Colombia is a developing up and coming country in terms of business, culture and tourism. In 2017 Colombia was featured in a some travel publications as an ideal destination for travel in 2017, including; Lonely Planet and Travel and Leisure. While many people and companies encourage tourists to visit the country, many still don’t know much about how to travel around the country or where to visit. Transportation in Colombia has dramatically improved over the last 10 years with new routes, companies and transportation links being created monthly.
15 years ago, it was unsafe to leave Colombia’s big cites and drive into the countryside or between cities. Today this has dramatically changed with new links and transportation in Colombia, which has made it easy, cheap and accessible for everyone to move around the country. Transportation in Colombia within the big cities has meant that the city populations can easily move around from home to job without any major problems. Transportation in Colombia by air has slowly become more popular with airport improvements and increased flight numbers throughout Colombia and to the rest of the world. Travelling by car or bus within the country has become more accessible for everyone, with more people choosing driving over flying to experience the countries beautiful surroundings.
Transportation in Colombia – Flying
Colombia’s increase in tourism has led to an increase in airline demand, with many US and European airlines choosing to fly direct to Colombia’s big cites. In 2017 alone KLM has created a direct Bogotá/ Cartagena to Amsterdam flight. Avianca has created direct Bogotá to Boston flights along with its existing six other direct flights to various US cites, including; Miami, New York and LA. Now tourists can fly from Madrid, London, Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfurt and Barcelona direct to Colombia.
Avianca, LATAM and Viva Colombia are Colombia’s national airlines, which fly between Colombian cities on a regular schedule. Avianca is Colombia’s oldest airline and is part of the Star Alliance airline network. When searching for transportation in Colombia Avianca is many people’s top choice, although slightly more expensive than the others, it is of high quality and when booked in advance cheap tickets can be purchased. Viva Colombia is Colombia’s low-budget airline or no frills airline, although delayed more often than not, it can be a cheap alternative to air travel in Colombia. LATAM is an Chilean airline, which offers flights to a number of cities in Colombia and connects between them.
Transportation in Colombia – Buses
Buses can be a cheap alternative for transportation in Colombia, although a longer journey. Buses between Colombian cities can be a comfortable and safe alternative to air transportation in Colombia. Buses connect the major Colombian cities together, with overnight buses transporting people up to 24 hours between cities.
Bogota, Medellin, Cartagena and other major Colombian cities have bus networks throughout the cities which connect easily to flota buses at given terminals to allow for easy transportation through cities and then outside.
Transportation in Colombia – Car
Colombia’s road network has developed dramatically over the last 10 years, with highways being constructed between cities and major routes. This has made it easier to use a car as transportation in Colombia. Many routes have been widened to allow for a faster trip, with constructions being built through mountains and not around them, dramatically cutting travel time between destinations.
While transportation in Colombia is varied and can be done in a number of ways, many people are daunted by the possibility of travelling by bus or car in Colombia, which is actually no problem. But if flying is the desired method of transportation in Colombia, by booking in advance and avoiding peak times people can find relatively cheap flights and flying definitely cuts travel time significantly.
