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Exploring Bogotá – Weekend Warrior
- By Michael Lakus
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- Read Time: 7min
Introduction
Booking a flight to Colombia has been on the to-do list for some time, and I thought it would fit into a nice little weekend warrior trip. I wasn’t sure on where exactly the flight would be, but the options were left open. When it came time, exploring Bogotá in February was the final choice. I’m sure this isn’t everyone’s first pick for Colombian cities to visit when competing with Medellin and Cartagena, but I wanted to write about my time there and how you can spend a solid weekend through the eyes of a pure gringo.
To make it easier, I’ve broken down this post into sections so you can get right to it.
Logistics
Total spend was well under $400 per person. However, I did cheat a little. It’s all about those credit card perks!
We chose a Spirit flight for $219 round trip. Since we only went with two backpacks, there were no luggage fees.
Airport Lounge Access
If able, go to the El Dorado airport lounge. I think this lounge makes my top 3 picks. There is a barber shop, a virtual soccer room, full service bar and more!
I used Marriott points, and a free voucher for the 3 nights there. We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott and the Bogotá Marriott. Average points per night was around 12,000 (~ $120). The places were run well, and language barrier was minimal. If I go back, I would definitely look at getting a place closer to Monserrate (popular spot overlooking the city) since this is where most of the things we did were located.
For transportation, we utilized Uber. I didn’t have one trip over $5 USD! Taxis are a fine alternative, too. The public bus system is apparently very efficient, but we did not look into that.
- Cheap flights using Google Flights and low-cost carrier airlines
- Take advantage of airport lounges via credit card perks
- Use points to fund a potion of the trip
- Research transportation ahead of time
What to Pack
For anyone who knows me, I keep it minimal when travelling. This trip was no problem for a single 20L backpack. Here’s a sample list for either a dude or a dudette. After all was packed, I still had about 1/4th for whatever else. I left off some little things that are user discretionary. This breakdown includes what we were wearing, too.
3x shirts
1x short / 1x jeans
3x socks / 3x briefs
Jacket
1x shoes (my TropicFeels kickstarter!)
Basic toiletries (can buy most of these for CHEAP once there)
1x sunglasses / 1x hat
Laptop
Power brick
Headphones
Documents / notepad
3x shirts
2x pants
1x poncho / 1x cardigan
Jacket
1x shoes
4x socks / 4x panties / 1x bra
1x PJs
1x sunglasses / 1x hat
Travel makeup kit
Basic toiletries (can buy most of these there for CHEAP)
Documents
Things to Know When Exploring Bogotá…
Most of these things can be found doing a little research, so I’m not going to go into crazy detail. It’s more of an FYI. These are my observations.
- Prepare yourself for the altitude.
- Unless you speak Spanish, be prepared for language barriers. Great to practice!
- Bogotá’s climate had very low humidity.
- Most restaurants and activities accepted credit cards.
- It’s 2019 and UberX is still not legal. However, it is still an offered type of transportation.
- There were plenty of ATMs for currency exchange.
Lastly, we did not feel unsafe exploring Bogotá during day or night. I think a lot of these presumptions are due to the aesthetics of the environment. A less “upscale” area doesn’t necessarily mean less safe. With that said, common sense goes a long way.
Zona T and Chapinero
I’m not fully sure how the zones / districts are distinguished in Bogotá, but these places below were around this area. Walking around here in the evening, Zona T gave off more of the upscale feel, with more commercial centers. I wish I could have spent more time here, as I think it has a lot to offer.
Parque 93 – It’s a smaller, but popular park. It is surrounded by shops and restaurants. There are also live events hosted here from time to time.
Librería Wilborada 1047 – A multi-story library, plus café, with a unique atmosphere and even more unique hours of operation. A must for the book worms, and kudos if you can read in Spanish.
Parks and Gardens
We took some time to stroll through a botanical garden and city park since both were across the street from our hotel. Entrance fee for the garden was about $2 USD.
Jardín Botánico – I’ve been to a few botanical gardens, and I think this is something worth skipping on a trip here. The garden’s entrance was fairly picturesque, but the maintenance quickly faded the further you walked. It was also undergoing a good bit of maintenance, so maybe a future trip is needed.
Parque Simón Bolívar – Being a big time park guy, this is something I believe was worth it. Furthermore, it’s free. The park was expansive, the grass was green, and it came complete with this man-made “beach” section in the middle. There were also a lot of picnics with balloons. I suppose it’s a thing in Bogotá?
Cuisine Time
El Chato – This restaurant was a little off the main streets. We sat at the bar and couldn’t stop ordering all the foods. The highlight was the merengón dessert. It honestly reminded me of escargot at first from the look, but the flavor and texture combo was not-expecting and exciting.
Dos Gatos y Simone – Since we recently became merengón addicts, a Mexican-Colombian fusion restaurant with crazy graffiti cats outside was the obvious next choice… We ordered merengón, which was not an actual menu item, so we felt super exclusive. This one was very different from the first, both in looks and taste, but it was still so good. Officially a fan.
Fun Fact
The group of artists who did the graffiti work were given “all you can eat” vouchers as payment.
La Puerta Falsa (kind of) – Unfortunately, the line for this place was ridiculous on Sunday, but the street (calle 11) was full of other restaurants. I was specifically on the hunt for some ajiaco, which I’ll let the picture describe. Basically, it’s a hearty chicken, potato and corn soup with other ingredients. Just get it and enjoy the food coma.
El Fogon Llanero – By recommendation of a friend, we went to this restaurant. They are big time meat people. Really, the Facebook page even says “experts en carne.” Anyways, we had churrasco, beef tongue and their popular soup called “masamorra chiquita.” Delicious.
Now, one important thing to note is this place did not take card, and I could only pay half the bill in cash. This resulted in about a mile walk in the rain, umbrellas in hand, with the friendly waitress lady to an ATM. It was quite the walk ‘n talk and I probably said “lo siento” 100x times. One for the books, naturally.
La Candelaria and Monserrate
And now, for the grand finale. If you are strapped for time, these are probably the must see and do places.
La Candelaria – La Candelaria is poppin’ on Sunday. Many of the surrounding streets are blocked off to cars, so taxis or Ubers will drop you off a bit outside. However, once there, I’d recommend just walking the streets and take in the atmosphere. On Sunday, la Candelaria becomes an open market, there is dancing in the streets, and bicyclists take over the city.
With only a few hours, we couldn’t see it all, but we did hit a few key locations.
Plaza de Bolívar – Typical open square surrounded by government buildings. This was also pigeon city. If you have ever dreamt of chasing flocks of birds, or having them perched on you, well, this is your place.
La Casona del Museo – You can’t end exploring Bogotá without taking back some emeralds. Colombia is known for their quality emeralds, and you can purchase them here for a good price. I thought the place was reputable, and it was also mentioned via Lonely Planet.
Monserrate – Arguably the top must-do in Bogotá. We took the Taquilla Funicular to the top (~ $12 USD) to get those pics yo! Regardless, it’s gotta be done. This is Bogotá’s cityscape, and the perfect way to end the trip.
Points of Interest
- Librería Wilborada 1047 – Niché library
- Jardín Botánico – Botanical garden
- Parque Simón Bolívar – Main city park
- El Chato – Local vibes at this bar/restaurant. Get the merengón dessert!
- Dos Gatos y Simone – Cool cats, cooler merengón
- El Fogon Llanero – meat food coma inevitable
- Plaza de Bolívar – main plaza in la Candelaria
- La Casona del Museo – Emerald shops and more
- Monserrate – Popular city viewing on top of the surrounding mountains
I hope you enjoyed the post and got something out of it!
‘Till the next trip!
-ML
Michael Lakus
IT professional, athlete, musician, ponderer of many things... Born and raised in Florida, I began traveling internationally after college. I created this site primarily to remind myself of where I've been and to share my experiences on traveling with a quirky, stress-free, travel attitude.
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