Andes Mountain views everywhere. Bogota is beautiful.
Geno / Q105To save money, many of us take a staycation in Florida. Why not? People fly here from all over the world to visit our beaches and Disney World. Staying close to home can save you loads of cash right? Maybe not.
Until a year or so ago, I never planned to visit South America. A friend from New Port Richey who retired in Medellin, Colombia kept telling me how much he enjoys life there and that I should give it a shot. I finally visted last year and I've been back twice since. [PHOTOS]
You can live like a king without spending a lot. In fact, the vacation almost pays for itself. Once you've paid your airfare, everything after that you'll pay pennies on the dollar vs what you would pay during a Florida staycation.
Let's break down my 1 week trip and compare what it would have cost me had I just stayed in Florida, instead of visiting Colombia. In some cases, we're comparing apples to oranges. I'm also going to price the trips per person. Let's also assume you already have a passport. But let's give it a go.
TRAVEL EXPENSES:
Florida Staycation: Gas money is pretty much going to be your only cost for a Florida staycation. Let's say $100 to get from the Tampa area to wherever you're going and back... plus some gas money for short drives once you're there. Total: $100
Colombia: About $400 for a flight and then $100 in Uber rides for the week. You do NOT want to rent a car in Colombia. If you think Florida drivers are crazy, you have seen NOTHING. Plus Uber rides are incredibly cheap. When I got back to the U.S., I looked at my credit card purchases and it was an endless string of $2-3 Uber rides. Almost all were about 15-20 minute rides too. Technically Uber is illegal in Colombia, but everyone uses it and it's safe. Just note your driver's rating and you'll be fine. Total: $500
This was where I stayed on my first Bogota trip. Great place on AirBnB. A luxury high rise for only about $30 a night!
ACCOMMODATIONS:
Florida Staycation: A week at a nice hotel in Florida will cost at least $1,000. You'll pay a lot more than that in the super touristy areas. But let's just say you found a deal. Total: $1,000
Colombia: High end luxury apartments on AirBnB are usually less than $50 a day - and those are in the nicer neighborhoods like El Poblado in Medellin or the Chapinero in Bogota. There are the typical Hilton type American style hotels, but you'll pay much more and you get less of the authentic Colombian experience. Total: $350
EXPERIENCES:
Florida Staycation: Now here's where you could see a BIG difference. The Florida theme parks ain't cheap. But let's say you find something far less expensive to do. So let's say about $25 a day to be super conservative. Total: $200
Colombia: Taking the cable cars to the top of mountains costs around $5. The Gold Museum in Bogota was just over $1. The Modern Art Museum in Medellin was about $5. Everything touristy topped out at about $5, but let's add in one guided tour specifically marketed to Americans for about $50. Total: $100
Takuma, a spot in Bogota I love is a Japanese steakhouse where you'll pay about $15 a person!
FOOD:
Florida Staycation: This obviously varies in terms of how fancy you like to go when you dine. On vacation, I don't do fast food but nor am I a Bern's kind of guy. An average meal when I go out to eat in Florida tends to be in the $20 to $25 range after tip. Let's calculate 2 meals a day dining out. Total: $500
Colombia: Even in the "gringo" (tourist) neighborhoods of Bogota and Medellin, you rarely pay more than $15 U.S. for a complete meal with apps, entree and a drink. At most of the quick bite sit down restaurants in the touristy neighborhoods, I paid less than $10 a meal. Total: $250
Adding all that up, I arrive at $2,200 for the Florida staycation. $1,200 for the Colombian trip. And I've gotta tell ya - I doubt I even spent $1,000.
Is Colombia for everyone? No. Even though I never really felt unsafe, if you're traveling with a family, there are better options. It's more of a trip for adults. My friends and I hit the casinos, there were long afternoons at cigar shops, nights out drinking Aguardiente (potent, be careful!), and meals at restaurants that weren't ideal with kids.
All that said, most Americans have a really outdated idea of what life in Colombia is like. Pablo Escobar is long gone. The country has rebounded and residents are already complaining that the invasion of tourists like us is driving up prices and western-izing the culture. You know... kind of like how we complain about transplants from the north!
Puzzled looks is what I got when I told friends I'm going to visit Colombia... again. A couple years ago I was like you. When I thought of that part of South America, images of drug lords and violence came to mind. If you grew up in the U.S. in the 80s, you think of Pablo Escobar. Those days are long gone.
A friend of mind retired there about 5 years ago and kept pestering me to visit. I couldn't understand why he'd choose Colombia until I finally explored the country for the first time last year. Now I wonder if it's someplace I might retire to. Would you like temperatures in the 70s every day year round? Cheap luxury apartment living? Music and colorful architecture? Incredible meals for about $10 that would cost you $50 in the U.S.? Let's go. By the end of this photo gallery, you might start looking up flights.
Geno / Q105Andes Mountain views everywhere. Bogota is beautiful.
First tour was a cable-car ride on public transport to the poor barrios on south side of Bogotá. It was super high rated on travel apps and I'd meant to do it on previous visits. Glad I did this time. The crazy thing is rich people in America live in the hills. In Colombia, that's where the poorest build their homes. These cable cars were built 5 years ago to help them get to work in the city.
What we didn't know until after the tour was ending... the guy we just figured was another guide that joined us at the top of the mountain... was armed. We noticed he walked behind us. What we didn't realize is he wasn't a guide. He was more of a guard.
10,000 feet above sea level.
Dogs were roaming around everywhere but they were friendly.
The view from the top. The government gives the paint to residents. Love this.
Lots of color.
Back down the mountain we wandered around Chapinero. Found this shop making waffles. This cost a little more than a dollar.
My gotta have first drink when I get to Colombia. Lulo is a popular Colombian tart fruit. There are various kinds of Hit soda... make sure you get this one.
I love Lulo, but this stuff was good too.
This was where I stayed on my first Bogota trip. Great place you can usually get on AirBnB. A luxury high rise for only about $30-50 a night!
They have small casinos all over the country. Oops! I forgot to turn in my winnings slip. Don't worry. It's about 3 and a half cents.
Time to go up again. This time we're heading up to the top of Monserrate. This is the wait to go up on the funicular.
Once you get to the top, the scenery is unreal.
I love these bell shaped flowers all over Monserrate.
Lots of cheap tourist trinkets. Some good too as you wander around the top of the mountain.
Weird thing to get used to in Colombia. Most public toilets don't have seats... or toilet paper. You have to buy some in a vending machine.
I've been here twice on each trip. It's like all the Japanese steakhouses you see here in America where they prepare the food in front of you and do the volcano jokes and fire, etc. But you pay about 1/3 of what you do here in the States.
My appetizer. It was so freakin' good but I have no memory of what it was.
Free app.
Takuma, a spot in Bogota I love is a Japanese steakhouse where you'll pay about $15 a person!
The service at this place is amazing. They hand create this dessert art. It's a deep fried Oreo covered in icing and a strawberry slice - decorated to represent the guests at the table. We had American and Colombians at our sitting.
The effort they put into presentation on everything is wild.
My favorite discovery this trip... pan de la abuela. Remember those cheese danishes they used to sell at McDonald's? Imagine those... just gooey'er and 100 times better. SOOO good!
If you love fruit, you'll love Colombia. They have so many you've never even tried.
3rd Bogota visit was great, but now it was time for my first time exploring Colombia's second largest city, Medellin. It's a short 1 hour flight that'll cost about $50 round trip.
Gotta be honest... I'm not a big Colombian food guy. But there's a great spot for everything - didn't anticipate having awesome chicken parmesan on this trip, but I did.
Birthday dessert. Freakin' awesome. And yep, had to rep the Bolts all over Colombia.
Going up. Again. No tour this time. Just took public transport to their cable cars that take you to the top of the mountains.
Cable cars continue the journey up the mountain.
If you crave American food, there are plenty of spots. Even found a great BBQ spot. This brisket sandwich was solid.
Dunkin run.
Colombia runs on Dunkin. Yep more Oreos.
I didn't dare.
AirBnBs are the way to go in Colombia. Don't get a boring hotel. It's too American. Rent an apartment CHEAP... lots of great perks like this!
This place was highly rated... but I was skeptical. It was known for having lots of healthy breakfast choices. I hate that word.
I had this 2 days in a row. Strawberry banana yogurt with granola topped by various fresh fruit and I had them add fresh ground peanut butter. Incredible and only about $4-5.
Lulo banana smoothie. So so good. And about $1.25.
My friend's meal. I have no idea what it is but it looks good.
My friend picked this spot so we could get "Geisha Coffee." It's some kind of expensive high end bean. I'm not much of a coffee person so it was kind of lost on me.
Again the attention to detail. The phone was timing the brewing of everything. Scale measured an exact amount of everything.
Fancy. But honestly... Dunkin would've sufficed for me.
You see these all over the city on carts. So good. Just a corn bread with cheese.
I was dragged to an art museum. A MODERN art museum. This stuff was mostly lost on me. But I was rewarded after. Because there's a particular restaurant near almost every tourist trap in Colombia I hadn't had yet.
I finally tried the very touristy "Crepes & Waffles" after the museum visit.
As good as it looks.
A burger cookie. Odd.
Our last night in Colombia, we went to a sports bar hoping to catch Game 7 with the Celtics and Heat. Unfortunately a cell phone was our big screen.
Eggs, bacon, banana, apple, pastries... about $4.
Ice cream with Oreos for breakfast? Yes.
Looked good but honestly their bacon doesn't measure up to ours.
Colombians love our Oreos. They were everywhere. Even on the plane ride back to the U.S.
Back home. Had to call an Uber and I CRINGED at the price. After a week and a half of 20 minute $3 Uber rides, a 15 minute ride home cost about $40.
