From Cancun, I planned on taking a flight to Colombia. I wasn’t sure if there would be direct connections from Cancun or if I had to head to a bigger airport like the one in Mexico City. Luckily there is one direct flight to Bogota leaving daily via Interjet. I thought it was a budget carrier so I expected nothing in terms of amenities. Well it is a budget airline, but they served meals on the flight. Okay, it was just a sandwich and a drink but that’s still a meal. Check in luggage was also included in the ticket price. It’s not included on all routes though— for instance my friends also flew with Interjet on their way back to New York and they had to pay extra for check in luggage. But for the flight to Bogota, I didn’t need to pay any additional fee.
From the airport to the city center, you can either take a taxi or public transport. If you choose to take public transport, there are two options: The Transmilenio or the Urbano buses. To board these buses, you need to purchase a Tullave card for 5000 Colombian Pesos (about 1.50 USD) and then top it up with additional value. You need to top it up with at least 2000 pesos, since that’s what a single journey costs. I was told I can’t take these buses during rush hour because of my huge backpack, so I had to take a cab. From the airport though I heard it’s easier to take the Urbano bus because it stops directly outside. If you take the Transmilenio, the buses that stop at the airport would bring you to the main bus station first before you can board a bus heading downtown. The Urbano buses have more stops though so it might take longer to get to your destination.
I’ve been warned about taxi drivers in Colombia, but from the airport they charge fixed fares so I just took a cab. If you’re gonna take a cab in the city, download the “calculadora de tarifas” app on your phone so you’d get an idea on how much you have to pay. If you don’t have your phone with you, ask for the taxi tarrif table— all cabs should have them. Here you’re gonna see exactly how much you have to pay based on the number you see on the taxi meter (taxis in Bogota don’t show the actual fare on the meter, just some number with a fare equivalent). You might have heard that there’s Uber in Bogota. Yeah there is, but it’s technically illegal so it’s a hit or miss. If you try to get one in a transport hub where there’s lots of security (like the airport), or if you are at a place near a police station, chances are you won’t get any drivers. Or you might find an Uber, but he’s just gonna drive around in circles until you get pissed enough to cancel. They won’t cancel the trip themselves to avoid a penalty. One time when I was lucky enough to get a driver, he asked me if we can pretend to be friends when he picked me up so it won’t look like he was an Uber driver. I went along with it, but it really was awkward hugging some dude I’ve never met before as soon as I saw him lol. Uber is really cheap though, usually the fares are about half of what you’d spend if you took a cab. For that reason, I’d recommend trying to get an Uber driver first before deciding to take a cab.
I wanted to spend as little time as possible in Bogota. Nothing against it, it’s just that I’m not into capital cities in general. Bogota is massive, but most of it is an urban jungle wherein all buildings look similar. You don’t need to visit every district. Basically there are three popular attractions in Bogota, and you can visit all of them in one day. These are all within walking distance from the La Candelaria district, so if you want to do some sightseeing I suggest you stay here.
On top of the list is the old town in the La Candelaria district. Here you’ll find the Plaza de Bolivar, a massive square surrounded by historic buildings. This is actually the center of the city, the rest of the city basically grew around it. There are a lot of historic attractions nearby. Only a few minutes away by foot is the Iglesia de San Francisco. This is the oldest surviving church in Bogota.
Walking around this part of the city, you’re bound to come across several museums. I’m not into museums so I didn’t bother checking em out. Many people kept talking about one certain museum, so I decided to join some people from the hostel. This is the Museo de Oro, which houses a lot of sculptures and artifacts made of gold. Frankly I couldn’t see what all the fuss is about, but it was something quite different. I never saw so much gold in a single place. It’s open from 9AM to 6PM and it’s closed on Mondays. The admission fee is 4000 Colombian Pesos (COP) (about 1.25 USD). If you want an audio guide, it’s 8,000 COP with a 20,000 COP deposit.
Another must visit site is Monserrate. It’s the mountain that can be seen from anywhere in the city. To reach the top you can either take the cable car, the funicular, or you can hike the way up. The cable car wasn’t operational when we went so we took the funicular. Both the cable car and the funicular costs 14000 COP (about 4 USD) each way, though if you go on a Sunday it only costs 8000 COP– apparently because a lot of people go there for Sunday mass. If you’re on a budget you can just choose to hike all the way up, the trail is clearly demarcated. I wouldn’t recommend it if you’ve just arrived in Bogota though and you haven’t acclimatized yet. The city is situated at an altitude of more than 8,000 feet above sea level. Hiking all the way up to Monserrate could prove to be very difficult. When we reached the top we saw a couple of folks who chose to hike and it looked like they went through hell lol. It seems we also didn’t miss much. According to them, there’s no good view from the trail.
The church itself isn’t much. What makes this place a must visit is the commanding view of the entire city. We went during the daytime, but I heard the view is even more spectacular at night. Besides the church, you’ll also see a lot of restaurants. I expected the food to be really expensive but surprisingly everything was fairly priced.
As for my recommendations— I stayed in a pretty crappy hostel so I can’t really recommend it lol. But I can recommend one great place to eat. It’s called Restaurante Cafeteria Recetas de la Abuela, located in the La Candelaria district. It’s less than 5 minutes away from Hostal Fatima by foot. They have lunch specials that change daily, and that’s what I’d recommend to everyone. You get a full meal consisting of soup, salad, meat, rice or pasta, a drink, and desert. The servings are generous, and this only costs 6,000 COP. That’s right. All that for less than 2 USD which is absolutely insane! Be prepared to wait to be seated though because this place is always packed during lunch time. It’s very popular with locals and travelers alike.
As for the nightlife, if you’re in Bogota on a weekend it can lead to absolute mayhem. The nightlife is mainly on the Chapinero district where you’ll find lots of bars and clubs. One popular club is Theatron, a massive 5 story complex. It’s actually a gay club but everyone seems to go there on weekends. Usually it costs 42,000 COP (about 12 USD) to enter which is quite pricey if you’re on a really tight budget— but if you consider the fact that there’s an open bar lasting for a couple of hours, that’s a good deal if you plan to drink a lot.
As for laws in the country…Take note: drinking alcohol in any public place is illegal. You can drink alcohol inside bars, restaurants, and clubs, but it’s not allowed to drink alcohol outside. This includes parks and any street. Never mind the fact that you’re gonna see lots of locals drinking beer on the streets. It’s really not legal, the police just usually turn a blind eye— unless you look like some naive tourist who has tons of cash to spare. I guess we looked like naive tourists sticking out like sore thumbs, and we learned this the hard way. We were minding our own business drinking beer in the park, and then BAM! Out of nowhere the police came threatening to bring us to jail… unless we do something about it. I don’t want to dwell on this horrible experience, I’ll just say we had to give all the money we had on us to get them off our backs.
As for drugs… yeah Colombia has this reputation of being the cocaine capital of the world. It’s real easy to buy. Lots of people would offer you coke for a very cheap price. I don’t do coke so I can’t comment on the quality, but a lot of fellow travelers I’ve met said it’s the best they’ve ever had. The fact that it’s so cheap makes it even more amazing. I’ve met a couple of guys who bought lots of coke because it was so cheap, then when they realized they won’t be able to finish all they’ve bought they just gave em away the day before they left lol. Just because you can easily buy drugs that doesn’t mean the police would turn a blind eye. We almost went to jail for simply drinking beer in public. I could only imagine what would have happened to us if we were caught doing drugs.
I only spent two night in the city, and I think that’s about enough to see what it has to offer. My next stop is Cartagena. Mexico left me craving for more beaches. 🙂
no roads to follow 
2 thoughts on “First Stop: Bogotá”