Medellin Reports

[Tomasb]

This 'problem' is much ado about nothing. If a country requires an exit flight then simply book a flight with United, who will reserve your flight with their airline or another Star-Alliance member. Print out the ticket to show the agent. Once its booked, you have 24 hours to cancel it with no charge. Other airlines may have same cancellation policy but not sure.

I had to do this for the Philippines last year when I was still at SFO airport at the ticket counter with Eva Air, the Taiwanese airline. I reserved my outbound on line and showed the electronic version of ticket to the airline agent. Worked fine though make sure your outbound flight date falls within your visa stay limit.

Almost every country requires an onward ticket, but it is rarely checked upon. The IATA site has this information somewhere for each country. I found it on the Avianca website once also. You can also try the https://travel.state.gov/content/pas...n/country.html website. I didn't have an onward ticket for about 1/2 of the 20 or so countries I flew in and through the last year and half. The Dominican Republic required proof, and I think the other one that bothered me was Guyana. Peru is supposed to do this also, but I luckily had an onward ticket.

I will fly to Bogota this Sunday from Mexico City. And I don't have a ticket leaving Colombia. I'll be prepared to buy a ticket if needed. Flying to Aruba or Curacao from Medellin and Bogota is cheap, and makes a nice trip. I'm actually going to bring a Colombian chica with me to Aruba anyways. Aruba and Curacao hasn't required a visa for Colombians since last December, and a round trip ticket is only $252 right now. They can also can go to most places in Europe (Schengen area). I'm going to go to Brazil probably in about a month while there isn't a visa required. But, I'm guessing they will be strict on the departing flight.

But. I have bought a ticket once for a Colombian college girl to see me in Cancun last year, and immigration sent her back on the next plane to Colombia. I brought a different Colombian chica with me to Cancun after that and we were drilled and had our baggage searched, then set free. I bought tickets for the same lady to see me in Guatemala, no visa required for Colombians. But immigration was going to send he back to Colombia, but luckily she convinced an immigration officer to go meet me near the airport exit. He looked at my passport, then he went back and let my lady thorough.

So, laws are laws, but they aren't being followed. If you want to see where your future Colombian wife-to-be can fly with you, just search for "Visa Requirements for Colombian Citizens Wiki" You can do this for other countries as well.

I don't know if this is legit, but I just seen a website that will let you "rent" an onward ticket for 48 hours, cost $9. 99 https://flyonward.com/en/ I guess it books you a ticket and cancels it in 48 hours. Another website lets you print fake tickets, but if they actually check in the system like they did to me in Puerto Rico, a fake printed ticket won't work. It might work for an immigration officer just wanting to see some papers. Here is that site http://www.returnflights.net/.

Another thing that is sure is if you fly to Costa Rica from countries listed as high risk for Yellow Fever they will require proof before leaving. Last year I had a ticket to go from Medellin to Costa Rica via Bogota, and the airline in Bogota would not let me on the plane without my proof of a yellow fever shot. I ended up going back to Medellin where I started from. I think they gave me the flight back to Medellin free. I can't remember.

[James Dandy]

You must be either used to getting ripped off or a special sort of stupid. I travel all over the world. Not one to put up with getting ripped off. My attitude was simple, I was done and ready to leave, and ready to pay my tab. Not ready to pay the gringo rate. They didn't straighten out shit. 'I' straightened it out by showing the time on the card.

So it got straightened out like I said, why are you still crying about it? Just stay home if $3 wrecks your entire month.

Perhaps you have 'idiot' stamped on your forehead and that's why they tried screwing you over? As I stated before, my friends and I have never had a problem at NL, nor at any other casa for that matter. Good luck with your attitude, it's working wonders so far.

Maybe it was the casa's way of telling you not to come back? I don't think so, since they agreed to your protest and made it right, only for you to come here and whine incessantly about it. What was their point in making the customer whole for you to treat them like that in return? You could have just explained what happened and that in the end it was corrected, instead you accuse them of thievery and suggest everybody was in on it. For a well traveled guy, they sure took you for a fool!

[Surfer500]

It has nothing to do with the USA. It has everything to do with the laws of the country that you are entering. If the airline lets you through without an exiting ticket and that country's rules say you need to be out of the country by a certain date because of your type of visa, then they will be fined along with footing the bill of sending you back if need be. So they must verify that you will be leaving the country on a certain date by way of your ticket out. I am not sure if the DR or Colombia requires you to have an exiting ticket, but I can 100% tell you that the Philippines does no matter what country you are entering from. You will not step on that plane without showing them something. So it is not about being an asshole. The airline could give a shit about where you go or how long you are staying there. But what they do give a shit about is not being fined because they let you on the plane without the proper documents; in this case a ticket out of that country if that is what their rules dictate.

You are 100 % correct about the Philippines. I had a one way ticket from Bangkok on one airline to Manila and a one way ticket on another airline out of the Country. I had to produce a copy of the E-ticket out of the country before they would let me board the plane.

[Surfer500]

Makes no sense at all. If they were looking for young VENEZUELAN GIRLS, why would they check 6 AMERICAN MEN who step out of 2 taxis? They never came inside of the casa. They were looking for overstayers.

If they were looking for over-stayers, why wouldn't they just wait until they try to cross a border instead of in front of a casa?

It sounds as though they may have been looking for something else, didn't find it, and when the gringos showed up they decided to check on them as they had nothing else to do.

Makes no sense that immigration would be waiting outside of casa's to check on gringos.

Just my two cents.

[Surfer500]

Hey Surf. I know I can't use it to get into the country, was just wondering if the policia would accept it in lieu of the actual passport. Like many I don't like to carry the book around with me. Sounds like the safe answer is 'no'.

The best way to minimize problems with the policia is to carry a color copy of your passport along with a photocopy of your entry stamp into the country with you at all times. If they ask where the original is tell them it is in your safe deposit box in your hotel because you don't want it stolen. Then offer them to go with you to your hotel and you will show them the original. This is what I did the only time I got stopped at 2 in the morning and they said OK no problem.

[Gagoo]

It has nothing to do with the USA. It has everything to do with the laws of the country that you are entering. If the airline lets you through without an exiting ticket and that country's rules say you need to be out of the country by a certain date because of your type of visa, then they will be fined along with footing the bill of sending you back if need be. So they must verify that you will be leaving the country on a certain date by way of your ticket out. I am not sure if the DR or Colombia requires you to have an exiting ticket, but I can 100% tell you that the Philippines does no matter what country you are entering from. You will not step on that plane without showing them something. So it is not about being an asshole. The airline could give a shit about where you go or how long you are staying there. But what they do give a shit about is not being fined because they let you on the plane without the proper documents; in this case a ticket out of that country if that is what their rules dictate.

Almost every country requires an onward ticket, but it is rarely checked upon. The IATA site has this information somewhere for each country. I found it on the Avianca website once also. You can also try the https://travel.state.gov/content/pas...n/country.html website. I didn't have an onward ticket for about 1/2 of the 20 or so countries I flew in and through the last year and half. The Dominican Republic required proof, and I think the other one that bothered me was Guyana. Peru is supposed to do this also, but I luckily had an onward ticket.

I will fly to Bogota this Sunday from Mexico City. And I don't have a ticket leaving Colombia. I'll be prepared to buy a ticket if needed. Flying to Aruba or Curacao from Medellin and Bogota is cheap, and makes a nice trip. I'm actually going to bring a Colombian chica with me to Aruba anyways. Aruba and Curacao hasn't required a visa for Colombians since last December, and a round trip ticket is only $252 right now. They can also can go to most places in Europe (Schengen area). I'm going to go to Brazil probably in about a month while there isn't a visa required. But, I'm guessing they will be strict on the departing flight.

But. I have bought a ticket once for a Colombian college girl to see me in Cancun last year, and immigration sent her back on the next plane to Colombia. I brought a different Colombian chica with me to Cancun after that and we were drilled and had our baggage searched, then set free. I bought tickets for the same lady to see me in Guatemala, no visa required for Colombians. But immigration was going to send he back to Colombia, but luckily she convinced an immigration officer to go meet me near the airport exit. He looked at my passport, then he went back and let my lady thorough.

So, laws are laws, but they aren't being followed. If you want to see where your future Colombian wife-to-be can fly with you, just search for "Visa Requirements for Colombian Citizens Wiki" You can do this for other countries as well.

I don't know if this is legit, but I just seen a website that will let you "rent" an onward ticket for 48 hours, cost $9. 99 https://flyonward.com/en/ I guess it books you a ticket and cancels it in 48 hours. Another website lets you print fake tickets, but if they actually check in the system like they did to me in Puerto Rico, a fake printed ticket won't work. It might work for an immigration officer just wanting to see some papers. Here is that site http://www.returnflights.net/.

Another thing that is sure is if you fly to Costa Rica from countries listed as high risk for Yellow Fever they will require proof before leaving. Last year I had a ticket to go from Medellin to Costa Rica via Bogota, and the airline in Bogota would not let me on the plane without my proof of a yellow fever shot. I ended up going back to Medellin where I started from. I think they gave me the flight back to Medellin free. I can't remember.

[Old Parr]

It has nothing to do with the USA. It has everything to do with the laws of the country that you are entering. If the airline lets you through without an exiting ticket and that country's rules say you need to be out of the country by a certain date because of your type of visa, then they will be fined along with footing the bill of sending you back if need be. So they must verify that you will be leaving the country on a certain date by way of your ticket out. I am not sure if the DR or Colombia requires you to have an exiting ticket, but I can 100% tell you that the Philippines does no matter what country you are entering from. You will not step on that plane without showing them something. So it is not about being an asshole. The airline could give a shit about where you go or how long you are staying there. But what they do give a shit about is not being fined because they let you on the plane without the proper documents; in this case a ticket out of that country if that is what their rules dictate.

If anyone would know what the policy is, it would be Mr. International. So there you have it people.

[Pipe Layer99]

Guy flies to South America to have sex with model-quality girls, pays $20 instead of $15 for a girl that would cost him $300 in the states. And we should all be upset, why?

You get what you pay for. If you want to pay more and get less, good luck with that.

[Pipe Layer99]

would be much better off, much happier if you reminded yourself it's South America. They straightened out the tab for you, so what's the big deal? It's hardly worth getting bent out of shape over, and for the record they have never tried that with me or any of my friends. If the old man was blowing you off, the woman wasn't much better and tried ripping you off, maybe it was your attitude that got you this type of service?

You must be either used to getting ripped off or a special sort of stupid. I travel all over the world. Not one to put up with getting ripped off. My attitude was simple, I was done and ready to leave, and ready to pay my tab. Not ready to pay the gringo rate. They didn't straighten out shit. 'I' straightened it out by showing the time on the card.

[Mr Enternational]

This is a little late, but I have bought one way tickets to Colombia many times with no problem. But, I have never directly flew straight from the US. It is the people in the US that might actually follow rules that will give you the problem. I must have flown to Colombia without a departing ticket about 5 times. I always want to stay longer and longer and longer, so I just don't buy a departing ticket until I am ready to leave. I only had been asked about a departing ticket two times, I can't remember where the first one was. But about 6 months ago I went from Puerto Rico to the Dominican Republic and I only had a one way ticket. The assholes in Puerto Rico kept telling me I need a departing ticket or I can't go. I said I have a ticket, which was a lie. He wanted a specific airline itinerary number. Well, I used my phone and bought me a ticket on the spot, and gave him that info and I was good to go. This might be because Puerto Rico is using the US protocols and laws.

It has nothing to do with the USA. It has everything to do with the laws of the country that you are entering. If the airline lets you through without an exiting ticket and that country's rules say you need to be out of the country by a certain date because of your type of visa, then they will be fined along with footing the bill of sending you back if need be. So they must verify that you will be leaving the country on a certain date by way of your ticket out. I am not sure if the DR or Colombia requires you to have an exiting ticket, but I can 100% tell you that the Philippines does no matter what country you are entering from. You will not step on that plane without showing them something. So it is not about being an asshole. The airline could give a shit about where you go or how long you are staying there. But what they do give a shit about is not being fined because they let you on the plane without the proper documents; in this case a ticket out of that country if that is what their rules dictate.

[Old Parr]

Hello guys,
I am in a similar situation except I do not know Spanish (will probably rely on Google translate).

Thanks,
Lappad

It really blows my mind when people come to a country and cannot even communicate with the people. I could understand it if for example if you were an English speaking person and going to for example Puerto Vallarta or Cancun, Mexico, because there are at least some people who understand the English language because of the American and Canadian tourism, but to go to a country like Colombia where very very few people have any knowledge of the English language, and not be able to communicate at all blows my mind away. Why not go to somewhere you can at least carry on a half ass conversation? It just makes no sense what so ever to me. If you want to visit a country that is not native to your language at least learn to speak the language in a conversational sense.

[Gagoo]

Hey guys,

My buddy is coming to Medellin next week. He said he bought a one way ticket because he is not sure when he will be heading back to the US. His airline said he could be denied entry into Colombia without a return ticket. Anybody experience this situation? Any advice will be much appreciated.

This is a little late, but I have bought one way tickets to Colombia many times with no problem. But, I have never directly flew straight from the US. It is the people in the US that might actually follow rules that will give you the problem. I must have flown to Colombia without a departing ticket about 5 times. I always want to stay longer and longer and longer, so I just don't buy a departing ticket until I am ready to leave. I only had been asked about a departing ticket two times, I can't remember where the first one was. But about 6 months ago I went from Puerto Rico to the Dominican Republic and I only had a one way ticket. The assholes in Puerto Rico kept telling me I need a departing ticket or I can't go. I said I have a ticket, which was a lie. He wanted a specific airline itinerary number. Well, I used my phone and bought me a ticket on the spot, and gave him that info and I was good to go. This might be because Puerto Rico is using the US protocols and laws. Someone can be ready to buy a ticket with their phone if needed, or some flights let you change dates for cheap or free. You can try that.

I will say one problem I had flying in to Colombia. I flew in to Bogota from Mexico, and the immigration officer asked me where I came from and I said Mexico. Then he loudly said "Mexico?" Then he asked me many questions about that. And he asked me why do I keep coming to Colombia, then he asked me if I have a girlfriend and I said yes. He could see I go to Medellin a lot, so he asked me if my girlfriend was in Bogota or Medellin. I said I have a few girlfriends in Colombia. Then he let me pass. I then went to change some money at the airport so I could have some taxi money. And also went to the restroom before picking up my suitcase. I normally would not do that, but I did this time. Some guys were specifically waiting for me after I passed the customs part. And a uniformed guy who spoke English asked me how much cash did I have. It was about $4,000 US. And he said where is it? And I said in my wallet, and I showed him. And he asked me did I have some cash somewhere else. I said no. And he let me go. I might have been suspicious of being a cash smuggler or something. So, don't be looking too suspicious before seeing the customs officers.

[Mr Enternational]

They're looking for underaged girls from Venezuela or other countries, not gringos. That's why they came with human rights people. It happens near the border. They check everything including your I. D just in case.

Makes no sense at all. If they were looking for young VENEZUELAN GIRLS, why would they check 6 AMERICAN MEN who step out of 2 taxis? They never came inside of the casa. They were looking for overstayers.

El Mechanico, they did not want to see a copy of anything. They wanted to see the original documents that you entered the country with. This was a one off thing though. I still only carry my passport card when I am in the street. In my case they were able to call the hotel who could verify. If we were staying in an apartment then I have no idea how it would have played out.

[Beach1708]

The passport card is only good for land crossings into Canada and Mexico and travel by ship to other countries. It cannot be used for air travel.

I have been to Colombia many time mostly to Cartagena but have made about 5 trips to Medellin. I never take my passport out with me I always leave it in my apartment I do try to take a copy of my passport with me but sometimes forget to. I think it depend on the officer who stops you. The police officers at the checkpoints will pat you down and make sure you do not have any drugs or weapons on you. When they ask for your passport just show them the copy if they ask why you do not have your passport just say it is in my apartment and I do not want to loose it. I have showed them my NC drivers license when I forgot my copy of my passport because it had a photo of me on it and that has always worked. Now one time I was in a club in Cartagena and the immigration officers came in and started checking everyone in there I had my copy of my passport. He ask me where my passport was and I told him it was in my apartment. He asked where I was staying I told him and said we can go get it if you want. He said no that a copy was OK but next time make sure when I enter the county to have them stamp the date of entry on the copy so they can see how many day I had been in the country.

So I think a copy with the date of entry stamped on it will be better than a passport card but the card should work also just to show who you are. But you will need a passport to enter the country.

I would also say just be nice answer the questions and do not get smart with the officers and you should not have any problems.

[Member #4398]

Estebanh,

Aren't you the guy that was helping a young blind friend to relocate in Sosua DR and get chicas? I wonder how your friend did or is doing in Sosua. Did he buy a motoconcho? I figure he could drive in a moto in the DR even thought he's blind, nobody would have notice because Dominicans drive as if they blind. And since you mentioned that he was a martial artist and knew kunfu, he could kick some ass whenever he crashes into something or someone.

Cerebro.

If you are resourceful and can wing it in a Latin American country, you can do an apartment. No one speaks English in Medellin. Otherwise, you might try the Mansion for a few days. The real value the Mansion provides is helping you get oriented, introducing you to some girls and casa tours.