to join before going or in-person when I get there?
never seen half as many beautiful women anyplace on earth as in bucaramanga. saw more 10s in the 2 days i spent there than entire weeks in other countries. must be something in the water, my God
>you seem knowledgeable about Colombia
Thank you. I wouldn't say I'm an expert but speaking decent Spanish and knowing locals has helped a lot.
>What's the deal with prostitutes there?
I'm going to be completely honest, I have never paid to have sex over there so I have no first hand experience (I have nothing against it, I just prefer to play the stupid games haha).
Look, from what I know, you should get a decent hotel where they take the ID of any girl you invite over. You can find girls online and then arrange things that way which I assume would be safer, just make sure they match their photos. I can link the site I know which has prices, photos and all that stuff of the girls (just want to make sure i won't cop an IP ban).
I think if you do those 2 things you would most likely be 99% safe and won't get robbed or scammed but I've never had sex with a prostitute in Colombia so I don't have any first hand experience, it's more what I've heard or read online.
Yes please link site
If you mean 16 and I’m reading between the lines correctly then you should be aware most English-speaking countries will consider it a sex crime to travel to have sex with someone under the age of 18 even if it would be legal in both countries. It’s not uncommon as a scam - the girl fricks you and then they extort you threatening to go to the police.
If you didn’t mean 16, a 61 year old will not be turned away at a hostel.
She doesn't even have to put out. Merely taking a girl under 18 to your room is enough to get into big trouble in Colombia.
Locals know they can extort foreigners if they catch them with under 18s, threaten them in various ways to link their identity to their behavior which might cause a problem for them in their home country.
Most foreigners will pay off an extortion attempt rather than fight it. It doesn't help that the police may be in on it also.
There are laws all over the place about coercion and if money is involved you can easily be fricked if she's under 18.
Basically it's exponentially more risky than fricking 18+ and in places like South America where gringos are a target and not respected or feared at all, it's extra dumb.
Also, teenagers are emotional and dramatic so even if you had a normal relationship with a 16 year old you could easily piss her off and then she can just lie about you and frick up your life.
I am going to cocora valley next week is there anyone who can tell me something abput the weather? Google says its raining, is it really muddy? I am asking mainly to decide what shoes to bring
It is always cloudy and rains whenever it damn well pleases...sometimes a sprinkle, sometimes a downpour, and sometimes steady rain for several hours. Morning rain is less common. A popular tourist attraction like Valle de Cocora would have graveled trails, and the hilly terrain means that water rarely puddles anywhere. Use an umbrella if you hate getting wet. The streets of Salento will run with water after a downpour.
thanks dude I just bought one more pair of extra shoes
Bro, please watch out for the big boonda Latinas, legit, they will drug you and rob your organs, not even joking. If you want a one night stand make sure its with women you meet via friends over there.
Columbian saying:
>Mujer bajita y tetona, la que no es puta es ladrona
it took you 2 weeks to find a prostitute in medellin lmao
You're not being cute with your little LARP
>gringordos
Grow up
I want to see howler monkeys in the wild. Where do I go for a howler monkey tour? Is Leticia a good place for them? Any recommended tour companies?
You'll see them in the Amazon for sure.
When I went to Leticia there was a guide waiting on the tarmac for people to deplane. We talked to him for a view minutes, looked over his hand-written reviews and went off for 3 days and had a great time. Stayed with two different local families, went out in the boat a couple of times each day, saw a good amount of wildlife.
There is a literal "isla de los monos" sure, tourist trap but good trap for a reason. If you want those specific ones no one can guarantee it though. Alligator tours are also very common
I was there quite a while now, but you could even get a jaguar tour with the indians at the time. I didnt take it but had a reputation for being a real deal but it could also be bullshit, who knows. The downside I was told is that it was tough as frick, you couldnt get any mosquito spray on you (big animals will smell it easy) you would have to wait/walk for hours until they left some meat in the jungle and all your efforts were all for a quick blur of the thing before it went away in 2 secs. The closest I got was to see the track of a paw in a different hike
lmao seething gringordo lmao
Rainbow river is remote and could be cool as frick. Gutape is a fun day trip from Medellin.
Fly to San Andres and then take a ferry to Providencia.
You can dive there for little money with local rasta guy. Beautiful visibility, coral reef, sharks.
It is worthy visiting also if you are not a diver. Pristine place faraway from all, a gem.
I took diving course in the north Colombia, Cartagena I think.
I went to El Cocuy in the Andes near Venezuela last year. It's a small confy town with untouristy vibes. Drawbacks are: rainy weather and higher hikes need to be guided. Any suggestions on similar places for solo hiking in Cololbia?
Sure could hike above Cocora, but the base is stubidly touristy.
I want to do a tour in the plains (Los Llanos), in Casanare near Yopal. But I'm traveling by myself and the only tours I can find are private tours which are expensive for one person. Are there any group tours there or cheaper tours? Why is it so expensive to go see capybara and stuff?
It's because the transfer times are so long. It takes a couple of hours each way to get from Yopal out to the haciendas where much of the touring takes place so you're paying a driver and guide for their time. You could try and just head out to Yopal and wing it from there with a local agency. A fair amount of Colombians go out there on holiday so you could tag along with them. Assume the tours will be all in Spanish but it's really just for wildlife so you wouldn't miss out all that much if you don't speak it.
I only met one decent Colombian we went to the nightclub mute, danced, she tried to get me high and failed. Then we left different ways. Was before covid so not as high stakes.