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How to prepare for Colombia
I am reaching out to all the parents who have already been or are in Colombia for your expertise and suggestions.
I have been reading about so many different experiences people have while traveling to Colombia. Therefore, we are trying to plan and save for everything.
Am I missing anything?
1. 2 bedroom apartment/suite. Not wanting to wake up a sleeping baby and hopefully having guests like mom and dad. I have seen 2 bedroom b&b’s and apartments for about $60 per night. Or, is $60 unrealistic? Maybe $100/per night.
2. Food. $100 per week enough? Some B&B’s include breakfast?
3. Taxi rides? How much should one anticipate spending here? $10 per day??
4. Weekend trips. Since the in country stay can be over 2 months, I have read about many people getting away and seeing the country.
Since most people seem to be in country for 8 weeks, I am going to plan for 10, just to be safe.
$4200-$7000 10 weeks of room and board
$1000 Food
$700 taxi and transportation
$500 Get away trips?
So plan on roughly about $6000-$9000??
What am I missing? How off am I? I would rather save too much than too little and not get into financial problems.
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We were in Bogota in 2005 so things have most likely changed cost wise but back then one room at Hotel Paris was roughly $100 per night, and that included 3 meals a day. So $60 a night might be on the low side, especially if you are looking for a 2 room suite. I'm pretty sure Zuetana is more in the lines of $100-$125per night for a one room suite, but others can advise you more accurately on Zuetana.
There's a lot to see in Bogota so $500 to just sight see around there seems reasonable (assuming you're in Bogota to start with...) When we were there some of the other couples went to Cartagena for 2 weeks but that involves a plane trip...so maybe $500 would be stretching it if you ventured very far from "home".
Jen
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Shonda,Realistically, I would try to save about 10K. You may not need that much, but as you said, better to save too much than not enough! The biggest expense is going to be room & board. If you stay at an adoption B&B, the average cost is about $1000/week, but keep in mind that that includes 2-3 meals/day. You will still want to have $ to eat out, and to buy some groceries to keep in your room. Taxis are pretty cheap compared to US rates, but if you go on a day trip outside of Bogota, you will probably pay your driver about $15 per hour. Don't forget to bring $ for souveniers, and also for any baby items you might discover that you need, and keep in mind that baby stuff in Colombia is expensive because most of it is imported. I think we payed $5 per nipple for Anna's bottles because she ended up needing a largr size than what I brought. (Just to give you an example).
Shonda,Realistically, I would try to save about 10K. You may not need that much, but as you said, better to save too much than not enough! The biggest expense is going to be room & board. If you stay at an adoption B&B, the average cost is about $1000/week, but keep in mind that that includes 2-3 meals/day. You will still want to have $ to eat out, and to buy some groceries to keep in your room. Taxis are pretty cheap compared to US rates, but if you go on a day trip outside of Bogota, you will probably pay your driver about $15 per hour. Don't forget to bring $ for souveniers, and also for any baby items you might discover that you need, and keep in mind that baby stuff in Colombia is expensive because most of it is imported. I think we payed $5 per nipple for Anna's bottles because she ended up needing a largr size than what I brought. (Just to give you an example).
Shonda,
Jen & Ruth Ann covered all the big stuff. I'm assuming that your agency already gave you the heads up to plan for your baby's passport fee, doctor's appointment, US visa, and then there was a small ($45/person maybe?) exit tax upon leaving Colombia (not for baby?). Those costs were all smaller, but still they add up and are worth considering.
Have fun planning and saving!
Megan
Thank you for all your suggestions!
I will plan on 10K while in Colombia. That way if we spend less, we get to bring home more souvenirs!
We are also going to plan on having savings for when I get home, I can stay home for a little while.
So for the next 18-24 months I am going to have to save, save, save!
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