Traveling to Medellin

zorana says on Nov 11, 2004, 09:45:

Traveling to the Carribean coast How safe is for the foregin to travel from Bogota to Santa Marta or Cartagena in the first half of December? Comments and advices?

Can somebody recommend me some useful links about the travel agencies in Bogota and Santa Marta, some web sites of them? I would like to find some offers for tours through the coast.

Regards,
Zorana

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Miguel says on Nov 11, 2004, 10:21:

Travel Suggest catching a flight to either Cartagena or Barranquilla from Bogotá...then you can take ground transportation to CTG/BAQ/Santa Marta.

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Miguel says on Nov 11, 2004, 10:48:

San Andres is cool, seguro...PERO It's closer to Nicaragua than mainland Colombia...you hear almost as much English as you do Spanish, the night life is limited, and it is mostly a tourist destination. I liked my time there, but not nearly as much on the mainland. (although that duty free shopping cannot be beat!)

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ixent (☼Travelguide writer) says on Nov 11, 2004, 10:53:

British Paisa says on Nov 11, 2004, 11:18:

wouldn't recommend it... going by bus to most places in colombia is ok, but from bogota to medellin it is a bad idea, it pases two main places, san luis and cocorna which are guerilla hot spots. there is nothing to say that anything will happen but if you do get stopped which even if the bus company has paid its passage it may as the guerillas aren't the best at keeping their word, you will probably notget to see medellin.
i would take the plane...

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British Paisa says on Nov 11, 2004, 11:20:

where are you from zorana as I asume that english is not your first language due to your bad spelling?....

sorry if it is your first language and you just suck at spelling!...

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degrazier says on Nov 11, 2004, 12:44:

road between medellin and bogota Hi Zorana,

About a month ago I took a bus from Medellin to Bogota...at night. I am an extranjero (although not an obnoxiously obvious one), and I had no problems. The trip went fine (in terms of not meeting any FARC), not a problem. I was told that we were taking another route to not bump into the FARC though. But taking a bus in the day I would see no problems (from what I was hearing and was told).

Hope this helps out. Buena suerte.

Suerte

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nomad unpopular says on Nov 11, 2004, 17:04:

many bus companies, no saftey concerns this saftey stuff is bullshit, take a bus, recommend night bus so you can sleep.

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litost says on Nov 11, 2004, 20:05:

Hi zorana, I remember you asking a while back about the La Salle university where you were going... how has all that turned out?

Anyways, I think that it's most likely safe to take a day bus between Bogota and Medellin... it does have a bad reputation but I think it's been a long time since anything serious has happened thanks to more road security and growing traffic. I did that trip with my family but it was many years ago (around 1997), it went fine even though it was supposedly riskier back then, but no one can guarantee what your luck will be. But then again... you only have a long weekend and I suppose you don't wanna spend two of those days on the road... night bus would be the most convenient time-wise, but in that case ask around a lot to make sure that the situation is under control at night.

Have in mind the ride is long and tiring... is it worth it for only a 3-day weekend?

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FrankLeal says on Nov 12, 2004, 08:36:

You should take into account statistics not personal experiences Guys I'm from Colombia and I would sincerely recommend you to fly from Bogotá to Medellín, and more if you are several foreigners. Anyway if you decide to travel by bus take a day bus, but if you can don't take risks, statistics don't lie and I'm sure that Bogotá-Medellín is not a safe road. Maybe some of you have been lucky travelling during the night but not everybody has been as lucky. It's not only the guerrilla problem but also the robbers. As we say in Spanish "no se metan a la boca del lobo" (don't go to the wolf's mouth). Remember what happened to Ingrid Betancourt, she wanted to be a brave person and decided to travel to guerrilla zone and as you maybe know, after some years she's still kidnapped.

Best regards,
Francisco

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litost says on Nov 12, 2004, 09:03:

Frank, could you share the statistics you mention?

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ixent (☼Travelguide writer) says on Nov 12, 2004, 14:11:

ixent (☼Travelguide writer) says on Nov 12, 2004, 14:20:

litost says on Nov 12, 2004, 19:03:

Well said ixant, the Ingrid Betancourt analogy is competely inacurate... I also read her book, actually had the chance of attending a conference she gave in Paris just a few weeks before being kidnapped. The book was interesting, but should not be taken as the only source to understanding Colombia's problems... the way she made herself a solitary heroin in the middle of a chaotic reckless society, that kinda angered me, because the foreign press bought it and made her the colombian Joan of Arc. That's going too far!

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utopiacowboy says on Nov 12, 2004, 21:32:

My wife and kids take the bus from Medellin to Bogota but she makes me fly. She says that even though the risk is small, it is there, so why take a chance if you don't have to.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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FrankLeal says on Nov 13, 2004, 13:47:

in deep explanations Hi everybody!

I lived in Medellín almost for two years and the time I was there I used to read “El Colombiano” newspaper and believe me that almost every week something happened on the way Medellín – Bogotá near the San Luis and Cocorná zone (bad news came from that zone, not from “la patética zona de distension del Caguán”). Those were Pastrana’s times and I’m sure the situation has improved in all the country but risks still remain.
At that time I had university classes Friday nights and Saturday mornings near Ríonegro (Antioquia), which is just 1 hour by car from Medellín and my “paisas” partners and I usually decided to stay Friday nights at a hotel or somewhere in Rionegro or El Retiro because they said that the road to Medellín was dangerous specially when traveling at night, so I would say this is not paranoia, it’s just being a little realistic. And for being kidnapped you don’t need to be a presidential candidate, I have heard of people driving an old Renault 4 who were kidnapped.

I do recommend visiting Medellín, there’s a lot of fantastic places to visit: El pueblito paisa, El museo de Antioquia, El parque San Antonio, El museo del Castillo, El edificio inteligente de EPM y el parque de los pies descalzos, Centros comerciales (El Tesoro, Oviedo, San Diego, etc), and much, much more, and as always the most important thing to know is "the people". But as a Colombian (and I’m sure 98% of Colombian people would answer the same) if I am asked by a foreigner, Do I take a bus from Bogotá to Medellín or do I take a plane? Doubtlessly I’d say “Take a plane”.

If any of you know French I recommend the next link with recommendations about Colombia, I find it very good and I haven't found something similar in English, if you find something like that please let us know:
http://www.angelfire.com/ab/petitparadis/vudesantarosa/vacances.html

Have a nice day, bye!

Frank
(from Bucaramanga)

P.S. No he leído aún el libro de I. Betancourt pero la escuché hablando más de una vez y tendía a hablar mucha carreta.

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Lionheart says on Nov 13, 2004, 14:59:

all rural roads have dangers I have a Colombiana friend in Cali, she is lawyer there. She often has to take the bus to villages or closer cities. It is normal that the bus get stopped by bandits who rob the busdriver for the fares, but they don't care about the passangers. Last week it was from Palmira to Cali when it got robbed. She says any longer distances should be traveled by plane in Colombia, the risk is just too high for foreigners everywhere.

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litost says on Nov 13, 2004, 15:47:

I wouldn't call it "normal", I've lived nearly 10 years in Colombia, travelling frecuently by bus between cities and towns, and never anything similair happened. I know of a few cases of friends whose busses were stopped, by common criminals, but nothing serious besides a scare and getting some stuff robbed.... but bear in mind, this is a few cases, over 10 years and speaking about my entire social circle which includes A LOT of family and friends in different parts and social classes in Colombia.

But whatever... if you ask me "is there a risk?", I have to say sure there is some risk, but it is very slight if you take precautions like travelling by day and on the bigger bus companies. Ultimately, each of us has to decide if we take the risk, however large or slight it might be. These people are young, foreingers living in Bogota who want to take the long weekend and get to know a new city, have fun and relax... they probably don't have enough money or consider it too expensive to take the plane... I say go for it! They've asked around, now they can make an informed decision.

All of that said, if money wasn't the issue, I would actually recommend taking the plane. Not so much because of security concerns, rather due to the amount of time they would save which could be used enjoying all the things Medellin has to offer. For a long weekend, those bus rides are just too time-consuming.

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Lionheart says on Nov 13, 2004, 19:45:

"normal" I quoted my friend in Cali .. to her it is normal. Maybe robberiers are more common in that area, I don't know.

The replies here are from black to white. I will use common sense. Fly if possible, use major buslines, and reputable taxis elsewise. It is same elsewhere in Europe, Asia, Africa, or Middle-East. Colombia is no exception. So I will feel good there. Learn to survive and you are safe.

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