10 days in Colombia
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Anonymous
| Hi! My husband and I are visiting Colombia for a week (NYE through first week of Jan). We fly into Bogota and out of Cartagena but trip is totally open. We want to visit Medellin. Grateful for any favorite places if you've been, hotels, or itinerary suggestions! |
Anonymous
Anonymous
| Medellin was a blast on NYE. Big party scene with lots of fun bars, clubs, restaurants. Spend more time in Medellin and Cartagena over Bogota. |
Anonymous
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People will steer you to the neighborhood of Poblado in Medellin but it's too touristy for us. We stay in Laureles. Still close to restaurants but quieter and more residential. Less partying, if that's your vibe.
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Anonymous
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The metro was clean and organized in Medellin. People stood up and gave their seats for elderly, pregnant people and moms with little kids.
You will see many more homeless people than in the past. Right now a lot of refugees from Venezuela on the streets unfortunately. The only place I was hassled as a tourist was the pablo Escobar comuna 13. I'd skip it entirely unless you are really interested. The cab system is great. All cabs are metered so you can see exactly what the fare is. No negotiating or getting ripped off. |
Anonymous
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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. |
Anonymous
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You have tons of options. I love Medellín and the coffee triangle (Pereira, Manizales, Armenia). Those cities are much more manageable than Medellín or Bogota. From any of those cities, you can hit up different pueblos like Salento or Filandia.
If you go to Medellín, Guatape is highly recommend. Just avoid coming back to Medellín on a weekend because the bus ride could easily end up being 6 hrs instead of 2. And I'd limit Cartagena to 3 days or so. |