Cali
Cali is a vibrant city with a rich history, culture and musical tradition. It is known both as the Salsa Capital of the World and the Rhumba Capital of Colombia. The music and energy flows throughout the city and its nightlife rivals the best cities in the world.
What people don’t know as much about is the number of great experiences besides the Salsa and nightlife. Cali has great nature opportunities like San Cipriano for hiking, tubing and waterfalls and the Pance River for swimming and trails; interesting city sites like La Ermita Church and Boulevard of the River with colonial architecture and street murals, the Tertulia Museum, parks and a zoo. In addition, a number of international class restaurants and bars for your evening.
While most know of Cali from the Narco Wars when it was one of the most dangerous cities in the world since the peace it has been rejuvenated and is now generally safe as most big cities.
Maybe it is this old reputation which makes the city such a value for travelers. From my experience 4 star hotels for $60 a night, dinner and drinks for two at a top restaurant for $60 and very cheap taxi rides and transport to get around make this an unparalleled value for travelers.
Here is the essential information for traveling to Cali, see below for: Covid rules and entry requirements, where to get your Covid test in Cali for your return flight, recommendations on what neighborhood to stay in, hotels and general info on flights, electricity, credit cards, cash, safety and more.
For the Top 10 Experiences of Cali, see here: Cali to do.
Covid Restrictions
Covid Rules
Entry Requirements:
Testing: All non-Colombian travelers must show proof of full vaccination done 14 days prior to departure. If within 14 days or only dose done, a negative PCR test within 72 hours of departure is required. No unvaccinated travelers allowed.
Quarantine: None
Pre-Enrollment Form:
There is also a pre-enrollment online form which must be filled out 24 hours before travel (both entry and exit). This is important as the wifi at some airports is not great and there can be glitches in the government site which needs to send you back a confirmation e-mail that you need to show the airline to board or at immigration to get through. Also if you are coming from the U.S, don’t panic when you can find the United States on the list of countries, its listed under Estados Unidos.
The form can be found here:
Colombia Entry and Exit Form
Returning to the U.S:
Update- From June 12, 2022- A pre-departure Covid test is no longer required. All travelers must provide their contact information within 72 hours of departure and foreign nationals must sign an attestation that that they meet U.S. entry requirements and are vaccinated.
If you need a Covid test:
Most hotels can arrange for a person to come to the hotel to do the test. It usually takes about 15 minutes and you can get the test results for the Rapid Antigen Test in around 3 hours. The cost is about 219,000 Colombian pesos (USD$57) for PCR test and about 109,000 Colombian pesos (USD$28.50) for the Rapid Antigen Test.
If your hotel does not arrange you can call SOMOS SALUD Laboratorio Clinico at 321 421 6868 or 316 619 0800 (country code for Cali is +57)
For all the testing locations in Colombia:
Colombia Covid Testing locations
Visa
For U.S., EU and UK Citizens not required for stays 90 days or less.
When to Go
Cali is great year round. The temperature only fluctuates from about 60 Fahrenheit to about 85.
The rainy season is from April to May and October to November, and dry season is December to January and July to August although in the rainy season it usually rains hard for an hour and then clears up.
The major Festival is the The Cali Fair called La Feria De Cali which takes place from December 25th to December 30th.
For information on this see here: The Cali Fair
Flights
Main airlines are American, Spirit, Copa and Avianca.
You can check for the best prices on flights at google flights.
The cheapest airline is usually Spirit but note the small print as this is a no frills airline and you need to pay for many things which are included in the price of other airlines ie choosing you seat, water and snacks and most importantly luggage.
On Spirit they also charge for carry on bags which can be around $45 each way although a personal item is allowed for free (i.e purse, small backpack). The personal item can be (18 x 14 x 8 inches/ 45 x 35 x 20 cm).
Guests must wear facemark in the airport and plane.
Main Airport: Alfonso Bonilla Aragon International Airport (CLO)
To City- by taxi: 57,000 COP (about $12) about 35 minutes to City Center.
-by bus: Several mini bus companies run from the airport to the city bus terminal in the middle of the city. You can find them outside the Departures Hall. They cost 7000 COP.
Currency & Credit Cards
The Colombian Peso (COP)
For the Exchange Rate with US dollars see: Exchange Rate
Most places do not take US dollars.
Credit Cards can be used in most places.
The exchange rate at the airport is very bad. Best way is take out from Bank ATM’s (available at the airport). These have the best exchange rate although some have a small service fee depending on the bank. For ATM’s look for Banks or places with the sign Cajeros.
Electricity
In Colombia the standard voltage is 110 V and the standard frequency is 60 Hz. For U.S residents there is no need a power plug adapter in Colombia. As some sockets are 3 prong, you may want to bring 3 to 2 prong adapter.
One trick I learned is that when I forget my charger I can plug my phone in by a UBS cord to the back of a TV set which will re-charge it (TV must be on).
Neighborhood to Stay in
The best neighborhood for travelers is El Penon or Granada. This is a a safe area with most of the very good hotels and an abundance of great restaurants and it is central. San Antonia which is right next door is more hip with cool boutique hotels, hostels and cafes. While it is generally safe, the area has narrow streets and can be a little deserted at places at night.
Hotel Recommendations
Safety
Cali went from one of the most dangerous cities in the world doing the Narco Wars time with bombs going off around the city to now a generally safe city. Like most cities there are good neighborhoods and bad ones, as mentioned I would advise staying in El Penon or Granada. Most parts of the city are safe in the day time, at night I would always take a cab to and from destinations, luckily in Cali taxis are cheap and plentiful. Don’t flash cash or valuables, don’t buy drugs and watch your drink as there have been an occasional drug slipped into drinks and then they take your credit cards and cash.
If you would like a personalized service to take you around, please contact my friend Jorge Parra. Airport pick up, guided tours, sightseeing, security and information. He is based in Medellin but he knows good drivers in Cali and other cities.
Tel +57 310 4890579 Instagram e-mail jorgee1010@gmail.com instagram: @jorgeparra
Questions and Comments
While not as well known as Medellin and Cartagena, Cali has a variety of great options for tourists. Its tourist infrastructure is not as well developed and the activities are spread around, but all you need to do is tell the hotel what you want to do (and now you have this guide) and they can arrange a taxi or driver which is not costly. I like to try different cities but something about Cali keeps bringing me back. I hope this brings Cali to life for you and an option on your journeys, please let me know what your experience of Cali was and if you have any questions.
Enjoy the Salsa Capital of the World and all its hidden treasures!
I’ve been exploring for a bit for any high quality articles or weblog
posts in this sort of house . Exploring in Yahoo I at last stumbled upon this site.
Studying this information So i am happy to express that I have a very just right uncanny feeling I
discovered exactly what I needed. I such a lot indubitably will make certain to don?t forget this
web site and provides it a look regularly.
Thank you, I am glad this was helpful and will try to provide more content regularly. Brent
Thank you, glad it was helpful
With havin so much written content do you ever run into any problems of plagorism or copyright infringement?
My site has a lot of unique content I’ve either written myself or outsourced but it seems a lot of it is popping it up all over the internet without my permission. Do you know any ways to help protect against content from being ripped off?
I’d certainly appreciate it.
Good question, unfortunately every country has different laws so it really depends on where the people ripping you off are based and the legal structure in that jurisdiction. You may be able to complain to the content provider company and ask them to shut off the plagiarize or infringing material.