Your Ultimate Guide to Backpacking Colombia 🎒🇨🇴Essential Travel Tips + Destinations

[Music] Oh friends I hope that you're well welcome to an extensive guide on backpacking Columbia in this video I'm gonna be covering all the backpacker hotspots of the country most of which I travel to in my three months there at the start of 2020 but I will also be covering some spots I did not make it to there may be some destinations that I've missed in this video and if that is the case do please leave it as a recommendation in the comments so that anyone planning their trip to Columbia can take that into consideration as well but before we get started on destinations I have a few general tips to note about backpacking columbia so one it is a good idea to know at least a little bit of spanish before you arrive many people in colombia do not speak english i will be making a video on the basic phrases you need to know to look out for regardless however i recommend downloading the Google Translate app and downloading Spanish for use offline so even if you are in the middle of nowhere you can communicate with the locals number two the currency is Colombian pesos make sure you have downloaded the X Y Z app so that you can always figure out what the price is equivalent to in your local currency I will talk more about money and budgeting in Colombia in my big budget breakdown video coming soon number three Colombia was better than I was expecting when it came to card payments most of the nicer hostels accepted cards if you're booking a bus at the bus station you can usually pay with card however you will still find yourself needing cash on a daily basis in most restaurants street food if you're catching the bus just by hailing it taxi and you will find that many local vendors are extremely reluctant to give you any change so really try to break your big notes that the ATMs will give you as often as possible the supermarket is a good place to do this so you have the correct change as often as possible number four always have your passport somewhere safe and handy you will need it more often than you might think every time you check into a hostel often when you're booking a bus ticket or if you need to go to a doctor you will need your passport the best time to visit Colombia is probably between February and April because it's his dry season but not the Colombian holiday I was there from mid-december and all that was okay I did find it more difficult to be spontaneous and things would sell out I had to book things at least a few days in advance when it was December and early January number six queue Columbia go so slow I still don't know why there is just no efficiency perhaps this doesn't bother some people but as a Brit who is used to doing things quite promptly standing in a supermarket queue with only two people in front of you for half an hour is not what I normally allow time for so my lesson here is if you know you will be in a queue for something buying a ticket shopping in the supermarket allow more time than you think you might need number seven in the mainland generally you can drink the tap water but not always sometimes it's not advised and occasionally a hostel will have a filtered water station but most of the time they don't there is of course always bottled water that you can buy but I recommend if you want to reduce your plastic consumption having a filtering water system of your own I use the grey old geo press water bottle which was great I didn't get sick once number eight if you are getting a local SIM card which I recommend that you do I was recommended chloro as the network to go for I was generally very pleased I had signal at all the times I needed it and number nine I have a lot to say when it comes to your safety in Columbia I will be making an entire video on that so please get out your notepads or perhaps your google maps are ready to make some stars to start planning out your backpacking trip to Columbia alternatively I have personally created a digital map legend of everything that's going to be in this video and more that's available to purchase on backpacking bananas calm it's designed to use when you're in the country so you can see what recommendations are nearby if you click through you can see my notes on them there's links to videos there's links to website I would have killed for something like this before I went on my trip I hope you really enjoy using it and by purchasing it you'd be really helping me out by supporting this channel and allowing me to spend more time creating content like this to help backpackers like you travel to places that you may never have thought have been possible I also created a free PDF guide which is six realistic itineraries for backpacking Columbia just to give you an idea of where to get started and you can get that for free literally just by signing up to my newsletter and you'll find it in a welcome email if you would like to skip the video to a particular destination you can find the relevant timestamps in the description box below so let's start in Bogota the care facility of Colombia and located right in the heart of the country Bogota is an absolutely humongous City so where do you stay the top three place I recommend you look for accommodation is la candelaria Chapa narrow or park an event at let's talk a 93 la candelaria is probably the most popular with backpackers and is the downtown area of bogota there's loads of stuff to do and places to go out this is where I stayed it does have a reputation for being a bit sketchy in the night time however shepper narrow and Parque noventa Thoris or zona rosa also have lots of hostels and good restaurants and nightlife they are also considered to be safer districts as well I stayed in Selina hostel in the camper area like handle area which is one of the most beautiful hostels I've ever stayed I highly recommend it but it is on the pricier side Selina have many hostels across Colombia and Latin America all with great reputation so remember that as a name you can trust I also had great things about the cranky croc hostel in Bogota for it being super social I believe it's Australian owned I didn't have the chance to visit but it's definitely one that you can't consider Bogota is a Western city it's pretty simple to get around on buses and the trans millennia the trans millennia is a big bus which runs along the main route at faster speeds because they have their own road lane to get public transport you will need to get a 2 yaver card I think that's how you say it which works just like an oyster you can purchase it at any of the bus stations it costs 5000 pesos which is around one pound and then you can load up with as much money as you want one journey no matter how far you go cost two thousand four hundred pesos which is around fifty P so nice and affordable you can also get uber 'z which is very popular and very cheap personally I find this more reliable than just hailing a local taxi because obviously with uber you can check the number plate you can check the driver you can check his ratings Bogota is located in the mountains at 2600 meters it is one of the highest cities in the world and what that means for you is the weather is kind of unpredictable and not as warm as you'd expect from a tropical country I needed to wear a jumper the majority of the time I recommend always to bring a raincoat and some cream with you because it's not unlikely to see rain but when the Sun is out the Sun is strong as for things to do in Bogota there are a few things you can take a free walking tour to get your bearings or a cycling tour like I did which was fantastic I booked it via the hostel I also took a trip to this sort Cathedral which is a popular day trip that was recommended to me by many people and I but being honest after having done it I wouldn't have been but her if I hadn't have done it it's great if you're interested in history they're possibly the most popular tourist attraction in the city however is to go up the cable car to Montserrat I think this is definitely worth it the views are amazing at the top and it is half price if you go off-peak which is the middle of the day and then it's full price after 5:00 p.m. and the queues are very long at that time so just something to bear in mind if you don't have any particular reason to stay in Bogota I don't think you need to stay more than two days in the city I was in Bogota for ten days because I attended Spanish school for one week the Spanish school I went to is called we Institute and I could not have gone to a better school the teaching was phenomenal but what I really appreciated the most is the extracurricular activities that they organized so on Monday they organized a group lunch so we could all get to know our classmates outside of a class setting I did a free dance class one evening it was bachata and in the break time we would rehearse for a Christmas and tippity play which we performed on the Friday and we were taken to Ciudad Bolivar on Friday afternoon to visit the children learning English out there and got to explore a part of the city which I would never had visited myself so I highly recommend we Institute as a Spanish school no matter what your level they teach all the levels and you can pick on two week-long courses the more weeks you do the bigger discounts you get while I was in Spanish goal I also stayed with a local Colombian family this was organized by we Institute as well and I signed up to the classes they asked me would you like us to organize your home state I said yes please they gave me a few questions to fill out based on my preferences for the homestay and from those answers they gave me three or four different options to choose from almost slightly different prices but offering different things so I could pick the one I wanted so yeah it was a really nice system to organizing the homestay and you do pay a one-time fee to reinstitute for them arranging the homestay as well so it's more cost efficient for you if you stay longer in the homestay if that makes sense that was a lot on Bogota shall we move on moving down to the tatacoa desert somewhere I was a bit gutted to have missed actually it's located southwest of Bogota you have to get a bus to neighbor and then a taxi or some shared transport to the little town of Villa VA from there you can get a tuk-tuk into the desert or find a tour company in town so you can stay and villa but I believe it's recommended to find yourself some accommodation actually in the desert or you know really close so you can sleep under the crystal clear starry sky it sounds dreamy it really does next up we have Kali the third-largest city in Colombia famous for being the world capital of salsa dancing Cali is easy to get to you from all directions I got a night bus from Bogota which dropped me at the bus station and then I got a taxi to my accommodation if you have no interest in learning salsa Cali probably isn't going to be your favorite city let's pretend you do want to go there I stayed in el Viajero hostel which I highly recommend it's a super social hostel great for solo travelers it has a pool a bar it puts on events and it is also a salsa school and there are free group salsa lessons every evening and then you can also book on two privates I did a package of ten private lessons which cost me around 85 pounds but you could also purchase a package of five or just purchase individually learning to salsa here was one of my best experiences in Colombia even if you don't stay in el Viajero I recommend staying in the San Antonio pocket of the city it's got loads of hostels restaurants really cool street art is one of the safest parts of the city and you have everything close by el bien a lament day is my favorite restaurant in San Antonio it's entirely vegetarian they have great coffee great menu del del options and really affordable prices as well to get your bearings at the city it's a good idea to do the free walking tour which works on a tips basis had the street free tour was really good as well bike didn't do that one as for nightlife the best social style supposed to practice your skills are left over on a Monday and Wednesday and also el Rincon especi o 1060 was also a great fun rooftop party the cheaver buses are really popular in Cali which are the party buses I went on three which I'm not proud of other things to do in the city you can hype up to less Perez Cruces get a taxi up to Cristo Rey for some great views of the city or you can visit Parque del burro which is a beautiful little Park has loads of nice restaurants close by Kelly is not notorious for being the safest city do not walk the streets of Cali at night especially by yourself get a taxi I was in Cali over Christmas time where there was an annual festival happening called Feria de Cali so it was a fun time to be there if you're wanting to do a celsa course like I did I recommend staying at least a week in Cali to have a good amount of time to complete your lessons but if you just want to participate in the group lessons and have a small taster I think three or four-day is a nice amount of time to spend in Cali Popie an is a town located around three hours south of Kelley it can be a really good stopover if you're heading across land to Ecuador it's a beautifully preserved colonial town with gorgeous white buildings very picturesque it's a university town so filled with young people so has good cheap places to eat and go out nearby you also have San Agustin which is famous for its prehistoric UNESCO archaeological sites in Colombia next we're going to head over to the Pacific coast there are a couple of spots on Columbia's Pacific Coast that you can get to but I personally think the most accessible the biome a lagoon national park and it is beautiful not a whole lot of backpackers make it here but it is well worth it I stayed at Pacific oh hostel which was just brilliant great for solo travelers super easy to meet people they serve all meals at the hostel which you can purchase it's very rustic so be prepared to live proper basic for a few days they organized tours to the waterfalls and other amazing attractions in the park you can rent kayaks go surfing swim with plankton at night just by diving into the private ocean Inlet that belongs to the hostel from Cali it's about a three-hour mini bus ride to Buenaventura and then it's a 10-minute walk to the boat port where you can catch a speedboat to the National Park now you can either stay in Wan Chai Cove and there are a few accommodation options there or you can do what I did and stay in Pacifico hostel it is technically in the haunch echo area but it's extremely difficult to walk there from Quan choco I did it I do not advise it you're not supposed to walk I had to walk through a river with my leggings on if you are staying at Pacifica hostel you need to catch the by Ammar boat it's a bright yellow boat when you are in Buenaventura you need to ask them specifically to drop you at Pacifica the speedboat is cramped and bumpy so just prepare yourself for that and don't forget your bug spray I say three nights there and I think it was the perfect amount of time for me perhaps I could have stayed longer if I treated myself to a private room with ensuite but in the jungle Dom three nights is enough for me then I need civilization I don't recommend less time though because it is one of the waiters places on earth so you want to give yourself a few days just ensure you might get at least a little bit of Sun moving up to salento you want to get transport asking for our mania as this is the biggest bus station and then from there you can change and get a small bus two-cylinder which is one of my favorite spots in the country for sure super colorful Tower famous for being a big part of the coffee region and also the Gateway to cook hora Valley so the cocora valley is world-famous for having the tallest palm trees in the world and it is truly spectacular you just hop on a jeep from the town of salento and I highly recommend doing the longer hike which they say takes five hours it doesn't it took us 3.5 hours and we were stopping plenty as well the whole hike was just beautiful well worth it and very iconic Columbia as well make sure you bring plenty of water some protection and make sure your camera is charged as well like I said salento is also famous for the many coffee farms that are around you can do your research as to which one or ones you want to visit we went to Lhasa catchy as coffee farm which was the closest to salento we walk there in 40 minutes and that was well worth the visit super interesting to hear about how the coffee is made and you get unlimited coffee for you as well which is glorious you can play tera in Los Amigos near the Jeep station which is a famous Colombian games play with friends and beer in the evening highly recommend giving it a go I chose to stay in el Viajero hostel in salento because I enjoyed my experience so much in Cali I did not find the beds so comfy but it was still a great hostel for the social aspects there's a bar hangout areas lovely view and in town there's a cafe called hey-zeus mati which was my favorite place to get a coffee every morning I think spending three nights in salento is the perfect amount of time within my three days in salento I took a day trip to fill entia which is similar to salento but it's smaller and dare I say it even more colorful it's super cute and was well worth the visit there's a bunch of sights to see such as the wooden structure we also had to the double waterfall which was an absolute trek because we didn't know where we were going and I genuinely can't even explain to you now where it is one because the roads are not on Google Maps so it's impossible to describe it - I think it's nice to keep some of these places as hidden gems that not everyone knows about only the true adventurers will find them back up in Finland eeeh definitely grab some food at Hellena adentro getting Teufel and iya from salento could be easy if you get the return Jeep the Jeep was fully booked when we rocked up so we had to make an alternative route but getting a bus going in the direction of Herrera but getting off at Las Cruces junction and then trying to hail down another bus going in the direction of Velandia of course you could also get a taxi but that is a more expensive option moving on up to Hardeen now geographically you'd think it would make sense to head there straight from salento it's possible but a really long and complicated journey a more simple way a visiting Hardeen is to make a return journey from medicine there's a direct bus which takes two to four hours Hardeen is like the hiking Haven I strongly recommend downloading maps dot me to use in Hardeen this is how you can figure out getting to the super remote waterfalls the most popular waterfall is cave splendor which you probably won't have to yourself but it's still worth the visit because it's super amazing you can get a jeep which will drop you most of the way there or the whole way there this can be arranged easily in the town or you can hike there it's a long hike it takes around three hours one way the other hike that we did took us to way more remote waterfall which you will likely have to yourself start walking in the direction of cascada la escalera this one isn't too far so there'll be other people there but if you carry on walking for hours you reach the full of the dragon waiver de los squash a dose and the Angel of saltwater pool you do need some more tissues if you want to get to that very last one though because you have to walk through a stream that Rock copping doesn't quite manage to take you across there are a couple of different hospital options in Hardeen we stayed in lullo's hostel which was decent enough nothing to shout from the rooftops about though it wasn't a good location though if you can book somewhere that is close to the main square as that is where everything is happening and it's pretty lively all times of the day but especially in the evening Cafe coochies in the town square has the best coffee and our favorite restaurant in town was Labbadia de mie way below for some well priced quality meat options if you are not a veggie there is an amazing vegetarian restaurant no called revolución banana naira which is a little out of town but we always passed it at the beginning of our hikes so it would have brunch there and I highly recommend that meta-gene the city with the darkest history that has really turned itself around to become the most developed city in Colombia it's modern it's trendy it's the only city in Colombia to have a metro system Bogota is still working on this I honestly felt like I was in the u.s. most of the time in Medici it is most travelers favorite city in Colombia many digital nomads live here and I can totally see why the main place that backpacker stay in Medellin is El Poblado the center of El Poblado around Parque Yaris reminds me a lot of a bird in Bali there's loads of hostels beautiful cafes trendy shops around there I stayed in los patios which is just outside of named El Poblado but still a great location as it's really close to the metro and the big supermarket and it is the best rated hostel in South America it's really big it has two rooftop Bars a rooftop gym a bunch of co-working spaces at cafe the rooms are immaculate your bed gets made every day and sheets get changed free towel to use great Wi-Fi great atmosphere really easy to meet people it is pricey of course though for a hostel but right next door to los precios there is a hostel called Florentina which is just six years and is so much more affordable and it's cute quaint nice and more recommendations that I was given for hostels were Casa kiwi hostel the sugarcane hostel and purple monkey as a party hostel as for restaurant and cafe recommendations the cafe and los precios is great for coffee eham mia coffee was great for coffee and breaks it's Ozzie owned pizzeria Olivia has incredible pasta though a bit of a treat as it is expensive another area of metazine that is safe that you can stay in isla Ellis some great cafes and things around there is cheaper to stay in Laurie Ella's as well but it is a bit quieter and a bit more residential real City Tours is the best tour company in meadow Jean so I've heard you can do free walking tours with them to find your feet I also highly recommend doing a community tour and/or Pablo Escobar tour for the community teen tour I literally just dropped up at the San Xavier metro station and saw the sign for the zippy tour and booked on there and then the Metro in meta-gene is wonderful it's free to get the equivalent of the Oyster Card and when you top-up it's easiest just to tell them how many trips you want because every trip is the same price no matter how far you go you can use the card for the cable cars as well so if you're in meta-gene for a few days it might be nice just to start off with four trips yo quiero Quatro EDA is possible I can't remember how much one trip is but it's not expensive when I was in medicine you could use uber but they were in the process of banning it so I don't know whether or not it will still be available when you are there it's worth a try if not there is other equivalents such as beat DD Kappa Phi there are two main bus stations in medicine the south and the north one so if you're heading south or arriving from the south lo and behold it will be in and out of the South Station so salento Cali and the North Station will take you not the north station will also take you to Guate Bay which is arguably actually East but anyway it's two hours from the North bus terminal in Medellin and will cost fifteen thousand pesos one-way many people actually just do day trips to Questor Bay which is worth it but personally I think if you have the flexibility it's really nice to stay a couple of days you can hike Piedra day been y'all which is seven hundred steps takes around 20 minutes to climb and gives you the iconic view in guatape a it costs 20,000 pesos entrance and there are a few shops and toilets at the top as you can imagine it's pretty touristy you can get a tuk-tuk to the start point from the main town quads apey has the cutest most colorful streets to wander down and go shopping I stayed in Lakeview hostel which was recommended to me and it was okay I do think you should explore your options with hostels though because I reckon there are some others that may be better for your money there was no social vibe in the hostel that I stayed in so unless you've got some cool roomies I don't think it would be the easiest to make friends you can do water activities in guatape a I went paragliding which was awesome and you can also go on some hiking trails visit San Rafael there's loads to do San Hale is the adventure capital of Colombia it has the most popular whitewater rafting that you can do in the country on the Suarez River can go paragliding canyoning mountain biking we went rafting with exploradores colombiana who were fantastic I do recommend bringing water shoes if you have them as I was barefoot which was not ideal and I suggest perhaps leaving your GoPro at home we stayed in Nirvana which was great cheap has a nice pool nice staff probably would have had a good atmosphere if there were other backpackers there but for some reason it was pretty empty when we were it's on the river which is lovely it is a 10-minute walk out of town though so do bear that in mind wherever you stay though I recommend choosing somewhere with a pool because San Hill was very hot indeed for food I highly recommend a restaurant called gringo Mike's and know it sounds gamer keep all my card it was incredible service the food prices were decent too I got to Sand Hill by getting a night bus to Bucaramanga and then switch into another bus which took three hours to get to Sand Hill villa de leyva is a small town that unfortunately I did not get the chance to visit but it was highly recommended to me and some are super beautiful to go on hikes and just chill out for a few days moving up to the northern coast starting with the iconic car tahina the most touristy and expensive place in Colombia staying get some money for slightly cheaper hostels and still a good location we stayed in El Arsenal which was lovely nice pool and good free breakfast also La Antigua capsula is a great cheap hostel with triple bunk beds and also a good free breakfast other hostels that I was recommended were one day hostel life is good hostel you also have Celina viajero which are always nice too they're all in the same area I just recommend going with one that fits your budget and also that has a pool if you plan on spending more than one day in Cartagena because it is hot you can visit the old town which is beautiful and lots of really nice shops though they are expensive you can watch the sunset on the wall everyone talks about how safe Carta henna is but please do still look out for your valuables like you would anywhere else pick pocketers are always around and they are nifty be careful now I'm going to talk about is love roots which is an island hostel that I made an entire video on isla roots is one of the San Bernardo Islands there's a few remote hostels there you have the very popular casa en el agua which is quite literally a floating hostel it looks really cool but there's literally no escape that's why I chose is the roots which has its own small island where you can roam around play beach volleyball slackline and with a great natural swimming pool with a cocktail bar rooms are incredibly basic you can stay in a dorm or in the hammock room you can either bring food with you to the island but you can't cook there but you can sign up for the three meals a day provided the chris is included and then it's from 30,000 each for lunch and dinner you can also pick up snacks at the local island of is Lotte is live roots runs all kinds of Tours which you can sign up for like the trips at is Lotte the most densely populated small island in the world there's the snorkel tour sub winging wakeboarding nighttime plankton visiting the Big Island of tin span there's loads the only downside is getting there is pretty expensive from Cartagena it costs a hundred thousand peso one way for an uncomfortably full speed boat the only company that would drop you director Isla routes is tranq it easy you can put that in Carter haina and I believe that boat company is actually owned by Casa and el agua there is no other easy way of getting to the island but there is a slightly cheaper way of getting back to the mainland and that is by heading directly to Rincon we had to get a small boat toot in Sipan and then a speedboat to Rincon Rincon is a fishing beach town full of locals and it's super chill do note though there are no ATMs no big supermarkets if you want to get there from the mainland you must get a bus to San Onofre and then a motor taxi will bring you to ring con and that's the same way that you get out of town as well the motor taxi takes around 30 minutes and costs 10,000 one-way which is pretty good it's nice to spend a couple of nights in rincón especially if you are traveling with san bernardo islands if you walk to the far left there's a super isolated beach calm warm ocean perfect for swimming and just chilling out and there are a few small hostels in the town as well now if we travel east along the coast around three to four hours from Cartagena we reach Santa Marta there is a big city called Barranquilla along the way but unless you are there for the annual festival not many backpackers bother stopping in Barranquilla but anyway back to santa marta in this city itself there isn't anything to do and it's not that nice but santa marta acts as a hub to so many amazing things that you can do near and around the city Santa Marta is very hot so you want to stay somewhere with a pool in an ideal world I stayed in an air B&B to get work done for the week but I've heard great things from both dreamer hostel & masaya hostel if you want a private room however and can't be bothered to be social I highly recommend hotel Sierra Nevada there's no poor but the prices are cheap the free breakfast is great below K is great the staff is super friendly and overall I thought it was really good value for money it's actually pretty close to the migration office as well so I extended my tourist visa in Santa Marta which I do actually recommend as a good City to do that if you want to do the same because there was virtually no queues I went to a Caro cafe every day for a good barista coffee and good Wi-Fi is located near parque de los novios which is basically the best spot for all the good restaurants one night we actually splashed out and treated ourselves to a really nice meal in a zoo and it was phenomenal if Palomino is your next stop there is a specific bus stop in the center of the city that takes you there you don't need to go to the main bus station so do make a note of that place on your map if you are coming to or from the airport in Santa Marta and you need a hotel close to the airport I stayed in one which was just two kilometers away called hotel central it's really really basic but you can get a private room with aircon and ensuite for thirty thousand pesos which is about six pounds which is the cheapest private room I had in the whole of Colombia somewhere I didn't manage to get to but definitely would have gone if the pandemic didn't send me home is linka linka is a short bus ride from santa marta it's a village in the mountains where you have some epic hostels not all of them are in the town of Minka so make sure you make a note of exactly where your hostel is but they all have epic views and are just great spots to relax you can do jungle hikes - waterfalls and things like this and another thing in this region that I didn't have time for is the lost city trek or ciudad perdida this is an expensive activity believe it's a fixed price as well across all the different tour companies and it costs around 300 to 400 pounds but it's super popular and a very touristy thing to do it takes four to five days I believe you sleep in the jungle very sweaty hike but apparently worth it and next along the coast somewhere that I did manage to get to is Tyrone international Park it is a private part and it's closed every february for maintenance so do check that it is open when you are wanting to visit it is huge and there are two entrances but I'm going to tell you about the most popular entrance because that's the one I know which is the say no entrance they have a limit to how many people can go in the park each day so I recommend in order to have the best chance possible of getting in that you arrived early from when it opens in the morning entrance into the park is 53,000 pesos when I was there no matter how long you choose to spend in the park check the website to see if you can book your tickets in advance when I went you couldn't because they had only just opened under new ownership but that could change by the time that you go I recommend staying at the journey hostel before and/or after your visit as it's just two kilometers walk from the entrance and is also just stunning coming from Santa Marta takes around one hour it also takes around one hour from Palomino so some people just do a day trip but I recommend staying at least one night in the part to get the full experience the most popular area to stay in the park is Cabo del San Juan this is where the iconic beach in Colombia is you may have seen pictures of it before the accommodation is either camping bring your own tent or rent one or you can stay in a hammock on the beach the cheapest hammock costs forty thousand pesos so it's expensive for a hammock and basic facilities but it's worth it when you consider the amazing location that you're in they do have restaurants out there they are not the cheapest but there are some reasonable options like rice and vegetables for eighteen thousand pesos in the daytime you have a sandwich seller on the beach where you can get hot sandwiches from 7,000 pesos which is a great option for lunch there is a little tienda where you can buy toilet roll water and basic necessities for extortionate prices they do also have coffee and sugar but not milk so if you want that bring your own from outside the park moving just eight kilometers along the coast to a region I like to refer to as Castilla Beach it's not actually called this though I don't even think it really has a name but anyway the bus drops you on the side of the main road and there are motor taxis waiting who can take you down to your hostel which costs just 3,000 pesos there are three main hostels all within a five-minute walk along the beach you have Castillo Beach hostel which is where I stayed the pool is incredible it is definitely the fanciest but also the most strict which is not necessarily the most fun lebra's tranquila is in the middle and i think that one has the best food and las that among us is the cheapest and I think had the best nightlife I reckon this one is the best vibe to meet people though all three are pretty social the area is just a really chill place to come and relax and party for a few days you can surf to but the waves looked a little bit hectic for me there's no ATMs or shops close by so make sure you have come prepared and just a few kilometers down the coast there is a hostel called El Rio which is really popular I didn't go but I imagine it's very fun many people recommended this one to me it's very secluded and moving further along the coast to Palomino the dusty beach town which has increased tenfold in popularity over the past few years it reminded me a little bit of port barton in the philippines if you walk west on the beach for about 10 to 15 minutes you reach the mouth of the river and this is the best place to watch the sunset the main thing to do in Palomino is the tubing this is really nice really relaxing bring your waterproof bag a few beers and go with some friends you've made it costs forty thousand pesos I stayed in caso del Pavo rial which was stunning I highly recommend this it's actually more of a hotel than a hostel as there are only two dorm rooms but I still managed to make some friends it's a very relaxed vibe and it has the best free hostel breakfast that I have ever had if you want somewhere cheaper and more party and backpacker like I can recommend you cowabunga I've heard it's a good time there for dinner or lunch Turco lan dia is a really popular pizza place and in the evenings everyone goes to Cafe Maria mulatta for live music and drinks etc apparently a rapist Sheva race does the best a rapist - I hate a rapist but they are big in Colombia so perhaps you will like them better than I did and the final destination that I'm gonna be talking about in this guide is the desert of La Guajira which is one of the least travel parts of the country but it was a great adventure so to get there you want to start off in the city of Rio wotcha which is about a further hour down the coast from Palomino I stayed in Laguna cellar by FSL in Rioja which I highly recommend it was really cheap great dorms friendly staff free breakfast a pool the only problem is that the kitchen was a bit but they serve food and food as cheap in Rio actually anyway so you don't need to cook anyway I recommend a cafe called I wanna for coffee and the restaurant opposite that Cafe serves a great menu del deer for 8,000 pesos now as for getting to the desert people will try to sell you tours in Rio etcher and you can of course do that but if you don't want to do a tour from Rio watcher this is what you need to do first of all you need to get a shared car to you buy BIA the cars go from here honestly just rock up at the side of the road and you'll be offered a lift by various people I'm not even joking don't pay more than 20,000 pesos for the left 2 euro beer the journey takes around 90 minutes or so in your area there are many jeep services to take you to cabo de la vela and put took a genus etc we ended up signing up to a tour from here because the deal was really good the company is called who your tours the price was two hundred and twenty thousand pesos which is about forty five pounds and that's for Jeep - cabo de la vela accommodation and cabidela Bella and Jeep tour around the area then Jeep to Punta kushina's the accommodation is hammocks on the beach you need to make sure you have stocked up on water toilet roll and warm clothes for the night where we stayed we're able to provide us with blankets when we ask for them but I think you need to prepare as if this was not available Cabo de la vela is stunning the water is so calm and peaceful it's a really basic way of life you will be bombarded with locals trying to sell you bracelets and bags however you can't escape this this is something that I really struggle with because they rely on tourists like us for them to live but you can't buy something off everyone especially because they're all selling the same stuff and I didn't even bring any extra cash with me let alone having the space to bring ten colourful bags home with me you can buy meals in the accommodation and restaurants lunch and dinner where about 15,000 pesos so it's still pretty affordable they do serve breakfast too but I had brought fruit from Reata and didn't need it they also have coffee and sugar but no milk same like in tayrona national park so if you want milk make sure that you bring that with you from rio HR cabidela Vella is actually world-famous for being an amazing kite surfing spot I would actually love to go back there one day and do a course anyway you do a tour of the Cabaret area and then leave for Punta kushina's at 5 a.m. the next day or unless you want to stay another day in cabo de la vela like we did it takes around 3 to 4 hours in the Jeep to get to Punta kushina's you must pay an extra twenty thousand for a two Joro hammock in Punta kushina's because the hostel is not owned by who your tours but it is super comfy and warm they provide a blanket and the showers and toilets are much nicer than in Cabo you can purchase all meals there and you do a jeep tour around Punta kushina's to the sand dunes beaches and the most northern point in South America expect the car to either break down or just get stuck in the sand this was the biggest disappointment of Hugh yard tours for us their lack of organization and common sense like we broke down several times running out of gas mostly why they didn't just bring more to spare with them is absolutely beyond me anyway the tour drops you back in your beer after one night in Punta kushina's and you must get a shared car back to Rio watcher and that is that is my complete guide to backpacking Colombia thanks so much if you're still watching I really hope that this was useful for you like I mentioned at the start I have created a digital map legend with every single thing I've mentioned in this video and more there is essential bits of info in there that you won't find anywhere else on the Internet and that is available to purchase on backpacking bananas calm and for a limited time you can get my six realistic itineraries guide to Colombia for free when you sign up to the backpack in bananas comm newsletter so don't miss out I hope you have a wonderful time back back in Colombia and I will see you in the next video [Music]

Channel: Backpacking Bananas

Views: 219,488

Keywords: backpacking bananas, gap year ideas, gap year travel, backpacking, travel tips, travel guide, budget travel, travel advice, trip tips, backpacking solo, solo female travel, backpacking colombia, colombia guide, how to travel colombia, how to backpack colombia, things to do in colombia, where to go in colombia, colombia activities, colombia hostels, ultimate guide to backpacking colombia, colombia recommendations, colombia travel guide

Id: JTKWH2meXs0

Length: 37min 23sec (2243 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 26 2020