[elhúngaro]

Pereira, Risaralda, Colombia Data Sheet

I spent 4 days in Pereira recently, so I thought a mini data sheet is in order. I tried my best to get as much information during this short trip, so I can give something useful back.

The city

The city itself is not nice at all. Little bit run down, and rough around the edges. There is not much to do in the city, so I personally wouldn't recommend staying here long term. Maybe somebody who spent more time here, could see it differently.


Getting here

Easy to reach from the States by plane, especially from Florida. There are no direct flights though as far as I know. Once in Bogota or Medellin, you can either fly or take the bus. Flights take off from Olaya Herrera airport. I was in Medellin, and I choose taking a bus, just for the experience. Cost was around 20 dollars if I remember right, but this was with a company, that has small vans instead of buses, so it was in a way faster. Other companies are cheaper though. Buses leave from Terminal del Sur.


Getting around

Take taxis. They are cheap, so it is the most convenient option.

Money

You can exchange money in Éxito, that's located close to Hotel Movich. Stepping out of the hotel, go to the right on Carrera 13, then turn left on Calle 14, cross the bridge, and on the left side you'll see the supermarket. Go inside, cross all the way next to the cashiers, once you are out on the other side of the market, just turn right, and you'll see a place where you can exchange. They ask for the copy of your passport, and also take fingerprints there.


Accommodation

I stayed at Hotel Movich. The hotel is not something to brag about, not luxurious in any way, but it was clean, and located in a good spot.

https://movichhotels.com/index.html?optio...d=dcd6bcaf

I also checked out Hotel Sazagua and Hotel Visus. Both amazing properties, but a little out of the action.

I checked Airbnb to see if there are options, but decided to stay in Movich instead.

Safety

Pereira is a little bit rough. I was warned by colombian friends, not to take taxis at night (of course we did), and to watch out at night for the surroundings, because still many people carry guns in that city. Also they warned me to be careful which girl I hit on, because I could get into trouble. I didn't experience any problems, but I was more careful than say in Medellin.

Food

Typical Colombian food, not much to add here.

Things to do

Visit Cocora Valley National Park. It's one of the most amazing sites you will ever see. A private driver took us there (took us around 1 hour to get there). Once at the park, we hired a tour guide, who took us on a 3.5 hours hike up to the mountains. We paid 40.000 pesos for that, totally worth it. If you have hiking boots, and have more time (and you are not hungover like me), you can a 7 hour hike, up to 4000 meters high.

On the way back from the national park, stop by at Salento. Nice little town. Not much to do there, but it has nice buildings, you can buy coffee and other souvenirs there.

I haven't had the time to go to the termal baths, but termales de Santa Rosa are close to Pereira. Next time I will definitely go there.

The girls

Now the best part. The quality of girls is really high here. There was a graduation event in the hotel where I stayed, and there were hotties entering and leaving the building constantly. People in Pereira are not used to foreigners that much, so your value is higher than in Medellin for example.
I hooked up in my first night there in a reggaeton bar. It didn't take much effort, just a little dancing.

Clubs

Honestly I can't remember the name of any places, because we were smashed most of the time, but I can tell, that most of the bars and clubs are around Hotel Movich, within walking distance. Just start walking from Movich on Carrera 13, and you'll start seeing the bars and clubs in the area. There is a place around the neighbourhood, where they give out free shots called Pablo Escobar. I'll try to remember the name of the place and share it later. I attached a map of the area.

   


I'm not a fan of strip clubs and whore houses, but Las Paisitas is close on carrera 12 Bis # 9-29. The other one that's worth a visit is Flores Frescas y naturales. It's in a bad part of town. I don't remember the address, but most taxi drivers will know it. The quality of girls here was pretty high. I met there one of the most beautiful girls I have seen in years. I tried shoring her, but she was not up for it. You can have lapdances starting from 40.000 pesos and up.

Hope this datasheet helps a little to those who want to visit Pereira soon.
Enjoy….

[Road_Less_Taken]

Nice data sheet. I was in Pereira a month ago, I can confirm everything you said.

The city is quite run-down in comparison to other Colombian cities and it is not very safe. Most of my friends there have been robbed at least once. That being said being there for a while it is unlikely anything will happen, though just because you go there for a week and don't get robbed doesn't make it safe.

[elhúngaro]

(01-03-2014 01:04 AM)Road_Less_Taken Wrote:  

Nice data sheet. I was in Pereira a month ago, I can confirm everything you said.

The city is quite run-down in comparison to other Colombian cities and it is not very safe. Most of my friends there have been robbed at least once. That being said being there for a while it is unlikely anything will happen, though just because you go there for a week and don't get robbed doesn't make it safe.

Yes, it is definitely not very safe over there. I was probably lucky to have colombian friends with me most of the time.

[azulsombra]

How does pereira compare to barranquilla? Thats a pretty rough and grimey city in my opinion.

[elhúngaro]

I haven't been to Barranquilla yet, so I can't compare the two.

[getdownonit]

Bumping this thread since I'm headed to Colombia for three weeks in March. My flight is into Pereira, so I'm trying to do as much research as possible before deciding where to spend my time and if it's worth checking out more than one city since Pereira is fairly close to other cities like Bogota, Cali, Medellin, Manizales, Armenia, and Ibague.

My trip is still a few months away but I figured I'd post this now since the deal I booked is still available, if anyone wants to jump on that. $332 from NYC.

Anyway, from what I've read from previous datasheets it seems to me that Pereira may be too small of a city to spend three weeks in. My main concern is whether it's feasible to spend 3 weeks entirely in Pereira (culture/liveability as well as game opportunities, in terms of not running into the same people all the time). I would gladly split up my time and explore more of the country, but since it may be difficult to get the bang before date 2 or 3, and considering the flake culture, it seems wiser to stay in one place; am I right about that?

I prefer quality over quantity, and would gladly put in the work for a top shelf curvy Colombiana (or as close to that as possible). I speak fluent Spanish (Spain), am mid-20s, white, and have no other obligations to attend to while there.

What would you suggest as an itinerary? Any advice is much appreciated and I'll be sure to bust out a datasheet on wherever I end up!

[Americas]

If I were to go back to Colombia, I think I would spend the bulk of my time in the Pereira, Manizales, and Armenia region. These girls are seriously cute, the area is more chilled out, and the gringo level is definitely a lot lower than other more well-known areas of Colombia.

[getdownonit]

(12-15-2014 10:44 PM)Americas Wrote:  

If I were to go back to Colombia, I think I would spend the bulk of my time in the Pereira, Manizales, and Armenia region. These girls are seriously cute, the area is more chilled out, and the gringo level is definitely a lot lower than other more well-known areas of Colombia.

Thanks, I'll check out the info on Manizales and Armenia here. That could be a great trifecta, since they're each only about an hour or so away from Pereira according to google maps.

Another question that came to my mind was whether the gringo overload in Medellin or Bogota would work against all white foreigners, even a native Spanish speaker like myself. Obviously the lack of gringos would work to my benefit in these three second tier cities, but I want to go to the places with the best women and best variety.

Given what I've read about Colombianas, I think it would be best to avoid a situation like this:

(02-01-2012 07:12 AM)european_lover Wrote:  

Ok, I decided to post my datasheets also in the forum! Here the one for Pereira!
I was there in August 2011.

...

The city is medium sized (around 500000 people), but everybody always go to the same places: the girls will catch you sooner or later with another girl. Even though I spent only one week in the city, I saw several people again, just by chance. Scary.

[Corroncho]

If you want to be safe in Pereira, stay somewhere on/near Via Circunvalar. The whole street is commercial, malls, bars, restaurants, so even late at night there will be people around and it's not as sketchy as the rest of Pereira. Anywhere from the roundabout at the top of Circunvalar down to the the stoplight near the McDonalds is good for day game and night game, and during the day you can walk down to Victoria mall/Exito area without problems. There is some seriously hot ass in that city with much less plastic than Medellin.

[chochemonger1]

Heading to Pereira this weekend. I planned on going to Manizales, but I got about a 4x greater response from girls in Pereira online, so it is a no brainer. Quality wise, the difference seems small, though there are a bit more whiter looking girls in Manizales.
Manizales just feels more conservative, so I am guessing that for a 2 weeks stay, more fun can be had with girls in Pereira.
I will definitely be on anti-flake mode, as soon as I touch ground.

[chochemonger1]

I was in Pereira for a few days several years ago. Did not like it that much, but from experience ones need 3 weekends to really judge a city and its women.
Thank goodness that the average age of girls I am communicating has gone down to 20, in Pereira, compared to about 28 in Bogota. That is one reason I cant recommend Bogota for men over 35.

[scotian]

Pereira and the coffee zone are my favourite places in Colombia, I probably should have stayed there longer this time but I opted to go to Cali instead. I was there three weeks ago for five days, you should definitely stay within walking distance of Circunvular for the best logistics, that's where the best bars, restaurants and clubs are at, all up the hill from the McDonalds. Here's a few bars you can hit up:

Icaro: American themed bar with Mexican food, its cheap and attracts a good crowd from 8pm on.

Yii: I think thats what it's called, its directly across the street, about 10 meters from Icaro, a bit more upscale and also attracts a good crowd, both places will be packed on the weekends.

Prima Classe: Just down the hill from the above two, its part of a three bar complex, a decent place to take chicks to after ten to dance, great customer service (for Colombia) and great prices, 55.000 for a large bottle of guaro, they also serve shisha.

There's a few more, all on the hill but I forget their names, you'll see them anyway, the farthest up is an Irish pub, you could start there and work your way down. There's a few more pubs and restaurants farther up the circunvular, maybe another 300 meters or so.

Doesquebradas: After hours area across the bridge, there's a strip of clubs, I only went once and wasn't overly impressed, it was down grade and a bit sketchy (for me, someone who likes rougher joints).

Daygame: You'll find some targets at the two largest malls: Parque Arboleda on the circunvular and Plaza Victoria which is downtown, they are both decent in the early even too. You can walk around downtown, I like the walk from Plaza de la Libertad to Plaza Bolivar on carrera 8, it will be very busy with people selling stuff and others moving about the downtown core. Plaza de la Libertad is rough, I stay at a cheap hotel there sometimes (Hotel Libertad, 50.000/night) but is ok in the day, you're much better off hanging out at Plaza Bolivar, its full of old dudes playing chess during the day and people slanging tinto. I also stayed at a more expensive place with my buddy on plaza Bolivar called Hotel Soratama (300.000/night), it was nice but location not ideal for night game, there's a couple of bars in the area but nothing special. There's a mall there too with a good food court and a decent bar on the third floor.

Activities: Definitely hit up Parque Del Cafe and Salento, I also went to the Thermales in Santa Rosa de Cabal, they were ok but nothing too special, would be better with a chick. I also highly recommend hitting up the coffee finca called Don Monolo, a great place to spend an hour or more doing a coffee tour and drinking/buying coffee, its a small spot owned by a very nice family, I've been there three times, its a great place to bird watch too, its only an 8000 peso ride from downtown and has a nice view of Pereira.

Day trip to Manizales and Armenia are easy, hop on a bus and you'll be in either city within an hour, walk around then come back, I found Manizales to be a really nice city but Armenia was a bit weak. I wouldn't worry too much about Pereira being dangerous, you know Colombia well, just do what you do elsewhere. Good luck, looking forward to your report.

[bootyhuntah]

There is great stuff here. I will also link this thread from tomtud and myself. Had a lot of fun in this place.

[Diego1993]

Did the hotel allow you do bring girls back?

[DigitalNomad]

There are some decent and cheap Airbnbs nearby Circunvalor, probably the best bet if you don't want to worry about hotel guests

[Palo_alto]

(03-28-2017 01:00 PM)Diego1993 Wrote:  

Did the hotel allow you do bring girls back?

I brough a girl back to a MOVICH hotel in Bogotá. I told the reception she was not staying the night so no charge. She left at 4am

I am sure they will charge you about U$40 or so.

[scotian]

It depends on the hotel but generally they charge, some don't charge for guests that leave within an hour so fuck her and chuck her! Most of the hotels I stay at in places like Bogota, Pereira, Medellin, Cali are cheap places and they know me so I just tip the front desk guy 10.000 pesos and they are cool.

[newgame]

Always reserve for two guests. Yes, you'll usually have to check her in, but if you have reserved for two they're not going to turn her away.

[Diego1993]

In Cali I stayed in Four Seasons, they didn't charge extra (I had booked for 2) but it was quite uncomfortable to go and register everytime. I tried to go in without registering few times, but then the guard came running after. So I think a apartment is the best choice.

So around Circunvalor area is the best place to stay in Pereira?

[scotian]

^Yes

[Palo_alto]

In order to get a girl back to your hotel and not get the charged you have the following options:

1. Always book for 2. Usually hotels in Latin America do not charge extra when you book 1 room for 2 people. Always book for 2. Then you check inn and tell the receptionist that your wife, cousin from Morocco or female colleague will arrive later. Then when you bring your girl back to the hotel you just register her as your guest and VOILA! free! (You can also say that her flight got delayed or whatever)

2. Get 2 room keys and give one to your plate. You arrive earlier that night and tell the HO to come over later, nobody will stop a nice woman carrying an hotel key and she will go straight to your room.

3. Garage: This one is magic. If you are driving, come back to the hotel garage with your girl and then go up straight to your room. No questions asked. You can also tell your UBER driver or taxi to get into the garage. I remember one time in Lima I met my tinder date at a bar literally in front of my hotel. We start making out, I ask for an uber just so the guy can drop us in the hotel garage in front of the bar (Charge was 1 SOL) LOL.

4. Hotel bar. Some hotels have sky bars or bars at the top/roof floor. Just come with the HO to the bar and then go down to your room, no questions ask.

I have use this in several countries all over Latin America. Never had an issue. I can go into details in case needed.

Hope this helps

[Merenguero]

^^^
You really have to be careful with the room key thing. If you have another girl over, you are likely setting yourself up. If you give the key to a girl you don't know very well, you msy be setting yourself period. I gave an extra key to a girl one time and just ended up having to get the front desk to shut off all existing keys and just issue me a new key. I've had over a hundred girls in hotel rooms in many countries for decades and the only time I was cockblocked was in Playa del Carmen. I'm surprised that the pinches fregon who wouldn't let me bring a girl in didn't try to sell me drugs. Everyone else did. There was that other time in Honduras where a guy came up to my room and asked me for extra money when I had too girls with me. Other than those teo times, nobody ever blinked.

[Prince Charming]

What a timely bump for this thread. One of my girls in Medellin wants to go to Termales en Santa Rosa de Cabal with me this weekend. but looks like people here dont really recomend it and say Cocora valley hike is better. Gonna try and delay the trip to another weekend but ill report back when I go.

[Diego1993]

Yes you can book for 2, but then you can only bring one girl, when you bring the next they will start to create problem. Bar idea is good, but again it works with only 1-2 girls, after that they start to notice it. Still all of this is a bit of headache, a nice apartment no one will say anything.

In Europe it's no problem at all, but in SA they try to charge extra.


Should I take 6 days in Cali and 4 in Pereira, or 5 in both cities?

[Nascimento]

Ah, good old Pereira. I've used it as a stepping stone to Salento and Cocora twice, and I ended up staying longer or coming back to it afterwards each time.

I really recommend the Cocora valley hike. The first time I went I was with a girl and we didn't make it past the beginning. Napped in the grass by the stream instead. The second time I made it a point to go alone because I wanted to do the full hike myself. Took me around 5-6 hours, stopping at the place with the hummingbirds and the "peak". I only found out at the top there's even more to hike up if one is so inclined, but that's a mission on its own. If I remember correctly, you could even hike across the mountain and make it out to Ibague on the other side.

I found the experience to be highly memorable. Alone time with nature in deep thought, great views, etc. Didn't run into many people because I started early, but I did meet a group of Argentines on the way down, they were a cool bunch.