For foreigners: The streets of Colombia are a fierce jungle, both in the city and on the highway, to drive in Colombia you need to be an experienced driver, because the Colombian streets are quite crazy, and the aggressiveness of the drivers is something that should be take into account, we are VERY aggressive drivers
Lets agree to disagree! Some context - living in The Netherlands (drivers are sissies with no manners), often driving in Germany (much better driving culture. But I would classify both countries as extremely safe for drivers. I was in Columbia in November, December 2021 - Bogota, Medellin and Cartagena. 1) Yes, you are right, the traffic is not as Western peeps are used to, its different as their culture, but it doesn't mean its more dangerous. Its not for everyone. I personally enjoyed driving in Columbia and Turkey more than in Europe. With that said I enjoy organized chaos and that's how I would describe the traffic in Columbia. 2) Driving a car in the city wont get you anywhere on time. The traffic is very congested, you will spend more time standing still than driving, those traffic jams tend to appear also on the mountain roads near cities during the rush hours. This might be a good reason why not to rent a car. 3) I find motorcycles the best option for cities. The traffic is almost at a standstill so you got to be a confident driver to get around the cars. Verdict - if you are from the Netherlands (or drive like a sissy Dutchy) - you have no business on the roads of Columbia, if you are a normal driver who thinks fast and acts fast and can enjoy the charming organized chaos - go ahead, get a car or a bike and you will have a blast!
I made approx. 70k around Colombia so far. 2 frontal crashes with motorbikes and many delicate situations with big trucks so far, I do not share your experience though
To me the worse is driving in the cities in Colombia, narrow roads, people park their cars where they shouldn't, lots of the streets are missing the traffic signs, some pedestrians walk carelessly in front of your car, motorcycles everywhere. I bet some Americans wouldn't be able to drive in the streets of Colombia, other than that Colombia is awesome.
I’ve driven from Bogotá to Santa Marta with little or no problems if you can deal with la driving you can pretty much deal with anything as I have it’s no different here than driving in California big cities
In the bus passing thing it’s just every day driving in Columbia just have to get used to it because the police don’t care as long as they don’t cause an accident they don’t care
@@COLOMBIAFRANK Yeah I get what you mean but I mean you can’t let other people stupidity disadvantage you from visiting certain rule parts of Columbia that you can’t get you by plane or any other way you just got a follow the rules that you know are right and let other people do them that’s the way my wife explained it to me eventually they’ll either cause an accident because of their stupidity and then probably end up in a Colombian jail for a very long time the only thing I’ve ever seen the transit or police do it just stop me at random checkpoints search my car for drugs or guns check my passport and my Columbia drivers license and that’s it as long as you’re polite with them and don’t give them any trouble they’re pretty nice and you move on about your day or night the only thing I’ve seen them really enforce is the pico the placía the park your ride day
@@COLOMBIAFRANK I mean me and my wife used to live in suba for six months and then we decided to move to Santa Marta because it’s closer to her family and a lot less traffic I have a job where I can work in the United States from home so it just made sense for us to move to a more better climate except for the hurricane that just hit that area and destroyed San Andreas which is very terrible
@@COLOMBIAFRANK And I’m with you man it blows my mind how bus drivers tractor trailers and people drive in Columbia I thought the United States had shitty drivers until I started living in Colombia it just completely blows my mind the complete disrespect for traffic laws and just like you said not being a dick to other people while driving and being nice most Colombian people I’ve met are absolutely the sweetest people ever in the world but like you said once I get behind a car they’re just the biggest assholes in the world for whatever reason like it’s Me me me
Yo saqué mi licencia en 2020 y ha sido horrible. Porque si uno intenta conducir un dia respetando las reglas, los otros conductores se lo comen a uno. En Colombia conducimos horrible y me incluyo porque si no conduces mal sencillamente no sobrevives. Osea, conducir mal se pega, es contagioso.
No entiendo esto Por ejemplo, la cultura colombiana es muy formal y respetuosa en la comunicación verbal, pero es así en la conducción. ¿Por qué? Esto cuesta tantas vidas, discapacidades y lesiones graves. Sin mencionar el impacto económico de los vehículos en ruinas. ¿Algún colombiano quiere explicar esto a un gringo?
En Colombia las academias de conducción son algo relativamente nuevo. Anteriormente solo se enseñaba a mover el carro, que es acelerar, hacer cambios y frenar (todavía se hace mucho). En las ciudades la gente sabe y aplica lo mínimo (semaforo en rojo o verde, Pare, Ceda el paso y no adelantar en doble línea amarilla). En los pueblos hay gente que ni si quiera obtiene su licencia y conducen sin ley ni orden. Por otro lado, hace unos años se podría decir que con solo pagar te daban la licencia.Hoy por lo menos se exige un curso en academia de conducción pero sigue siendo demasiado facil. En las academias (ahora obligatorias) quien paga y hace el curso tiene casi asegurado el visto bueno, pasa sin mayor esfuerzo unas clases teoricas y otras prácticas. Paralelo a lo anterior encontramos a la policía... Primero, en Colombia la policia no se encarga de manejar el transito.Para ello está la policia de transito o los institutos o agencias de transito de cada ciudad. Ellos manejan una actitud como de derrota frente a la forma de conducir de las personas. Por lo cual mi último punto es: En Colombia conducir mal se convirtió en algo cultural. Habrá ciudades y regiones donde la gente es mas amable y calmada, por ejemplo las ciudades del eje cafetero o municipios de Boyacá. Por ejemplo en mi ciudad se está haciendo mas comun que la gente respete las cebras, no se quede estacionada en las intersecciones o que respeten los carriles y usen las direccionales. Creo que poco a poco iremos cambiando nuestra cultura vial, solo es cuestion se tiempo.
Iam Asia with all respect I totally disagree with this guy . Because someone drives erratic doesn’t mean that everyone drives like that , and also it doesn’t mean YOU have to drive like that , just stay on your lane and drive slow . Now if you don’t know how to drive on a mountain slope be careful is not the same as driving on a straight highway, y can send you a video of the highway that pass on front of my house , has three lanes each side ...goes from bogota up to the north to Tunja if you want to go from bogota to Cartagena you will find a two lane highway almost the 90 % the rest is under Construccion , what is shown in this video is just one part of the story , this guy is just making you fell scared instead of giving you an advise of what to do , just stay on your lane drive slow and nothing is going to happen , I can tell you that every day on the super highways of United sates there are crashes and people death, so we the tourist shouldn’t drive there ?
@@diegoa7866No es que todo mundo conduzca como animal (ni que fuera Bogotá) pero si hay muchas personas que conducen muy mal. Yo vivo y conduzco en Pereira, y a pesar de que se caracteriza por gener conductores "amables", es dificil conducir la mayoría del tiempo siguiendo el mínimo de reglas. Ni se diga Bogotá, Cali, Cartagena o Neiva. Que segun mi criterio son las ciudades con los conductores mas agresivos de Colombia. Un saludo.
well well well, driving in Colombia is tough but not different than in Costa Rica, Ecuador or Turkey. Long ago I met a person, from England and teaching English in Bogota, that loved to drive in Colombia because you drive any way you want, he said.
Oh, my friend, I noticed your logo has a copyright symbol next to it. It should be the "R" for "R"egistered trademark. copyright law is not for your trademark/tradename. You should put an "R" in a circle next to your name "ColombiaFrank" not a "C" in the circle.
It al depends on your experience . I never been to Colombia but I lived in Haiti and the Dominican rep and I assume it cant be worst in Colombia then the above Locations. I think it’s a Latino thing I live in Miami where the majority of the population is Hispanic and let me tell you Miami is known for being one of the worst cities when it comes to drivers.
DIOS MIOOOOOO!!!! Que miedo tengo ahora 😭😭😭 el 12 voy de Bogotá a Cartago en bus (lo hacemos para disfrutar del paisaje) pero con este video creo q voy a infartar a mitad de camino 😂😂😂😂
this was, perhaps, the best video about colombia i have seen yet ... outstanding!
many thx, I am happy you like it
For foreigners: The streets of Colombia are a fierce jungle, both in the city and on the highway, to drive in Colombia you need to be an experienced driver, because the Colombian streets are quite crazy, and the aggressiveness of the drivers is something that should be take into account, we are VERY aggressive drivers
indeed and Bogota is the worst!
Have you been to New York City and if so, is the aggressiveness of drivers in New York comparable to the aggressiveness of drivers in Colombia?
@@lilblingking1491 Bogotá is a kind of New York. Trust me.
Thank God I'm from New York City. So I eventually adapted to the driving out there smh
Lets agree to disagree! Some context - living in The Netherlands (drivers are sissies with no manners), often driving in Germany (much better driving culture. But I would classify both countries as extremely safe for drivers.
I was in Columbia in November, December 2021 - Bogota, Medellin and Cartagena.
1) Yes, you are right, the traffic is not as Western peeps are used to, its different as their culture, but it doesn't mean its more dangerous. Its not for everyone. I personally enjoyed driving in Columbia and Turkey more than in Europe. With that said I enjoy organized chaos and that's how I would describe the traffic in Columbia.
2) Driving a car in the city wont get you anywhere on time. The traffic is very congested, you will spend more time standing still than driving, those traffic jams tend to appear also on the mountain roads near cities during the rush hours. This might be a good reason why not to rent a car.
3) I find motorcycles the best option for cities. The traffic is almost at a standstill so you got to be a confident driver to get around the cars.
Verdict - if you are from the Netherlands (or drive like a sissy Dutchy) - you have no business on the roads of Columbia, if you are a normal driver who thinks fast and acts fast and can enjoy the charming organized chaos - go ahead, get a car or a bike and you will have a blast!
I made approx. 70k around Colombia so far. 2 frontal crashes with motorbikes and many delicate situations with big trucks so far, I do not share your experience though
To me the worse is driving in the cities in Colombia, narrow roads, people park their cars where they shouldn't, lots of the streets are missing the traffic signs, some pedestrians walk carelessly in front of your car, motorcycles everywhere.
I bet some Americans wouldn't be able to drive in the streets of Colombia, other than that Colombia is awesome.
Looks like a good place to have an APC to drive around in.
An APC wont help as 40t trucks drive the same way
I’ve driven from Bogotá to Santa Marta with little or no problems if you can deal with la driving you can pretty much deal with anything as I have it’s no different here than driving in California big cities
In the bus passing thing it’s just every day driving in Columbia just have to get used to it because the police don’t care as long as they don’t cause an accident they don’t care
Thx for your comment. Not every trip causes problems. This video is just that people are aware of how it can be in Colombia
@@COLOMBIAFRANK Yeah I get what you mean but I mean you can’t let other people stupidity disadvantage you from visiting certain rule parts of Columbia that you can’t get you by plane or any other way you just got a follow the rules that you know are right and let other people do them that’s the way my wife explained it to me eventually they’ll either cause an accident because of their stupidity and then probably end up in a Colombian jail for a very long time the only thing I’ve ever seen the transit or police do it just stop me at random checkpoints search my car for drugs or guns check my passport and my Columbia drivers license and that’s it as long as you’re polite with them and don’t give them any trouble they’re pretty nice and you move on about your day or night the only thing I’ve seen them really enforce is the pico the placía the park your ride day
@@COLOMBIAFRANK I mean me and my wife used to live in suba for six months and then we decided to move to Santa Marta because it’s closer to her family and a lot less traffic I have a job where I can work in the United States from home so it just made sense for us to move to a more better climate except for the hurricane that just hit that area and destroyed San Andreas which is very terrible
@@COLOMBIAFRANK And I’m with you man it blows my mind how bus drivers tractor trailers and people drive in Columbia I thought the United States had shitty drivers until I started living in Colombia it just completely blows my mind the complete disrespect for traffic laws and just like you said not being a dick to other people while driving and being nice most Colombian people I’ve met are absolutely the sweetest people ever in the world but like you said once I get behind a car they’re just the biggest assholes in the world for whatever reason like it’s Me me me
Soy colombiana y no había notado que manejamos tan mal jajajajajaja solo tienes que estar siempre muy alerta no sabes qué loco te va a adelantar 😂
si, hay espacio para mejorar...jajajaja
Yo saqué mi licencia en 2020 y ha sido horrible. Porque si uno intenta conducir un dia respetando las reglas, los otros conductores se lo comen a uno. En Colombia conducimos horrible y me incluyo porque si no conduces mal sencillamente no sobrevives. Osea, conducir mal se pega, es contagioso.
I live in Bogota
nice, me2
No entiendo esto Por ejemplo, la cultura colombiana es muy formal y respetuosa en la comunicación verbal, pero es así en la conducción. ¿Por qué? Esto cuesta tantas vidas, discapacidades y lesiones graves. Sin mencionar el impacto económico de los vehículos en ruinas. ¿Algún colombiano quiere explicar esto a un gringo?
En Colombia las academias de conducción son algo relativamente nuevo. Anteriormente solo se enseñaba a mover el carro, que es acelerar, hacer cambios y frenar (todavía se hace mucho). En las ciudades la gente sabe y aplica lo mínimo (semaforo en rojo o verde, Pare, Ceda el paso y no adelantar en doble línea amarilla).
En los pueblos hay gente que ni si quiera obtiene su licencia y conducen sin ley ni orden.
Por otro lado, hace unos años se podría decir que con solo pagar te daban la licencia.Hoy por lo menos se exige un curso en academia de conducción pero sigue siendo demasiado facil. En las academias (ahora obligatorias) quien paga y hace el curso tiene casi asegurado el visto bueno, pasa sin mayor esfuerzo unas clases teoricas y otras prácticas.
Paralelo a lo anterior encontramos a la policía... Primero, en Colombia la policia no se encarga de manejar el transito.Para ello está la policia de transito o los institutos o agencias de transito de cada ciudad. Ellos manejan una actitud como de derrota frente a la forma de conducir de las personas.
Por lo cual mi último punto es: En Colombia conducir mal se convirtió en algo cultural.
Habrá ciudades y regiones donde la gente es mas amable y calmada, por ejemplo las ciudades del eje cafetero o municipios de Boyacá. Por ejemplo en mi ciudad se está haciendo mas comun que la gente respete las cebras, no se quede estacionada en las intersecciones o que respeten los carriles y usen las direccionales.
Creo que poco a poco iremos cambiando nuestra cultura vial, solo es cuestion se tiempo.
To drive in Colombia, you have to be a bad ass driver to survive 😂
Great vid. I’ll be traveling to Colombia in a few days! Might be driving from Bogota to La Mesa. Do you recommend?
La Mesa Santander?
In general I do foreigners not recommend to drive in Colombia
Iam Asia with all respect I totally disagree with this guy . Because someone drives erratic doesn’t mean that everyone drives like that , and also it doesn’t mean YOU have to drive like that , just stay on your lane and drive slow .
Now if you don’t know how to drive on a mountain slope be careful is not the same as driving on a straight highway, y can send you a video of the highway that pass on front of my house , has three lanes each side ...goes from bogota up to the north to Tunja if you want to go from bogota to Cartagena you will find a two lane highway almost the 90 % the rest is under Construccion , what is shown in this video is just one part of the story , this guy is just making you fell scared instead of giving you an advise of what to do , just stay on your lane drive slow and nothing is going to happen , I can tell you that every day on the super highways of United sates there are crashes and people death, so we the tourist shouldn’t drive there ?
@@diegoa7866No es que todo mundo conduzca como animal (ni que fuera Bogotá) pero si hay muchas personas que conducen muy mal. Yo vivo y conduzco en Pereira, y a pesar de que se caracteriza por gener conductores "amables", es dificil conducir la mayoría del tiempo siguiendo el mínimo de reglas. Ni se diga Bogotá, Cali, Cartagena o Neiva. Que segun mi criterio son las ciudades con los conductores mas agresivos de Colombia. Un saludo.
You must to talk about urban traffic... It's a truly hell
ohhhh man, urban traffic is the worst!
well well well, driving in Colombia is tough but not different than in Costa Rica, Ecuador or Turkey. Long ago I met a person, from England and teaching English in Bogota, that loved to drive in Colombia because you drive any way you want, he said.
Thank you for your comment, indeed... people are driving however they want in some cases
Jajajaja
I loved driving down there lololol
I still love it but it is not for everyone
So you think i use a bus?
just pick one of the better bus companies
Oh, my friend, I noticed your logo has a copyright symbol next to it. It should be the "R" for "R"egistered trademark. copyright law is not for your trademark/tradename. You should put an "R" in a circle next to your name "ColombiaFrank" not a "C" in the circle.
Thx for your input, the copyright is actually for the content and not for the brand
Hello Frank yes l will be taking uber lol great video thanks
Have fun
It al depends on your experience . I never been to Colombia but I lived in Haiti and the Dominican rep and I assume it cant be worst in Colombia then the above Locations. I think it’s a Latino thing I live in Miami where the majority of the population is Hispanic and let me tell you Miami is known for being one of the worst cities when it comes to drivers.
Don’t call the police lol 😂 😅😅
jajajaja
Hell no I drive in Colombia instead of getting on one of those buses I’m going next month wish me luck
luck to you
Wtf! These bus drivers are trippin!🤦🏼♂️
it is even more scary experiencing that live...
DIOS MIOOOOOO!!!! Que miedo tengo ahora 😭😭😭 el 12 voy de Bogotá a Cartago en bus (lo hacemos para disfrutar del paisaje) pero con este video creo q voy a infartar a mitad de camino 😂😂😂😂
Bogota a Cartagena esta un dia... muyyyyy lejos!!!
@@COLOMBIAFRANK a CARTAGO NO CARTAGENA, igual son 12 hs de bus aproximadamente jajaajaj
🤣🤣🤣 We are evils😈, that is true
jajaja funny