traveling in and out of colombia

camiloaa says on Aug 4, 2004, 15:40:

proper clothing In Colombia you can go from 40 to 100 degrees in a few hours of traveling. Jeans and t-shirts plus some sweaters are a good option for you.
I would not recomend making the trip to Ecuador by ground, for several reasons: 1. It takes 15+ hours from bogota, 2. you are going to enjoy the already said temperature changes, and 3. the route includes several 'high risk' areas (ok, there are chances but, do you really want to take them?).

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Mr. Hollywood says on Aug 4, 2004, 15:42:

And flights are cheap Avianca flys to Quito several times a day for less than $200 US RT. Beats sweating on a bus for 20 hours unless you value your time and health very low.

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juanalejo says on Aug 4, 2004, 17:21:

Holiday? If you are on holiday, it is worth taking the trip, as it is absolutelly fantastic, the only area that you should travel by day is past Cali down towards Ecuador, but the scenery is so great you would want to travel by day anyhow. Now if you are just trying to get there quite fast, the last posts are right it is a very long and tiring journey.

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jmmyers says on Aug 4, 2004, 18:50:

snowsuit

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Lilianita says on Aug 5, 2004, 14:13:

Be ready to have fun! I will suggest you to buy a ticket here using travelocity or something like that due to the great deals, rather than ground transportation. Bus fares are fairly cheap, roads are in good shape as well, but we do not have high speed highways as you guys have here in the states. We do not have trains like Europe either, so the trip can be amazing if you like to see beautiful landscapes but exhausting. Also in Bogota, you do not want to go by yourself to the central bus station " terminal" and buy a ticket, first, as far as I know and I have traveled a lot around Colombia, they do not speak english, or if they do, very few people do. And if you are a twenty something girl, clothes for Bogota are important, specially if you are planning to out, people at bars tend to get exclusive and look at your appeareance before letting you in. Night life is amazing, weather in Bogota, is around 60 to 66 during the day. I lived all my life in Bogota, believing it was cold, but honestly is like a nice spring day all year long, dress in layers. If you are planning to go out of Bogota, to cities, like medellin, Cali, Pereira, Melgar, girardot, cartagena, summer attire will be perfect. Enjoy, have fun pay attention to your belongings like you will do here in any big city, think New York, people in bogota, are really friendly, DO NOT TAKE TAXIS in the street, call them allways and check number,they are extremely cheap and safe that way. Do not withdrawl money in the street, always inside of the mall or in closed ATMs. go everywere, eat as much as you want, be careful if you are going to drive, be three hour in advance for international flights in the airport. Good Luck!

Lili

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mzzmerized says on Aug 5, 2004, 14:22:

You will have a great time! I backpacked several times throughout South America and one thing i learned was to always pack a couple of nice outfits...they will come in very handy...as the previous poster said, Colombians are very appearance-conscious. Don't forget to take along a pair of dressy-type sandals or something like that either...or buy there! Great deals on footwear!

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rebelinmotion says on Aug 8, 2004, 17:17:

apartment or hotel need a nice place to sleep. any bed and breakfast places around. i'll be staying in barranquilla in first part of september. i need a good price somewhere and can't find anything. please help.

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