Steve & Liza's Wedding

Here are a few things to consider before travelling to Colombia.

Flights

The wedding will be in Bogotá, the capital city of Colombia, on Saturday 25 June, 2016. We recommend you arrive in Bogotá at least on Wednesday or Thursday to ensure you have some time to recover and acclimate to the altitu
de of this great city – sitting at 2600m above sea level!

Your tickets need to be booked to El Dorado International Airport (Coe “BOG”)

If you are coming from Australia, you will either fly with Qantas through Santiago in Chile, or you can fly with many other airlines to the USA and then south to Colombia. Here are some airlines that have regular flights in and out of Bogotá.

• Avianca
• LAN
• Air France, Luftansa, Iberia (from Europe)
• American Airlines, Delta (from the USA)

Once you have booked, check out the In Bogotá page for information on accommodation, etc.

Insurance

Make sure you have comprehensive health and travel insurance for your visit. This can be easily purchased online or through a travel agent. The standard of medical treatment in Colombia is generally very good, especially in Bogota, but can be expensive and require payment before treatment, so insurance coverage is important.

Banking and money

ATMs and banks are prevalent in Bogotá, as is Visa, MasterCard and other payment systems. Check with your bank, but you should be able to use your same ATM cards in Bogota for cash.

You can exchange cash to Colombian Pesos at the airport, larger hotels, or around town. It is not advised to travel with extreme amounts of cash and to have a variety of payment methods (cash and cards).

Check websites for updated exchange rates, but generally speaking you should expect around 3000 Colombian Pesos for 1 USD.

Language

Spanish is the main language in all of Colombia, and it is advised to have some basic Spanish phrases before you come! However, in the city, there are many people who also speak English and hotels will generally be able to help answer questions or make reservations/inquiries, so don’t let language concerns stop you from joining us!

Health and vaccinations

As always, check with a [travel] doctor at least 2 months before you travel to Colombia to check on vaccinations and other health concerns, but here are a few things to consider.

Altitude

It is important to know that Bogotá is an extremely high city, sitting around 2,600 meters above sea level. This can often leave travelers feelings tired, light headed, and fatigued. It is important that you pay attention to these symptoms when you are there and give yourself the appropriate rest. Attitude sickness can effect anyone, regardless of your fitness level, so it’s advised to talk with your doctor and also pay attention to your health while in Bogotá. If anything is of serious concern, seek medical help.

Vaccinations and disease

Check with a doctor at least 2 months before you travel so you can check what vaccinations you need. If you have traveled to over countries before, chances are you will not need anything new for Colombia, but you may need boosters.

However, you may also need to consider a Yellow Fever vaccination, which can sometimes be a requirement of returning from countries where Yellow Fever is not present.

Vaccinations are more needed if you are leaving Bogotá. If you are only coming for a few days for the wedding, you will not likely be leaving the city and therefore have very low chances of getting sick. However, if you are going to add some exploring into your visit, then you will need to consider more vaccinations and also malaria pills.

Some of the likely vaccinations you’ll need to consider are Hepatitis A and B, Typhoid, Rabies, Yellow Fever, Tetanus/Diphtheria.

There is extremely low risk of malaria in Bogotá, so malaria pills are not required. You should, however, take precautions against mosquitoes as other illnesses can be picked up though mosquito bite.

Colombia has no vaccinations that are a condition of entry, so what vaccinations you get, or don’t get, are between you and your doctor.

Other things… 

The electricity outlet in Colombia are between 110 and 120 volts AC, the same as in the USA or Canada. The plugs are also the same as the USA or Canada (two flat, parallel pins; grounded through a round pin). It is advised you bring a travel adapter (and a transformer if you are bringing serious electronics that will not cope with the voltage change!).

If you have any other questions to ask about Bogotá, please let us know!