Top 5 tips to save money

Booking a hotel with a Getaway deal or an early bird discount, can save quite a bit of money. Before you book, do check if you can still cancel youre reservation free of charge. At Booking.com you can cancel for free at many hotels up to 24 hours before arrival.

Grab a Colombian Poker beer instead of an imported Budweiser. Try Colombian cheese instead of the imported cheese. It’s delicious and saves you a lot of money. The delicious local fruit, shouldn’t be missed in Colombia anyway!

Do as the locals do and step into a local restaurant at lunch time. Order a comida corriente; a daily menu that usually consists of soup, meat or chicken (possibly fish), rice or potatoes, banana or beans and a juice. In the cheaper restaurants, you can have such a meal for as little as 12,000COP/$3. The daily menus are filling, so in the evening you won’t need a big meal anymore. 

The city tours offered as “free” are based on tip for the guide. Indication is about COP30,000/$7.50 per person. Most major cities such as Bogotá, Medellín and Cartagena offer free tours, such as the graffiti tour in Bogotá, bicycle tour in Cartagena, the city walk in Medellín and the free El Poblado tour in Medellín.

Colombia has many interesting museums. Some of these are free to visit, such as Museo Botero in Bogotá, Casa de la Memoria in Medellín and the Gold Museums in Santa Marta, Cartagena, Cali and Armenia. The Gold Museum in Bogotá is free to visit every Sunday. Just be sure to expect long lines as locals also like to take advantage of the free museum day. The entrance for Museo Botero -showcasing work of the famous artist Fernando Botero- is always free of charge. Read more about Colombian culture.