Bogata

I have to do a 72 hr visa run from El Salvador the end of the month, don't feel like sitting on a bus for 2-3 days to go to spend another 3 days in Tapachula. Have been to Liberia before, didn't care for it & the resorts are crazy expensive.

However TACA has a special where I can fly to Bogata for about $100 more than Liberia.

Have checked room prices & they are about the same as Liberia (have enough air miles for 2 nights anyway).

Anyone who has been there, how is the public transportation system? I just want to check out a museum, the local sites & chill in the park for 3 days. Good plan or not

I spent about 5 nights in Bogota last year and really liked the city. Bogota has a rapid bus system that's considered one of the best in the world so it's really easy to get around. The one challenge is that it can sometimes be difficult to figure out which bus to take. There are police officers in each of the stations and I often asked them which one to take and they always gave me good information.

For a park I would recommend Simon Bolivar which is one of the largest urban parks in the world.

Where are you planning on staying? Most people, myself included stay in La Candelaria. That's where most of the hostels are. But there's one caution. There have been a rash of armed robberies at hostels in that area - this happened to a British couple I met. Armed men broke into their hostel at 3am, tied everyone up and took cameras, passports, and cash. Not sure if it's still going on and the chances of it happening are small but thought you should know. There are now a few hostels in the northern part of Bogota where you shouldn't have any security concerns.

Thanks for the info, sounds like it will be an interesting place to visit, better book the flight before the special ends.

Won't be staying at a hostel as have to use my AA points before they expire. There is a list of hotels where I can redeem my AA points, one on Calle 109 looks promising.

busman7 wrote:Thanks for the info, sounds like it will be an interesting place to visit, better book the flight before the special ends.

Won't be staying at a hostel as have to use my AA points before they expire. There is a list of hotels where I can redeem my AA points, one on Calle 109 looks promising.

Yeah that's definitely a safe part of town to stay so you shouldn't have any worries there.

At the end of my visa run.

EMH wrote:I spent about 5 nights in Bogota last year and really liked the city. Bogota has a rapid bus system that's considered one of the best in the world so it's really easy to get around. The one challenge is that it can sometimes be difficult to figure out which bus to take. There are police officers in each of the stations and I often asked them which one to take and they always gave me good information.

For a park I would recommend Simon Bolivar which is one of the largest urban parks in the world.

Where are you planning on staying? Most people, myself included stay in La Candelaria. That's where most of the hostels are. But there's one caution. There have been a rash of armed robberies at hostels in that area - this happened to a British couple I met. Armed men broke into their hostel at 3am, tied everyone up and took cameras, passports, and cash. Not sure if it's still going on and the chances of it happening are small but thought you should know. There are now a few hostels in the northern part of Bogota where you shouldn't have any security concerns.

Excellent advise, just at the end of my visa run & really like the city which has replaced Panama City as my 2nd favorite.

Stayed at an apartment hotel in the northern part which was really safe area, did the steam train trip which was a great way to spend a Sunday, didn't use a tour company, just grabbed a cab for the 10 minute trip to the station & bought a ticket. Less than 1/2 the tour price.

The transit system is amazing + cheap, with dedicated bus lanes on the main lines. The train went by Simon Bolivar Park, looked great & was very busy on Sunday afternoon.

Was a significant police presence in the city but didn't see any violence, a few homeless living by the tracks but no more than sleeping on steam grates in Toronto.

Nice city, good food, friendly people + not too expensive to visit. Would recommend it to anyone to visit. Only downside was flying directly from the beach to an altitude of 2650 m, over 8,000 ft, it took a couple days to get used to it.

Glad you enjoyed it! We may have overlapped. I recently found myself (somewhat unexpectedly ) in Bogota for a week. Only downside was having about $150 stolen from my private hostel room. It was partially my fault...staying in private rooms, I sometimes get a bit lazy about making sure my my valuables are locked up inside my suitcase. Lesson learned. First time I've had anything stolen in roughly 2 years of traveling and living outside the US. (the thief also stole an unopened package of underwear which is a bit odd).

That's too bad, no worries like that where I stayed + the room had a safe.

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