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.
- Public
- TransMilenio bus rapid transit runs in dedicated median lanes across the city and is backed by SITP zonal buses and the TransMiCable gondolas over Ciudad Bolívar; a single tuLlave tap costs COP 3,550 (about USD 1.13) with free transfers for 125 minutes. Coverage is broad and fares are cheap, but peak-hour crowding is severe and the first metro line does not open until 2028
- Taxi
- Yellow metered taxis are everywhere and inexpensive by international standards, but street hails carry a real risk of overcharging and of the 'paseo millonario' express-kidnapping scam; ordering through an app such as Taxis Libres, Cabify or Uber keeps a digital record of the trip
- Rental
- Self-drive rental makes little sense inside Bogotá: traffic is among the worst in the Americas, the Pico y Placa licence-plate restriction bans many cars during peak windows, street parking is scarce and secure lots cost money. A car only pays off for Cundinamarca touring, and even then a hired car with driver is the common choice
- Walking
- La Candelaria, the Centro Internacional, Chapinero, Usaquén and the Zona T are compact and pleasant on foot by day, and Sunday Ciclovía turns 127 km of avenues over to pedestrians and cyclists. At 2,640 m the thin air makes the hills tiring, pavements are uneven, and walking after dark outside busy commercial streets is discouraged
Transport at a glance
- Public
- 4/5
- Taxi
- 3/5
- Rental
- 2/5
- Walking
- 3/5
Airport transfers
Getting from the airport to your accommodation.
- Public Bus
- TransMilenio dual route K86/M86 from Terminal 1 and Puente Aereo, COP 3,550 (about USD 1.13), 35-60 minutes, tuLlave card required
- Prepaid Taxi
- Taxi Seguro prepaid booth inside arrivals, COP 40,000-80,000 (about USD 12.70-25.40) including the airport surcharge, 25-90 minutes depending on traffic
- Rideshare
- Uber, DiDi, Cabify and InDrive pick up at the departures level (Nivel 2), COP 45,000-100,000 (about USD 14.30-31.75)
- Private Transfer
- Pre-booked hotel or agency car with meet-and-greet, COP 90,000-180,000 (about USD 28.60-57.10) per vehicle
- Notes
- El Dorado is 13 km from the historic centre but rush-hour journeys on Calle 26 can take 90 minutes; flights before 09:00 need a departure from central hotels by 05:30
Local transport
Getting around the city.
Bus
- Transmilenio
- Trunk BRT in dedicated median lanes with enclosed stations; COP 3,550 (about USD 1.13) per tap, roughly 04:00-23:00, extremely crowded at peak
- Sitp
- Blue and green zonal buses feeding the trunk corridors at the same fare, stopping only at signed poles
- Night
- A reduced night network runs on the main corridors after 23:00; taxis or apps are the usual late-night choice
Cable
TransMiCable gondolas serve Ciudad Bolivar and San Cristobal on the integrated fare; the separate Monserrate tramway is a paid tourist ascent
Metro
Metro Line 1 is under construction and reached 81.25 percent progress on 31 July 2026; passenger service is scheduled for 15 March 2028
Bike Share
No city-wide docked bike-share scheme in 2026; private rental shops and guided bike tours fill the gap, backed by over 600 km of ciclorrutas and the Sunday Ciclovia
Alternatives
taxi, rideshare, bike_rental, walking, Monserrate funicular
Taxis & rideshare
What to expect from taxis and apps.
- Regular
- Description
- Bogota's yellow taxis are metered and cheap: the meter counts units, a short 5 km hop runs COP 12,000-20,000 (about USD 3.81-6.35), and night, holiday, airport and terminal surcharges are added on top. Street hails are the weak point, because unregistered or cloned cabs are linked to the 'paseo millonario' robbery in which passengers are driven between cash machines. Dispatch through an app or a hotel desk instead.
- Apps
- Taxis Libres and Cabify dispatch licensed yellow taxis; Uber, DiDi and InDrive dispatch private cars as chauffeured hire
- Apps
- Taxis Libres dispatches registered yellow cabs by app, WhatsApp and phone, Cabify offers taxi and private-car categories with fixed quoted fares, Uber is the most widely used app and records the trip and driver
- App Names
- Taxis Libres, Cabify, Uber, DiDi, InDrive
- Phone
- Taxis Libres +57 601 311 1111
- Website
- https://taxislibres.com.co
- Tips
- Photograph or note the plate and the driver's identification card before setting off, Pay in small notes: drivers frequently have no change for COP 50,000 or COP 100,000 bills, Refuse rides from drivers who approach inside the airport terminal rather than through the prepaid booth, A COP 5,000 surcharge applies for trips ordered by telephone or app, and further surcharges at night and on holidays
Intercity travel
Getting between cities and regions.
Bus
Long-distance coaches are the backbone of Colombian overland travel and leave Bogota from three terminals run by Terminal de Transporte S.A. - Salitre (main, west), Norte (Calle 192 on the Autopista Norte) and Sur (Autopista Sur). Around 86 companies serve destinations across the country. Sabana and Boyaca services also pick up kerbside at Portal del Norte.
- Tips
- Tickets can be bought at terminal counters or online through redBus and Pinbus. Terminal Salitre requires a departure formality at the module window, and passengers are recorded before boarding. Overnight services to the coast are long; flights are often only marginally more expensive.
Typical Routes
- Bogota zipaquira
- COP 10,500-12,500 (about USD 3.33-3.97), 60-90 minutes from Portal del Norte
- Bogota villa de leyva
- COP 35,000-45,000 (about USD 11.10-14.30), 3.5-4.5 hours from Salitre or Norte
- Bogota medellin
- COP 90,000-140,000 (about USD 28.60-44.40), 9-11 hours from Salitre
- Bogota bucaramanga
- COP 90,000-130,000 (about USD 28.60-41.30), 9-10 hours from Salitre
- Bogota cali
- COP 90,000-150,000 (about USD 28.60-47.60), 10-12 hours from Salitre
- Bogota girardot
- COP 30,000-40,000 (about USD 9.52-12.70), 3-4 hours from Terminal Sur
- Bogota villavicencio
- COP 35,000-50,000 (about USD 11.10-15.87), 3-4 hours from Salitre via the Via al Llano
Flights
El Dorado is the country's main domestic hub, with dense schedules to Medellin, Cali, Cartagena, Barranquilla, Santa Marta, Bucaramanga, Pereira, San Andres and Leticia on Avianca, LATAM, Wingo, Clic and Satena.
- Typical fares
- COP 150,000-450,000 one way (about USD 47.60-142.90) on domestic trunk routes when booked ahead; Leticia and San Andres cost more
- Alternative
- Flying saves 8-18 hours against the bus on routes to the Caribbean coast and Amazonia, and is the standard choice for Leticia, which has no road link
Terminals
- Name
- Terminal de Transporte Salitre
- Address
- Diagonal 23 No. 69-11, Ciudad Salitre, Bogota D.C.
- Coordinates
- Lat 4.6473 · Lng -74.1147
- Phone
- +57 601 423 3600
- Website
- https://www.terminaldetransporte.gov.co
- Serves
- The main and largest terminal, with departures nationwide and to Ecuador and Venezuela; open 24 hours
- Name
- Terminal de Transporte del Norte
- Address
- Calle 192 No. 19-43, Autopista Norte, Bogota D.C.
- Coordinates
- Lat 4.7551 · Lng -74.0446
- Phone
- +57 601 423 3600
- Website
- https://www.terminaldetransporte.gov.co
- Serves
- Boyaca, Santander and northern Sabana routes - the convenient terminal for Villa de Leyva, Tunja and Zipaquira
- Name
- Terminal de Transporte del Sur
- Address
- Autopista Sur No. 75F-82, Bosa, Bogota D.C.
- Coordinates
- Lat 4.5983 · Lng -74.1793
- Phone
- +57 601 423 3600
- Website
- https://www.terminaldetransporte.gov.co
- Serves
- Tolima, Huila and the tierra caliente - Girardot, Melgar, Ibague and Neiva; entered a modernisation phase in September 2026
Transportation details
Full breakdown of how to get around.
Bogota is a long, narrow city of roughly eight million people pressed between the eastern Andean ridge and the Sabana plain, and its transport spine is TransMilenio, a bus rapid transit network running articulated buses in segregated median lanes along the Caracas, NQS, Suba, Americas, Calle 80 and Autopista Norte corridors. TransMilenio is fed by green and blue SITP zonal buses and by two TransMiCable gondola lines serving the steep southern hills; one tuLlave card and one COP 3,550 fare (about USD 1.13) cover the whole system, with free transfers for 125 minutes. Metro Line 1, an elevated 23.9 km line from Portal Americas to Calle 72, passed 81 percent construction in mid-2026 and is scheduled to carry passengers from March 2028, so it is not an option for visitors in 2026. Above ground, traffic congestion is chronic and the Pico y Placa plate-rationing scheme limits private car use, which pushes most visitors towards taxis, ride-hailing apps and short walks inside individual districts. El Dorado International, the busiest airport in Latin America by cargo and among the busiest by passengers, sits only 13 km west of the historic centre. Intercity travel radiates from three bus terminals - Salitre, Norte and Sur - plus the Portal del Norte kerbside stands used by Sabana and Boyaca services.
Airports
El Dorado International Airport
Aeropuerto Guaymaral (Flaminio Suarez Camacho)
Useful apps
Download before you arrive.
tullave
The official fare app from Recaudo Bogota for checking the tuLlave balance, recharging online and generating QR tickets that replace the plastic card on TransMilenio turnstiles
TransMi App
TransMilenio's own planner with trunk, zonal and cable routes, live station information and service alerts for the whole SITP network
Moovit
Third-party public transport planner with strong Bogota coverage of TransMilenio and SITP routes, useful offline for zonal bus numbers
Google Maps
Reliable for walking and driving directions in Bogota and for TransMilenio trunk routing, though zonal SITP timings are approximate
Uber
The most used ride-hailing app in the city, operating as chauffeured hire; airport pickups are directed to the departures level
DiDi
Ride-hailing rival to Uber with frequent promotions and a taxi category; coverage is good across the northern and central districts
Cabify
Ride-hailing app with quoted fixed fares before booking and both private-car and licensed-taxi options
InDrive
Ride-hailing app where passengers propose a fare and drivers accept or counter, popular for longer cross-city trips
Taxis Libres
App, WhatsApp and phone dispatch for registered yellow taxis - the regulated alternative to hailing on the street
redBus
Online booking for intercity coaches from the Salitre, Norte and Sur terminals, with seat selection and e-tickets
Transport tips
Travel smarter, not harder.
Buy a plastic tuLlave card (COP 8,000, about USD 2.54) at any TransMilenio station window on arrival - the turnstiles and the K86/M86 airport buses take no cash
Load several trips at once: the 2026 fare is COP 3,550 (about USD 1.13) per tap, with transfers between TransMilenio, SITP and TransMiCable free inside a 125-minute window
Avoid TransMilenio between 06:00-08:30 and 17:00-19:30, when trunk buses run at crush load and pickpocketing peaks; carry a bag in front and keep phones out of sight
Use the prepaid Taxi Seguro booths inside El Dorado arrivals rather than accepting a driver who approaches inside the terminal
Ride-hailing cars are told to meet passengers at the departures level (Nivel 2) at El Dorado rather than at arrivals, so check the in-app pickup pin before walking out
Check the Pico y Placa calendar before driving: private plates are barred from circulating on set weekdays, and rental companies do not waive the fines
Sunday and public-holiday Ciclovía closes 127 km of main avenues to cars from 07:00 to 14:00, which is the easiest and safest way to cross the city by bicycle
Altitude matters: the city sits at 2,640 m, so hills that look short leave newly arrived visitors short of breath - allow extra time on foot for the first two days
Intercity buses for Zipaquirá, Guatavita and the northern Sabana leave from Portal del Norte and the Terminal del Norte, not only from the main Salitre terminal
Keep small notes for zonal SITP buses and provincial buses; drivers on rural routes rarely change a COP 50,000 note (about USD 15.87)