Traveled to Colombia twice! First time was in August, 2014, and second time was in December 2019!

In this post you’ll find some info that you might need to know before planning your trip to Colombia!

Currency: Colombian Pesos (USD is sometimes accepted)

Country Code: +57

Getting there: Flight from Buenos Aires 6 hours 15 minutes, Flight from Caracas 2 hours, Flight from Lima 2 hours 55 minutes, Flight from Panama 1 hour 40 minutes, Flight from Quito 1 hour 25 minutes, Flight from Mexico 4 hours 35 minutes, Flight from Los Angeles 9 hours 44 minutes, Flight from NYC 4 hours 35 minutes, Flight from Miami 3 hours 40 minutes, Flight from Madrid 9 hours 40 minutes, Flight from Paris 14 hours 10 minutes, Flight from Roma 14 hours 45 minutes.

So what I did recently I traveled from NYC to Bogota which was 4 hours 35 minutes. However and on my way back, I went Island hopping in the Caribbean so my return was via Panama City.

The first visit I went, I traveled on Qatar Airways, my route was: Kuwait – Qatar – Sao Paulo (layover on plane) – Bogota

ALL used domestic flights were via: Avianca Airlines de Colombia

Do you need a visa? If you’re a Kuwaiti national, yes you do. You can apply via Colombian Embassy in Abu Dhabi or in Egypt. Also, there’s an instagram account of 2 ladies offering to help with Latin America visa services for a fee their account is: @MFwonders

The first question that I keep on getting asked is: Is Colombia safe? Honestly, everywhere in the world is not safe. However, Colombia in particular and to be fair, my personal experience was safe in the places I’ve visited in Colombia. You need to choose the places you go to, and avoid places that are known to be dangerous. If you do so, you’re good to go.

There’s a reputation about Colombia being dangerous, and it’s not untrue, but things have gotten so much better during the past 10 years and being aware of your surroundings and places is always something good to do during your trips to new places.

My itinerary in my previous visits were as follows:

During my first visit, it was mainly focused on seeing the main destinations. I spent 2 nights in Cartagena (Cartagena De Indias), 2 nights in Medellin and 2 nights in Bogota.

Lets start with Cartagena!

Cartagena is a port city on Colombia’s Caribbean coast. By the sea is the walled Old Town, founded in the 16th century, with squares, cobblestone streets and colorful colonial buildings.

Hotel I stayed at in Cartagena was Basiton Luxury Hotel (ps. I didn’t love the service nor the Wifi signal in the hotel, otherwise location was great!). I only visited Cartagena once, so I didn’t get the chance to go again and explore more hotels.. I would assume though that more hotels and a great variety is now added to this beautiful place.

Places to Eat:

Juan Del Mar Restaurant

La Vitrola (Local Cuisine)

Don Juan (Pizza & Local Cuisine)

El Gobernador

Oh La La (French)

Marea (Seafood)

Mila (Dessert)

– A place that was recommended by friends but I didn’t have the time to see is: Juan Del Mar Cafe/Bar – Located on top of the wall with a very nice view. Check opening hours before you go.

2 nights in Medellin..

Recommended Hotel by my friend is The Charlee Hotel.

The second visit to Medellin, I stayed in Click Clack hotel! Excellent location, great rooms and amazing design (super average/slow service though!). I do recommend it if you’re going there for a few nights where the speed of service would not affect you; I really liked it!

Places to eat:

Cheff Burger (Burgers)

Crepes & Waffles

Tinto Tintero

Carmen

La Provincia

Milagros

El Cielo

2 nights in Bogota (Bogota is the Capital of Colombia)

– Recommended Hotels: Click Clack Hotel, Hilton Bogota, Sofitel Bogota Victoria Regia, GHL Hotel Bioxury, Hotel Andino Royal, JW Marriott Hotel

Things to do:

I didn’t have the time to do a coffee tour in the cities before, but usually, the right place to go and see coffee tours from is Medellin. However, we found a very good coffee tour from Bogota. The coffee tour was in FUSA, where they take you to a coffee planation and show you the whole process from growing the plant until serving you some good Colombian coffee.

Go to the Old Town, walk around, check out the beautiful Graffiti EVERYWHERE. I can’t get over it.

Go to Zona T for restaurants, night life and shopping.

Places to Eat:

A place that almost everyone recommended me to go is Andres Carne de Res. Really good food and the ultimate Colombian touristy experience. A lot of fun, Loved it!

Casa Medina (French Cuisine)

Other recommendations in Colombia:

Santa Marta: The lost city

For my second visit,  It was more focused on the Coffee areas and coffee plantations. So we landed in Bogota, moved to Medellin and from there visited Salento, Cuidad Bolivar and El Poblado.

Remember, you could always contact Hello965 to plan your itinerary for you, and for more details on this trip, or other trips. (I offer a planning/ consulting service!)

Cheers,

Hello965! xx