The best way for expats and tourists to get around in Colombia is probably Public Transportation. There are a LOT of 1-way streets and roads in Barranquilla, so keep that in mind when planning your movements. Also, streets and roads have NUMBERS not names, so be prepared to do a lot of number memorization… it keeps the brain active!

Taxis and Ride-Shares

From my experience, InDriver rides cost anywhere from 8,000 pesos to 15,000 pesos or more, depending on location and destination. I prefer Uber even with the 10-15% markup over InDriver, because I’m not good at negotiating prices, especially with my limited Spanish. Also, InDriver’s “bidding” system means that you could be delayed for a long time while waiting for someone to accept your fare offer or issue a counteroffer. This delay actually cost me a potentially nice date. Since then, I’ve favored Uber for my rides.

Also, a lot of my rides were canceled (by the drivers), until I opened my InDriver and Uber apps, changed my profile photo to a dog, and changed my screen name to “Pascal”. Just something to keep in mind if you’re Visiting While Black.

Buses and Q’Ruta

Use the local buses whenever possible, they’re far less expensive than taxis. The “standard” buses in Barranquilla cost 2,400 pesos per ride (2,500 on Weekends and Holidays). When getting on the bus, be mindful of the entrance sensors – carry your stuff close to your body so that the sensor doesn’t trigger twice and piss off the bus driver. There are few bus stops, and they’re rarely used. You can usually just flag the buses down, and they’ll usually stop to pick you up. If possible, get closer to other people who are catching the bus, to make things easier for the driver.

For bus routes, I highly recommend a mobile app called Q’Ruta (available in both Google Play and the Apple App Store). It helps you pick and plan your bus rides. The app is not entirely “polished”, it feels “heavy” and it’s often a bit slow… but aside from that, it’s a fairly-solid app for bus trip planning. I found it indispensable several times, while exploring Barranquilla as well as running errands and going to appointments.

Walking

When walking, remember that pedestrians do NOT have the right of way! In fact, most times, drivers do NOT consider pedestrians worth slowing down for. You could be trying to walk through an intersection, and any vehicles turning into your path, won’t slow down AT ALL. In fact, you could be crossing when the vehicles are AT A STOP LIGHT, and STILL the drivers might press their gas pedals a bit… almost as if they’re instinctively trying to run you over… even (I repeat) – AT A STOP LIGHT.

The point is… when crossing the street/road, you HAVE to assume that the next vehicle coming is actively trying to murder you in cold-blood 😅 Move accordingly, and you’ll avoid being a casualty!

Overall Impression

Once you get the hang of it, getting around in Barranquilla is fairly easy. Just don’t plan any time-sensitive trips or dates during evening rush hour 😅