Living in Colombia 101 - What You Need to Know 🇨🇴

[@ezratotravel]

*8:03 - You're closer to the sun, but that's not the reason why the UV is stronger, it's the change in atmosphere at higher altitudes. Figured I'd correct myself before anyone else does lol

[@Scisca1a2a]

As a European let me assure you that the Colombians are using the points and commas with numbers correctly. It's the Anglosphere that's weird and uses it differently than everyone else, which is confusing and annoying to everyone

[@ezrato]

Most of Central America, most Asian countries and many African countries all use the decimal point the same way as the anglosphere actually. There's really no "right" or "wrong" way, just different cultures doing different things.

[@TravelwithCeasar]

Great video. Keep making more

[@ezratotravel]

Thanks! More coming soon ☺️

[@brianjones7521]

good video

[@worldobserver3515]

How long have you been there? Are you learning Spanish? How is that going?

[@paulfelkner6749]

I would never use a debit card and never did. Credit cards are widely accepted and if you know the exchange rate, you can break US twenties, tens and fives at small shops and get the pesos in return.

[@ezratotravel]

Personal choice I guess, but I don't like paying credit card fees. As for cash, I'm from Australia, so unlike USD, there wasn't a lot I could do with Australian dollars.

[@paulfelkner6749]

@@ezratotravel I would be lying if I didn't t say I did not pay for credit cards but I do. Although I rarely pay fees at vendors. I pay for three of my cards - AMEX Marriott -$125 , I get a 35K room worth $200 -$400 with those points Marriott Chase $95 - get 35k room again United Airlines $89 - free checked bags, two lounge access passes , somewhat priority boarding. SO three hundred gets me 500 to 900 in return plus all the points I accumulate for purchases that would otherwise go for cash, check, transfer or debit. So despite all the things that you hear about credit cards in the states that are true, it's just not me.

[@ezratotravel]

@@paulfelkner6749 ah cool, sounds like a good option for those who prefer to use credit cards then

[@dovygoodguy1296]

Can you recommend a quiet location during the winter months for a newbie visiting Colombia near amenities and the ocean with clean air?

[@ezratotravel]

In terms of non-cities, I admittedly haven't been to any on the coast - if we're including cities though, I personally found Cartagena to be the most relaxing city on the Carribbean coast compared to Santa Marta or Riohacha, despite being the biggest city of the three. Whilst it has it's busy areas, there are plenty of quieter suburbs that are more relaxing. If the quality of the beaches are important to you, Riohacha would have the best of the three, and is also much smaller. Regarding the Pacific coast, I haven't been there so I can't speak for that unfortunately.

[@dovygoodguy1296]

@@ezratotravel I'm not a big beach person but certain locations can be relaxing if the beach isn't a big crowd like a place such as Puerto Vallarta or Cancun etc.

[@dovygoodguy1296]

@@ezratotravel People have some negative views of Cartagena, but I'm someone who wants to avoid crowds, noise etc. Are the places you mentioned good for the older travelers?

[@ezratotravel]

@@dovygoodguy1296 In that case, I'd say Cartagena would be the better option compared to Riohacha, if the atmosphere of the ocean is more important than the beach itself. The beaches on Cartagena are small and not the best, but they're also not too busy and the Atlantic ocean view you get is really pretty

[@ezratotravel]

@@dovygoodguy1296 Ah, I see, in that case, I would recommend Riohacha if you prefer the vibe of a smaller city with less people. On the whole, I would say the costeños are much livelier (and noisier) people and due to this, I found non-coastal cities like Manizales far quieter and more relaxing. But comparing the coastal cities, Riohacha would be the least busiest by virtue of being the smallest.

[@colinweekes1284]

Love that kiwi accent

[@ezratotravel]

Haha it's actually Aussie, but thanks 😁

[@augustbrante8117]

Ubers suck in Medellin Unless you speak Espanol at a skill level of at least 7 on scale of 1 to 10. 98.9% of them dont know english especially on the phone. If your at a popular spot you won't find each other. Medellin is a taxi town. vast majority of the time are great too!

[@johnescobar9951]

Well, learn Spanish, you are the visitor, just as they come to our country and must speak the language, it is up to us to do the same.

[@paulfelkner6749]

Uber is illegal in Columbia from what I understand. That TT issue is practically a deal killer, what's the odds of getting a bidet in a decent neighborhood.? I don't like meter taxis becuse I can't trust them, find the going rates and negotiate with the taxi driver, if it's too expensive , buses are dirt cheap or walk and stop the gym.

[@ezratotravel]

Yeah, Uber is technically illegal, but technically when you order an Uber in Colombia, it isn't actually an Uber but rather a rental car with a driver that's a private contract between you and the driver (with Uber just operating as a search engine/payment service). This is of course a fine print thing and for all intents and purposes, it's much the same. But that fine print amendment has allowed them to continue operating legally. Police only really patrol it at airports as they like to have designated areas for taxis and shuttle buses.

[@ezratotravel]

As for bidets, I never came across any unfortunately, even in the more expensive neighbourhoods :(

[@shannonbilger5301]

Uber is illegal in Colombia. Use InDrive or taxi.

[@ezratotravel]

InDrive is technically illegal too. The difference with Uber is that they use a loophole of making it a "car rental service" in their fine print, and also make it a private contract between you and the driver, making it not technically an "Uber". As long as you don't use it at the airport, you'll be fine. I even had a policeman help me get an Uber at the police station after my phone was stolen.