This one is a little off the beaten path but is worth checking out. It's about 40 mins from Pereira for 3500 in a collectivo or 3 hours from Cali for 20,000 pesos.
There are three options for places to stay, two central hotels; the first one you can have a room for about 55,000 pesos and the second is 120,000 pesos. The rooms are a little bigger and nicer in the more expensive hotel but not that much nicer. They both have pools and wifi, the expensive one also has a gym. I don't remember the names of these but if you ask a taxi driver for a hotel he should take you to these two which are close to each other on the same street.
The third option is where I stayed, it's a resort complex slightly out of town called Villa Sol on Calle 5 # 6-63. You get a nice if slightly functional room with ensuite plus tv for 28,500 pesos including breakfast you could alternatively pay 45,000 pesos which includes breakfast, lunch and dinner so it's great value. I think it is a little more at the weekend so maybe an extra 10 mil.
The resort has a huge swimming pool lined with deckchairs and is a great place to sit out during the day when the sun is shining.
The only real downsides to the resort are cold showers, (I'm sure this is meant to be good for you) and the cacophony of noise from the local wildlife in the morning - you've never heard anything like it, living down town New York is probably quieter.
This resort is right across the road from a tennis club, my friend works there which is the reason I ended up in Cartago so I would head over there in the morning for a tennis lesson for 20,000 mil. This is a private club but they weren't super busy so I'm sure you could head in there if you wanted to play. The tennis club also has a pool, gym and wifi.
Taxi's don't have meters here but it seems to be a standard charge of around 3300 pesos wherever you go apart from the first taxi I took which ripped me off. It's very easy to get to the center from the resort, reception will call you a cab and I never had to wait very long.
The town is quite basic, definitely not pretty but it seems very safe, I walked around without any real trouble. There is a shopping mall, Plaza Santiago, which was very quiet the times I visited then there is a central plaza with lots of old leathery looking dudes hanging about shooting the shit.
There is a great juice bar right on this plaza which is always packed, you get a huge hugo con leche for 2500 which is enough for three people. I would also check out Drive Pizza which does some great pizza and spaghetti, this is quite close to the central plaza but I don't remember the address a friendly local should be able to help.
For ladies I think there are good possibilities, there are no tourists here so you'll be the only gringo in town, I went out a couple of times with my friend but this was mid week so it was very quiet. He said it starts getting busy from Thursday onwards, there are a few nightclubs slightly out of town again a taxi driver should be able to point you in the right direction.
Having some decent Spanish would be a big advantage here, mine is still quite basic but my friend was able to help me out. I'd be interested to know what it is like at the weekend, I didn't stick around because my friend had to leave town for several days and the weather took a turn for the worse.
Even if it's just for a day or two it's definitely worth a look and try to coincide your trip with the weekend.
There are three options for places to stay, two central hotels; the first one you can have a room for about 55,000 pesos and the second is 120,000 pesos. The rooms are a little bigger and nicer in the more expensive hotel but not that much nicer. They both have pools and wifi, the expensive one also has a gym. I don't remember the names of these but if you ask a taxi driver for a hotel he should take you to these two which are close to each other on the same street.
The third option is where I stayed, it's a resort complex slightly out of town called Villa Sol on Calle 5 # 6-63. You get a nice if slightly functional room with ensuite plus tv for 28,500 pesos including breakfast you could alternatively pay 45,000 pesos which includes breakfast, lunch and dinner so it's great value. I think it is a little more at the weekend so maybe an extra 10 mil.
The resort has a huge swimming pool lined with deckchairs and is a great place to sit out during the day when the sun is shining.
The only real downsides to the resort are cold showers, (I'm sure this is meant to be good for you) and the cacophony of noise from the local wildlife in the morning - you've never heard anything like it, living down town New York is probably quieter.
This resort is right across the road from a tennis club, my friend works there which is the reason I ended up in Cartago so I would head over there in the morning for a tennis lesson for 20,000 mil. This is a private club but they weren't super busy so I'm sure you could head in there if you wanted to play. The tennis club also has a pool, gym and wifi.
Taxi's don't have meters here but it seems to be a standard charge of around 3300 pesos wherever you go apart from the first taxi I took which ripped me off. It's very easy to get to the center from the resort, reception will call you a cab and I never had to wait very long.
The town is quite basic, definitely not pretty but it seems very safe, I walked around without any real trouble. There is a shopping mall, Plaza Santiago, which was very quiet the times I visited then there is a central plaza with lots of old leathery looking dudes hanging about shooting the shit.
There is a great juice bar right on this plaza which is always packed, you get a huge hugo con leche for 2500 which is enough for three people. I would also check out Drive Pizza which does some great pizza and spaghetti, this is quite close to the central plaza but I don't remember the address a friendly local should be able to help.
For ladies I think there are good possibilities, there are no tourists here so you'll be the only gringo in town, I went out a couple of times with my friend but this was mid week so it was very quiet. He said it starts getting busy from Thursday onwards, there are a few nightclubs slightly out of town again a taxi driver should be able to point you in the right direction.
Having some decent Spanish would be a big advantage here, mine is still quite basic but my friend was able to help me out. I'd be interested to know what it is like at the weekend, I didn't stick around because my friend had to leave town for several days and the weather took a turn for the worse.
Even if it's just for a day or two it's definitely worth a look and try to coincide your trip with the weekend.
