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Going to Cartagena broke as hell
12-30-2010, 12:09 AM
OK
So I teach English in Bogotá. I'm currently in the US for the holidays, going back to Colombia soon. My ticket is for Cartagena, and I'm gonna bus it back to Bogotá after about 10 days.
Unfortuantely, when I booked my ticket I didn't know how broke I'd be, but I'm still going for it.
Any experienced travellers who have reccomendations on cheap hostels, bars, restaurants or areas would be primo. I know the city is mad touristy, but 80% of it is supposed to be pretty poor, so I can't imagine it's impossible to find cheap stuff.
For instance, can I get lunches for 3 mil if I get out of la ciudad amurallada? My Spanish is fluent (though I still have an accent/make mistakes) and I'm not afraid of poor areas or whatnot. What about nightlife in non-touristy areas? My salsa game is so-so, but I know a few moves to get by on.
Hit me with your best reccomendations on doing Cartagena cheap and I'll hit you guys back with my best data sheet after the trip. Think complete flip side of G Manifesto.
P.S. since I'm bussing back I'll probably be staying in a few stops along the way. I'm thinking Medellín and Manizales for a night or 2 each, but reccomendations for alternatives on the way back to Bogotá are welcome.
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Going to Cartagena broke as hell
12-30-2010, 01:09 AM
I'm fairly certain certain that Cartagena is the last city you wanna be broke in Colombia. I think I remember reading it is pretty expensive.
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Going to Cartagena broke as hell
12-30-2010, 01:11 AM
it be great if you could get into some non touristy parties / clubs.
id ask some locals on the streets to get the 411....
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Going to Cartagena broke as hell
12-30-2010, 01:59 AM
Well guys I'm already going to be couchsurfing there on Islas del Rosario for a bit, then a bit in the actual city. It's happening.
Believe it or not I don't drink alcohol. So my only expenses are really food, taxis/busses and events. Being so touristy, I know there must be free events left and right like outdoor concerts, dance expositions etc.
Though I guess I'm gonna have to trailblaze and see what I come up with for broke ass people...
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Going to Cartagena broke as hell
04-15-2011, 12:01 PM
Sonsowey -
How did this Cartagena "on the cheap" trip work out?
I was kind of looking forward to "the complete flip side of G Manifesto."
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Going to Cartagena broke as hell
04-15-2011, 06:22 PM
Alright well, here's how it went down:
In Cartagena I had (and still have) a girlfriend and I do that monogamy thing, so my pussy hunting was not serious, though I did scope out some spots. Although better than spots, was simply taking walks and starting chats with girls.
Bassically, my experience in Cartagena was this: Almost everyone visiting there seems to be there in couples. The exceptions seem to be family vacations.
However, every girl I ended up chatting with was a local girl. I spent alot of time during the day just taking strolls, getting to know the city, and would just chat up random girls doing the same. Going to the store, just taking a walk after work, killing time between classes etc.
Girls there were nice and easy to approach just walking around. Since it's such a touristy city, many places make sure that their waitresses/shop attendants are particularly cute. I even had one girl tell me that they give her blood tests at the restaurant she works at to make sure she isn't eating too much sugar...
I couchsurfed in Laguito, a rich hotely area of the city. The people who let me crash at their house for free were paying a ton of rent for a place with a whole bedroom they didn't even use for themselves.
There are beaches all around, Laguito itself is like on a small peninsula, but the beaches are pretty family oriented. Any chicks on their own there were like teenagers straying from their parents, too young no dice really.
The places I went out in were in the center, Quiebra Canto was good to bring someone to to dance Salsa, but not to pick up.
Leon de Bavaria had bad rock covers, and a crowd that was like half tourists. More a place to go to get Euro chicks, and it was packed on Sunday night.
If you find Leon de Bavaria, which is just a few blocks walk outside of the walled city, it is on a block with tons of bars that play reggaeton, and just walking up this bar you could get a sense for which places were bumpin. Again, usually couples but of course some groups where some girls are not getting fucked.
I spent several nights in the center drinking outside with people I had met that night. Actually ran into a chick from Bogotá and spent the night with her friends, just drinking outside at all those tables near the entrance across from Quiebra Canto.
Another night I ended up meeting up with some Irish tourists and drinking outside kinda exploring the center (totally safe feeling at night).
Twice I went out towards this mall called La Castellana, in a working class area of Cartagena. One myth about this city that it's either VERY rich or VERY poor. Certainly there are many very poor areas, but there are plenty of tranquil working class areas. This area was nice and chill, with prices that seemed more normal to me. The mall itself was not too bumpin, but if you chill there a while you could meet some chicks. I actually ended up meeting up with a chick I met on couchsurfing that showed me around twice. Very nice area, reccomend getting to know it.
Street food here is WAY better than Bogotá, you get empanadas made fresh stuffed with like spiced pulled chicken, real ass food. Walking from El Castillo de San Felipe to the center, you pass by lots of real ass areas of Cartagena where you can buy nice fried street food for real little. And they sell 400 peso bags of water on the busses, which are money for a hot day.
The whole time I was there, I spent only 150,000 pesos in 8 days. That's like 10 bucks a day, but I hardly drank and took busses instead of cabs.
Oh, buses were actually the place where I saw the highest concentration of hot chicks. Easy to start up a chat on a bus for sure, girls in general were very friendly.
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Going to Cartagena broke as hell
04-15-2011, 07:51 PM
You can def do Cartagnena on the cheap! Stay in a hostel or budget hotel. The food i have seen ranges from 6 mil - 15 mil. So not bad at all.
Now for nightlife you HAVE to get the hell away from Centro, i mean like 20 minutes away! At Mr Babilas last night one plain beer cost 5 bucks. That shit cost like 1 buck, 2 at the most! Then there was a 5 dollar cover.
Taxis are cheap, buses are DIRT cheap. As far as taxis are concerned just make sure you ask how much before getting in. Some will try and screw you. Dude last night didnt even answer my question that i asked like 3 times then charged me 15 mil for a lil 5-7 min ride! WTF
