Money: The currency in Colombia is the Colombian peso (COP). At the time of our visit (Jan 2022) 1$ = approximately 4,000 COP. Yay geographic arbitrage!

ATM: Like most places in the world you can usually get the best conversion rates by pulling money from an ATM rather than going to a currency exchange. We had problems using some machines, but Davivienda and Bancolombia were reliable.

Tipping: 10% is usually listed as a voluntary service fee. Check you bill to see if service was already included. If not included, most places will ask if you’d like to tip the service (propina). Otherwise you’ll need to ask them to include it.

Restaurants/Cafés: We found service in general to be pretty relaxed, so be mindful if you are in a rush. Ask for the wifi password upfront in order to view the menu as the pandemic has popularized paperless menus. Many restaurants will ask to see your COVID19 vaccine card before seating you (our digital copies worked fine). 

• If paying via credit card, tell them “tarjeta de crédito“. You may be asked for your “cellula” which is a Colombian ID number. Just tell them “soy extranjero” (I’m a foreigner) and you can show them alternate ID if needed (both our US driver’s license and passport worked fine). 
• You may also be asked “¿cuantos quotas?” (How many times would you like to split the payment) to which you can respond “uno” (1 payment). It is common in Latin America to split bills into multiple payments. 

Haggling:  We didn’t really encounter any markets or situations where negotiating prices was indicated. Taxis are metered and most places have fixed pricing. 

Foods To Try:

• Tinto: A small amount of black coffee.
• Arepas: You will find these everywhere. It’s like an extra fat tortilla. Sometimes stuffed with cheese and meats other times just served aside your breakfast. Not the healthiest, but if you’ve never had one definitely try.
• Carajillo: hot coffee + liquor. Originally from Spain but very popular in Colombia. Usually with rum or aguardente.
• Aguardiente: Liquor which tastes like black licorice.
• Torta: Small cakes usually served with coffee. I like to dip mine in an americano. 
• Malteadas: Milk shakes.
• Batidos: Smoothies.
• Aguapanela con queso: Hot drink made of sugarcane water served with a block of cheese. Nice after a long hike in the cold rain. 
• Pan de bono: Little balls of baked cheesy bread. 
• Patacones: Fried green plantains usually served with hogoa (tomato onion salsa) but can also come with a variety of meat or cheese toppings. 
• Aromatica: Infusion-like tea.
• Obleas: Thin, crunchy wafers with dulce de leche or fruit jams layered in between. 

Fruits to Try: 

• Granadilla: Like a sweeter cousin of passion fruit with crunchy seeds and a sweet membrane. You can break one open with some forceful thumb pressure and eat the boogery inside with a spoon. 
• *Mangosteen: Like a hybrid of an orange,  lychee and kiwi. 
• Maracuya: Passion fruit with some crunchy seeds. Can have an intensely sour flavor, so better to have it in a smoothie or shake with some sweetener if it’s too much. 
• Cherimoya: Similar to a sugar apple with a custard consistency. Cut in half and eat with a spoon.
• Mango biche: Spiralized mango with toppings such as lime.

For more Colombian foods to try, check out this post by Lacademie.