Getting Here & Around

Aeropuerto El Dorado, a 20-minute taxi ride northwest of downtown, has flights to national and international destinations.

The massive Terminal de Transportes, where long-distance buses arrive and depart, looks more like an airport than a bus station. It's where you'll find all major bus companies (and plenty of thieves, so watch your bags). Buses depart for other major cities about every hour. Since buses are the most common means of transportation for Colombians, they are often more comfortable than those in the United States.

Taxis are required by law to have a meter—make sure your driver turns it on. The minimum charge is 3,000 pesos, plus 50 pesos per 80 meters (260 feet). Fares increase by about a third after dark. It is always safer to call a taxi, especially in the northern parts of Bogotá, where thieves masquerading as taxi drivers have robbed passengers. The taxi companies will tell you the number of the taxi, and when you are picked up the taxi driver will ask you for the last two digits of the phone number from which you called.

Renting a car of your own is not advised. It's simply too dangerous.