Decided on Bogota

[DRGUY1]

Well after spending much time exploring all the available options, I'm now planning my summer trip to Bogota.


I was close to signing up with Jaime's agency in BQ, but decided that for what I wanted, Bogota offered a different woman more suited to me.
If Bogota does not work out than I will consider BQ on my next trip.


Now, I need to arrange for a hotel... I have about 15 ladies that want to meet me, so I'm trying to figure out how much time I'll need to meet them and enjoy the city/culture.


Maybe I should pair down my list, but truthfully I like all the women and can't seem to eliminate any of them.  ...All of them have careers and everything I want.


 I'm hoping to meet 2-3 a day for the first 4-5 days, so maybe lunch, afternoon drinks and then dinner? otherwise 15 dinners would get pricey...


Any advice on how much time I should book for? ( I was thinking 10 days)
Any hotels?
Good places to take ladies?
Any other advice?


This board is a true asset and has been very helpful...Any advice from the old timers who have made the trip?
 

[benjio]

Any advice on how much time I should book for? ( I was thinking 10 days)
Any hotels?
Good places to take ladies?
Any other advice?

Bogota is an awesome city! I've been working here for the last few weeks but I've been here more times than I can count. I use to hate it but after meeting some people I've actually grown quite fond of the city. In my opinion 10 days is enough to get started. A couple of weeks is ideal though. If there are 15 girls interested in you, I'd count on at least 5 flaking, or you loosing contact with them between now and the time when you actually arrive.
 
I always stay at the Hotel Bogota Royal near Colombia's World Trade Center. It's a little pricey but it's in the best neighborhood in the city, it's near to tons of restaurants and clubs, and the service is absolutely impeccable. They have also recently remodeled and the rooms are REALLY NICE!!!
 
There's tons to do in this city. For restaurants, try Andres Carnes de Res. They have great food and an even better environment. There's usually live music and the bands are awesome! La Paloma is another restaurant up in the mountains on the north end of the city. The entire wall on the side of the restaurant that faces the city is glass. The panoramic view is absolutely amazing during the day and at night. It's a really romantic place. If you go ask for Rosa and tell her that her favorite negrito sent you. Outside of restaurants you have La Candelaria. Google it. Any girl you're dating from Bogota will have been there multiple times more than likely, but they'll want you to see it as a visitor. It's a nice part of the city that's very scenic. El Museo de Oro is fun. And during the right time of year the Botanical Garden is amazing.
 
Don't hail taxis on the street. Wherever you are, have someone call one for you. Stay away from La Zona Rosa if you're dating. There are some nice night clubs around that area but not somewhere you want to take a date. It can also be dangerous after dark. Traffic can be a nightmare between 7 and 10 a.m., and also 4-7 p.m. Try to do your moving around during the day or you'll spend hours sitting in taxis. If you're not use to high altitudes you may get a headache or have trouble breathing during the first couple of days. The air quality is horrible. There are no emission laws that I know of in Colombia so there are a ton of buses and trucks rolling around spewing out thick black smoke. I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself. Everytime I come here I realize there are a lot more beautiful women than people give the city credit for. Most of them are usually working so the best times to hunt are lunchtime and on the weekends in malls.

[bcc_1_2]

I'll let the experts of Bogota chime in but I suspect they'll say on the north side of Bogota. 15 dinners get expensive? You will be eating out every meal when you travel. I'm sure you can look online and they'll be plenty of tips on great places to eat that wont be a rip off. Anyways if 15 meals scares you... this adventure is too big of an expense and you ought to stop this process right now. I've always done well with food traveling and the price and service has normally been pretty good too.
By picking Bogota I think you are going to have a lot more educated chicas to pick from that hopefully know some ingles.

[Micky]

DrG -


Well good luck on your trip and most of all go with the attitude of "soak it in and enjoy".  Taylor your dates to your own comfort zone,  in both the time and money aspects,  why not?  BenJ is right on in the getting around the city,  maybe understated.  At the peak commute times it is a BITCH!  What can take 15/20 minutes in the 'off'  times can take well over an hour when the whole city is moving.  So give yourself PLENTY of time for that.  I am with BenJ,  in that Bog gets a bad rap,  some of it not deserved.  A couple of things that are really in your favor,  and Bogs.  On average,  you will find a more cosmopolitan population AND with their population,  an unlimited pool from which to choose from.

You can help keep costs down by just using bakery's and small local joints serving tipico meals.  The bakery's are a good place for initial meets.  They are ALL OVER THE PLACE and very greatly in style,  from sidewalk joints crowded with laborers,  to places that would embarrass a high end Starbucks.
You can find a ton of info on the city and sights on travel web sites.  The city has it's own webpage with all of the bus routes and more.

I do suggest though,  make 'meeting women'  secondary to you getting your feet wet,  getting a feel of the city,  culture and country.

BenJ's remark about some 'no shows'  is also spot on.  Some will be from valid reasons,  some will be that they were not 'really ready and willing'  to meet someone.  That part of it is not about you,  just the way it goes with Colombianas.

Anyway have a great time and enjoy every minute of the country,  city and the women.


Micky 

[Researcher]

i always stayed in the north part of bogota when i went. it is relatively safe. i never thought it was too pricey when compared to the states. that is a matter of opinion i guess. there are some smaller hotels in the north part that are a little cheaper but you mostly get what you pay for.

10 days for 15 women is a good time frame i think. they probably won't all show up. sorry, just the reality of it. i
never worried about having too many women to meet. if they all were to happen to show up, which was rare, i just stayed busy and had to keep notes!

i don't know if i would take them all for dinner. i always made the effort to meet them first. some of these bogota ladies will be really busy and may only have a short amount of time to meet you. take them to lunch or meet them over coffee. take them to somewhere you are interested in seeing like the gold museum.

the southern part of the city can be dangerous. like it was mentioned, call a taxi from a restaurant or hotel, not one off the street. be aware of your surroundings. don't carry large amounts of cash or wear fancy jewelry.

i met and married my wife in bogota. if you are looking for educated and motivated women to meet then bogota is the place.

[V_Man]

I met and married my wife in Bogota as well. I've left her there too unfortunately!!! 

There are plenty of every type of woman in Bogota.
If you can't find a woman here, it means you can't speak Spanish and/or you didn't look hard enough.

I have stayed in a few different hotels. There are no shortage of options.
I did stay in a nice hotel in La Candelaria recently but a few years ago there have been break-ins to hostels in this area. It is nice to visit this area but for your first trip it may be better to find a hotel north of this. I have had good results via Booking dot Com. There are many options.

Stay away from the south of the city. The central, north or west is fine. For your first 2 week stay There is not much reason to go outside the central and central north. However I would recommend a day trip to Zipaquira on a 2nd/3rd date with a girl you really like.

There is a lot to do in this city. The women will have ideas.
Museo de Oro and Monerrate are a couple of must do things.

Lunch, dinner, drinks. This will be fine. Central Bogota is much more expensive than the rest of Colombia so it will add up but this very much depends exactly where you go. You need to eat anyway so it wont be a big deal really.

If you find a woman you think you could develop something serious with, arrange to meet her family in her home.

The earlier comments about Bogota traffic during rush hour are no exageration. 2 hours to go a relatively short distance is normal at this time of day.

Good luck!!

[DRGUY1]

Thanks for all the replies.


You guy's covered many things I would have found out the hard way.


I didn't even think about the attrition rate on the dates, so maybe 15 is ideal given a few no-shows.


The 15 dinner comment was more in jest. I'm probably more concerned about being efficient with my time, and not wasting too much time on dinner dates that go nowhere or lack mutual interest. Even in the US I usually meet women for coffee or a drink so I can call it night if there is no spark or connection....so the bakery is a good idea.

The meet the family idea is great advice too.

Making meeting women secondary is a very interesting way to view this process Mickey and it actually put things into a different perspective---which may be more natural when meeting people. I like that idea a lot.

Thanks everyone. Now I need to look at my flight options.

[V_Man]

DRGuy, On my first trip I spent a week doing tourist things before I did the wife hunting thing. So that attitude worked for me.

[Kiltboy1]

On all my trips to Bogota I always stayed at SUITES REAL 85 in the Zona Rosa. You get a large room with courtyard, kitchen, sitting area, great bed and cooked to order breakfast sent to your room.
 
You are 5 minute walk to all the action in the Zona Rosa. I have not been to Bogota in 5 years but it was like $60 US back then.
 
Enjoy
 
KB