Is Colombia Worth the Hype?

Colombia Travel Guide 101: Eat 10ft away from The Jesse Williams, have a fight with Colombian cops and a cab driver, have a salsa danceoff to Afrobeats,  eat at Anthony Bourdain’s favorite Ceviche spot, eat a footlong Colombian hot dog with 3 different meats, eat an arepa every single day, drink my body weight in fruit juices that I can possibly only get in Colombia, hike for 2 hours in the rain, swim in the Caribbean Sea, see some of the most beautiful African inspired art, buy (too) many handmade accessories, meet some of the most genuinely nice locals, do it all with 2 of the most intelligent and inspiring women, repeat.

Even though I didn’t find my glucose sponsor in Colombia, I could not have asked for a better place to start my Latin America exploration (still taking applications for my non-glucose sponsor). Within the week-long trip, we only went to Cartagena and Santa Marta and I am already booking my next trip because one week was too short. If you’re on the fence about going to Colombia, the only thing you should be scared about is your waistline. This is the the Colombia Travel Guide, in typical #banjointransit style:

Go To:

We picked Cartagena and Santa Marta, because we wanted the upbeat lifestyle of a city and the relaxed vibes of a chill vacation. Cartagena surpassed our expectation for a metropolitan city, because the combination of the old city and beach captured the “work hard in the day, play hard in the night” vibe.

Santa Marta, on the other hand, was chill to the max. However, you might want to skip Santa Marta if you are not a fan of overly tourist areas. Exhibit A: for every kinda Colombian restaurant, there were 6 fusion restaurants that had pasta as the main dish (FYI, pasta is not a Colombian food).

Don’t be like me and my girls. Try to spend as little time as you can on the plane, because there is so much to see, so many people to talk to, and so much to do in Colombia that you really don’t want to spend 10+ hours fighting with United Airlines over a overbooked flight in Panama while everyone else is telling you that Cartagena is only 40 minutes flight away (seriously, how.do.you.overbook.a.flight?). Insider Tip: most flights to Cartagena will stop in Panama or Bogota, so you can choose to add an extra destination to your trip. 

Get Around With:

Cabs or Buses. To get to other cities, you can take an air conditioned, free WiFi bus (unless you want to be a baller and get a private cab. In that case, please submit your application to be my non-glucose sponsor). To get around within the cities, you can take the public cabs. They are reasonably priced, as long as you bargain (seatbelt is optional).

Stay At:

Airbnbs. Both Cartagena and Santa Marta had a high police presence, so we weren’t overly worried (until we were ambushed in our own Airbnb, but that’s another story for another day). Personally, I prefer to stay in places that are closer to the action, so we stayed in the Parque Santander in Santa Marta and a 5 minute ride outside the city in Cartagena. For both places, bring some comfortable shoes because there is a lot of walking  if you want to experience the local scenery. For both Santa Marta and Cartagena, we stayed in Airbnbs, which operated like hotels: security, no in-house host, and very responsive hosts.

Turn Up At:

Nightlife in Santa Marta is very erm touristy (that’s the word). If you’re not about the “spend money to listen to a spotify playlist” lifestyle, you can still have a pretty good nightlife in Santa Marta at the many bars with all day happy hour.

Nightlife in Cartagena is for everyone and anyone. The street food vendors flood the streets at night for the foodies, juice stands are offering rum smoothies for everyone, the bars are blasting salsa and afrobeats for the hips that don’t lie, restaurants are open late, everyone is serving “sex on the playa” till who knows when, the graffiti looks better, Plaza de la Santisima Trinidad is packed with performers, and Jesse Williams is eating dinner at Demente for the Grey’s Anatomy fans and glucose sponsor recruits.

Splurge At:

If you’re coming in with USD (or similar), things are fairly affordable in Colombia. Graffiti is legal in Cartagena is the home of street art, so everyone really goes in since graffiti is legal so people really go in on the art. The only things I would splurge on are the handmade art/accessories from the local markets. If you’re not into either, I would highly recommend splurging on 2 meals.

Eat At #girlsvfood:

While I would recommend street food for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, supper, and everything in between, Cartagena really has some of the best seafood restaurants. Due to the fact that Cartagena is on the coast (think slavery- cultural diffusion), the food and culture in Cartagena is heavily influenced by African and Caribbean cuisine and seafood. You have to stop by these 3 restaurants to really appreciate the fusion of cultures in Cartagena cuisine: La Cevicheria (Anthony Bourdain’s recommendation), Restaurante La Mulata (if the menu only has 5 things on it, you’re in the right place. The coconut rice is a must). 

The Bad:

If you LOVE your crystal blue waters and white sands, then you will have to dial your enthusiasm down a couple of notches for Cartagena and Santa Marta. In my honest #banjointransit opinion, there is nothing special about the beaches in either place. It is just clean water and sand, the end.

Turn the Bad to Good:

Chances are that everyone and their extended family members will tell you to go to the Tayrona park to see the most blue waters on earth (issa lie- see the Trip Fail highlight on my Instagram for evidence). Besides the long walk (it is a known fact that I am the real life version of Margaret from Parent Trap, when it comes to hiking), you can make up for the blue waters by taking a boat back to the island. The ride is a 30-40 minute, adrenaline pumping ride that will bring you close to drowning but it is one of the most exciting things you’ll do in Colombia.

Solo or Group:

It’s not a secret that I am slightly biased towards solo trips, BUT my girls convinced me that some experiences can also be worthwhile with the right people. You can do Colombia alone, with or without knowing how to speak Spanish. The restaurants, tours, experience are very accommodating of big groups. In fact, everyone seemed to roll into everywhere with a crew.

For full disclosure, that seeing Jesse Williams without your girls telling you to close your mouth will not be the same as seeing him alone (did I already mention that we ran into Jesse Williams aka my husband in another life…twice?)

Book the trip, Get your Squad or Go Alone, and Live On A Banjo!