Travel Announcements Only (No questions or comments please)

[Incaroca]

I'm planning a short trip to Colombia, from 22 april to 11 May. I will visit caribbean coast and also Medellin. I'm from Spain, so I wont have any language problems....anybody wants to joint it for fun?? ;) I'm looking for non pro fun, but also I will taste some pros

[Ccu2401]

Took advantage of the American airfare sell - arriving Jun8th for 4 nights. I'm a noob - not sure where I'm going to stay yet - haven't made room reservations yet. I like the freedom aspect that the Mansion and VIP offers but the all-inclusive aspect of Medellin Adventures is intriguing as well.

Many posts for the Mansion and VIP but has anyone out there used Medellin Adventures? Good. Bad?

Hasta Pronto.

[Scrub Jay]

AA just posted a Latin America Sale- first glance looked like 10% - 20% lower travel costs. You will need to purchase by March 19 and travel by June 12.

[Slugfest]

Hey guys,

I'm leaving for Colombia tomorrow (March 9), but will be spending most of my time with cybercupido chicas. The one exception will be Friday night in Bogota. That's the 16th. I'll be at the Suites Real 85. If anyone wants to hang out that night, PM me. I'm in my mid-30s and speak decent Spanish.

[Geo Daddy]

Two weeks to burn. As a one time Philippines, Indon traveler, I'm trying to decide. Columbia or the Ukraine? Plus for the Ukraine, I have contacts and the girls are bit closer to my Eastern European upbringing (Hungarian) - on the other hand - I've been to Cuba, dance salsa and find the whole Latin American thing a bit more "hot" than my cold ancestory.

[VatosLocos]

Anyone in Cali during 21 Feb - 13 March?

Lets meet up for beers, stories and good times!

Vatoslocos

[Tolliscd]

Was thinking of going to Colombia in July or June. I would like to have a group of us go. I also will be flying out of LAX. im 28/m

Planning a trip to Colombia during the summer flying out of LAX. Is anyone thinking of going to MDE, Cartagena, or Cali? Lets compare notes and places to visit and possibly travel as a group.

[Dos Lunas]

Planning a trip to Colombia during the summer flying out of LAX. Is anyone thinking of going to MDE, Cartagena, or Cali? Lets compare notes and places to visit and possibly travel as a group.

[MS Clive]

Folks and chicas from Medellin,

Here I come from Chicago.I will be travelling from Mar 18th to 23. Any folks traveling from Chicago too?

[Sun Devil]

How is Barranquilla during Carnival? A paisa who I have I kept in contact with insists that I visit her in Cartagena during the middle of February for the sole purpose of visiting Barranquilla and experiencing Carnival? It seems all the hotel rooms of the major hotels are already booked.

[Giggity]

Hehe. So you'll let yourself be molested for a few extra minutes in order to save a couple hundred pounds. The hourly rate for that, I suppose, comes out to hundreds of pounds per hour. So at least you know how much you can get away with selling your body for in the USA! It's best to charge the market rate, or else the TSA will think you're a ****... and isn't it bad enough that they already think you're a terrorist?

As for getting into and out of the country with less face-to-face trouble... perhaps you could ship your clothes to and from Colombia? Or maybe go to Colombia with nothing but the clothes on your back, buying clothes in Colombia, and shipping them back home? I have no idea how much freight rates are in that situation, but it might be worth checking into.

Perhaps I need to lay off this subject for a bit... I'm putting way too much effort into dodging the rubber glove squad.

Oh, and I hadn't thought that AF would go from CDG to BOG. It's actually shorter, too. Good call!

[AddictedToWomen]

I'd *much* rather go via MAD on a Spanish-speaking carrier. Or CDG on AF. But CO were offering LGW/IAH/BOG/EWR/LGW for £640, which is so much less I unfortunately couldn't justify declining a date with the TSA.

And yes, I know that they, and CO's customer-hating service personel (these are, after all, the guys who had me open my suitcases at a busy, backed-up check in to transfer 2lbs of clothing from one case to another so both came in under 50lbs) will have me spitting blood by the time I hit BOG, but isn't that why God invented p4p and alcohol?

Come on you non-US carriers -- get your act together.

[Giggity]

Reminds me of a story I heard whilst buying a rail ticket last year: the guy said this lady had turned up rather confused wanting a ticket from Peterborough, or thereabouts to somewhere in Kent, but without having to change in London. She'd run up the helpline, which of course was a call centre somewhere in India, and they had proposed a route that did, strangely enough, involve Edinburgh...

Back to the subject. I too am dubious about via UAE, but its worth checking out next time. This time I wasn't able to find anything cheaper than via the US. AF (via CDG) was next, then AC (via Toronto). Via MAD or BCN was a lot more, so I passed.

TSA, here I come. Wonder what you'll break this time?

Okay, I get it... you were looking for something that actually cost less money than traveling via the USA. Yes, you will pay less in cash terms when you transit through New York, Atlanta, or Miami. But you will spend more total time in the air, and like you said, you'll have to deal with the hassle of a Coalition airport... and isn't Heathrow enough? Transiting through Madrid might cost a couple hundred pounds extra (I found one round trip flight leaving Friday and returning Sunday, just as a worst-case last-minute scenario for about £950), but you'll avoid a lot of hassle. Keep in mind that some of the cheapest routes through the USA will force you to transit through two hubs... not my cup o' tea. The ones that send you through only one USA hub cost almost exactly the same amount as those through Spain.

The only reason I can think of going through the USA from London to Bogota is if you'd prefer an English-speaking airline. The cheap ones from Spain to Colombia are naturally Spanish-speaking.

PM me if you'd like to know my sources. All I did was consult a few airline websites. I'd hate to see people transit through the USA if they don't have to. It just makes them arrive at their destination in that much worse of a mood!

[AddictedToWomen]

Caught this little exchange in the Bogota thread... I'm shocked and appalled.

UK to Colombia via UAE? That's a terribly uneconomical idea, in terms of both money and time wasted. That's like taking a train from London to Edinburgh, but with a stop in Paris. No point whatsoever unless you actually have some specific reason to be there.

Go through Madrid or Barcelona, both extraordinarily easy to reach from London. Air Madrid, Iberia, Air Plus Comet and Avianca all have flights from Spain to Bogota. There are likely more, but I don't really feel like looking that deep right now.

A hasty search on Expedia yields a few one-way tickets for about 500 Pounds. The cheap flights aren't every day, so you'd have to check with the airlines to see which days of the week they fly into and out of Colombia to/from Europe. I'm sure that if you did a little digging you could find an even better deal. The savings yielded compared to flying via Dubai (?!) would pay for every other aspect of the trip.

Reminds me of a story I heard whilst buying a rail ticket last year: the guy said this lady had turned up rather confused wanting a ticket from Peterborough, or thereabouts to somewhere in Kent, but without having to change in London. She'd run up the helpline, which of course was a call centre somewhere in India, and they had proposed a route that did, strangely enough, involve Edinburgh...

Back to the subject. I too am dubious about via UAE, but its worth checking out next time. This time I wasn't able to find anything cheaper than via the US. AF (via CDG) was next, then AC (via Toronto). Via MAD or BCN was a lot more, so I passed.

TSA, here I come. Wonder what you'll break this time?

[Giggity]

Caught this little exchange in the Bogota thread... I'm shocked and appalled.

Gotta fly from UK to Colombia this time.

Anyone know any good (=cheap) routes from UK to Bog now there's no direct flights.

Rather avoid the US if I can. Any good routes via Europe or Central America?

Hey, maybe a little late. Next time fly to Dubai and then to Caracas to Bogota. A little longer than flying to Miami but cheaper with Air France I believe. Best of luck. I fly from Frankfurt or CDG to bogota about 4-5 times a year.

UK to Colombia via UAE? That's a terribly uneconomical idea, in terms of both money and time wasted. That's like taking a train from London to Edinburgh, but with a stop in Paris. No point whatsoever unless you actually have some specific reason to be there.

Go through Madrid or Barcelona, both extraordinarily easy to reach from London. Air Madrid, Iberia, Air Plus Comet and Avianca all have flights from Spain to Bogota. There are likely more, but I don't really feel like looking that deep right now.

A hasty search on Expedia yields a few one-way tickets for about 500 Pounds. The cheap flights aren't every day, so you'd have to check with the airlines to see which days of the week they fly into and out of Colombia to/from Europe. I'm sure that if you did a little digging you could find an even better deal. The savings yielded compared to flying via Dubai (?!) would pay for every other aspect of the trip.