Flying vs. Bus

pedro says on Jun 4, 2007, 17:49:

The bus from Medellin to Cartagena is about 14 hours if all goes well. I have done it once and don't think there's a lot to see. The only interesting bit was the last 90 minutes heading north before Monteria, where a lot of homes and towns are built right up against the highway. I found it interesting to look into people's living rooms and the small bars and billiard salons and folks going about their business on a Saturday night. You sit back in the bus and it all scrolls past you.

If you want to see some countryside, maybe fly your original cities as suggested, but add Medellin - Manizales and back by road. The coffee zone is nice, has beautiful scenery and the family may consider it safer. You could also do a small side trip or two out of Bogota.

que nota!

lpdiver says on Jun 4, 2007, 18:32:

Have you priced your bus trips as well? I am looking into the same thing. To fly from Bogota to Medellin is costing me 30 dollars per person. The cost of the bus is only a few bucks cheaper.

t

"cook some rice!"

Gator says on Jun 4, 2007, 19:33:

HUMM! Basically I agree with Pedro.

The best price I could find from BOG to MDE was COP $210,680 on Aero República.

If you dropped San Andres Aero República would do MDE to CTG and CTG to BOG for about $265 USD then cut back through the Zona Café to Medellin by bus-great countryside.. I have made the Bogota Medellin Cartagena trip by car several time and bus once-longgggggg time to sit and no really great scenery. From Medellin it is about 14/15 hours and is relatively safe. When you fly to equate time with pesos. Remember this- one hell of a lot of Colombians take the bus every day with no problems.

"Brevior Sltare Cum Deformibus Mulieribus Est Vita!" .

"Brevior Sltare Cum Deformibus Mulieribus Est Vita!" .

HolandaPaisa says on Jun 4, 2007, 19:58:

Bus Bogota-Medellin is about 50.000 and a plane ticket 220.000. You may get it cheaper if you have it included in your original ticket from overseas, but that's what it costs (e.g. when flying Avianca I heard you can have a free national flight, although you should specifically ask for this before paying for your international flight.

Bogota-Medellin by bus takes 9 hours and by plane about 45 min. You also have to add the costs to go to and from te airport which for Medellin's main airport in Rio Negro is about 45 min (45.000). In Medellin there are two airports and I always try to fly from the one in the centre. A good and cheap airline that flies from the centre is ADA. It saves you time and money for the cab to Rio Negro.

Medellin-Cartagena costs something like 80.000 Cop and by plane 240.000. It takes between 1 and 1.5 hour by plane and between 12-15 by bus.

The bus is absolutely safe (also the night busses) on the Bogota-Medellin-Cartagena-Santa Marta route. I have done it plenty of times in the last two years and i know so many others that have done the same thing. In my opinion the Colombians that try to scare you that it is too dangerous by road are the ones that live abroad or the rich in Colombia.

One tip if you go by bus you should always negotiate a lower price if it is low season. You can easily get a ticket for 70% of the initial quoted price and maybe more if you bargain hard. For example, Medellin-Cartagena's offical price is 115.000 but I never paid more than 80.000 in low season. The best bus companies are Brasilia and Rapido Ochoa. You do not need to buy a ticket in advance as there is a bus going every two hours more or less and they usually not full if you go there one hour in advance.

In the end you should make your decision based on your time, comfort level and money. Flying is faster, more comfortable and more expensive. Bus is cheap but takes more time. The comment of Pedro about the scenery is valid. There is not too much to see although it is an experience in itself to see the people that live along the road and all the people that try to make a living selling stuff, especially if you are only going to do one busride. A night bus saves you even a night in a hotel.

Hope you can make an informed decision now,

Hydrogen says on Jun 4, 2007, 21:03:

So here is what I think that we will be doing. We are flying into Medellin but NOT flying out. We are flying out of Bogota because a friends dad moved back to the country and we are staying with him until our flight leaves.
We basically scraped going to San Andres and are just trying to visit Medellin then go to Cartagena and the surrounding towns and Parque Tayrona then head down to Bogota until we fly home. Plane tickets right now would be $96 Medellin to Cartagena and $100 Cartagena to Bogota. Not nearly as bad as before. And it seems the bus trips in total would be about $90. Plus whatever else they charge around Cartagena to get to the Santa Marta area and Parque Tayrona.

Oh well I'll be doing more research, maybe a flight from Medellin to Cartagena seems like a good choice.

Muchas Gracias Amigos

lpdiver says on Jun 4, 2007, 21:34:

be aware that on your internal flights you are limited to 40 lbs of luggage total per person.

t

"cook some rice!"

lpdiver says on Jun 4, 2007, 21:36:

Precisely paisa... to add the avianca flight to our existing flight was next to nothing. Only that you are limited to 40 lbs luggage total without surcharge.

t

"cook some rice!"

cayita says on Jun 5, 2007, 06:16:

one thing puts people on the bus they don't have money for the plane.

Rubito says on Jun 5, 2007, 11:48:

Or in my gf's case They don't like flying.

---Violence is the price of freedom.---

---Violence is the price of freedom.---

Hydrogen says on Jun 7, 2007, 11:35:

So...DOes this sound like a pretty good plan? Fly from Medellin to Cartagena. Take buses around the coast and then bus down to Bogota. Fly Home. We have 6 weeks and will be spending 10 days with family in Medellin, 2 1/2 - 3 weeks on the coast and the rest in Bogota and the surrounding area.

This is of course just a general plan and I'm sure that other things will happen. Can you guys suggest some places or other things to experience in any of those areas? Libraries, museums, hiking, good beaches, good camping spots.....anything at all!!!! Thanks guys

Desideria (Moderator) says on Jun 7, 2007, 12:47:

Or in my case I get to see more of the country travelling by bus than flying over it.
I've travelled by bus from Cali to Ipiales on the Ecuadorian border and from Cali to Honda and from Cali to Bogotá, but that was a long time ago. I still cherish the memories from those trips with all the local flavor, sights, smells, sounds. It's not always a question about money.

Cheers,
Desi

"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe
they are free." —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"I have opinions of my own, strong opinions, but I don't always agree with them."-President George W. Bush

Gator says on Jun 7, 2007, 14:13:

Same With Us, Desi. Now it's rush, rush, rush.

"Brevior Sltare Cum Deformibus Mulieribus Est Vita!" .

"Brevior Sltare Cum Deformibus Mulieribus Est Vita!" .

pedro says on Jun 7, 2007, 14:33:

Bus to Bogota Not sure about the bus from the coast down to Bogota. If you go from Santa Marta down to Bogota I think you would pass through Norte de Santander. I'm not saying you shouldn't do this (I would probably do it myself during the daytime as long as there are no particular political problems happening). But if your gf's family is concerned about security and you are giving them power of veto, I would expect them to veto Norte de Santander.

In my opinion you have too much time on the coast and not enough in Medellin. That could just be my prejudice though, I like Medellin a lot.

que nota!

jmbone says on Jun 10, 2007, 14:17:

All Bus Lines to Antioquia cities with phone numbers Bookmark: http://www.medellininfo.com/buses/index.html

for handy info. on busses departing the North and South Terminals in Medellin, that go to more than 125 cities within Antioquia.

Enjoy,

Sinerely, Jim