Colombia Budget Travel Guide (Updated 2022)

Colombia Travel Guide: Money-Saving Tips

Colombia is generally an inexpensive destination to visit. Accommodation is cheap unless you are staying at major hotel chains. There are a ton of markets with cheap food, local attractions are affordable, and buses are cheap. But if you want to save even more, here are some extra ways to save money in Colombia:

Pack a water bottle – The tap water here is generally safe to drink so bring a water bottle with you to avoid buying single-use plastic. My preferred bottle is LifeStraw, which has built-in filters to ensure your water is always clean and safe.

Eat like the locals – It’s easy to eat on a budget here if you stick to local Colombian food. Street food is super cheap, allowing you to fill up on a budget. Skip the fancy restaurants and Western food.

Avoid drinking cocktails – Colombia has a lot of awesome cocktail bars now — especially in Medellín — but these drinks are expensive, usually costing around 20,000 COP (sometimes up to 30,000 COP). If you’re on a budget, skip the cocktails and stick to beer.

Cook your food – While local food is really cheap, you can also save some money by grocery shopping. It’s not as glamorous but shopping for some of your meals will help you cut costs so you can afford to eat out more here and there.

Avoid the hostels on the Caribbean coast – The hostels on the Caribbean coast were pretty lackluster. They were expensive and didn’t have great facilities, especially the bigger “resort” ones in beachside towns like Palomino. Instead, you can find comparatively cheap budget hotels on Booking.com for less than a private room in a hostel (and only slightly more than a dorm bed).

Avoid “Gringolands” – Everything where the gringos cluster are is going to be double its normal price. Avoid staying in areas with lots of tourists and expats (like Poblado in Medellín, Cartagena’s Old Town, or Park 93 in Bogotá) since you’ll end up paying more for everything.

Stay with a local – Couchsurfing connects you with locals who not only give you a free place to stay but can share their insider tips and advice. It’s the best way to save money and connect with a local.

Fly Viva Air – If you’re planning to fly around Colombia, the best deals are on Viva Air. It has the cheapest fares in the country (though it flies to the fewest places). It’s best to book a few weeks in advance. (LATAM and Avianca, the two major carriers, also have deals sometimes so check their websites too.)

Use miles and points – Get to Colombia by using your miles to fly Avianca (which is part of Star Alliance). There are also a lot of hotel chains in Colombia where you can use points too. If you have miles and/or points, you can burn through a lot of them in Colombia — and the redemption rates are excellent! And if you want to learn how to start earning miles for free travel, this post can show you how to get started!

Avoid the airline surcharge – Non-Colombians are charged higher airfare prices than locals. If you look at the non-local version of the website, you won’t see the super saver cheap fares. To get around this, load up the local Spanish versions of an airlines’ website. Then use your browser extension to translate the pages and book away! This gives you the lower, Colombian prices, and no one will challenge you at check-in about your fare.

Take Uber – Uber is the cheapest way to get around Bogotá, Cali, and Medellín. That said, Uber is actually illegal so don’t sit in the back seat or you might get stopped. I also like to tip the Uber drivers here, since the fares are so cheap and they are taking a risk. But all the drivers I met did this out of necessity — they couldn’t pay their bills if it weren’t for Uber.

Haggle with taxi drivers – There are no meters in Colombia. While prices from the airports are regulated and non-negotiable, everything else is just a matter of your bargaining skills. If you’re going to take taxis, haggle before you get in the car.

Take free walking tours – Most major and medium-sized cities in Colombia have free walking tours. They are a good way to see the city on a budget and connect with a guide who can answer all your questions. My favorites include Free Walking Tour Cartagena, Free Walking Tour Bogotá, and Real City Tours Medellín.