Getting around in Colombia

General information on buses, planes, trains and other types of transportation.

(guide still needs work!)

Airplanes

The main airport in Colombia is in Bogota and is called El Dorado. Most internatioanl flights arrive here, and many national flights have connections here. Medellin, Barranquilla, Cali and Cartagena also have international flights, especially to Florida.

Colombia has 5 main airlines that link the main cities as well as smaller regional centres.

Avianca: The largest and oldest airline in Colombia, with frequent flights within the main cities, as well as international flights within South America and to Mexico, Florida, New York, Los Angeles, Madrid and Barcelona. Website: http://www.avianca.com Where you can buy tickets online with credit cards or Colombian bank accounts.

Aerorepublica: It is the second largest airline with flights within the main cities an international flights to Panama and Caracas, as well as code sharing with Copa Airlines form Panama. Website: http://www.aerorepublica.com/ where you can book tickets online with credit cards or Colombian bank accounts.

Easyfly: The only Colombian low-cost airline. They fly between Bogota and the city airport in Medellin, as well as to other regional airports at low costs. Webiste: http://www.easyfly.com.co/

Aires: This is a smaller regional airline but it has flights to international destinations like Aruba, Curacao and Maracaibo. Website: http://www.aires.com.co/ where you can buy tickets online with credit cards and Colombian bank accounts.

Satena: Tickets can be booked over the phone +57-1-4238530 +57-1-4238500 or via a travel agent in Colombia Website: http://www.satena.com/

Aviatur is the country's largest travel agent. You can book tickets at their offices or over the phone with them Website: http://www.aviatur.com Where you can also quote ticket prices. Another flight search engine is http://www.despegar.com where you can quote and book tickets. Online credit card payments are accepted in theory, but they are difficult to achieve in practice. Payment is usually only processed online when the cardholder is travelling or when the cardholder is in Bogota and can be reached at an address to sign the credit card voucher. Another agent, Become Colombia http://www.becomecolombian.com / info at becomecolombian.com / +57-1-2561914 provide assistance and information in English and can book tickets over the phone.

Buses.

Buses in Colombia operate a very dense network with very high frequencies. Although day travelling is recommended to minimise security risks and to be able to enjoy the astounding view, night buses are considered safe for most routes.

http://www.expresobolivariano.com.co/ They have routes to different parts of colombia. You can make reservations and check the prices as well.

http://www.berlinasdelfonce.com/ Berlinas del Fonce goes from the centre of the country to the coast. The website lets you check times, availability and book tickets.

First posted by Peter on Jul 18, 2008, 08:43. Last edit by viajero123 on Nov 19, 2008, 07:15. Edit this | History.

adrimm (Moderator) (☼Travelguide writer) says on Aug 22, 2008, 18:47:

This website has links to a number of different bus companies that operate in Colombia:

http://www.viajaporcolombia.com/default.asp?link=tierra

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Cali2005 says on Oct 1, 2008, 08:20:

Colombia Motorcycle Travel: For the bold, brave or perhaps foolish, touring Colombia on motorcycle is quite fun. It's qutie easy to get a motorcycle license, and the gas is cheap!

Want to know more about motorcycles in Colombia you can contact me on this website or visit my Colombia Travel site at http:///www.TravelColombia.org.

Cheers!

Medellin Apartments and Tours http://www.ParadiseRealtyMedellin.com

0 funny, 0 helpful.

pjerick says on Aug 17, 2009, 03:19:

Inner City travel: Bogota.
Taxis are generally pretty affordable, from what I´ve experienced, and Buses are too. In Bogota, it´s kind of a mad jumble of transportation. The bus companies are all kind of independent, and there isn´t a set bus schedule as much as there are set bus routes. Don´t look for a bus stop... you just flag them down anywhere along the route, and there´s bound to be a bus running along any major street. They have large placards posted in the passenger´s side window that indicate where the bus is going, but it´s on you to know where you want to go.
Because the buses are run independently, it is possible every once & a while for competing bus companies to race along the route dodging through traffic to pick up the next customer. That´s one of the reasons driving a car or a motorcycle is best left to people who understand the traffic patterns and etiquette.
Honking: In colombia to honk your horn doesn´t carry the same meaning as it does in say California. Obvioiusly it´s used to convey ¨Hey, Asshole!¨, but it´s also used to convey, ¨Hey, I´m passing you on the left in this crazy crowded traffic... don´t hit me.¨
If you´re traveling with company, you have to do the math. Sometimes it´s cheaper to dogpile 6 people in a Chevy Sprint Taxi than it is to take a bus... depending on the distance.
The Trans Millenium: Bogota has an above ground transit system of big red articulated busses that run in exclusive lanes along some of the busiest roads. These busses do have designated bus stops along their routes, but it´s not on the side of the road... they have bus stops on raised platforms in the median of the Boulevard close to the intersesction and the crosswalk. To get on the platform, you have to pay like a subway fare. (I am familiar to BART where you have to pay to access and pay to exit.) Well, on the Trans Millenium, there is no exit fee... so as long as you don´t exit a platform, you don´t have to pay an additional fare. That means, whether you´re going across town or down the street, it´s the same cost.
Oh, and watch yourself crossing the roads. Pedestrians do NOT necessarily have right of way.
As always be wary of crowds and aware of your surroundings. While we were waiting on a crowded Trans Milenium platform, my Cuiñada saw that I was being targeted by a pickpocket who was circling me like a pirahna for my Maui Jim sunglasses case that was too big for my shirt pocket. Thank god, she stole it from me before the pickpocket did. I was completely oblivious to everything going on around me until later when she returned the sunglasses to me.

Cheers, and good luck!

Peter

0 funny, 0 helpful.

What's this? A free and open travel guide, written by all of us together. Feel free to print it out, photocopy it and share it with your friends. If you're travelling while you're reading this, don't forget to make notes on these pages and add them to the site when you're online. This content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.

Americas:

Colombia (travelguide)