Colombia: Travelling

Entry Requirements

Passport and Visa Service: Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Colombian Embassies and Consulates abroad

For Further Information

Check IATA Travel Website for visa requirements and health advices.

Organising Your Trip

Transportation From Airport to City Centre:

Airport	Distance	Taxi	Bus	Train	Car Rental
Bogotá (BOG)	13 km / 8 miles	USD 6-10 / 30-40 min	Available	-	Available
Medellín (MDE)	30 km / 19 miles	USD 16	USD 2 / 60 min	-	-

Means of Transport Recommended in the Rest of the Country

Train reservation services: Bogota touristic train
Medellin's metro

Major airlines

Name	Type	Domestic Flights	International Flights
Avianca	Major	Yes	Yes
Copa Air	Major	Yes	Yes
Satena	Major	Yes	No
Viva Air Colombia	Low cost	Yes	Yes
Easy Fly	Low cost	Yes	No

You Can Consult The EU Air Safety List. Look Also at the rating of the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Visiting

Different Forms of Tourism

Historical: Bogota combines a mixture of Colombian tradition and Spanish colonial influences. Many historical monuments have been preserved, such as the Municipal Palace (Capitolio) and the cathedral on the main square, the Bolivar Square. Bogota also houses the Museum of Gold, with a unique collection of more than 100,000 pre-Columbian art objects. Cartagena, an ancient fortified town on the north coast, is also worth a visit, notably for its historic centre.
Cultural: Colombia’s major cities offer a variety of national and international cultural events: exhibitions, concerts, plays, dance performances, etc. Consult the Tourist Office of the city you are visiting. Medium-sized cities also have festivals and special events at different times of the year.
Nature: Guatavita, two hours by bus from Bogota, is famous for its Laguna de Guatavita, the ritual centre and sacred lake of the Muiscas Indians. Tayrona National Park, some 35 km south of Santa Marta, is one of the most visited parks in the country. It is renowned for its enclosed bays, lined with coconut trees, and its beautiful beaches and numerous coral reefs. Nearly a third of the Colombian territory is occupied by the Amazon Basin, and its dense tropical forest in the southeast. The most popular destination of tourists wishing to explore this part of the country is Leticia.
Religious: About 50 km south of Bogota is Zipaquirá, a region known for its many salt mines, one of which is home to the famous Salt Cathedral.
Thermal: In the Risaralda there is an important spa park, in Santa Rosa del Cabal.
Beach: Colombia offers tourists all possible climates, from the tropical beaches on the Caribbean and Pacific coasts, the mountains of the Cordillera of the Andes and many other curiosities. For further information about tourism in Colombia, consult the website of the Colombian Tourism Office.
Winter Sports: None
Outdoor Activities: Rafting, kayaking, trekking and hiking possible in almost all regions of the country. Please consult the tourist offices.
Shopping: Shopping centres exist in all major cities. There are also temporary markets for handicrafts in large and medium-sized cities, especially during the month of December.

Top Highlights in the Main Cities
Bolivar Square
Botero Museum
National Park
Gold Museum
Monserrate Mountain
Primary Cathedral of Colombia
National Museum of Colombia
Bogota Botanical Garden
National Capitol
Teatro Mayor

Top Highlights of the Country
National Coffee Park, nature and recreational activities
Flower Fair
Historic Centre (Cartagena)
Tayrona National Park
Cabo de la Vela
Mompox
National Natural Park of Sierra de La Macarena
The Amazon
National Museum of Colombia
Gold Museum

Tourism Organisations: Tourist Office
Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism

Living Conditions

Health and Safety

Health Precautions: - All rural areas situated under 1,800 meters of altitude are malaria infected. The strains present in the country are resistant to chloroquine.
- Dengue fever is present in the country.
- Yellow fever is endemic in the Magdalena valley, the eastern Cordillera, the Uraba region, the Orinoco, Amazonia and the Sierra Nevada.
- People who suffer from respiratory or heart illnesses, or high blood pressure may be affected by altitude sickness.
- Tuberculosis is common in the country.
- Rabies exists in the country.
- Diarrheic illnesses are widespread.

Systematically:
- Hepatitis A: for persons born before 1945, who spent their childhood in a developing country, or who have a medical history of icterus, a prior testing for serum antibodies (Ig G) may avoid an unnecessary vaccination. Hepatitis B.
- Diphtheria, tetanus, poliomyelitis.
International Hospitals: Medical care is adequate in major cities, but quality varies elsewhere. In Bogota, travellers can find very qualified general practitioners and specialists.
Consult the list of hospitals here.
For Further Information on Sanitary Conditions: Health Information for Travellers to Colombia.
For Further Information on Safety Conditions: Colombia travel advice from the UK Government
Consult the travel advice from the Canadian Foreign Office

Emergency Numbers

All types of emergencies in Bogota	123
Fire	123
National Red Cross	123
Police	123

Time Difference and Climate

Time and Time Difference: It is %T:%M %A In Bogotá (GMT-5)
Summer Time Period: The summer and winter seasons merge.

Map of the Time Zone

Time zone

Type of Climate: Colombia only has two seasons; summer corresponds to the dry season (December - January and July - August) and winter to the rainy season (April - May and October - November). The climate varies according to region and altitude with a relative stability of temperatures all year round. From the humid tropical climate of Amazonia or the Caribbean, the desert climate of Guajira, to the glacial temperatures of the Paramos (more than 3,000 meters altitude), Colombia offers all variations of climate and temperature, to their very extremes. The average temperature is from 25°C to 35°C in the country. There are 12 hours of daylight a day.
Hotel reservation websites: Colombian system of environmental information

Average Annual Temperatures and Rainfall

Climate

Eating

Food Specialties: Colombian gastronomy is like its people, a mix of Spanish, Amerindian and African cuisines. Meals most often start with a vegetable or meat-based soup, the main course is generally beef, pork or chicken accompanied by rice, plantains, red beans, manioc or potatoes and a salad. On the Pacific and Caribbean coasts, meals consist of a soup of fish and guinea bananas or plantains, and fish, most often fried, accompanied by coconut rice and fried plantains. Desserts consist of all sorts of fruits (apples, citrus fruit, bananas, strawberries, etc.) including many tropical fruits (curuba, zapote, uchuva, guanabana, etc.). As for pastries, you can find coconut flans and cakes, as well as other specialties.

For further information about Colombian gastronomy (typical dishes and recipes), consult the Colombia Travel website.
Drinks: Meals are accompanied by tropical fruit juices, with fabulous tastes (lulo, passion fruit, papaya, tamarindo...) or sodas of different flavours. Coffee is, of course, the national drink, and it is served everywhere. Black, it is 'tinto' and with a little milk 'pintado'. It is generally quite sweet unless you ask otherwise, and it is more or less strong according to the region. There are several cheap local beers; Aguila, Costeña and Poker are those drunk most. As for strong spirits, aguardiente is drunk without too much moderation by the middle classes, as well as rum on the Caribbean coast.
Dietary Restrictions: There are no food restrictions in Colombia.

Paying

Domestic Currency: Colombian Peso
ISO Code: COP
To Obtain Domestic Currency: The currency is the Colombian peso. It is issued in bills of 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000,
20,000, 50,000 and 100,000 pesos and in coins of 50, 100, 200 and 500 pesos. It is possible to change currency in hotels, banks and exchange offices. Some banks do not accept travellers cheques due to quotas. There are ATMs on the main streets of major cities and in shopping malls.
Possible Means of Payment: In large cities, you can pay with a credit card; in rural areas and in small shops, you pay in cash.
New ways of getting cash easily and safely are used by several local banks (ex.AZIMO etc.)

Speaking

Official Language: Spanish.
Other Languages Spoken: There are still approximately 60 Amerindian languages in Colombia, as well as Palenquero, which is spoken by the Afro-descendants of the Palenque region.
Business Language: Spanish, English.

Useful Resources

To Find a Job: El empleo - The employment
Computrabajo - Computer work
Indeed

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