Bogotá D.C. is Colombia's capital district, a high-altitude Andean metropolis of roughly eight million people spread across a plateau at 2,640 metres (8,660 ft). The city pairs a dense colonial core in La Candelaria — home to the Gold Museum and the Botero collection — with the glass towers of the northern business districts, a 200-kilometre cycle network, and the green wall of the eastern mountains rising directly behind the historic centre.
Local currency: Colombian peso (COP).
Daily budget by traveller style
Typical per-person daily spend in Bogotá D.C..
- Mid-range
- COP 420,000/day (approx USD 133)
- Luxury
- COP 1,200,000+/day (approx USD 381+)
Cost breakdown
Typical price ranges across major spending categories.
Accommodation
- Hostel
- COP 45,000-80,000 dorm bed (approx USD 14-25) in La Candelaria or Chapinero
- Budget
- COP 110,000-200,000 private room (approx USD 35-63) in a guesthouse or small hotel
- Midrange
- COP 250,000-500,000 (approx USD 79-159) for a 3-4 star hotel in Chapinero, Zona G or Parque 93
- Luxury
- COP 700,000-1,800,000 (approx USD 222-571) at Four Seasons Casa Medina, Sofitel Victoria Regia, W Bogota or Hotel Bogota Plaza
Food
- Street
- COP 3,000-12,000 (approx USD 0.95-3.80) for an empanada, arepa de choclo, obleas or a bag of mango biche with salt and lime
- Local
- COP 15,000-25,000 (approx USD 4.75-8) for a corrientazo - the set lunch of soup, meat, rice, beans, salad and a fruit juice served everywhere from Paloquemao to Chapinero
- Midrange
- COP 45,000-110,000 (approx USD 14-35) per person at a sit-down restaurant in Usaquen, Zona G or Parque 93
- Fine
- COP 250,000-600,000 (approx USD 79-190) per person at Leo, El Chato, Harry Sasson or Mesa Franca with wine
Transport
- Bus
- COP 3,200 per TransMilenio or SITP ride (approx USD 1.02), paid with a rechargeable tullave card
- Taxi
- COP 15,000-35,000 (approx USD 4.75-11) for a cross-city ride booked through an app
- Airport
- COP 35,000-60,000 (approx USD 11-19) by authorised taxi from El Dorado to Chapinero or the north; COP 3,200 (approx USD 1.02) on the TransMilenio K86 or M86 feeder route
- Daytrip
- COP 12,000-20,000 (approx USD 3.80-6.35) each way by intercity bus from Portal del Norte to Zipaquira; COP 250,000-400,000 (approx USD 79-127) for a private driver for the day
Activities
- Museum
- COP 5,000-32,300 (approx USD 1.60-10.25); the Museo del Oro charges COP 21,000 (approx USD 6.70) for foreign visitors and is free on Sundays, Maloka costs COP 32,300 (approx USD 10.25)
- Sites
- COP 16,000-27,000 (approx USD 5.10-8.60) for the Monserrate funicular or cable car round trip - COP 27,000 Monday to Saturday, COP 16,000 on Sundays, and a reduced early-morning single of about COP 10,500 (approx USD 3.35) on weekday mornings
- Tour
- COP 40,000-160,000 (approx USD 13-51) for a graffiti walk in La Candelaria (tip-based, COP 40,000-60,000 is a fair tip), a Paloquemao market tour or a coffee-tasting session
- Excursion
- COP 55,000-105,000 (approx USD 17-33) for the Catedral de Sal de Zipaquira depending on ticket type; COP 180,000-320,000 (approx USD 57-102) for an organised full-day tour including transport
Trip budgets by length
What a typical trip to Bogotá D.C. costs end-to-end.
Three Day traveller
Budget COP 480,000 (approx USD 152) per person - hostel dorm, corrientazo lunches, TransMilenio, free Sunday museums and the Monserrate footpath, Midrange COP 1,260,000 (approx USD 400) per person - a 3-star hotel in Chapinero, one good dinner a day, app taxis, Museo del Oro, Maloka and the Monserrate funicular, Luxury COP 3,600,000 (approx USD 1,143) per person - Casa Medina or Sofitel Victoria Regia, tasting menus at Leo and El Chato, private driver and a guided Zipaquira day
Five Day traveller
Budget COP 800,000 (approx USD 254) per person - includes a bus day trip to Zipaquira and a bicycle day on the Ciclovia, Midrange COP 2,100,000 (approx USD 667) per person - hotel, daily restaurant dinners, a coffee tasting, the salt cathedral and a Paloquemao market tour, Luxury COP 6,000,000 (approx USD 1,905) per person - five-star base, private guiding, high-end dining and a helicopter or private-car excursion to the savanna
Seven Day traveller
Budget COP 1,120,000 (approx USD 356) per person - a week of hostel beds, set lunches, public transport and mostly free culture, Midrange COP 2,940,000 (approx USD 933) per person - comfortable hotel, a balanced mix of paid attractions, day trips to Zipaquira and Villa de Leyva or Guatavita, Luxury COP 8,400,000 (approx USD 2,667) per person - luxury hotel, private driver throughout, Colombia's top restaurants and multi-day guided excursions from the capital
Couple Week traveller
A mid-range couple should plan on roughly COP 5,100,000-5,900,000 (approx USD 1,619-1,873) for seven days in Bogota including accommodation, food, transport, attractions and two day trips, before international flights
Money-saving tips
Practical ways to stretch your budget further.
accommodation
food
transport
attractions
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Free things to do
Memorable experiences that cost nothing.
Museo del Oro on Sunday
The Banco de la Republica's Gold Museum holds roughly 34,000 pieces of pre-Hispanic goldwork including the Muisca raft that gave rise to the El Dorado legend. Admission is free for everyone on Sundays, when it is also at its busiest - arriving at opening avoids the longest queues.
Museo Botero and the Casa de Moneda
Fernando Botero donated 123 of his own works plus 85 pieces by Picasso, Monet, Renoir, Dali and Chagall to the nation, and the collection is free every day it opens. The adjoining Casa de Moneda and Coleccion de Arte del Banco de la Republica are free as well, forming one of the best no-cost cultural afternoons in South America.
Ciclovia
Every Sunday and public holiday from 7AM to 2PM around 120 km of Bogota's main avenues close to cars and fill with cyclists, runners, skaters and dog walkers. The Carrera Septima and Calle 26 stretches are the classic routes, with free public aerobics sessions (recreovia) in the parks along the way.
Monserrate walking trail
The stone sendero peatonal climbs roughly 1,500 steps and 500 vertical metres from the Quinta de Bolivar side of the mountain to the sanctuary at 3,152 m. It is free and open to walkers in the early part of the day; the funicular and cable car alongside it are not.
Plaza de Bolivar and La Candelaria
The city's main square is framed by the neoclassical Catedral Primada, the Capitolio Nacional, the Palacio de Justicia and the Alcaldia Mayor, and the colonial lanes behind it - Calle del Embudo, Chorro de Quevedo - cost nothing to wander in daylight.
La Candelaria street-art walk
Bogota's graffiti is legal, commissioned and world-class, with large-scale works by Guache, Toxicomano, DjLu and Rodez along Calle 26, the Avenida Jimenez corridor and the alleys of La Candelaria. The neighbourhood can be walked independently for nothing, or joined on a tip-based guided tour.
Parque Metropolitano Simon Bolivar
Bogota's 400-hectare central park has a lake, jogging circuits, open lawns and the open-air stage that hosts Rock al Parque and the other free Festivales al Parque. Entry is free year-round and so are the festivals themselves.
Usaquen Sunday flea market
The colonial village swallowed by north Bogota fills its plaza and side streets every Sunday with a craft and antiques mercado de las pulgas, live music and street food. Browsing, listening and people-watching cost nothing.
Plaza de Mercado de Paloquemao
The city's great wholesale market opens before dawn and is free to walk through, with flower halls, fish counters and stacks of lulo, guanabana, feijoa, granadilla and mangostino. Vendors hand out slices of unfamiliar fruit to anyone curious enough to ask.
Biblioteca Publica Virgilio Barco
Rogelio Salmona's circular brick library beside the Parque Simon Bolivar is one of Colombia's finest modern buildings, with reflecting pools, spiral ramps and a rooftop view of the Andes. It is a free public library open to visitors.
Museo Nacional de Colombia on Sunday
Housed in a 19th-century panopticon prison, the country's oldest museum runs from pre-Columbian archaeology to modern Colombian painting. Admission is free on Sundays and the building alone - cell blocks converted into galleries - is worth the visit.
Centro de Memoria, Paz y Reconciliacion
A free memorial centre and garden built over a former cemetery, documenting Colombia's armed conflict and the peace process through rotating exhibitions. It gives essential context to anything else seen in the city.