Travel Ideas

Central America is so chock-a-bloc full of Gap Year backpackers that Colombia is the natural place to go to avoid them all. Colombia is associated in most people’s minds with death, drugs and war and so it’s a great place to escape the consumer travel crowd.

For Colombians themselves, so few people come here from the outside world that they’re pretty curious about foreigners. As such they’ll be intent on showing you what a great and much-maligned country they have.

To hit the unknown Colombia avoid the Caribbean coast and instead get to the centre of cities like Medellin, Cali and the smaller towns of Antioquia where you’ll be something of a star act – just make sure that the FARC don’t get interested in you as a kidnapping prospect.

Many come to Colombia for the cocaine, the cheap living and the wild party atmosphere – the country can actually be quite conservative in its values and traditions but the Colombians are always up for a fiesta.

More with the Colombia Travel Guide and poorbuthappy.com, a cool Columbia forum.

Tom has been traveling non-stop since the age of 18 and co-founded Road Junky in 2004. Follow him @tomglaister

He’s the author of Hand to Mouth to India, an account of hitchhiking from England to India with no money and which will soon be rereleased by Road Junky Books.

Tales of a Road Junky featuring tales of breaking people out of jail in Delhi, selling fake Rolexes in Japan and other adventures in Israel and Brazil will be out later this year.

He also writes fiction for anyone who never really grew up and his latest novel is Bozo and the Storyteller – download the audio book for free or even buy a copy…

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