Comments

BrendanCorrigan

For more info on Bogotá and Colombia in general, check out http://blogs.eltiempo.com/wrong-way-corrigan/ and www.wwcorrigan.blogspot.com.

Andresd7

When visiting Bogota, DO NOT stay in La Candelaria where most hostals are located. I being Colombian find it VERY IRONIC that most foreigners stay in La Candelaria.There are many nice neighborhoods to stay in that feel a lot safer at night. DO NOT stay in the center or South of the city, The center/La Candelaria is an interesting area to visit during the day, cultural events, bohemian, etc. I spend a lot of time there for events but it gets dodgy/sketchy late at night. At night, many junkies from the crime pockets start wandering into the center of the city. I often see clean-looking Colombians rushing to get out of La Candelaria late at night to avoid getting robbed while foreigners who stick-out like sore thumbs are staying there. What the hell!? As I mentioned, there are many nice neighborhoods to stay in. Try Airbnb, etc. Colombians are extremely friendly and will give you tips about places to visit, there are also beautiful suburban/country-side areas outside of Bogota that many Bogota-residents frequent. Go to language exchange groups and get info from locals, but don´t stay in La Candelaria. I am a local and I´m telling you this with all honesty, I´m just trying to save some face and doing what I can so that people visitng my country enjoy it, so stop staying in the dodgiest areas of the city you crazy tourists! Also, my sister and I have been showing foreigners around the city and taking them to gorgeous natural areas and smaller towns outside of the city as a hobby. I lived in the United States but returned to Colombia recently, it is definitely a country worth visiting, there are awesome places to see, it is a very diverse country and it is a shame that many people who come visit miss-out on many incredible locations and events just due to lack of information. If you would like any tips on your visit to Colombia, I´ll be glad to offer my feedback: [email protected] My name is Andres Duran

Residente

Regarding opening a bank account in Colombia: My experience after arriving last year in Cali was a surprise. Having a temporary residence (cedula de extrajeria) I was albe to open a savings account after residing three months, but only found one bank that would do this, Falabella. The others I went to, maybe a half dozen, required six months residence. They would not open a checking account unless I had a permanent residency (which requires three years as a temporary resident). Forget acquiring a credit card until permant residency is established. I have been using my US credit cards with rarely a problem.