Bogotá Travel Tips & Suggestions

Comment by Jonas M. Huber

I spent a nice week in Bogota last July and I remember it as a nice and interesting city. Viva Bogota -- I'm going to come back as soon as possible.

Comment by Brondis

I recently visited Bogota and was so pleasantly surprised. The city is beautiful. It is so different than is described in the news -- my experience was nothing short of fantastic. The food is great, and the people are so courteous and friendly and helpful. I am Mexican and felt that the people treated me as their own. The view from Montserrat is gorgeous. I plan on visiting Cartagena next year. If you're a single guy, I recommend you visit Colombia -- they have the most beautiful women in the world. I shall return.

Comment by Anonymous

Bogota is a miracle. In a country full of war and corruption, you can find deep places of deep peace.

Comment by Blake

Bogota is a very nice city, very safe, and full of interesting people -- especially my girlfriend, which is the main reason that I went to visit her hometown. The nightclubs are fantastic, with a very beautiful, looking up for it crowd. It's very nice. I'm going back in a couple of months, but this time I will go out more and do more things. The first time I went, I was a little scared to get the most out of it. Locals told me that it can be dangerous for foreigners to catch taxis by themselves. But I look forward to going again, but I'm taking the attitude that you only live once this time. Viva Colombia!

Comment by Alain Michel

Bogota is today the most beautiful city in Latin America -- clean, cultural, cosmopolitan. I'm from France and know many countries in the world and let me tell you, it's difficult to find a city with such cultural richness, friendly and educated people, fantastic restaurants, gorgeous girls, amazing shopping centers, and parks. Don't be afraid of going to Bogota, it's safer than any other city in Latin America and it's definitely worth visiting.

Comment by Angelina

I´m living in Bogota and I´m very happy because the people here, the food, and everything is really good. And Bogota has a lot of interesting places where you can go and learn a lot about cultures and places. Bogota is the most beautiful city in the world.

Comment by patricia

Colombia is the best place in the world. Even though traffic does happen like in any other cities, Bogota has many cultural place that you can visit. It has many things to do every day so you will neve be bored when you go there.

Comment by Keith (Australia)

I recently returned from a trip around Latin America and without a doubt, Bogota was of the most beautiful and interesting cities I visited. I was really amazed of how modern and developed the city is. My idea of Bogota before my arrival was that it was a very dodgy and dangerous place, and yes, while Bogota does have many dodgy areas, is no different from any other city I have travelled around the world. I was amazed of how developed and modern this city is, specially the northern part of the city. Beautiful modern architecture and so many parks, restaurants, commercial centres, and museums. I visited many commercial centres, like Andino and Santa Barbara, and well, I have never see anything like that in all the countries I have visited so far. Not even in Sydney, Australia where I am from. Beautiful and modern architecture with a range of shops that are truly unique. I highly recommend the ‘Zona Rosa’ area in the northern part of the city. Also, La Candelaria, a beautiful colonial part of the city located in the centre close to all the main museums. My plans were to stay only three days in Bogota and ended up staying three weeks. So much to see. I also visited Villa de Leyva, a beautiful colonial town two and half hours from Bogota which I highly recommend. Bogota has many attractions worth seeing, such as the Botanical Gardens and Monserrate, which gives you the opportunity the see how big the city is. The cycle-lanes of Bogota are truly amazing, I have never seen anything so well planned anywhere else in the world. And believe me because I have travelled to ninety-three countries in the past fifteen years. I was travelling with a friend from England and we were able to cycle around many parts of the city. My friend had been to Bogota before, so it was easy to get around and it did make a difference in terms of what areas to visit. I do not recommend taking the public transport however, unless you take a taxi which you can hire for a full day or you can also take the Trasmilenio network. Very modern public buses which circulate on their own roads. Well sort of. Anyway, I fell in love with Bogota and its people, it is so sad that where I come from people have such a negative view of this country. And well you have to be careful like in any other big city around the world, I found Bogota to be very safe and I did not have any problems at all. The only thing I did not like was the airport, I think is too small and chaotic for such a big city, but they told me they have plans to build a new one. Well, from all the main cities I travelled in Latin America, Bogota was definitely the best. Beautiful, safe and modern. And the culture of this city is truly unbelievable. So do not get the wrong perception from the media. I felt more safe in Bogota that in cities like New York. So I highly recommend this beautiful city and I will certainly come back to this beautiful country in the near future.

Comment by ariel

What can I say? Colombia is just wonderful.

Comment by Mary

I recently just got back from Bogota, Colombia with family friends, and I'm only 14! So me and my mom went only to see what Colombia was like on the internet, and to our dissapointment all we got on almost every website was government warnings,, and that Colombia was the kidnapping capitol of the world. And how dangerous and how many kiddnapping there had been. My mom, was definately NOT going to let me go. How could she just let me go without my parents to a foreign, and may I add "dangerous" country?!?!? (and FYI: I have NEVER been out of the country before!). We also found out that there had been almot 3,000 kidnapping of americans 2 years ago!!! (and man, I was freaked out!). But last year there were only about 1,200. And this year (what, its been about 8 months into this year, right??) there have been NO kidnappings of Americans!! This year the crime rate in Colombia has gone far, far down. And I learned that Bogota is pretty safe. Well my parents cracked after talking to some people who had been there, and decided I could go! And beleive it or not, nothing went wrong there! I didnt get sick, I didnt have ANY bad expirence, and I did not see or hear of any kidnappings or accidents while I was there. If you be cautious and use common sense, you will be ABSOLUTELY fine!!! Try not to go outside of Bogota, and be very careful about the enviornment around you. Try not to go on public buses, and try to hire a taxi driver for your whole trip so when you want to go somewhere just call that driver. But also remember, I was with a family who knew Bogota, (they grew up there) so they knew how to get around and what to be careful of. Always know who is around you, and be careful of people who look suspicous to you. If you can try to get a safe guide around the city while your visiting. And yes, there ARE drugs and drug dealers there, but most of them are just trying to make a live, or feed there families or whatever. Do not get a bad impression on Bogota. It is a beautil city with many things to do and see. Try to find out as much info as you can on Bogota, whether its saftey or health issues, or just to find out what sites to see!! (I recommend the Museum of Gold, it's a beautiful and educational experience! plus: they have tours of the Museum in English!). And the best part of Bogota is its very cheap! Just remember to be careful and have fun! I did!!

Comment by Ken Petronella

Bogota is a wonderful place to visit, great food and the best people. I spent time at La Candelaria, a spanish stlyle neighborhood with good theaters and art galleries. My advice... dinner at Monserrate with a great view of the city, also rent a taxi driver for a whole day... cheaper, funny, and full of surprises.

Comment by Gus

In a recent business trip to South America from Scandinavia I had the opportunity of stop in Colombia for a while. Wonderful country and Bogota is a superb city, lovely weather and exceptional food. Also I was very surprised by the wealth of cultural activities. Cali, Pereira, Manizales, and Cartagena were also a breeze to know. I will come back in a moment to this country. (A notice of advice: The only city to avoid is Medellin. I understand it's a very dangerous place due to the drug gangs that pray mainly on tourists.)

Comment by Anonymous

I had three hours between Bogota and NYC flights (coming from Cartagena!). I jumped into a cab and spent 1 1/2 hours in the Museum of Gold... excellent use of time!

Comment by Olga Horn

Bogotá is one of the most beautiful cities you can see in Colombia. It has wonderful people, wonderful places to visit, very good restaurants with all kind of food, very good cultural institutions, museums such as the Gold Museum with a beautiful precolumbian gold collection, the National Museum, the Art Museum, the Modern Art Museum, La Quinta de Bolivar, Moserrate Mountain, theaters such as Colon, Jorge Eliecer Gaitan, Moderno, etc. The best Universities such as Los Andes, Javeriana, El Rosario, La Sabana, San Buenaventura, etc., and the most intellectual people in the country. Bogotá has wonderful sport centers such as Campín, El Salitre, Simón Bolívar, etc. The capital of Colombia has bycicle paths and a large plaza where sports competitions and cultural events are held. I could say more beautiful things about Bogotá and Colombia my country, but I think this is enough. Thanks. Gracias. Amo a Colombia!

Comment by Darlene

Bogota is terrible. Bad service, bad people, bad everything!! Just because it's the capital it gets good ratings but that place stinks. Medellin is a lot better than any other place in Colombia. Very friendly people and good, fun parks to go to to take the kids. Adults will enjoy it too.

Comment by Maria Velasquez

I love so much Colombia and Bogota it is a beatiful capital! I love it.

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