COLOMBIA!!

[MuffinToptheMule]

I'm going to Colombia for 3 weeks in June/July. Anyone been? Any tips etc

Where abouts? A friend went there recently.

Flying into Bogota. We were hoping on cartagena and park Tayrona.

yes they flew to Cartegena, then went to an island which was very nice with nice beaches and interestin birds. The town of Cartegena itself is very historical.

I would love to go there.

for advice they took the usual precautions against mosquito- cover up from dusk to dawn, sleep under a mosquito neck - and only drink bottled water.

Take careful note of the FCO (Foreign Office) advice before you go too.

Take careful note of FCO advice:-

www.fco.gov.uk/en/travelling-and-living-overseas/travel-advice-by-country/south-america/colombia

Thanks very much for the link. I still need to sort many things out. I've been looking on lots of different websites and was strongly thinking of going to Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, but maybe I should rethink that. Useful advise for Tayrona as well.
Also didn't know about the land mines but we're not planning on any rural trips.
I can't wait to go, even if I am slightly nervous. Just need to learn Spanish between now and June!

can you book yourself a couple of days of spanish lessons in Columbia? That's what I did when I went to Ecuador.

I went there for a month in 1991 ie ages and ages ago. I loved it, but I was travelling with my then boyfriend (who was Colombian) and his family. Cartagena is beautiful and unmissable.

I think you are brave!

My cousin lives in Bogata but I am too nervous to visit him mainly due to kidnapping risks (dd and I are both blonde). FWIW he advises only to travel by air between cities as hijacks are commonplace.

I'm travelling with my boyfriend. We are travelling by coach and backpacking throughout colombia - this trip is on a budget! I have no Spanish and neither does he (I have bought a Latin American Spanish CD though) . I am extremely pail (Irish parents) and he is blonde. We will be picked up from the airport however by a friend of a friend and he will show us around Bogota for the first day or so.

We will then take a bus northwards to Bucaramanga where I have a friend who is on his placement year of university. He will hopefully travel with us up to Tayrona. Fingers crossed all goes well. It is my first 'big' trip. Any advice or suggestions of places to go or/and things to see are greatly welcomed!

I spent the Millennium in Cartegena. We flew straight into Cartegena from Acapulco, Mexico. I think the feeling was that Bogota was too dangerous - but I don't have first hand knowledge.

Cartegena has the most impossibly beautiful people, and those that I met happened to be wealthy as well. There is a huge disparity between the rich and poor, as you can imagine.

I am trying to remember, but I think even in Cartegena, when we walked around the city, we had security with us, as we were part of an entourage.

Sorry if I sound wanky, but I must clarify that that experience is quite outside of my normal routine.

no chance of security or entourages. We'll just stick to the 'safer' places.

Muffin,

You should seek up-to-date advice from the local authorities before each stage of your journey. The Parque Nacional Tayrona is a popular tourist destination for Colombians and foreigners alike. You are advised only to visit beach areas and resorts you are reliably advised are safe and not to venture inland as illegal armed groups are active and drugs are grown and processed in the area.

Be very careful generally, particularly when travelling between places. Air travel is a key mode of transport in the country, not least because of the risks involved in travel overland (hijacks etc). Draw up and plan a proper itinerary before you leave.

Would also suggest you contact the Columbian Embassy in London for their advice before travelling.

I liked Bogota, and was surprised that I felt comfortable going the short distances from hotel to shops/restaurants etc on my own. Having said that, this was in one area only of Bogota, we were met at the airport, and the hotel had a security guard and scary looking alsatian out front - and large patch of what looked like dried blood on the pavement nearby. I would go again, and would lvoe to go to Cartagena, but as others have said, do plan carefully and take current advice on where/how to travel.

Bogota felt far safer than Sao Paolo, where even in smart restaurants handbags were all hooked to chairs, tablecloths placed over them, and walking short distances wasn't advised.

I would think hard about travelling between cities other than by air.

If you do decide to go by bus, expect a hijack and I would advise that you carry some money in your handbag to give the hijackers and keep the important stuff elsewhere on your body - probably you will get away with not handing this over but you won't get away with handing over nothing.

My cousin has lived in Bogota for about 8 years and would never wish to live anywhere other than S America! The people are always up for a party apparently! And happily he is in the partying business...he also models on TV ads especially for yoghurt and does a lot of bit parts in S American soaps! He claims that the Colombian women are outrageously gorgeous and the men outrageously ugly so it is an ideal place for an attractive bloke to be .

There is no chance of us travelling internally by air. We don't have that much of money!
My friend who is in Bucaramanga travels regularly from there to Bogota by bus and has never encountered a problem.
Right now I'm more worried about the 'outrageously gorgeous women.' I think I need to get to the gym

Crikey - travelling around Colombia by bus. I think that's madness. I've travelled all over Mexico and Chile and Bolivia by bus but wouldn't have dreamed of it in Colombia.

Colombians are convinced that all brits are crap dancers so get practising your dance moves too!

My cousin has been hijacked on a bus, so has his mum in a seperate incident whilst visiting him; he says it is commonplace. Perhaps some routes are safer than others although anything in a rural area could be dodgy I would think. I would definitely say keep 2 wallets - one to hand over and one stuffed down your pants or where ever.

Haha. Thanks for that advice Podrick.
I'm imagining some sort of bandage wallet, whereby I bandage all my money around my stomach.
I have no chance with the dancing. Oh god. What have I let myself in for?!!

Expect you will have an amazing time and will come back ready to dance on tables at the slightest hint of music in your local restaurant in the style of Shakira.

Do report back and if you ever get in a serious fix I promise to get a paypal account going on mumsnet for your ransom money.

Haha, thanks for that. I look poor so hopefully they won't expect too much!