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[quote=Anonymous]I have been to Colombia many times--Bogota, Medellin, Barranquilla and Cartagena. Bogota is my personal favorite, it's got great spring-like weather all year long, is cosmopolitan and pretty, great food options, easy to get around via BRT and taxis (aside from road travel during rush hour). Great affordable hotel options as well.

Medellin is similar but is warmer with more tropical weather. Also a beautiful city. Medellin has a great metro and a great transit system that also includes cable cars and light rail into the mountains. El Poblado is a great neighborhood (Manila is an awsome sub-neighborhood as well with amazing resteraunts and hostel options).

Unless you book an American brand hotel, make absolutely sure you scrutinize the comments of the hotel you book to make sure they aren't in party zones. I didn't do this for the start of my trip in Medellin and I ended up staying at the epicenter of the party neighborhood in El Poblado---Parque de El Poblado. Needless to say I didn't get any sleep until 4 am because the streets are so loud until 3. Then I moved up to Laureles which is a much more residentially focused neighborhood. Also stay away from Parque Lleras in El Poblado, also party central.

Also, Communa 13 is awesome. It has a beautiful view of the city, the residents selling knick knacks appreciate tourists and are friendly. The neighborhood is a fun walk. It's a great place to get cheap souvenirs, have lunch with an amazing view and enjoy your time in Medellin.

Barranquilla is a nice city, the capital of the Carribean region. It's about 1 million people. Always 90 and humid so be prepared. Not much mass transit. I enjoyed my stay up at Parque Washington. The neighborhoods around there and are also really nice.

Cartagena was better than I expected. I wrote it off as simply a place to go sit on a beach and that was it. I was wrong. It has great tourist infrastructure. Lots of great hotels (Medellin could use better hotel stock), lots of great restaurants and bars, lots of great beaches, lots of good shopping as well. As someone mentioned, it gets super hot 11-3 in Cartagena so be prepared to get off the streets and into A/C or in the water around then. Cartagena has lots of great beaches, some private and exclusive, many/most are not. For the non exclusive beaches like Bocagrande, be prepared to be sold everything under the sun. And pay the kids to watch your car, you cheapskates. Cartagena is a good place for a long weekend. Probably not a place to spend a week.[/quote]

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