Colombia Travel Guide

Planning to visit? First of all, get rid of all your prejudices. If something should be said about Colombians and Colombia, it is that everything here is done passionately: living, partying and arguing. "Intense" might be a word that describes not only 44,000,000 warm hearted people but that also applies to the whole of experiencing Colombia: the lavish green of the Amazon, the deep blue of both oceans and one of the most exuberant and diverse fauna and flora in the planet.

Colombia is a country for "travellers" more than tourists; if you are willing to spend some days babbling Spanish, dealing with a different perception of time and marvelling yourself at a country full of contradictions, this is your place. In spite of being a tropical country Colombia's weather is not the same across the territory: don't be fooled by a flat map and be prepared to visit a chilly capital city 2.600 m above sea level, or the extensive warm valley of the Magdalena river 300 m above the sea level (and only 150 km away). This geographical variety also brings a cultural richness, which added to its colonial history results in a society where racial, ideological and cultural ends meet.

Colombia is such a beautiful country, their people are always happy despite the hardship they've been through, go to Colombia with an open mind and heart and you'll be guaranteed to come back full of great memories.

There's lots to see in Colombia, there are lots of Balnearios, or "retreats" within the cities, they have olympic pools, play areas for children, and they cook home made lunch/dinner at an affordable price; you could spend the whole day in these balnearios!

The biggest risk for tourists or expatriates in Colombia is common theft. Terrorism occurs only in rural areas and extremely rarely in the cities; crime in general is only a minor concern in large urban areas such as Bogotá, Medellín and Cali, and as long as you take sensible precautions, you are unlikely to experience any problems. Kidnapping occurs in remote rural areas where you are unlikely to find yourself anyway, and very rarely in cities (be sure to order taxis by telephone and only catch them in the street if you are in a group). Moreover, homicide and kidnapping rates drop almost 50% every year. The goal is that by 2009, serious crime will be almost minimal in Colombia.