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My advice depends on the city. I live in Bogota. One universal advice is that if you're not looking for drugs or sex work, the chances of ending up 'in a well'
by whymauri 4y ago
My advice depends on the city. I live in Bogota.
One universal advice is that if you're not looking for drugs or sex work, the chances of ending up 'in a well' are very low. While acclimating, I recommend Uber over taxis; you can call taxis on the Uber app, too. If you want to get out of the cities, the bus network is actually quite safe. If you want a private/trusted driver for a group, you can get foreigner rates by asking your hotel or better rates by straight up asking an Uber driver if they're willing to do off-platform service for cash.
I've built a network of 3 trusted drivers for trips outside Bogota, two from Uber XL and one from chatting with a driver at a museum.
Other universal tips are to keep in mind that starter phones in the US/EU are luxury phones in Colombia. I would recommend being alert of your surrounding when using a phone in cities like Medellin, Cali, and Cartagena. In Bogota, mostly be careful around major arterial roads: a common way to lose a phone are motorcycle bandits when you are close to the road. Especially iPhones, they really stand out compared to the Android models that are common in Latin America.
Other universal tips is that, Cartagena aside, most Colombian cities are early to wake and early to sleep/go home. Sunrise and sunset are very stable year round, and locals prefer to be out and about in daylight -- daylight is waaaay safer than night time. Day time in some Bogota barrios feels like Spain; night time gets edgy.
Here's a post I made on /r/solotravelers specifically about Colombia:
https://www.reddit.com/r/solotravel/comments/wekbhh/first_timer_heading_to_colombia_and_beyond_who/iipigpf/ https://www.reddit.com/r/solotravel/comments/wekbhh/first_ti...
Mostly concerning safety and food poisoning precautions. Don't sleep on food poisoning! Bisbacter and bottled water goes a long way.
- Laaas 4y agoDon't sleep, literally, or metaphorically?
- whymauri 4y agoMetaphorically! Safety is on everyone's mind, but in reality food poisoning is a likelier risk. And there's concrete steps to avoid it, like BisBacter, Smecta, imodium, bottled water, and being thoughtful about how you ease into foods. The difference in food safety and water quality in Bogota is very different from small villages in Antioquia. If you think you shouldn't be drinking a fruit juice, then you probably shouldn't! You can fulfill the craving with fresh fruit... for my fruit-loving friends, check out Paloquemao market in Bogota.
- explaininjs 4y agoThanks for all the tips and the linked thread! Lot of good info there. I’m flying into Bogota and will be spending some time there as well as Los Llanos and the coffee regions, probably Medellin as well. I might try to make it up to Cartagena area, I’ve heard of a neat seeming “lost city” multi-day backpacking tour.