Essential apps when traveling to Colombia

I was in Colombia for 17 days and I found it really helpful to have the following apps to plan my trip and get around.

• Uber: I have been using uber in the US for a long time. However, officially uber is banned in Colombia. Few days before I left to Colombia, supreme court of Colombia officially banned uber and then uber was suing Colombia (It was crazy to me how a foreign multinational company has the authority to sue a sovereign nation but that discussion is for another day.) Although it is officially banned, uber still works in certain cities. It worked well in Bogota and there were plenty of drivers. They were very rare in Cartagena and I only had one uber ride there and it was non-existent in Santa Marta. Compared to other options I found uber to be the cheapest and multiple fellow travelers told me that it was also the safest option.

 

• Tappsi: Tappsi is a ride hailing app that is specific to Colombia. It has the option of cash or card. For some reason my credit card was not approved by the app so I had to pay cash whenever I used Tappsi. I only used Tappsi in Cartagena as Uber was very rare there and again it was non-existent in Santa Marta. It would be best if you can make sure card works for this app because I once saw  a driver tried to increase the price by 1000 pesos when I told him I was paying cash.

 

• MAPS.ME: This is a great mapping app to have. You can download the maps of region so it is easier to use when you don’t have wifi or phone connection. I found it very useful in Tayrona national park because MAPS.ME had better mapping of routes and trails there.

 

 

 

• Google maps: Google maps is obviously the best mapping app if you have wifi or phone connection. It would be really helpful to find restaurants, hostels and tourist attractions.

 

• redBus: This is an app to schedule bus rides and buy bus tickets. I didn’t take any buses from city to city. I took a Berlinas coach from Cartagena to Santa Marta and bought the ticket at the counter. However if you are traveling extensively from one Colombian city to another redBus would come in handy.

 

• Google translate: I have enough Spanish skills to get by but under stress it is hard for me to speak Spanish (which is my 4th language). So Google translate was really useful to translate signs, and speak to locals etc.

 

• Hostelworld: This apps come in handy when you have to find hostels. I was able to find hostels in all the cities I was in Colombia. Sometime Hostelworld doesn’t list all the hostels available so it is always good to crosscheck with google and booking.com as well.