Expert: Juan Carlos Valencia - 3/23/2007

Question
Hey Juan,
I'm planning to vacation in Colombia with my girlfriend this summer for about
3 weeks starting in mid-May. I don't really have a plan, just want to meet
people and experience Colombia first hand. I'll be arriving in Bogata and
venturing West, stopping in Pereira, Ibagué, Cali, and going as far south as
San Agustín. I would really like to visit the Pacific coast there, but apart from
Buenaventura (which I hear is pretty dangerous) I'm not sure where I could
visit along the West coast. Is Buenaventura too dangerous for visitors? If so,
where along the Pacific would be the safest place to visit?

Answer
Hey Scott,

I´m glad that you are planning a vacation in Colombia. The journey you`ve conceived sounds great. You will be travelling a bit by land. Please be careful while doing it. Avoid travelling at night, try to use buses or cars mainly on the weekends when a lot of locals are also travelling and police and army troops are safeguarding the main roads.

Violence and guerrilla activity are not the threat they were early this decade but sometimes there are some outbursts in remote areas, especially at night.

San Agustin used to be a dangerous area but I´ve heard that it´s safe now and that there are new, small hotels springing up in the area, some of them run by europeans and even a few americans. There are plenty of things to do there: horseback riding, hiking, etc. Of course, the main attraction is the archeological park with some of the most stunning indian sculptures to be seen in Colombia. The weather in most of the places that you mention is warm or even hot. Bogota, on the other hand is fairly cool. Cool enough to bring sweaters or jackets and use them in daytime.

Buenaventura is very dangerous now. If you insist on going there, I would tell you that the road is gorgeous, going through mountains and jungles, with clear water rivers and strong smells coming out of the forests. But the road is dangerous because of avalanches (your trip is at the end of the rainy season) and scattered guerrilla activity. There are not many things to do or see in Buenaventura itself. It`s a port with high levels of unemployment, poverty and crime. But from there, you could take a short, cheap and safe boat trip to nearby destinations like Juanchaco. You may even take a ship and go to distant Gorgona island (this is a top scuba diving destination in Colombia). Be aware that you may catch yellow fever in this area... (My father did during a fishing trip)

You may choose a different destination on the pacific: Travel to Medellin and from there, catch a small plane that takes you to either Bahia Solano or Nuqui. These are small fishing towns with gorgeous grey-sand beaches, jungle hiking trips, indian communities, whale spotting trips and amazing natural parks in the rain-forest.

Accomodations there are very basic. Do not expect five-star hotels. This is a back-packer eco-friendly destination.

Let me know if I can provide more tips.

Saludos

JC