Bogota | Tips and tricks to survive in the city

Bogota is the capital of Colombia, and for us it became the starting point of our adventure journey across the South American continent. It sits at 2640m above sea level, almost double the UK's highest point, Ben Nevis, at 1345m. I struggled to acclimatise, Lynn on the other hand wasn't feeling it at all. Here are some tips and tricks to help.

La Candelaria, the city's historic center, was our base for exploring and is considered one of the safest areas. The further from the center, the less safe it is, although we did not feel calm anywhere. It is a harsh and quite dirty city, with exhaust fumes adding to the difficulty at altitude.

Altitude sickness or Acute Mountain Sickness, known as Soroche in Bogota, can be quite overwhelming when you are affected by it, and can become quite dangerous and even life-threatening if not addressed when symptoms appear. This had a big impact on me when I was in Bogotá and I wish I knew a little more about it beforehand.

Symptoms
You may experience a headache, which can be quite severe, nausea and dizziness, fatigue and shortness of breath. Loss of appetite is also common. These symptoms may be worse at night.

What to do
It would be ideal to descend to a lower altitude, but if you fly into Bogota, this may not be possible right away. You should rest and take it easy, and don't go any higher until you start to acclimatize, which can take a couple of days, sometimes more. Some people recommend ibuprofen, but I find it is bad for the stomach, so use paracetamol. Avoid alcohol, drink plenty of water and eat foods high in carbohydrates.

We flew from Manchester via Frankfurt and did quite a bit of research to find the best entry point into the continent, and Bogota was the cheapest for us. Then we made plans around it. If you're already in America, cheap flights can be found from most neighboring countries.

Buses are also an option. If you are already in Colombia, there is an extensive network of bus routes to major cities, however distances can be misleading as Colombia is a very large country.

Basically, besides getting from the airport and back, we walked everywhere. We were advised not to use taxis, and being new to the country, we were not yet confident enough to use the buses. There is a bus from the airport to the center of the historical district where we were staying, but since we arrived after dark and did not know where our hotel was, we arranged a transfer through the hotelier.

Just a note about navigating a new city without cell service. We're so used to being able to find anything on mobile maps and get directions to almost anywhere without any difficulty. Losing this ability is difficult. We ended up purchasing a local SIM card for our phone.

There's a Claro Simm here with twelve gigabytes of data that can be used for a month and can be topped up. If you are going to do this, take your passport to the official store in the city. First of all, stand right at the door, there you will be given a number to wait for your turn. Once you have this ticket, it's a fairly simple process, even if you don't know much Spanish.

You will need to change money at the airport to pay for the bus or transport into the city. It is best to do this at the exchange office right at the exit, where taxis are waiting. Don't change much as it's not a good bet. We changed £40, which was enough until we found an ATM.

In Colombia, you can use an ATM for free. We've found that the best bank to use is Davidenda, and it's the easiest. BBVA was our second choice, this one is also free. Always refuse the exchange rate offered, as it is better to refuse the rate from your own bank.

Where to stay
Almost everything you'll want to see is in the old town area known as La Candelaria, so it makes sense to stay here. It is also one of the safest areas in the city, although I would still advise you to exercise caution as you would anywhere else. The further away from the area you are, the less safe the area appears. We found there was a certain nervousness in Bogota and never felt at ease away from the tourist areas.

We had heard that Zona Rosa, the city's party district, was a safe option, but there was nothing interesting there for us, so we didn't explore it.