Cheap Accommodation Hotels Hostels in Colombia

Cheap Places to Stay in Colombia

Compared to other countries in the region, accommodation in Colombia comes off as being rather expensive. A “cheap” dorm bed will often run around $10 and a private, backpacker class room between $17 and $20 per night. Definitely not cheap by Latin American standards.

Tips for cheaper accommodation in Colombia

Camp- If you are provisioned for camping, this is a good way to keep costs down. Some hostels will have places to camp in the back and there are many campgrounds on the coast and some in the mountains.

Volunteer- Arrange a volunteer gig that includes free accommodation. The coffee plantations around Salento will often give travelers work in exchange for room and board.

Longer term stays- Many hotels will give travelers a discount on the price if they pay by the week. Though, I must admit, that the break that they tend to give is often not near what other countries in the region are willing to do. If you are a good talker, you can often get them down 5 or 15 thousands pesos per night, which is still not much considering how much they try to charge initially.

Barter hard- It is not difficult to get a hotel to give a discount of 5,000 pesos per night. Much more than this becomes more challenging.

Hotel room in Colombia

Recommended hostels and hotels

The following is a collection of good and cheap hotels and hotels in Colombia. Feel free to submit a good room that you stayed in through the comment form below.

For a cheap private room in Bogota, you can stay at the Hotel Internacional. It is in the middle of La Candelaria, a nice old tourist district. The rooms are rundown with shared bathrooms, but the hotel is well kept and secure. It also has a kitchen and WIFI.

In Villa de Leyva we stayed at Hospederia La Villa. A nice private room with two beds, private bath with hot water, and TV was 35,000 per night with a week commitment. The rooms are cheaper if you decide to stay a week or visit in the middle of the week, on the weekend Villa de Leyva fills up with tourists from Bogota.

In San Gil we recommend the friendly Hostel Santander Aleman. It is small and quiet with clean rooms, a small dorm and shared bathrooms and showers, including one with hot water and an outdoor shower. They also have a kitchen, wifi and offer laundry service for 4000 pesos a kilo. Breakfast is included. Rooms are 35,000 a night and the dorm is 15,000 a night. If staying for a week, you can get them down to around 30,00 per night on a double room.

In Palomino, the Zukla hostel on the highway is the cheapest place in town. At 12,000 pesos per person, you can’t find a better deal. It is a bit of a hippy hostel, but is provisioned with a kitchen, hammocks, and has a good, community vibe to it.

In Cartagena, the cheapest places to stay that are not full of prostitutes are the Posada del Pirata and the Hotel Marlin. The Pirata charges 30,000 for a double room (maybe less for a single) and the Marlin 40,000, which includes breakfast.

More information about Colombia

• Colombia Travel Guide
• Travelogue entries about Colombia

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