Traveling by car in Colombia?

gsweatt says on Oct 4, 2005, 12:26:

No way... Dude,

No Way. Unless you want to become a resident of the FARC or ELN or whoever...Travel by car outside of certain cities is HIGHLY unrecommended. I'm not joking. Take a plane, they're cheap and fast, then rent a car and drive around inside the city area. There are areas just outside of Cartenga that are very dangerous so stay close to the city. Not trying to scare you but just give you the facts. Colombia is fantastic...I lived and worked there for 3 1/2 years, traveled all over the country but it was with armed escort and even then there were times I felt a little nervous.

Gene

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texasguy says on Oct 4, 2005, 13:35:

no way even with the convoys they have set up?

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Colombiche says on Oct 4, 2005, 13:49:

Texas guy... Please don't let scaremongers misinform you.

I just came back from Colombia a couple of days ago, I did a lot of land travel in the eje cafetero region, traveled by land between Bogota - Manizales, Manizales - Medellin, Manizales - Pereira. I am a woman, and I traveled with a female cousin. Not even a scratch, not a mishap. We traveled by rural taxi, it is faster than the bus. If you want to be much safer however, have more people around you take the bus, Expreso bolivariano, they seat about 25 to 50 people top of the line.

I believe that if you exercice caution, you will be okay. Safety in Colombia has improved greatly. The only bad thing that happened to me in Colombia was losing my digital camera and that is because I did not keep a close eye on it, in other words, I could have avoided losing it if I was more careful...

Just don't travel at night and don't stand out too much in the way you dress, don't wear expensive clothes and jewellery.

No me den trago extranjero, que es caro y no sabe a bueno.... (Rafael Godoy)

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Colombiche says on Oct 4, 2005, 13:53:

Oh I just reread your post... You are driving with a friend.. if your friend is a local, then you are even safer than taking a cab.

No me den trago extranjero, que es caro y no sabe a bueno.... (Rafael Godoy)

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Mr. Hollywood says on Oct 4, 2005, 14:00:

Statistically The odds of you dying by getting splattered on the grille of a Colombian bus are much higher than your odds of becoming a long-term guest of the Farc.

Curious, does your friend want to do the drive for the adventure or is he trying to save money? I can't see how driving there would possibly save much money over flying. Taking the bus, sure, but gasoline and tolls and all that add up quickly if you're driving.

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texasguy says on Oct 4, 2005, 16:37:

saving money This is a really cool site and all of your info helps alot, to your question yeah he wants to save money, I am inclined to fly and meet him there because of all of my research, it seems the major way to get in trouble is traveling by car or bus out of a major area. I don't want to be the "Scared Gringo" but I have reservations about traveling by land. I keep hearing though Uribe has made it safe during this time that I am going by having convoys but it seems to me that the presence of the army or gov. ect. cannot extend the entire way and there will be unprotected areas prone to trouble, call me a wimp but I want to make it back to America but maybe I am largley overreacting?

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tomtom33 (☼Travelguide writer) says on Oct 4, 2005, 17:35:

Javi20 says on Oct 5, 2005, 10:46:

Just fly. If you don't care about sight seeing, JUST FLY! Remember the car trip is not a straight shot, there's lot's of mountains, curvie roads, going up and down mountains, etc... And when you convert the plain trip money into USD, you'll realize that's the way to go.

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texasguy says on Oct 6, 2005, 08:37:

flying The thing is that a ticket is like three hundred U.S. dollars. It is much cheaper to drive but more risky I guess.

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tomtom33 (☼Travelguide writer) says on Oct 6, 2005, 19:27:

Joell says on Apr 17, 2007, 13:19:

runers any runers In bogota like to run in the mornings 5 to 6 times a week. Iam from usa Idaho email me at trijoell at yahoo.com

Thank you All

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