Colombia is one of the most diverse countries on the planet, not just in scenery but in every single way. We were so excited to get stuck into its culture, learn some more about its interesting history and have the choice of Caribbean coast, mountain ranges, jungles and amazing cities. Colombia being so self sustainable and cut off from the rest of the world for a number of years means that its prices stay cheap and at a constant with nothing being outrageously expensive. With so many awesome places to visit in Colombia here is our cost of travelling Colombia and what we got up to!
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Colombia – Cost Of Travel
Top Tip
Look out for the local restaurants in each of the towns and cities you are in, as they are usually pretty good for giving you a great meal of classic Colombian rice, patacón, frijoles and your chosen meat at a price around 15,000. That is really cheap compared to other high-end restaurants that most of the time will do the same meals with a bit more variation at a higher cost.
Our Costs Of Travelling Colombia Breakdown
How much does it cost to travel Colombia? Here is our total amounts including % spent in each area
Accommodation = 3,306,420 COP 31%
Travelling Colombia we stayed in a range of accommodation from hostels, AirBnB’s, Canabanas, Hammocks and hotels all were through these channels Booking.com, Hostelworld, AirBnB. Its always good to check around for the best deals. We also booked through recommendations from other travellers on where to stay.
Eating Out = 1,506,672 COP 14%
Colombian food culture is definitely on the rise with places like Medellin having some pretty sweet up and coming trendy neighbourhoods where you can find tasty cuisine from all around the world. Colombia is renowned for its portions and definitely did not disappoint, no matter where you go expect to be full!
Transport (Public) = 1,605,850 COP 15%
We used a lot of buses whilst travelling in Colombia between the cities and towns. You can pretty much get a bus anywhere at the major bus stations. The cost of buses in Colombia is relatively cheap and If you are travelling short distances between towns you can also just pick up a bus from the side of the road. Look out for them passing through the towns usually passing through the main plazas or Parque Principals. This also included our flights to San Andrés Island in the Caribbean! More information on the buses in Colombia can be found on our Colombia Itinerary guide here.
Transport (Private) = 753,000 COP 7%
We used taxis for some short journeys they are quite abundant and easy to grab at the bus stations. Uber was really great in the major cities in Colombia in Bogota, Medellin and Cartagena with some really friendly and helpful drivers!
Water / Drinks = 178,600 COP 1.7%
Water to buy is pretty cheap in Colombia having said that there quite a few hostels that will have free water as part of your stay. A hostel or place with free water great way to keep your costs of travelling Colombia down as in places like Cartagena you will definitely be drinking a lot of it!
Alcohol = 397,000 COP 3.5%
Alcohol is also pretty cheap with a lot of places doing deals such as two for one cocktails in the early evenings. We also had a beer or two watching the amazing sunsets you get all round Colombia!
Groceries / Sweets / Chocolate = 703,462 COP 6.6%
As we stayed in a few AirBnB’s we cooked a few times in the hostels we stayed in. The local Exito’s are great for groceries located in and around the major cities. The local markets and shops are also a great place to find cheap vegetables and fruit. Everything was good high quality and at a really good cheap price, another great reason to travel Colombia!
Sights / Museums = 2,232,800 COP 20.7%
Our big tour in Colombia was the 5 day Lost City Trek or Ciudad Perdida which included accommodation, three meals a day and snacks. We would highly recommend! Other tours also included Bogota graffiti tour (by donation), Escobar Tour and Cable car though the barrios in Medellin, Cathedral Del Sal and Bogota Bike Tours in the capital. If you love coffee a tour is highly recommended in the coffee regions we took one in the beautiful and peaceful town of Salento.
Street Food = 38,000 COP 0.4%
Our street food mostly consisted of the best pineapple in the world (in our opinion) that you can grab from pretty much any street stall as well as many other delicious fruits. The cost of fruit in Colombia is usually very cheap no matter where you travel to.. Also areppas with cheese which was a staple breakfast choice for us with melted butter cooked fresh at a street stand, very yummy!
Other = 17,000 COP 0.1%
Included – Suncream and Multi-Vitamins
Cost Of Travelling Colombia – To Sum It Up
Currency = COP Colombian Peso
Days travelling Colombia = 52
Total amount spent = 10,738,804 COP (£2722.23 // 3865.97 USD)
Average daily spend = 206,515 COP 2 people (£52.35 // 74.35 USD)
Most expensive day = 850,000 COP (£215.47 // 306.00 USD)
Cheapest day = 28,000 COP (£7.10 // 10.08 USD)
We really hope you find this Colombia cost of travel guide useful, if you have any questions about any of the costs or travelling Colombia please tell us in the comments as we’ll be more than happy to answer them 🙂
Also check out the awesome hostels available in Colombia here!
Happy Travels!
Adam & Kelly x
This is such a great idea to break out your spending like this! It’s so helpful for anyone wanting to plan how much they should expect to spend on a similar trip! So good guys!
Thanks so much Stef! Always good to know a bit of info before you go especially when your trying to budget! Glad you loved the post! 🙂
Great breakdown of your costs! It‘s always so interesting to track your spendings, so you know what really is expensive during traveling. We would probably spend a lot more for sun cream 😀
Thanks Tom! Glad you found it useful, yes can definitely help you budget a little better once you know where your money is going 🙂