Bogota to Medellin itinerary question

I've done the Bogota Rio Claro route before, and I just got off at Doradal and caught a taxi the rest of the way. Some bus companies in Colombia only drop off/pick up at terminals, so make sure you're with a company that is ok with dropping you off on the side of the road. Honestly, if you're on the fence about coordinating to get dropped off on the highway, then just head to Doradal and get a taxi for the rest of the trip. The taxi ride was about 10 min and it cost 15,000 cop. We rode with another local and just split the cost 2 ways. The taxis were lined up on the street that the bus dropped us off on. We just asked some random guy standing around, and he pointed us in the right direction. Also, I'm pretty sure that buses plying the Bog-Medellin route, don't pass by Rio Claro and Doradel. They do pass through La Dorada and you can transfer there to Doradel very easily. Ideally, you'll want to get a bus from Bogota to Doradal. If you can't swing it, then get a bus to La Dorada from Bogota, change there for Doradel and then catch a taxi in Doradel the rest of the way to Rio Claro

We asked the people working at the reception desk in Rio Claro to help us with transport the rest of the way to Medellin. She basically called the office in Doradal, and found out when the next bus was supposed to be passing by Rio Claro. We just headed to the highway around that time and waited for about 5 min. As mentioned before, if you can't get help, then just go to the highway and flag down the next Medellin bound bus that you see pass. The busses bound for Medellin most likely stopped in Doradal, so there's no need to backtrack. You'll see that many rural Colombians catching a bus, just go to the nearest highway and wait for the next bus to come along.

There are accommodations in Rio Caro right next to the highway. If you stay in those, then having a wheeled suitcase isn't a problem. However, the accommodations further in the park, are about 1km from the highway down a dirt road. You probably could find someone at the entrance to give you a ride, but if you can't, you're then stuck lugging that suitcase down a dirt road for about 1km. Skip the car rental and just make reservations in the cabañas by the highway.

Also, you will be taken to the north terminal if you decide to head to Medellin from Rio Claro. Since the buses from Guatape leave from that terminal, then there shouldn't be any transfer issues.

@ yamthrower, again, thank you for your quick reply and for all of the detailed information you've provided! I also appreciate the confirmation about not having to head all the way into Medellin, before catching the bus to Guatupe. This is what I thought was possible when I saw on the map that there is a road/turn-off for Guatupe from the Medellin-bound highway, but I was unsure. This seems more practical than doubling back from Medellin. Thanks for explaining what to expect at the turn-off and how to go about fulfilling that leg of the trip.

Thanks also for really clarifying the info about buses in Colombia -- I hadn't read this detail about flagging buses down in the course of my research, so having explicit details like this is really helpful to me, and other travelers who might be considering similar circumstances. My research did show that bus company Rapido Ochoa goes to both La Dorada and Doradal, but I think we'll ultimately figure out which bus route to take, depending on what various bus companies tell us when we are ready to go.

I also appreciate the description about the walk to the entrance of the park -- doesn't sound impossible, despite the luggage, maybe not ideal, but not something we can't suck up. (I just didn't want to find myself in a totally absurd situation. I kept seeing references to backpacks in the course of my research and they seem ideal for this portion of the trip, but it's not something i can manage at the moment.)

@ mstep, both you and yamthrower are helping me really take into consideration the amount of time we'll be spending on buses. I'm leaning towards possibly skipping Guatupe, cute and visually interesting though it seems, because of all the bus time. I know a mistake travelers often make is to try to cram everything into a relatively short trip, only to spend the majority of time moving from place to place, rather than actually spending time in the destination and I don't want to do that! So thanks for the food for thought.

@ airbn51st, thank you as well for sharing your experience, as it totally convinced my husband that car rental wasn't necessary and I'm personally relieved about that (it might be great for some, but it strikes me as a bit of a hassle, etc.) We're hoping to stay in one of the open-air cabanas at the preserve, otherwise that hotel (with a pool!) by the entrance would be perfect. I also feel better knowing that the onward bus situation isn't as messy as I feared. It is just great having an idea of what to expect.

Again, thanks to all of you for your detailed, explicit tips, as everyone has different traveling styles, and some, like me, appreciate having as much info as possible beforehand, so that we have an idea of what to expect. Traveling is fun, but can certainly have moments of stress, so It's great to have options, information, back-up plans, and feedback, and it is such a relief to know that this plan should work.

You guys rock!! Seriously made my weekend. :-) Looking forward to my trip!

Tatsy, I'm thinking of also doing that same itinerary (Rio Claro / Guatape / Jardin) and am on the fence about how much time to spend in Guatape. Please do return and give your impressions after your trip. Thanks!

yukon_jack, I'm happy to do so! Will let you know how we fare. We leave mid-Nov, so expect my observations in end November/early December.

Hi there,

As the OP for this post, I wanted to offer some tips and info about this topic, based on my recent experience back on November 2016. Again, factors will and do vary for everyone, so just wanted to share my own experiences.

We were planning to catch a bus from Bogota to Rio Claro Nature Preserve, via the Medellin bus route after reading tips on various forums, as well as the preserve's own website and admin. office (with whom we made booking reservations.) We arrived at the Terminal del Sur in Bogota around 11 AM on a Monday and immediately headed towards the Boliviarano ticket booth. Bought two tickets for full price (Bogota - Medellin) scheduled for 11.30 AM. (65,000 COP, if not mistaken)

Two recommendations I'd like to offer future travelers: it seems incredibly obvious to me now, but it's best to arrive as early as possible in the morning (8, 9 AM?) 11.30 departure was entirely, entirely too late, as the traffic leaving Bogota was terrible -- our bus didn't reach the toll booth until 1.15, almost two hours later. (I was mistaken about the estimated travel time, as I explain below.)

Secondly, we chose Boliviarano because we were concerned about seating comfort for the ride. Since the Preserve isn't an official stop on the route, of course, we had to notify the driver about our plans. We initially told the Assistant Bus driver about our plans and he responded that we wouldn't arrive at our destination until 8PM or so (!!) I contacted the Preserve's office right away and explained that I hadn't anticipated such a late arrival so the operator said she would leave our room key with the security guard at the entrance.

In hindsight, I would opt for any of the other small bus lines that operate directly or include Rio Claro as a designated stop. When I told the Assistant bus driver about our stop, he didn't relay this info the the actual bus driver and it wasn't until we stopped for dinner that I casually mentioned this to the actual bus driver. He said, 'It's a good thing that you told me because I didn't know that!' I thought the assistant would have told him but it turns out the assistant was getting off at the rest stop and hadn't mentioned our stop to the driver. :-o

Also, we thought that this bus ride would take around 6 hours or so since guidebooks/info online mostly listed the travel time from Bogota to Medellin to last about 9 hours and I knew that Rio Claro to Medellin took about 3 hours. In any case, our ride took closer to 9-10 hours, just from Bogota to Rio Claro --- which meant that we didn't arrive to the park until way after dark -- 8 or 9 PM, which meant.....walking that 1 mile entrance in the pitch dark. Luckily we had our flashlights, etc, but it was a bit creepy, to say the least (think Blair Witch scene, hahaha!)It was also really humid and we'd been wearing l/s shirts to combat the a/c in the bus. We were quite a sight when we arrived to our rooms, but the view and the room itself was a welcome reward! Loved staying in the open-air space.

One last thing, we rolled our wheeled suitcases over that dirt road, as well as the stone path walkway within the preserve, but did incur significant damage to the wheels/frame (our suitcases weren't even heavy -- the road is simply pretty rocky.) I can see why it's preferable to travel with backpacks and would recommend this for future visitors. Also, I can see why guidebooks recommend this as a day trip from Medellin -- much closer than coming from Bogota. After leaving the preserve, we continued into Medellin without any problem.

@yukon_jack if you're reading this, unfortunately we weren't able to visit Guatape on this trip. We ended up staying an extra day in Bogota and so we headed straight to Jardin (via Medellin) after leaving the Preserve.

Either way, I highly recommend visiting the preserve for a night or two as it's a beautiful place and a relaxing experience. Loved the rafting! We didn't do the cave hiking, as we had enough excitement just getting to the park entrance that first night! :-p

Oh, I should also point out one thing about the Bogota-Rio Claro bus ride. It's possible that this route doesn't usually take this long, especially in the very early morning or the overnight. The weather was fine during our ride, wasn't raining or anything, but I think there was roadwork in parts - a few instances of one-lane only traffic, in which we had to wait for opposite traffic to go before we could use the same road. Also, lots of tanker trucks on this route so this slowed down things as well. I remember sending my sister a text as we crossed a bridge into Honda and this was around 5 PM. The bus ride itself is pretty, but lots of twists and turns -- I don't suffer from carsickness, but I did feel a bit nauseous at times, much to my surprise.

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