After spending a wonderful few days in Salento, it was time for us to leave the quiet coffee town and head up to Manizales. We caught a bus from the “transport terminal” which is really just a small bus stop across the road from the primary school, and headed back to Pereira’s bus terminal, where we caught another bus to Manizales, which took a good hour and a half.
Once we arrived in Manizales we caught the cable cart up to the city centre. You can catch a taxi, but why would you trade in views of this city for a regular car trip?
You just wouldn’t!
We then walked a further 10 or so blocks to our hostel, Kaleidoscopio, where we were greeted by an adorable Pomeranian-looking dog named Gizmo and our host Marta, who greeted us with a big smile and a cup of tea. Bliss.
Manizales is a reasonably quiet, medium-sized city situated in the Colombian Andes. It’s the capital of the Caldas department and is close to Nevado del Ruiz, one of Colombia’s most active volcanoes. It’s within the coffee region and is surrounded by beautiful greenery and rolling hills.
Manizales is part of the coffee region in Colombia and is actually one of the main producers of coffee in the country. As well as being known for friendly people (duh, what part of Colombia isn’t?) and coffee culture, Manizales is also a university city and an education hub.
Manizales might not be on the beaten track for many tourists making their way to Colombia, but I say that needs to change, because there’s so much to do in this city. I’ll be sharing more about my experiences in Manizales over the coming days, but in the meantime here’s some information about how to get to Manizales.
How to get to Manizales
By bus: Buses run from Pereira, Armenia and Medellin. The bus will drop you off at the Terminal de Transporte (Transport Terminal) in Manizales which has public toilets, food outlets and souvenir shops. Just down the hall and across the way, you’ll find the cable car station which will take you up to the centre of town for around $1,600COP (August, 2015). The buses range in quality and luxury, but if you pay a couple of extra dollars you can usually find quite a nice bus with comfortable chairs for the ride.
By plane: The only non-stop flights that run through Manizales are from Bogota and Medellin. So, if you’re heading there from another city, you’re going to have to pass through one of these cities en route. Flights range in price, but I bought mine from Avianca as part of a deal which include three flights (Bogota – Pereira, Medellin – Cartagena and Santa Marta – Bogota) and each flight ended up being around $63AUD.
Search for flights to Manizales here:
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Have you been to Manizales yet? Is it on your list? Let me know in the comments section below.
Hi Sarah,
I hope you’re well and still digging Colombia!?
My girlfriend and I are going there in January and I was wondering with the above post for flights where you were able to get such a good deal on the multiple destinations as the flights I saw on the website were £200+
We are going to fly into Bogota and then was hoping to fly into Manziales to go to the coffee country before catching another flight to Cartenga before catching the boat into Panama and chilling there a couple of days. We’ve only got 12 days so is essential to fly really. Do you have any further recommendations for this route/ alternatives?
Thank you,
Adam
Hey Adam, thanks so much for taking the time to comment and I’m so happy to hear that you and your girlfriend will be heading to Colombia soon. This post will let you know exactly what I did to get my flights as cheap as humanly possible: http://www.sarepa.com/2016/03/29/cheap-flights-to-colombia/ I hope it helps. As for your itinerary, what about something like this…
2 days – Bogota
3 days – Salento (fly to Pereira and then catch the bus the rest of the way)
2 days – Manizales (catch the bus from Salento via Pereira)
2 days – Medellin (fly or bus from Manizales)
3 days – Cartagena (fly from Medellin)
You might want to have a look at my 3-week itinerary, which will give you an idea of what got up to and the route I took: http://www.sarepa.com/2015/11/16/colombia-travel-itinerary-what-to-do-for-3-weeks-in-colombia/
I hope that helps, but if you have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to get in touch. 🙂
How far in advance did you buy your package of flights within Colombia? I am planning a two week trip to Colombia and hoping to visit the following places in December: Bogota – Coffee Region (any suggestions?) – Medellin – Cartagena – Bogota
We only have 14 days, so I have been looking for flights and it’s nearly $700USD! With such a short period of time and limited funds, are there any “coffee towns” that can be made as day-trips from Bogota or Medellin?
Hey Emily, I think I bought the tickets about three weeks before the trip. This post might help you with how to find cheap flights while you’re there: http://www.sarepa.com/2016/03/29/cheap-flights-to-colombia/ I’ve also written up a 3-week itinerary, which might come in handy. http://www.sarepa.com/2015/11/16/colombia-travel-itinerary-what-to-do-for-3-weeks-in-colombia/ I’d definitely recommend going to Salento if you have the time, but there are also coffee areas close to Bogota (In Fusagasuga, I believe). In Medellin you could visit Jardin, which also has a coffee plantation. Good luck, Emily! I hope that helps. 🙂