Colombia was a little more expensive than we had thought it would be, due to accommodation and transport being relatively dear compared to other South American countries. In order to avoid going “over budget” we generally stayed in dorms, and shared lunch meals which is easy due to the portion sizes being so big. We also cooked most of our meals, and bought in supermarkets, as street vendors are dishonest and try to charge more than you might pay back home for water and fruit!
 

Visas

We didn’t need a Visa to enter Colombia, and the immigration process was fairly simple, even though our entire rucksacks had to be searched by officials - possibly because we came from Panama by boat. The countries that require a Visa to enter Colombia can be found here. (Spanish)

 

Accommodation

We generally had to stay in dorm rooms for this part of the trip, as the double rooms were far too expensive on our tight budget. We also looked for hostels with kitchens as this is the easiest way to save money - even if it just means making your own breakfast or coffee.

The prices below are in EUR per night, for two people.  

€20 in Cartagena for 2 beds in a mixed dorm (with breakfast included).
€24 in Palomino for a double room with a mixed bathroom in a run down hostel.
€22  in Medellín for a double room with shared bathroom (with breakfast included).
€18 in Manizales for 2 beds in a mixed dorm (with full breakfast included). By far one of the best hostels we have stayed in during our entire trip due to the brand new facilities, full size lockers, perfect kitchen and cleanliness throughout the hostel. We would have happily stayed here longer had it been possible. (Hotel Kaleidoscopio)

€11 in Leticia for a double room with a private bathroom

€18 in Bogota for 2 beds in a mixed dorm in an upmarket hostel. (Crazy Crocs)

€14 in Bogota for 2 beds in a mixed dorm in a run down hostel (Musicology)

€12 in Bogota  to share 1 single bed in a mixed dorm  (Swiss Martinik)

€16 in Popayan for 2 beds in a mixed dorm (Hostel Caracol)

€14 in Pasto for a double room with a private bathroom.

 

Food and Drink

The food in local restaurants in Colombia was slightly disappointing, at least for those on a budget like us. The plantain, deep fried fish and rice combination in most restaurants is very dry, although it is often served with kidney beans (frijoles) which makes it a little easier to swallow. A menu costs around 6000 to 7000 Colombian Pesos (COP) - under €3, although it’s more likely to be around 10,000 / €4 in more touristic parts of Cartagena.

Portion sizes are big, and if you’re not feeling too hungry an “almuerzo” or set lunch can even be shared as the soups themselves tend to be filling.

Street food is very common in Colombia, and Arepas filled with butter and cheese cost around 2000 COP. Empanadas, which are like a lighter, fried version of Cornish pasties filled with chicken or beef cost around 2000 COP to 2500 and are quite filling. For those of you who have tried these in Spain, don’t expect the tuna and tomato combination here - you won’t find it.

There are many stalls offering fresh juice for around 2000 COP / €0.80; however, these juices often have water added to them to bulk them up and are not of the standard you can get in Asia. The curse of comparison strikes again! Of course, these prices are more than affordable if you’re from Europe, Australia or the US - so make the most of it while you can.
 

Excursions

Having spent around 25 nights in Colombia, we did quite a lot of excursions around the country.

A few of these include (prices listed per person):

Pablo Escobar Tour: €16. There are two main tours, one of which is a lot more expensive, as it involves meeting Pablo Escobar’s brother.

We recommend the thought-provoking Paisa Road tour which takes you around the main landmarks involved in this story and is a lot cheaper.

Gold Museum in Bogota: €1 (3000 COP). although it’s free to get in on Sundays. We found the rooms with the videos about Colombian culture more interesting than the actual museum.

Football match in Medellín: €12. We went to see Atlético Nacional, Medellín’s football team play a league match. The atmosphere was not what we expected to be honest, as the fans only seemed to get excited when the game ended. It was, however an experience and a good way to spend a lazy Sunday.

Hiking to the glacier of Santa Isabel in Manizales: €59. This tough hike included breakfast and lunch as well as pick up and drop off to our hostel. The cold weather and wind at high altitude made this one of the most difficult hikes I have done. It’s worth doing if you like a challenge, and should be followed by a visit to the hot springs (look out for promotions that include this).

Hike through Amazon Rainforest: €80. This was one of the highlights of our trip. Find out what it involved in this post.  
 

Transport

There is a very good bus network in Colombia with most cities being connected to one another with a direct route. With Colombia being so big, it’s always worth checking for flights on skyscanner as we found that some routes were the same price as a night bus for a fraction of the time, despite being bought last minute. The main airlines operating in Colombia are LAN and Viva Colombia.

Buses in Colombia generally felt safe, even though a lot of the ones we travelled in were “colectivos” or minibuses. When going to the main bus station, you will be approached by representatives from companies trying to sell you tickets. Always bargain with them, as you can usually knock about 5000 COP off the first price you’re offered. There are often a few companies going to the same place so look around and ask about Air Con, allocated seating, how long it will take to get to your destination, number of stops etc before you commit.

When travelling by bus from Colombia to Ecuador, the buses have a reputation for being highly unsafe for tourists, with robbery of electronics etc. being extremely common. If you must travel by night, sleep holding your rucksack and keep your passport and mobile phone in a travel belt around your waist. If you have a lot of valuables such as a camera or laptop, try and travel in the day, keeping your belongings on your lap at all times as the thieves are very experienced and have been known to rob people without them realising.

We travelled in short bursts towards Ecuador, stopping in small towns near the border to avoid travelling after dusk. This meant spending more time crossing into Ecuador, but we used the time to relax and see local sights such as The Santuary of Lajas, which involves going to Ipiales. We may have spent more time getting to our destination, but felt it was worth it due to the fact we’re carrying expensive electronic items.

Here are the routes we did with costs in Euros per person.  

Cartagena to Palomino (changing in Santa Marta) €20. We arranged this through our hostel: Mamallena. Most hostels arrange these minibuses.
Palomino to Cartagena €13.50 (using local transport and going via Baranquilla to save time).
Medellín to Manizales €12
Manizales to Bogota €20
Bogota to Cali €55. This was a flight bought a couple of days before travel and saved us around 15 hours. The price would have been only slightly less overland.

Cali to Popayan €5. We got this bus on the same day as our flight to Cali, as there were buses running frequently.
Bogota to Leticia return. €219. This was a flight that we bought a month earlier as it is cheaper to see the Amazon from Colombia as opposed to Brazil. The only way to get to the nearest town to the Amazon, Leticia, is by flight from Bogota.
Popayan to Pasto €8
Pasto to Ipiales €3
Ipiales to Tulcán (border with Ecuador) €1
Tulcán to Otavalo (Ecuador) €1.70 (3USD). Buses in Ecuador charge 1 USD an hour.

 

Money makes the world go round

The national currency is the Colombian Peso (COP). The exchange rate when we visited Colombia was 2,552 COP for 1 euro. The best way to calculate how much things cost on the go is to divide by 2,000 to get the approximate amount in US dollars; e.g.: 10,000 Colombian pesos are 5 USD. Simple!
 

So how much?!
Visas: €0 (See link at top of page to see if a Visa is necessary for your country).
Accommodation: €16 a night on average(for two people sharing) see more detailed breakdown and accommodation section above.
Food and drink: €11 a day (for two people) a mixture of eating out (sharing one main) and cooking in hostels.  
Transport: €100 per person in total during 25 days going from north to south- see specific routes above.