Bogota in August!
March 26, 2023 9:20 AM Subscribe
Please me all your travel trips for spending a week in Bogota in early August. I just booked a $991 flight for free thanks to a $1000 voucher, and I'm so excited!
Visiting Bogota has always been a dream and I've heard the art scene is amazing in addition to kind people and great food. I'd like any and all tips for places to stay, things to do, food to eat, museums to visit, souvenirs to purchase, etc. I also appreciate tips for logistics such as getting to and from the airport and staying safe. (I'm not very worried about safety but it's always good to be aware!) Any suggestions for nearby excursions would be appreciated too, although a chill week in this cool city is ideal. I know the weather is a bit chilly so I plan to dress warmly and in layers.
This will be my first time in Colombia but I am fluent in Spanish and have lived in southern South America. I have read this AskMeFi from 2019 and 2020 but know things can and do change. Also, if there's interest, I'd love to set up a meetup, too. Thank you so much in advance!
Visiting Bogota has always been a dream and I've heard the art scene is amazing in addition to kind people and great food. I'd like any and all tips for places to stay, things to do, food to eat, museums to visit, souvenirs to purchase, etc. I also appreciate tips for logistics such as getting to and from the airport and staying safe. (I'm not very worried about safety but it's always good to be aware!) Any suggestions for nearby excursions would be appreciated too, although a chill week in this cool city is ideal. I know the weather is a bit chilly so I plan to dress warmly and in layers.
This will be my first time in Colombia but I am fluent in Spanish and have lived in southern South America. I have read this AskMeFi from 2019 and 2020 but know things can and do change. Also, if there's interest, I'd love to set up a meetup, too. Thank you so much in advance!
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I loved it there. Bogota is a massive, very sophisticated city with tons of cool places to explore.
Year-round, the low is around 40F and the high around 68F. My uniform was a sweater, jeans and boots, with a light jacket as needed. The altitude can be punishing, so wear sunscreen, stay hydrated, take rest breaks and go easy on alcohol. I carried a small umbrella at all times, as rain can pop up out of nowhere.
Colombia is famous for gold, emeralds, and leather products. I have a leather jacket I bought in Bogota in 2002 that's still going strong, as well as some cool pre-Columbian style earrings from the Museo del Oro. I also bought some crafts, including pottery, in an artsy area called Usaquen.
Check out the Museo del Oro and the Botero Museum.
Eat a bowl of ajiaco, it's a hearty chicken soup.
You can buy a coffee ("tinto") pretty much anywhere you go - there's often a merchant walking around with a samovar of tinto strapped to his back, and he'll stop and dispense some for you. (Picture a baseball game vendor, but everywhere.) You can also drink aromaticos (herbal teas), they will help with altitude sickness. Fruit juices also tend to be fresh, cheap and delicious.
If you drink alcohol, do a shot of aguardiente.
I had to be wary of street scams such as "money inspectors" (con artists who would pretend to inspect your cash to see if it was counterfeit, then pocket it and hand you a receipt), being dosed with scopolamine (a drug that basically hypnotizes you, usually you got scoped by leaving a drink unattended), and bombings/kidnappings (though, again, this was a long time ago).
I lived near the Zona Rosa, which was an upscale, safe neighborhood with lots to do. It was an easy home base for getting around the city.
For excursions, we enjoyed Chivas bus outings (it's not "chill" but it's an absolute rowdy hoot) and going outside the city to ride horses for the day. There were often craft fairs as well, though those were more popular around Christmas.
posted by champers at 10:15 AM on March 26, 2023 [2 favorites]