Transportation

Coming from a small country like Austria (which is 9 times smaller than Colombia), travelling huge distances can be quite overwhelming. I was used to 2-3 hour bus or train rides so realising that most passages are 6 to 12 hours long was challenging at first. So take my learnings to your advantage and you'll have one thing less to worry about!

Generally, there are two main means of transportation for getting around Colombia. The first one is to take a domestic flight. Almost every bigger city has an airport here which is very convenient. The flights are usually very affordable, reaching from $50 to $100 which includes checked and hand luggage. This of course is more expensive when travelling on a budget, but there is a cheaper option as well.

Take a bus. The bus network here in Colombia is amazing. Since there are no train stations, every little town has a bus station and the cities usually have 2, one in the north and one in the south.

How it works:

• You can conveniently book a bus on your phone or laptop using Busbud. There you simply type in your location and destination and it will give you all the possible times and dates for your journey. The nice thing about booking in advance is that you can choose your seat(s) e.g. by the window for a nice view.

• When you are at the bus station, look for the provider aka the bus company that carries out the journey. There just show your passport and ticket confirmation and they will print out the ticket for you. They usually also direct you to a more quiet waiting area until your bus leaves. One thing to note here is that the bus might not leave on time. It is Colombia and that usually means that people here take their time. The good thing about it is that they might also occasionally stop on the way for you to get refreshments and food. The people here truly are incredibly friendly.

• You are always allowed to take a big backpack of 20kg and a smaller one that you can bring inside the bus.

• Many buses for longer-distance travel are very comfortable and you actually get to sleep which can be rare on bus rides.

• Budget tip: When covering long distances, take an overnight bus. They are comfy and you save on paying for a hotel/hostel for the night.

• Important to know: bring your warmest clothes! When we took our first bus ever, we didn't know that and we wondered why all the locals ran around the bus station carrying a blanket. During the bus ride, we learned that it was because the drivers really like their AC and turn it down quite a bit. Honestly, most of the time it was so freezing that we wore down jackets and a hat even though it was 30 degrees Celsius outside when we boarded.

Getting around in the Cities:

Even though you might be used to taking public transport at home, this is something to avoid here in Colombia. It is generally speaking just not really safe. There only public transport system that I would recommend because it's safe is the Metro in Medellin.

The best alternative is to take an Uber. Technically it is not legal in Colombia but everybody still uses it, the app works perfectly fine and the fares are really affordable. You'll also have the safety of knowing who's your driver and you can type in exactly where you want to go. This is helpful when the driver is not speaking Spanish and might take you on a longer ride to collect more money, as this can happen when getting a taxi on the street.

If there are no Ubers available get your Hostel or Hotel to arrange a taxi for you. They usually have reliable drivers for their guests.