Why Colombia?

Hi everyone,

Riding horses in Colombia

I am from Texas and I have traveled for work to countries all over but Colombia is my favorite country for vacation. I really enjoy the different climates, nature and the people.

History: The first time I traveled to Colombia was for work and I could not speak any English.  I had heard lots of stories about Colombia and work even required a bodyguard this was in 2000 and I could not speak any Spanish. This was during the time of some of the internal turmoil in the country with the rebels but the president had put soldiers on the corners in all the large cities to avoid violence. Since then there have been some protests and but by 2005 things were much safer. I went in 2005 to visit for vacation and in 2006 I decided to take a break from work and study Spanish in Bogota for a few months. I have been to Colombia many times since then and each year the country has been safer. There are so many wonderful places to visit and for a small country Colombia has every climate from desert to snow capped mountains.

Colombia beautiful Country.

Where you go in Colombia really depends on what you like to do and your comfort level. Anytime you are in a foreign country you have to be careful. Colombia is far safer than Mexico. If you don’t speak a lot of Spanish or it is your first time in Colombia then it may be best to stay in a city where the people speak more English.

In the larger cities you can find people that speak English or some English in the large malls, in most good hotels and even in some of the nicer restaurants.

If you are visiting for your first time then Bogota, Cali, Medellin or Cartagena would probably be the easiest to visit. If you are going to meet a girl and she lives in a medium size city then Avianca or some of the other area carriers have a flight there also.

cheap tickets to colombia avianca

If you buy 2-3 weeks ahead of time for in country air travel from their web sites (Avianca, Aero Republica) then the local tickets are half price sometimes of buying it a few days before. Avianca flies all over but from some of the other airports you will find some other carriers or certain times or days other carriers fly to the airports. You can find hotels on Hotels.com or bookings.com or any reservation site for all the large and most medium cities. However, if you know someone local in the city they can usually find you a nice hotel for 1/2 the price that does not advertise on one of these sites. With most airlines if you buy a ticket 3-4 weeks ahead of time you can get a good price. Some of the bigger cities that fly to Colombia direct are Dallas, NYC, Miami and Houston. You can also fly to most parts of Colombia through Panama.

When you travel in the cities just remember every city has expensive neighborhoods and poor neighborhoods. The level of crime is usually higher in the poorer neighborhoods. If you don’t feel comfortable travelling all over the city then stay in or spend your free time visiting the restaurants and malls and more well known tourist attractions in the city. There is local transport you can take around town with friends that know the local transport. There are little buses or even motorcycle taxis in some of the smaller towns. Usually when I am in a new city I stick to the more popular parts of the city and take a taxi. After I am comfortable in the city then I may try other parts of the city and even try to ride the public transportation.

Paragliding / Parapente en El Jardín, Antioquia, Colombia

Colombia can be as cheap or expensive as you want. There are restaurants on the street or small cafes, franchised restaurants from the US and Colombia and top 4 and 5 star restaurants. There are hostels all over Colombia and Europeans come in large numbers in various times of the year to explore the beautiful country. You can find interesting places to visit online or in lonely planet or one of the many travel books.

Do you want natural parks? There are lots in Colombia. There are parks that are cloud forests. There are parks that have vast hiking trails. There are parks in or near some of the cities with bike trails. There are parks with indigenous people where you can see how people lived hundreds of years ago. There are parks with snow covered mountains where you get even get caught in a snow storm. Who would have thought in a tropical country. There are lots of beautiful lakes.

It has 7.623 inhabitants and is definitely one of the most colorful towns I’ve ever seen.

A lot of people think that Colombia is not safe but I have met so many nice people over the years in Colombia in the small towns and the big cities. Colombia is like most countries with different cities having their own culture. In some cities the people wear lighter clothing and sexier clothes in other cities the clothes are more conservative. The people are different also. Some cities the people are more open and in other cities less open until they get to know you. Spanish sounds different in different parts of Colombia. The words are pronounced faster or slower and with different accents. I like a little slower and clearer because sometimes when it is fast it can really give your brain a workout.

Some of the nicest people that you will meet are the people in the smaller towns so you definitely should not overlook stopping for a visit in one of the smaller towns. There are some colonial towns from the days of Spanish occupation that have been well preserved in various parts of Colombia and each one I have visited has been wonderful.

If you find a meet a nice girl then they will take care of you. They will know where to go and where not to go and they will ask you often to make sure that you are enjoying yourself and comfortable.

I will try write more about some of the places that I have visited and observations in future posts.

Have a great trip, Andrew