Colombia, deciphered the prejudices Touristicogay was 3 weeks in Colombia and visited 4 cities: Bogota, Cali, Medellin and Cartagena. We had 2 goals: are the prejudices true and how gay is Colombia! In Europe many people think Colombia is still dangerous and everyone offers you drugs. But is that true?
We arrived at the airport after a flight of 12 hours. Many airline companies start with flights to Bogota, also KLM and Lufthansa in Europe. Outside you better can choose for the official Taxi, like in every country.
BOGOTA
Bogota is a huge city and not so warm as other cities, so warm clothes in the evening are necessary. We stayed in Hostel Pink, a gay venue in Chapinero very close to all the gaybars and discos. Reny and his team offers u a nice basic room with a breakfast for u and your partner.
For the touristic part u must be in the historical town. This beautiful part of the city offers you the gold museum and an old town that you can visit with a free tour offered by the touristic office of Bogota. Also visit the monastery on the mountain. U can take a train or a cable. Enjoy the view on the mountain. Its amazing!
If u want to visit the city, take a taxi. It is the cheapest and easy way. Bogota has a bus system, the TransMilenio, but no one understands the system and its dangerous. First Safety tip: NEVER stop a taxi on the street. Use the app on your mobile phone or ask the hotel to call one. The most discos have their own people to bring u save to your hotel again.
The food is really cheap in Bogota: chicken, fish and plates for just 10 euro. The international restaurants are more expensive.
The gaylife in Bogota is amazing: bars, disco, sauna, sexclubs... you find it in the whole city. Babylon is a nice gaysauna that u can compare with a European sauna. Dark club is a weekend cruising venue with lots of action. But on Thursday u go to El Mozo Club. This venue has 2 floors, amazing music and full packed of cute guys. I loved it! On Friday and especially on Saturday everyone goes to Theatron. This gaypalace is the biggest gay disco in Latin America. Behind those walls you find 10 discos. Remixes, dance, regeaton%u2026 every place has his own kind of music. On the square, people listen to live music and eat a snack. At the entrance you pay 15 dollar and you get a cup that you can refill from 21h till 2h with alcohol. More than 6000 people visit this place every weekend.
After visiting a crowdie city like Bogota, Cali is a respite. Also the temperature is better than Bogota and taking a taxi is safer. Here u can surely take a taxi on the street.
We stayed at Hostal Dona Sol. John and his partner have a beautiful and quiet place where u can enjoy the swimming pool, the nice room and in the morning John serves you a delicious breakfast. In the past he had a restaurant, so every morning he suprises you with his delicious meal.
Go visit the historical city and if you have time, go visit the zoo. Its one of the most beautiful in Latin America. At the touristic office in the historical center you get a map with faces. Those faces show u what areas are safe for tourists. So keep those warnings in mind.
The gaylife starts here on Thursday. From Sunday till Wednesday u find 1 bar open, a gay salsa bar and some saunas. Cali Club is the most European gaysauna with nice facilities, but Phisicus 21 club has definitely the hottest guys.
MEDELLIN
Medellin won the price of most innovating city and you can see why: its modern, nice center has a great (and safe) metro system and a beautiful ecological park.
We stayed at 61 Prado, a European hotel in Medellin, close to the metro. The rooms are amazing and the food in the restaurant is delicious. U really need to try the Colombian food there. Also here, not take a taxi on the street, but use the app on your mobile phone.
The metro system in Medellin is cheap, good and safe for tourists. It brings you to the center of the city where you can make nice walks. Bogota is bigger, but Medellin more modern in every way. At the end of the metro you can take a cable train that brings you in 30 min to a beautiful ecological park. You can eat there something, make walks or bike tours and have an amazing view over the city.
The gaylife here is different from other cities. They have open gaybars where everyone starts his evening with a cocktail on the street. Then you go to one of the gaydiscos. You can choose between a salsa and electronic/Latin music one. The music is nice, the drinks cheap and the boys hot! I loved Medellin.
JOR: Colombian Fashion for gays
Everyone in Europe knows ES and Andrew Christian, but Colombia has his own fashion designer: Javier Ortega. He has JOR: exclusive underwear and swimwear. I had an interview with Javier. His fashion is more colorful then other ones%u2026 more Colombian, but nice! You can find a fashion store in Medellin, buy it online and maybe in the future buy it in shops in Europe. I loved it!
The last city is the beach city of Colombia. It has 2 areas: the historical town and the hotel part. First I did not like it. It was not Colombia for me, but u start to love this city.
I stayed in Casa el Carretero, a gayfriendly guesthouse with nice rooms, a small swimming pool and a nice breakfast. Very close you find many cheap restaurants where you can eat for only 10 euro.
You can do everything on foot if you stay in the historical part. If you stay in the hotel part, u need a taxi. Discuss the price with the taxi driver, here he has no meter.
Every day you can have a free walking tour in Cartagena. You just pay a tip. But for that you have a great tour of 2h with very professional guides. Go to the many tourist information points for the details.
Cartagena is a beach town, so enjoy the good weather and for gays%u2026 there is a gayfriendly beach at the end of the beach. Ask the way to gays and you definitely find it!
The gaylife in Cartagena is very small. They have 1 gaybar: Le petit and in the weekend 2 gay disco. But what an atmosphere at the gaybar: I loved the music, the drinks and if you like muscled guys... Cartagena is definitely your place! Remember that many guys are rent boys!
My first goal was the look to all the prejudices. Is Colombia dangerous? Yes, but if u follow the rules of the city... its one of the safest countries to travel in. Flying between the cities, you can do with AVIANCA, a very good company.
Is Colombia still a drug country? Of course... but in those 3 weeks, just 2 guys offered me drugs and the police controls a lot.
Is Colombia gay? Oh yes! Its one of the rising gay countries. You find bars, disco, sauna, sexclubs and the hottest Latin guys... and this all for cheap European prices.
Colombia stepped into the touristic future. More information? Click on the websites for the hotels, listen to the interviews I had with Edison from Theatron, El Mozo Club, Javier from JOR and Rubén Egea, a gay activist. Watch the movies of Theatron, Dona Sol and the new fashion of JOR!
