Bogota to Medellin itinerary question

Hey, so I did exactly your plan in the same order. The only difference was from Jardin I didn't return to Medellin but carried on going south. It works.

Just make sure to get the bus people to know your plan to help you, cause a lot of the stops, like the Rio Claro entrance or the turn off to Guatupe aren't the last stops obviously, but just dropping you on the highway. And there may not be a lot of other people getting off. There could be a few, but maybe not.

I went from Guatupe to Jardin in the same day. You end up in the northern bus terminal in Medellin, but buses for Jardin leave from the south one. So you need to switch terminals, using a cab or transit.

You'll likely want at least a full day in Jardin, ie. 2 nights, cause the first day you'll arrive with only a bit of daylight. Not to say you couldn't do more nights, I would have - there was a fair amount of activities, I was just on a schedule at the time.

All those stops are good though. Jardin was probably the nicest small town I visited. And Rio Claro is great. Yeah this route you're doing right now might actually have been my favourite section of my Colombia trip. I went on to Santa Rosa de Cabal after Jardin, which I loved too, the hotsprings and the town is full of chorizo restaurants.

Anyway, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. You just have to be on guard on the bus you don't miss the stops - I much prefer when the final stop is actually the place you are going and there's no danger of driving by it.

Yamthrower, thank you so very, very, (VERY!) much for your thoughts and reassurance!! I based this itinerary by looking at maps, reading thru a few threads, etc., but it is another thing to have actual confirmation from a fellow traveler that is actually works and I am thrilled! I feel less apprehensive about some of these sequences (such as Guatupe to Jardin or the Rio Claro - Guatupe part.) I also really appreciate the reminder about mentioning bus stops to the various bus drivers, as well as the different bus terminals in Medellin.

I'm excited and only sad that I won't be able to visit a town full of chorizo restaurants! (I love chorizo!) After Medellin we fly north to the coast, etc.

Looking forward to our visit!! Thank you again, really!!

You're welcome. I was surprised seeing your route too cause I had just picked it out of a hat too based on things I thought sounded interesting. And I'd already spent time in Medellin on a previous trip so decided to skip it.

I guess another small detail about getting to Jardin. In the south terminal, buses aren't super frequent going there, but there are a few companies that do, so shop around for the departure time. I can't remember the times, but as an example I think one company had Jardin listed, I asked and they had one at 400pm (just an example time), and I would have had 4 hours to kill. But then I walked around and found another one at a better time, like 1:45 or something and only had to wait 1.5 hours.

I don't think the companies are really competing with the same time slots for Jardin, so if the first one has a good time for you, like leaving in 30 minutes, just go with it! Maybe this info is online somewhere - but the buses aren't as frequent to Jardin as other destinations, or other sections of your plan.

I'm jealous, you'll enjoy it.

Oh, that's good to know about the smaller demand for Jardin as a stop, I hadn't read or considered that before, but I will certainly keep it in mind and be aware of it. Adding all this info to my notes!

Incidentally, I think I started to put together this plan after reading about Rio Claro -- it seemed like a great place/experience so I kept trying to figure out how best to work it into the Bogota portion of our stay, while also aiming towards Medellin. (Backtracking from Rio Claro for a flight from Bogota-Medellin was a possibility, but I hate being bound to a flight schedule when there are other uncertainties, such as bus delays, or who knows what.)

Awesome! Will continue to look thru this forum as I finish planning my steps. Thank you! :-)

Your plan looks good, but I'm not sure about the time, since you didn't say exactly how many days you have for this part of your trip. Be aware that you will need to use both bus terminals in Medellin. Transport from Rio Claro will probably arrive at the northern bus terminal (not 100% sure about that), and transport to/from Guatape is from the Terminal Norte. But buses to Jardin leave from the Terminal Sur. Also, buses to Jardin don't leave every hour, more like 5-6 times each day. So you need to do some research on bus departure times if you want to avoid long delay in Medellin.

Plus, the southern bus terminal isn't on the metro line, so you can use metro to go part of the way there, but you need a taxi to arrive at the Terminal Sur.

mstep, thank you very much as well for this information about the buses for Jardin and the terminal info (it is especially useful to know which terminal the Guatupe buses leave from.) I have done some brief research on bus schedules, but will see if I can find even more info.

As for the time, we are hoping to spend 2 nights in Rio Claro, 1 in Guatupe, and 2 in Jardin. (From Sunday to Friday, basically, with the planning being to be back in Medellin by nightfall.) What do you think? I know it is not ideal, but do you get the sense that it's still too rushed? I would hate to leave Guatupe out, but maybe it's better to allot that time towards Jardin instead?

Would love to hear your thoughts if you care to share them. Thank you!

Hi yamthrower, If you have a moment, I'd like to ask a bus detail question, please.

I know the Bogota-Rio Claro bus stop isn't official, which is why one is supposed to notify the bus driver in advance, since it's not an official stop. So we're aware of this and we know we still have to walk a bit off the highway before reaching the Preserve entrance itself (some 20-30 mins, if I'm not mistaken).

1) My concern now is: what about when we are ready to head from Rio Claro-onward (to Guatupe, either via Medellin or turn-off)? Is it hard to catch a passing bus that is heading to Medellin? Or perhaps are we supposed to head to Doradal or another nearby town & aim to catch the bus to Medellin there?

2) One more logistical question: we travel with small, wheeled suitcases. We can try to have just one suitcase on this trip, but we definitely won't have backpacks. I've read plenty about the park, and just reaching it, so I'm anticipating how impractical it will be to have this type of suitcase, but we don't have a choice.

3) With this and the bus question in mind, would anyone ever recommend renting a car? We briefly toyed with idea and during some quick searches, issues like dealing with mountain roads, traffic, speedy drivers, etc, came up. I'm personally against this idea, but husband says it'll be his to research. I'm skeptical. He says we could leave the wheeled cases in there, carrying smaller items to the preserve....I'm concerned about a few things, already mentioned, but i'm sure it's also pretty $$$ to rent from Bogota and return the car in Medellin.

Anyways, if you or a fellow LPer has any thoughts they care to share, I'd be most appreciative! Thanks in advance.

1) You don't need to go to Doradal to continue towards Medellin. The reserve has a big arc-like entrance and entrance sign and is at a bend in the road. This is where you'll be dropped off and can catch a bus. From Bogota you're basically going to catch a Medellin bound bus.

From the entrance it is a 20-30 minute. It's not hard... hmmm the wheels will definately get dirty, it's a mix of gravel, dirt I think. I'm sure you could suck it up, it's not ideal but I think renting a car and driving is such a pain... depends how comfortable you feel.

Not sure your experience with buses in Colombia, but flagging them down is common as is requesting unusual stops in the middle of wherever. Both those are pretty standard practice. It's worth re-reminding the money collector guy depending on how sharp he seems, or just sit up near the front where you can be a constant reminder.

Also worth mentioning as I think you might have this detail off - but from Rio Claro you don't need to go all the way to Medellin. You will be looking for a Medellin bound bus, but tell them you're going to Guatape - you will be dropped off at the turn off to Guatape, this saves a few hours in bus backtracking. Being dropped off you'll now feel like a hitchhiker on the side of the road cause there doesn't really seem to be a great spot for a Guatape bus to stop, but if you flag it, it'll stop.

Also you'd asked about cutting out Guatape for more Jardin time... I would give a reverse variation of that idea - if you are loving Rio Claro and want more time, cut Guatape. And not to suggest you should just I would take that approach. Cause it's easier to decide you should cut something cause you're certain you love the current spot then imaging you might like Jardin more. You won't really know. I liked Rio Claro and Jardin more. Guatape is more of a weekend getaway town, I spent a Sunday and Monday and found it pretty quiet on the Monday, actually enjoyed the Sunday with all the crowds more. I'm glad I went, just I would pick the other 2 if I only picked 2.

I think any of the car rental stuff or traveling with that style of suitcase I don't have enough experience with. But the walk into Rio Claro isn't crazy up and down, not perfectly flat but it's not like doing a hike in the Rockies or anything... almost wondering if there could be a moto-taxi option or not. I took one from Doradal, but can't remember if any of those guys were actually hanging around the RC entrance.

I did Rio Claro, 3 nights (cause we went to Hacienda Napoles which ate up a day), Guatape 2 nights, Jardin 2 nights. But there's no right or wrong answer, your plan sounds fine. I suppose if you loved Rio Claro you could also look at like skipping Guatape saves some logistical hassle too, you'd just go straight to Medellin.

Leaving from Guatape to Medellin is easy, there's a small bus terminal so you can check times, I think it was hourly or something though. Let me know if you can any other questions.

Yes, if you get off the Medellin bound bus at the turnoff for Guatape, you can manage this itinerary in 6 days time. Obviously you'll spend a lot of time on buses. Medellin to Jardin is about 4 hours, and about the same to Rio Claro.