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14 Top Mistakes Tourists Make When Visiting Colombia
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Nice post with some good tips.
Wish you had published this before my first trip to Colombia. I came during the rainy season and it seemed to rain every day and also exchanged money at the currency exchange at the airport. LOL about that photo of the guy in shorts in Parque Lleras. Gringos are in shorts all the time in Parque Lleras even at night. So, I try to avoid Parque Lleras.
Great list, I would add stay away from drugs and do not ask Colombians where you can buy drugs.
Jeff
Thanks for the points of conscientious concern anyone should have when they travel to a foreign country, especially someone who speaks English and travels to another country with a different language. Medellin and/or other cities in Colombia are not unlike going to cities in Spain like Madrid or Barcelona, Rio in Brasil, or Buenos Aires in Argentina. Just be smart about investigating throughly your location where you will be vacationing so you can fully enjoy your moments safely.
Great advice. All entirely correct.
Good advice and I would add that don’t expect things to be exactly like “home”. Colombia, in many ways, is an “advanced” country. Certainly that includes medical care and more, but still “middle class” Colombia is not the same as in the U.S. I’ve been using Duolingo for an hour or two a day for the past six months to have at least enough Spanish to get our needs known and to greet people. Will it cause merriment? Probably, but we can laugh at ourselves can’t we. I can’t wait to get to Medellin and will do as much as we can in that area in eight days. Will I be back? Let’s see how this first trip goes.
Just got back to the US last night from MDE and Bogotá. My 5th time . This post by Medellín gurú is soooo spot on. I lost 1 kg by eating the fresh food and due to the flavor only needed two meals a day. My gf hates Escobar and what he did. Travelers really need to educate themselves before coming here!! I wish I could distribute this to all travelers thinking of coming here
I’m sorry honey, I am educated and live in Colombia and still have no interest in going to the US, nor does any European. You’re the poor cousin.
I’v first travelled to Colombia in 1988 when all was not good in this beautiful country …My wife is a Costeña born in Valledupar , Colombia the city of “El Vallenato” famous for its music of that area known thru out Colombia ( not mentioned by Guru ) and the fantastic Festival Vallenato every year the last week of April. Our home in Valledupar is a 2 hour drive to Santa Marta with beautiful hotels and beaches .As first time visitors I recommend what Guru suggested , Bogota , Medellin ,Cali , Caragena which I know well… …But please know that Colombias coffee growing and hot springs regions are fabulous. So after you visit the larger cities you may want on future travels to visit other smaller cities and towns.(ONLY I SUGGEST TO REALLY CATCH UP ON YOUR SPANISH , SINCE ENGLISH ALONE WON’T DO IT ) You will need minimum two weeks to enjoy and see beautiful nature and culture of Colombia IF IT’S FOR YOU .
Tony Roussos
Good for you. It takes guts to recommend English lessons to people that have dedicated their lives to living in Colombia, whlist your English is ungrammatical.
Great article. I appreciate your respect in relation to the victims of P. Escobar.
This is a great article, thanks for the tips Jeff. Love your website! You have saved me from many mistakes here in Medellin. Keep up the great work.
The peso crashed thru 3,550 down to 3,800 per US Dollar with today’s (3/9/20) oil price 20% crash
Colombia is even more of a bargain !!!
https://colombiareports.com/colombias-central-bank-says-economy-can-take-impact-after-peso-takes-nosedive/