Day 1: Lloret de Mar - Barcelona Airport - Flight to Bogotá Colombia
With the flight to Bogotá Colombia It is the thought with which we started today and with which those butterflies begin to fly in the stomach that we usually enjoy when a trip begins, and especially in this case, since finally the trip to Colombia begins in 46 days , one of the countries that we most wanted to know and which we will finally reach today, after a flight of just over 10 hours.
As we explain on the route through Colombia for free, in this case we have chosen to buy a flight to Bogotá (Colombia) Direct from Barcelona with Avianca, something that allows us to make this trip in a much more relaxed way and with perfect schedules to fight the jetlag, something we have to confess, we are looking for more and more.
In this case, our flight from Barcelona to Bogotá leaves at 4:10 p.m., so we take the morning to finish some work and with relative tranquility have breakfast and finish organizing the luggage for after a later breakfast than usual , take the car and make way to the airport of Prat, where we arrive at 12:30 in the morning.
As usual we leave the car in the Aena Parking, in this case the Long Distance and after the transfer to the airport we go directly to the check-in desks where we leave our luggage and pass the security checks.
At this point it is time to kill the remaining hours until flight to Bogotá with some reading until punctual, at 3:15 p.m. the boarding of the flight to Colombia begins. The truth is that we found a plane much better than we expected, it is the first time we flew with Avianca, and we enjoyed an 11-hour flight that, being diurnal, we spent reviewing the itinerary of the trip to Colombia and watching some series and movies that we always leave pending for flights.
The landing of the flight to Bogotá is at 20: 40h, a perfect time to fight the jetlag (we have 6 hours of difference with Spain) and as soon as we leave the plane we go directly to pass the immigration and security controls, which by the way We found that they are quite slow for having coincided with several flights, something that makes us delay almost an hour.
Flight to Bogotá Colombia
Visa for Colombia
If you have Spanish nationality, you can visit Colombia for tourist purposes, for a maximum of 90 days without a visa. In case your trip is for work or studies, it is necessary to obtain a previous visa.
In case you want or need to extend your stay beyond 90 days, you can request it while being in the country, paying a fee, at Colombia Migration or before at the Colombian Consulate in Spain.
Remember that before buying the flight to Bogotá or any other city in Colombia, it is important to check the requirements and conditions of entry on the Migration Colombia website.
After passing the controls we go straight to the baggage collection and take advantage, after the flight to Bogotá, to get money at one of the ATMs, taking into account that they only allow us to take out 600000COP, which is the maximum that most of banks, except for the Agrarian Bank, which allows you to withdraw 780000COP, but from which we did not find a cashier at the airport.
Make money in Colombia without paying commissions
Based on the experience of the trips we have made, in Colombia we have also used the N26 card to pay in shops, accommodation and transport, combining it with the Revolut card and the Bnext card, to withdraw money, with which all commissions are returned and also with the latter, you will receive 10 euros if you register from this link.
We leave you an article about the best cards to travel without paying commissions in which we talk about this topic with all the details.
Keep in mind that all 3 cards are free and you won't have to pay commissions with them.
Something to keep in mind when get money in Colombia is that ATMs have a limit amount on each transaction:
- Bogotá Bank 600000COP (+ -162 euros)
- Banco Colombia 600000COP (+ -162 euros)
- BBVA 300000COP (+ -80 euros)
- Agrarian Bank 780000COP (+ -210 euros)
Anyway, in all you can get several times in a row, up to 3 times, the maximum amount allowed.
Make money in Colombia without paying commissions
With all the procedures already done after the flight to Bogotá and not seeing any Claro or Movistar office, to buy the SIM cards, we decided to leave this for tomorrow and we go straight to the Departures Terminal where a driver is waiting for us it will take the Grace Hotel, our accommodation in Bogotá, in less than 20 minutes, the next nights.
Despite this, we take this post to explain how the internet works and the purchase of SIM cards in Colombia, so you have the complete information on this first day.
Internet in Colombia
If you want to have internet in Colombia, you must buy a SIM card to be able to put on your phone, provided it is free. The best known and recommended companies are Claro and Movistar, the first one having the best coverage in the country and also better plans.
In our case we opted for Claro, since in addition to offering more coverage, they have packages with more Gb of data and prices are more adjusted in the latter. In the first purchase we opted for a 2Gb card for 40000COP for 30 days.
After the experience and if you are clear that you will have to use more data and depending on the duration of your trip, it may be more advisable to buy a 2Gb card for 20000COP, but for 15 days.
In any case, you can recharge them with different data packages in one of the many Claro stores in any city or town in Colombia. For this you only have to indicate the phone number and say the package you want to buy.
Taking into account that all plans have very little data, if you want them to last you the most, it is important to use the Wi-Fi of hotels, museums and restaurants to make the most of data packages.
That said, we finally had to make several refills and buy a couple of cards, since we were more than 30 days and in Filandia it was the only place where we found Claro 4Gb cards, with unlimited minutes and SMS, for 30000COP for 30 days and 20000COP for 15 days.
Claro data plans
Movistar data plans
Wifi in Colombia
As we said before, if you want your data package to last as long as possible, it is important to use the Wi-Fi available in hotels, museums and restaurants. In general, we have not found a very high quality Wi-Fi throughout the entire trip, but in all places along the route, we have always had a connection to work.
Even in some cities, you find free Wi-Fi access points, which you can connect to and usually have good speed.
Buy prepaid SIM card from your place of origin
Another option is to choose to buy one SIM card being in Spain, with which you will have internet from the moment you land, saving you all the time of the negotiations and making the whole process to have internet in Colombia much more comfortable, fast and easy.
These cards are for 15 days and have 6GB of data at unlimited 4G and 2G speed. They are very easy to use and use the Movistar / Claro network, the main mobile operators in Colombia. To us, Holafly sent 3 cards for us to try and the truth is that we were great throughout the trip and Roger spent 46 days with these 3 cards without using any extra.
In this case you only have to buy it through this link and they will send it to you at home in two working days.
Bogota Airport
How to get from Bogotá airport to downtown
The Bogota airport, known as "El Dorado Luis Carlos Galán Sarmiento" or "El Dorado", is the most important in the country and is 15 kilometers from the city. The airport has two terminals, although if your flight to Bogotá is international you will arrive at T1, since T2 is used for domestic flights. Keep in mind that some companies, such as Avianca, also use the T1 for internal flights.
In case you have to move from one terminal to another you can do it with the satellite bus Free, which has stops at both terminals and between 5 in the morning and 11 at night passes every 15-20 minutes.
We explain the options you have to go from the airport to Bogotá:
Transmilenio bus
This bus network has the K86 line that connects the airport with Bogotá. You have to take into account that in order to use it you will have to purchase the Tullave card, which you can buy at the same bus stop and recharge it right there and these usually go quite full, so if you carry large luggage, it may not be the Better option.
Exit: Terminal 1, floor 1, exit 8 * Review next point
Payment method: Tullave card.
Price: 5000COP (card) + 2400COP (route to center)
Hours: Monday to Friday 04:30 am - 22:45 pm / Saturday 06am - 22:45 pm / Sundays and holidays 06am - 21:45 pm
Feeder
This free bus is the one that will bring you from the airport to the first stop of the Transmilenio bus where you must take the K86 line to the destination of Bogotá you want. It is advisable to ask the driver at what stop you should get off indicating the neighborhood or the street where you have your accommodation.
For La Candelaria which is one of the best known neighborhoods, for example, you must get off at the stop "Universities".
Exit: Terminal 1, floor 1, exit 6.
Means of payment and price: Free to the El Dorado Transmilenio Portal.
Hours: Monday to Saturday 05am - 22:45 pm / Sundays and holidays 06am - 21:45 pm
Urban buses
Like Transmilenio, there are also other types of buses (buses, buses and buses) that make the route from the airport to Bogotá.
For the difference in price, Transmilenio is better, if it stops near your accommodation.
Exit: Terminal 1, floor 1, exit 7.
Payment method: Tullave Card.
Price: 5000COP (card) + 2200COP (route to center)
Hours: Monday to Saturday 04am - 23pm / Sundays and holidays 05am - 22pm
Urban buses to other locations
There are other types of buses (buses, buses and buses) that make the routes from El Dorado airport to towns near Bogotá.
Exit: Terminal 1, floor 1, exit 9
Destinations: routes to different locations in Bogotá.
Payment method: cash.
Cab
This authorized service is carried out through the Imperial Taxi company, with 1400 vehicles and they are the only ones authorized to pick up passengers, to guarantee safety. The price varies depending on the destination, but the center is usually about 40000COP. Remember that the airport has a surcharge of 4400COP.
Private transfer
This is the most comfortable option, especially if you travel several people or your flight arrives at night or outside more conventional hours. If you choose this option, a driver will be waiting for you at the Departures Terminal, with a cartel with your name, to take you directly to your accommodation.
This option is what we chose as we arrived late at night and we preferred to go comfortable and safe in this first transfer after the flight to Bogotá.
You can book here private transportation in Colombia.
After 20 minutes we arrive at The Grace Hotel, where we check in without entertaining ourselves and after discovering an incredibly comfortable and spacious apartment, we fall like children after the flight to Bogotá, dreaming of tomorrow and start discovering this city that we are safe, It will be an incredible gateway to Colombia.
Day 2: Bogotá in one day: the best route
