Armenia (Colombia)

Introduction

Zicht op vallei en Armenia

© Raf-Ellen

Armenia is the capital of the Quindío department in the central west of Colombia and has around 350,000 inhabitants.

Sights and Activities

• Parque De La Vida, Avenida Bolívar corner Calle 6N. Rather big park with a lake and a artificial water cascade. Calm atmosphere and good for relaxing. Many different trees including a bamboo forest. It is worth a visit.

Weather

Getting There

By Plane

El Edén International Airport (AXM) has flights to/from Bogota, Cartagena, Medellin and Fort Lauderdale-USA.

By Bus

The bus terminal is located 3 kilometres from the centre of town where there are plenty of hotels. Expect to pay no more than COP$4,000 for a cab to the centre.

• Cali : COP$22,000 / 3.30 hours.
• Bogotá : COP$40,000 / 8 hours.
• Medellín : COP$31,000 / 6 hours.
• Popayán : COP$31,000 / 6 hours.
• Manizales : COP$17,000 / 2.30 hours every 15 minutes with a minibus.
• Pereira : COP$7,800 / 1 hours every 15 minutes with a minibus.
• Salento : COP$4,200 / 0.30 hours.

Getting Around

By Car

There are taxis all over and they run into the night. Negotiate a price before riding if the meter is off.

Eat

• Restaurante Cafe Quindio Gourmet (www.cafequindio.com.co), Carerra 14, #7N (Ave. Bolivar) (Adjacent to the Parque de laVida, and across the street from Hotel San Martin in the upscale university area), ☎ +57 6 749 5970. 11-00 - 22:00. A dining experience in a clean, modern setting with outdoor seating under a large canopy in addition to the inside tables. Not pricey by U.S. or European standards, exotic appetizers and salads are priced from $9,500 - $16,500 COP, and beef, pork, chicken, seafood, and pasta entrees are $18,000 - $34,500 COP. Beverages include natural fruit juices, coffee, beer, wine, and scotch. A great venue for a first date with a lovely senorita, or your significant other. There are also Quindio coffees, coffee cookies, and gift sets available in the gift shop. The gracious owner, Jaime Moreno Motta, is likely to personally greet you, especially if he hears you speaking English, in which he, and several of his staff are fluent.

Sleep

• Hotel Cafe Plaza. Check-out: 3:00pm. 30,000 COP.
• Hotel Karlaka, Km 3 via al valle, ☎ +57 67426587. A great and warm place with kind staff, all types of rooms (nicely decorated), amazing swimming pools and a Turkish bath. The hotel is eco-friendly. 100,000 COP.
• Hotel San Martin, Carrera 14, #7N-32 (Ave. Bolivar) (Across the street from Parque de la Vida in an upscale area in the vicinity of the University and major medical clinics), ☎ +57 6 746 6078. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 12:00. A very pleasant, clean, and modern hotel with very helpful and friendly staff, within two blocks of various dining venues, drugstores and a supermarket. A very safe and quiet area in the evenings. Approximately $4,000 COP cab ride from the main bus terminal, and $2,000 - $3,000 COP from the chaotic downtown area. All rooms have LCD flat screen TV's, refrigerator, Wi-Fi, and include a hot breakfast. Single $79,000 - $89,000 COP; Double $111,000 - $123,000 COP; Triple $154,000 COP; and Studios for up to five persons $129,000 - $245,000 COP.
• Casa Quimbaya, Calle 16N # 14-92 (Take bus No. 18 from the bus terminal up to the stop "Hospital". Walk back one block (heading south) and turn right into Calle 16N. Hostel is at the end of the street on the right.), ☎ +573125900066, e-mail: info@casaquimbaya.com. Backpacker Hostel with dormitories and private rooms. Dorms start at $23,000 COP. The rooms and bathrooms are clean. Hot water available. Laundry service available. Kitchen available for cooking etc. Kind and helpful staff. A Café/Bar is located in the basement with street access, where music and sometimes live music is played until 22:00. Live music can be very loud and is heard in all the common rooms. Check-out at 11:00am.

You can use the form below to search for availability (Travellerspoint receives a commission for bookings made through the form)

Keep Connected

Internet

Internet cafes are easy to find in any city or town. Expect rates to run about $1,250-2,500 (around $US 0.50-1.00) per hour, depending on how much competition there is (i.e., cheap in Bogotá, expensive in the middle of nowhere). Quality of connections varies enormous and tends to better in populated places and tourist areas. Wifi is getting more and more popular in some hotels, restaurants and bars, but don't count on it and be careful regarding your privacy.

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

The country calling code to Colombia is: 57. To make an international call from Colombia, the code is: 005.

Using your own phone and SIM card is expensive so if you are planning to do quite a few calls, buy a phone or just a SIM card. It's simple enough to get a SIM card and even an unlocked phone at the international airport in Bogotá, although there is, of course, a price hike. They're not hard to find in any city either, just ask your hotel or hostel staff where to go. Topping up is also easy, and can be done pretty much on any street corner. The carriers you'll most likely see are Claro, Tigo, and Movistar. Claro is the most expensive (by a little bit), but has the widest coverage in the country, if you expect to get off the beaten path.

Post

4-72 is the unusual name of Colombia's postal service. They have post offices throughout the country, which are open usually from 9:00am to 5:00pm Monday to Friday and sometimes on Saturday mornings as well. That doesn't apply to all offices though, only the larger ones in the big cities. But for example along the Caribbean coast, offices tend to close between noon and 2:00pm. But even at the ones that are officially open all day long, it might be difficult to get anything done during those hours. For domestic services, sending letters and postcards is mostly reliable but takes days, for international services don't hold your breath. Eventually, a postcard or letter might arrive in the country of destination but it's almost not worth it. For parcels, you are better off using companies like FedEx, TNT, DHL or UPS.

External Links

• Official Website