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Colombia
Discover the best kept secret in South America. Colombia is safer than ever, affordable and still blissfully uncrowded - an independent traveler's dream. Laze on palm-fringed Caribbean beaches. Canoe slient rivers through lush rainforest. Stroll Cartagena's colonial old town. Salsa all night in Cali. Packed with practical advice and valuable tips for trouble-free travel, our peerless guide enables you to explore with confidence.
The Basics - detailed maps, tailored itineraries and easy-to-use directory help make the most of your trip.
Adrenaline Rushes - the best spots for diving, rafting, hiking, rock-climbing and other thrills.
Straight Talk - honest advice on where to go - and still risky spots to avoid.
Discerning Reviews - opinionated authors give the lowdown on where to sleep, eat and pain the town.
Colombia 101 - in-depth background chapters provide insight into the country and its people.
The Basics - detailed maps, tailored itineraries and easy-to-use directory help make the most of your trip.
Adrenaline Rushes - the best spots for diving, rafting, hiking, rock-climbing and other thrills.
Straight Talk - honest advice on where to go - and still risky spots to avoid.
Discerning Reviews - opinionated authors give the lowdown on where to sleep, eat and pain the town.
Colombia 101 - in-depth background chapters provide insight into the country and its people.
276 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 24, 2011
Great tips! And the recommendations were in alignment with our personal experiences of Colombia. It helps that we were with our daughter who speaks fluent Spanish.
In Medellin, the weather is perpetual spring. Between 68 to 72 degrees. Make sure and bring an unbrella. Very cosmopolitian and would definitely recommend the city tour. More beautiful malls than the US. Great restaurants at reasonable prices. A must visit to the Eco park above in the mountains via cable car. Best to plan the whole day around it. And during the holidays Medellin can't not be beat regarding spectacular light show entertainment for Christmas. Take the city tour for this so you can see all of it. Just amazing!
Bogota, a huge city, triple the size of New York, and very, very crowded. Better to take public transportation rather than taxi's. You get wherever you are going faster. Great buys at the Farmer's market for gifts to bring back home. We took Salsa dancing lesson's in Bogota. So much fun! Also the police museum was a treat to see and learn how they worked on stopping the drug cartel back in the 80's.
Armenia, gorgeous coffee country. Similar in feel to Hawaii but no water close by. Gorgeous plants and flowers identical to Hawaii. The coffee park is definitely worth a visit and the botanical gardens. A fantastic amusement park awaits at the coffee park. As well as informative info regarding coffee. And the coffee is the best I have ever had. Unimaginable. Yes, it's that good!
Santa Marta, is perpetual summer between 80 to 90 degrees. Great place to vacation by the beach. Beautiful! Foot massages are offered by the local ladies at reasonable prices. Haggle for the price. It's better to buy gifts for friends and family in the bigger cities, not here. As things are not in abundance and kind of junky looking. Poorer people live on the coast, but the good thing is no one starves. Chicken's roam around free, and bananas and mangoes and papaya's grow wild all over the place. It's harder to understand the Spanish here as people sound like they are slurring their words and do not pronounce their s's.
Cartagena, gorgeous and hot, always. Beautiful homes and streets. However, hotter in the summer. Between 88 to 98 degrees. Beautiful city, lots to do and see. Definitely take a tour to Playa Blanca. And the mud volcano. The colorful coastal ladies are a pleasure to see in their coastal costumes.
We felt safe and sound in every city. The people were lovely and friendly and humble. There are police check points at different spots keeping the cities safe. Definitely a great trip and very worthwhile to see all the wonderful sights Colombia has to offer. And the cities are decked out with spectacular lights shows for the Christmas holidays.
In Medellin, the weather is perpetual spring. Between 68 to 72 degrees. Make sure and bring an unbrella. Very cosmopolitian and would definitely recommend the city tour. More beautiful malls than the US. Great restaurants at reasonable prices. A must visit to the Eco park above in the mountains via cable car. Best to plan the whole day around it. And during the holidays Medellin can't not be beat regarding spectacular light show entertainment for Christmas. Take the city tour for this so you can see all of it. Just amazing!
Bogota, a huge city, triple the size of New York, and very, very crowded. Better to take public transportation rather than taxi's. You get wherever you are going faster. Great buys at the Farmer's market for gifts to bring back home. We took Salsa dancing lesson's in Bogota. So much fun! Also the police museum was a treat to see and learn how they worked on stopping the drug cartel back in the 80's.
Armenia, gorgeous coffee country. Similar in feel to Hawaii but no water close by. Gorgeous plants and flowers identical to Hawaii. The coffee park is definitely worth a visit and the botanical gardens. A fantastic amusement park awaits at the coffee park. As well as informative info regarding coffee. And the coffee is the best I have ever had. Unimaginable. Yes, it's that good!
Santa Marta, is perpetual summer between 80 to 90 degrees. Great place to vacation by the beach. Beautiful! Foot massages are offered by the local ladies at reasonable prices. Haggle for the price. It's better to buy gifts for friends and family in the bigger cities, not here. As things are not in abundance and kind of junky looking. Poorer people live on the coast, but the good thing is no one starves. Chicken's roam around free, and bananas and mangoes and papaya's grow wild all over the place. It's harder to understand the Spanish here as people sound like they are slurring their words and do not pronounce their s's.
Cartagena, gorgeous and hot, always. Beautiful homes and streets. However, hotter in the summer. Between 88 to 98 degrees. Beautiful city, lots to do and see. Definitely take a tour to Playa Blanca. And the mud volcano. The colorful coastal ladies are a pleasure to see in their coastal costumes.
We felt safe and sound in every city. The people were lovely and friendly and humble. There are police check points at different spots keeping the cities safe. Definitely a great trip and very worthwhile to see all the wonderful sights Colombia has to offer. And the cities are decked out with spectacular lights shows for the Christmas holidays.
April 1, 2023
Outdated
October 7, 2008
Unfortunately I was stuck with this terrible guide in Colombia last year. The book is suspiciously thin for such a big country, but more importantly, it's filled with inaccuracies. It turns out that there's a very good reason for this: the guy who wrote it never even went to Colombia. While I've had issues with other LP guides, this was by far the worst.
July 20, 2016
The older edition has been replaced and the fake bits by Thomas Kohnstamm removed. Here's the link to the newer version:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...
Sadly, I miss the guide to Colombian phrases and slang that was in this version and didn't make the newer one.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...
Sadly, I miss the guide to Colombian phrases and slang that was in this version and didn't make the newer one.
October 6, 2008
Will travel to Cartagena June 16-21, 2008, so I need some informations about this nice small town. OH can't wait to be there, need to escape from Venezuela for awhile.
September 2, 2011
The authors didn't even go to Colombia. This book almost got me killed because of its bad advice.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews