If you've landed in Bogotá, as most of the travelers do, here are a few emergency tips that can come in handy, and which I'll try to be constantly updating...
BUDGET: All and all, Colombia is a relatively cheap country if visitors convert dollar or Euro rates to Colombian peso (COP). For instance, you can stay at a small hostel pretty much anywhere for 30,000 pesos (don't freak out about the numerous zeros... it's just like 10 dollars). A hostel priced that won't be great quality, but you could find good, clean places since that sum. Of course it all depends on the kind of contact you want to have with people. Some CSers prefer their space, you know...
PHONES: The first thing I'd do in Colombia is buy a sim card for your cell phone. You can ask anyone where to get one and it will be very cheap, but depending on the hour of your arrival, I'm not sure if you can do it at the airport, so it might be better to wait until you reach your CS host or your hotel. Now: the phone company I HAD always recommendeded was "Claro" (previously "Comcel") because of its coverage around all the country -in comparison to "Movistar", "Tigo", or even "Virgin", but the quality of the service in that company has rapidly decreased, to the extent that its signal is is pretty much the same as the other companies now. If you choose not to get a sim card, you'll still be able to find people on the street with a sign that says "minutos", who have several cell phones which you can rent for a couple of minutes and call for very little money. You can see this almost on every main street or park in Colombia. And if you don't many people here will be glad to sell you or give away a one minute call in case of emergency. Buuuuuut----- if you are planning on spending a little more time in Colombia, or if you can't live without checking your email and social networks on your smart phone, then I ONLY recommend getting a simcard with "Virgin Mobile". Not as widely spread as the others, but Virgin is available at stores and big supermarkets in the main cities. Then, you can activate the sim card on the Virgin website, and you can either pay online with your debit or credit card, or at many stores/stationeries in Bogotá, activating your 'plan' by making a voice call. They have this thing called "Antiplan", which means having Internet conection on your mobile, AND getting some phone credit which is counted by second, not by minute, PLUS unlimited Whatsapp, if you plan a monthly fee. If not, you can just buy some credit and then call to activate your data for a certain number of days.
FOOD: Food is also cheap in general if you eat at average restaurants (max. 8 dollars), or a bit pricy if you like to eat at fancier places (about 20 dollars), but keep in mind that Colombians eat lots of carbohydrates, some proteins, and lots and lots of sweet things (and sometimes sweeter things on top of those), so you might gain a few kilos while here. Now, veg food is mysteriously expenisve, so if you are a vegetarian, I recommend looking for a place where you can make your own meals, and being extra patient: many people at restaurants think being a vegetarian is simply "not eating cows", so they can easily serve you a vegetable soup, just removing the piece of meat it had a few minutes ago. If you're very strict about it, make sure you eat salads instead, since most soups and stews here have some animal substance in them whether people admit it or not. Oh, and before I forget: there is no veg jello here; they all come from cows here.
GETTING SICK: other than the usual insurance you may have when traveling abroad, you should know that in Colombia there are drugstores everywhere, and they sell almost any medicine over the counter, so if you have a minor incident, you'll find help without needing to resort to a hospital necessarily. You'll find aid wherever you go. In fact, you can even stop a taxi driver for help or directions in the middle of the night, and he (or she) can call the taxi central station to assist you.
COMMUTTING IN BOGOTA: - Bus fare is about COP 1,700 now (about half a dollar in 2018), or a little more for Transmilenio (the massive transportation system) if you are in Bogotá, the huge massive transportation system (for which you need a pre-paid card), or a similar fee for the SITP blue buses, for which you need a card too. Thos can be bought at stores in almost any neighborhood. Just ask for a "Tu Llave" card, and buy some credit ("recargar saldo" in Spanish"), and you're ready to ue it for any Transmilenio station, and for any of the blue buses in Bogotá
-TAXIS: They all MUST have a meter which they MUST place at a visible place, AND a yellow fee list on the back of the seat next to the driver's. On the one hand, this meter works with "units" according to the meters the taxi has moved. But WARNING: if, say, you get 130 units, it doesn't mean you must pay $13,000 pesos! it's less than that, ok? One unit is about 100 meters on the road.
ALWAYS ask the driver for the yellow fee list or "lista de tarifas" (see photo) if you suspect they're trying to rip you off. But you have to bear in mind that you'll have to pay an extra (legal) fee of about COP $4,400 (almost two dollars) if you are going to or coming from the airport. OR about COP $2,200 any day after 8 p.m., and / or other COP $2,200 if it's Sunday or a holiday (we have 14 holiday mondays here throughout the year!).
- TAXIS SINCE 2015: Sadly, the situation with taxis had become very complicated in the recent years, to the extent that most of the drivers, without even opening the door yet, asked you where you were going, and if your destination didn't match theirs, they would just drive off. Naturally, with the arrival of UBER, many customers turned to this safer option. Then, many taxis have participated in demonstrations against UBER, and many customers have participated in campaigns against taxi drivers, since several drivers had become very aggressive. I am not saying all drivers are aggressive or provide a bad service, but the complaints that were rare a few years back, had become the condition rather than the exception. There was even an app now ("Denuncie al taxista") to report the abuses of the drivers. Still today, you have to be a bit careful when your Uber reaches to pick you up, because there are still a few fights if some taxi drivers discover a certain car si actually an Uber service. Just greet the driver in a friendly way and take off.
Anyway, when taking a taxi, any driver could try to overcharge you just because of the way you look or talk. Also, don't carry too much cash, and hide well your credit/debit cards. Better to be safe than sorry, right?
I guess calling a safe taxi from your host's place or hotel is the best option.
Another option is to commute by riding a bicycle. We have thousands of streets that allow cyclists to go from south to north without much of a problem. If you want to rent one, there is a service in the historical center, but I'd recommend asking your host to lend you one instead, if possible. Since so many more people are commutting to work like this, it has become somehow a little bit safer than before, plus you get the freedom to move around as you please. If you do so, you can get the "bicimapa" App on your phone, so you check where to park in the city, and where to get it fixed if necessary. Well... enjoy your stay!
BUDGET: All and all, Colombia is a relatively cheap country if visitors convert dollar or Euro rates to Colombian peso (COP). For instance, you can stay at a small hostel pretty much anywhere for 30,000 pesos (don't freak out about the numerous zeros... it's just like 10 dollars). A hostel priced that won't be great quality, but you could find good, clean places since that sum. Of course it all depends on the kind of contact you want to have with people. Some CSers prefer their space, you know...
PHONES: The first thing I'd do in Colombia is buy a sim card for your cell phone. You can ask anyone where to get one and it will be very cheap, but depending on the hour of your arrival, I'm not sure if you can do it at the airport, so it might be better to wait until you reach your CS host or your hotel. Now: the phone company I HAD always recommendeded was "Claro" (previously "Comcel") because of its coverage around all the country -in comparison to "Movistar", "Tigo", or even "Virgin", but the quality of the service in that company has rapidly decreased, to the extent that its signal is is pretty much the same as the other companies now. If you choose not to get a sim card, you'll still be able to find people on the street with a sign that says "minutos", who have several cell phones which you can rent for a couple of minutes and call for very little money. You can see this almost on every main street or park in Colombia. And if you don't many people here will be glad to sell you or give away a one minute call in case of emergency. Buuuuuut----- if you are planning on spending a little more time in Colombia, or if you can't live without checking your email and social networks on your smart phone, then I ONLY recommend getting a simcard with "Virgin Mobile". Not as widely spread as the others, but Virgin is available at stores and big supermarkets in the main cities. Then, you can activate the sim card on the Virgin website, and you can either pay online with your debit or credit card, or at many stores/stationeries in Bogotá, activating your 'plan' by making a voice call. They have this thing called "Antiplan", which means having Internet conection on your mobile, AND getting some phone credit which is counted by second, not by minute, PLUS unlimited Whatsapp, if you plan a monthly fee. If not, you can just buy some credit and then call to activate your data for a certain number of days.
FOOD: Food is also cheap in general if you eat at average restaurants (max. 8 dollars), or a bit pricy if you like to eat at fancier places (about 20 dollars), but keep in mind that Colombians eat lots of carbohydrates, some proteins, and lots and lots of sweet things (and sometimes sweeter things on top of those), so you might gain a few kilos while here. Now, veg food is mysteriously expenisve, so if you are a vegetarian, I recommend looking for a place where you can make your own meals, and being extra patient: many people at restaurants think being a vegetarian is simply "not eating cows", so they can easily serve you a vegetable soup, just removing the piece of meat it had a few minutes ago. If you're very strict about it, make sure you eat salads instead, since most soups and stews here have some animal substance in them whether people admit it or not. Oh, and before I forget: there is no veg jello here; they all come from cows here.
GETTING SICK: other than the usual insurance you may have when traveling abroad, you should know that in Colombia there are drugstores everywhere, and they sell almost any medicine over the counter, so if you have a minor incident, you'll find help without needing to resort to a hospital necessarily. You'll find aid wherever you go. In fact, you can even stop a taxi driver for help or directions in the middle of the night, and he (or she) can call the taxi central station to assist you.
COMMUTTING IN BOGOTA: - Bus fare is about COP 1,700 now (about half a dollar in 2018), or a little more for Transmilenio (the massive transportation system) if you are in Bogotá, the huge massive transportation system (for which you need a pre-paid card), or a similar fee for the SITP blue buses, for which you need a card too. Thos can be bought at stores in almost any neighborhood. Just ask for a "Tu Llave" card, and buy some credit ("recargar saldo" in Spanish"), and you're ready to ue it for any Transmilenio station, and for any of the blue buses in Bogotá
ALWAYS ask the driver for the yellow fee list or "lista de tarifas" (see photo) if you suspect they're trying to rip you off. But you have to bear in mind that you'll have to pay an extra (legal) fee of about COP $4,400 (almost two dollars) if you are going to or coming from the airport. OR about COP $2,200 any day after 8 p.m., and / or other COP $2,200 if it's Sunday or a holiday (we have 14 holiday mondays here throughout the year!).
- TAXIS SINCE 2015: Sadly, the situation with taxis had become very complicated in the recent years, to the extent that most of the drivers, without even opening the door yet, asked you where you were going, and if your destination didn't match theirs, they would just drive off. Naturally, with the arrival of UBER, many customers turned to this safer option. Then, many taxis have participated in demonstrations against UBER, and many customers have participated in campaigns against taxi drivers, since several drivers had become very aggressive. I am not saying all drivers are aggressive or provide a bad service, but the complaints that were rare a few years back, had become the condition rather than the exception. There was even an app now ("Denuncie al taxista") to report the abuses of the drivers. Still today, you have to be a bit careful when your Uber reaches to pick you up, because there are still a few fights if some taxi drivers discover a certain car si actually an Uber service. Just greet the driver in a friendly way and take off.
Anyway, when taking a taxi, any driver could try to overcharge you just because of the way you look or talk. Also, don't carry too much cash, and hide well your credit/debit cards. Better to be safe than sorry, right?
I guess calling a safe taxi from your host's place or hotel is the best option.
Another option is to commute by riding a bicycle. We have thousands of streets that allow cyclists to go from south to north without much of a problem. If you want to rent one, there is a service in the historical center, but I'd recommend asking your host to lend you one instead, if possible. Since so many more people are commutting to work like this, it has become somehow a little bit safer than before, plus you get the freedom to move around as you please. If you do so, you can get the "bicimapa" App on your phone, so you check where to park in the city, and where to get it fixed if necessary. Well... enjoy your stay!
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