The Best Budget Accommodation in Bogota

10 years ago as a backpacker you had the pick of one hostel and a number of particularly unpleasant dives from which to choose when considering a visit to Bogota. Today thankfully, as numbers of travellers coming to the city continue to grow, you are spoilt for choice. No longer need one worry about the cleanliness of the bed linen, the size and presence of bed bugs or whether the front desk did in fact lie to you about the availability of hot water in the showers.

The Colonial Candelaria

Bogota’s Candelaria really is without doubt the epicenter of all things for budget travellers coming to the Colombian capital. There is a plethora of cheap dining options, dozens of hostels and reasonably priced hotels and most of what you are coming to see in the city, The Gold Museum, colonial buildings, Monserrate, The Plaza de Bolivar and the impressive Botero Collection are within walking distance.

Rather than pick out and name my favourite hostels in the Candelaria I would leave it to you to seek the information on reliable websites such as HostelWorld and the Colombian Hostels Association. Here you should be furnished with the kind of information required to make your decision. There are clearly those aimed at the party crowd and those directed at couples and so on. So take your pick.

Hostels have come of Age in Bogota

Previously, backpackers were content to score a bed in a large dormitory and crash out in the knowledge that their belongings were safe. Nowadays the very business of a hostel has altered and improved considerably. Many hostels are designed in order to for you to be lulled into staying longer than planned rather than just as a greasy mattress upon which to lay your head in-between overnight bus rides. Many hostels have en-suite bathrooms, boast Wi-Fi internet throughout the building, and have an airport pick up service, 24hr hot water, a bar, events, games and oodles of information about what to do in Bogota and around the city.

Security Concerns

The Candelaria is considered by some to be a seedier side to Bogota, but in truth, it is the city’s most vibrant and perhaps bohemian at the same time. You’ll find alternative bars, local food delicacies and hundreds upon hundreds of students given the quantity of universities here. Yes, you should be wary at nighttime, but as tourist numbers grow, correspondingly, the number of muggings will increase unfortunately. But, the local government has this identified and security is improving.