Post: #1

* Disclaimer* This is not a data sheet or a trip report. I have not been to Bucaramanga yet. I made this solely for my own educational purposes. Feel free to add to it with pertinent information.


Bucaramanga, Colombia

Department: Santander

Population: City 608,102 / Merto 1,212,657







City Overview

Bucaramanga or commonly known as La Ciudad Bonita and the La Ciudad de los Parques is the capital of Santander province. The city is situated in the valley of the Río de Oro. The smaller pueblos of Floridablanca, Girón and Piedecuesta make up Bucaramanga's metropolitan area. Bucara gets its nicknames from having over 160 parks throughout the city. Along with being recognized by its parks Bucara is known for two other things of which one is having great food. Santander as a whole has a reputation for having delicious sweets like the 'oblea' (two large wafers filled with a variety of sauces). Bucara specializes in goat and the 'hormiga culona' (a large fried ant) which supposedly tastes like popcorn. The last reputation Bucara has goes by the saying "las mujeres de alla son muy bravas!" (the women are fierce!) Be sure to check out Chicamocha Park while your in Bucaramanga and San Gil while your in Bucaramanga.

Bucara is well organized and clean. The city enjoys a fairly moderate - warm temperature all year round. Average temperature is about 82F. Bucara offers many outdoor activities like paragliding, hiking, rafting, climbing, kayaking ect. Also you are a 7 hour bus ride from Santa Marta making a weekend beach trip ideal. Traffic in Bucara is a problem but the newly built Metrolinia should help that tremendously. The city is divided in 17 Communes which group several neighborhoods.

The main areas of the city include El Centro, Cabecera, and Canaveral.

The city's attractive main square is called Parque Santander, with a statue of the famous liberator at its centre. El Catedral de la Sagrada Familia is the plaza's most prominent landmark. There is a nice pedestrian walk-way on Calle 35 between Carreras 18 and 19 with many little shops. Also in the center is the Universidad Industrial de Santander. Centro Comercial Pasaje Cadena is a good place for bargain shopping. If you are looking for some local food check out the large Plaza Central. Around Calle 15 you can see the city’s small colonial district and the Palacio de Justicia. Once the city's center Parque Rovira, is recognized by its tall palm trees.



The main nightlife areas are situated around Commune 12. The best zona for entertainment is Cabecera (Carrera 33). Other good areas include Puerta del Sol, Ruitoque, vía Piedecuesta. The most popular club in town is Chabela. Some other good clubs/bars are La Calle, Malabar, Mister Badillo, Penole, and Mulatas. For pre-gaming go to Cafe de Maestro. There you can find cheap alcohol to get the night started. If your looking for salsa then head to CaliSon. Bucara has alot to offer when the sun goes, something for everyone's taste.

Check out some of the nightlife photos of chicks in Bucara here http://bmanga.pegateya.com/design/pegateya/index.php

Final Thoughts

Bucara has a great reputation in Colombia and deservedly soo. Friendly people, nice weather, good food, and hot women. City itself is very clean, pretty, and organized.

Only real negative I see is it being pretty isolated in terms of proximity to Medellin, Cali, Bogota, and Cartagena.

Another downside is during the wet months Bucaramanga gets even more isolated with the many mudslides ect blocking of travel most if not all travel to and from other cities.

Other than those, this places to be awesome!

Post: #2

After being in medellin for 2 months a year ago and reading mix's report today i believe isolated is a great thing now in colombia. i hope it lasts for awhile. bucaramanga seems like a good deal.

Post: #3

I truly dont see the point of recommending going to a place you haver never been and even mention the bars where you can hit to meet up girls. That is just mad lame.

Post: #4

(09-20-2011 10:41 AM)pitt Wrote:  I truly dont see the point of recommending going to a place you haver never been and even mention the bars where you can hit to meet up girls. That is just mad lame.

Bro,

There was ZERO info on this place and almost zero on the entire net.

I spent a shit TON of hours reading and messaging 20+ people that live in Bucara to get the most intel on the place as humanly possible without living there yourself.

Im sure someone going to Bucara will find this lame....



PS. If you dont like my threads or appreciate the work I do just hit the back button. No need for flaming and leaving derogatory comments / opinions.

dash

Post: #5

Dash, I do see and get what you are trying to do, but even if there is zero information on a city, writing up data sheets before you go still leaves us with little value. Not hatin' on you broda - seriously.

I recommend writing them after your trip or while you are there. Which is why I am doing my vids of places I have personally been to, even if its a local hole in the wall with great food.

My .02

Mixx

Post: #6

Mixx,

Like I said at the very top of the thread. Its not a data sheet or trip. Pretty much did college style research for my own self as to help me get to know Bucara as best I can without hoping on a plane.

I figured I would share it as it certainly educated me.

The value in the thread is all in the eye of the beholder.

I know I will most certainly be referencing and using this info when I hit up the city.

As it states at the top info is for me. Use at your own discretion. If you like it great, if you dont great.

Dash

Post: #7

What could result in valuable info (assuming you have never visited a city and there is very little data on this forum) could be had by carpet bombing cute girls on line (ccupid, couchsurfing, badoo,tagged) and seeing the level and quality of reaction to your profile. Then you compare that to the response from another city. In Brazil 3 months ago i did just that and chose Joao Pessoa over Goiania. I dont regret that decision.

Post: #8

^^

I have heard good things about Joao Pessoa.

Care to drop a data sheet?

Post: #9

You could have saved a lot of time researching by just going on wikitravel. They provide much more information than what you provided.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Bucaramanga

Post: #10

Only way it will remain isolated is if people don't talk about it.

Post: #11

(09-20-2011 05:54 PM)johnw28 Wrote:  Only way it will remain isolated is if people don't talk about it.

Really it's not the case, living in some of the bigger cities such as Medellin for a while can be boring enough so imagine what it's like to be stuck in some of these second tier cities, probably similar to spending a couple of weeks in maximum security only to your relief you're able to get out.

Post: #12

(09-20-2011 04:33 PM)zoom Wrote:  You could have saved a lot of time researching by just going on wikitravel. They provide much more information than what you provided.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Bucaramanga

Wiki page tells about the women's reputation?

Wiki page tells about the traffic situation?

Wiki page tells about the mudslides in the wet month that block off Bucara?

Wiki page tells about the main zonaS?

Wiki page tells about the hottest club in town and where to pre-game and go for salsa?

Wiki page tells about what the city is famous / known for?

Wiki page tells about the best place to go to buy local cheap food and for bargain shopping?

The answer is NO to ALL the above.

Nice try though

Let me worry about how my time is spent and if talking to 20+ locals is a waste.

Post: #13

(09-20-2011 07:01 PM)Dash Global Wrote:  

(09-20-2011 04:33 PM)zoom Wrote:  You could have saved a lot of time researching by just going on wikitravel. They provide much more information than what you provided.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Bucaramanga

Wiki page tells about the women's reputation?

Wiki page tells about the traffic situation?

Wiki page tells about the mudslides in the wet month that block off Bucara?

Wiki page tells about the main zonaS?

Wiki page tells about the hottest club in town and where to pre-game and go for salsa?

Wiki page tells about what the city is famous / known for?

Wiki page tells about the best place to go to buy local cheap food and for bargain shopping?

The answer is NO to ALL the above.

Nice try though

Let me worry about how my time is spent and if talking to 20+ locals is a waste.

It is way better than the information you just posted- especially since you also posted second hand information.

Wiki page tells about the mudslides in the wet month that block off Bucara?

No, but you only wrote one sentence about it without any detail- that's not much better. Pointless thread if you ask me, no one is going to go to Bucaramanga based on your 'info sheet'. Also there is plenty of information on the web about Bucaramanga, lol at "ZERO info" available.

Post: #14

Zoom

The purpose of the thread is not to get anyone to go to Bucara.

I made this solely as a place to put down my findings.

If anyone is like me, I like and appreciate any info on a place, first / second / third hand it doesnt matter so long as its accurate and not misleading. And as long as they clarify how they got the info.

It states clearly at the top in BOLD that this is 2nd hand info and was solely for educational purposes.

At that point if you had a problem with it or thought the thread was pointless than you should have HIT THE BACK BUTTON.

Your opinion on whether you think a thread is pointless is IRONICALLY pointless.

btw

Since there is plenty of info on the web about Bucara why dont you provide a link for the forum (one that covers everything from the city layout, nightlife, food, shopping, activities, talks about the women ect)?

Dash

Post: #15

(09-20-2011 05:54 PM)johnw28 Wrote:  Only way it will remain isolated is if people don't talk about it.

Yes I agree! You have no idea how easy it was to Google pereira and find Mixx's opinion about the city and even how to score with the local ladies.
The big downer about this second tier cities and how fucking boring they feel after you spend only a couple of days on them. I have punished myself enough by living in one of them for a fucking year, but trust me I'm not too far away from hitting Cali or Medellin again where at least you have crime to talk about...oh yeah pussy is more plentiful at those places too and I can get lay easier than here.

Post: #16

This has come up in a couple threads. Some guys like seeing/writing about basic stuff like accommodations, facts about the city, getting around, etc. Others think it should just be about women.

I tend to agree with the latter... If I want to know a town's history or where to stay, I'll hop on wikitravel or tripadvisor. I come here to learn about girls and night life.

Post: #17

Jarocho2003 -

No crime in Pereira?

Entropy4 -

"If I want to know a town's history or where to stay, I'll hop on wikitravel or tripadvisor. I come here to learn about girls and night life."

Agreed save the "where to stay" part.

You would have to agree "where to stay" has a huge crossover with girls (logistical aspects) and nightlife (close to nightclubs/bars/restaurants), right?

Post: #18

Yeah, agreed. It's good to know what parts of town the nightlife is in. Although even that can usually be found with five minutes of Googling. My biggest priorities are:

- Quality and quantity of women out and about
- Type of nightlife and style of venues (clubs, salsa, bars, etc.)
- How easy it is to hook up
- Language/cultural barriers
- Any logistical issues I need to be aware of (metro closes at 1AM, cabs rip you off, girls live with their parents until they're 30, etc.)

That's about it.

Post: #19

(09-21-2011 01:42 AM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  Jarocho2003 -

No crime in Pereira?

Dash this is the post that brought me to this site and reason why I became a member /thread-1605.html

I only been to Pereira once and I wasn't even there to fuck women...I went in to watch an under 20 world cup game (awesome experience btw!).

Post: #20

Dash,

I know you are trying to help but the fact is that nobody is going to go to Bucaramanga based on the little 'info sheet' that you provided.

Where as if someone posted a detailed data sheet with first hand knowledge of the city and the women, then that might provoke someone to put in a little more research and book travel plans.

Post: #21

(09-21-2011 09:53 AM)zoom Wrote:  Dash,

I know you are trying to help but the fact is that nobody is going to go to Bucaramanga based on the little 'info sheet' that you provided.

Where as if someone posted a detailed data sheet with first hand knowledge of the city and the women, then that might provoke someone to put in a little more research and book travel plans.

Didnt I already tell you in my last comment to you that this wasnt intended to get anyone to go to Bucaramanga?

The only intent of the thread is to get my research put into an organized format for me to be able to re-reference it when I arrive in Bucaramanga in 2012.

The concept is real simple:

1) IF you only want alleged first hand info than you hit the back button after reading the first sentence.

2) If you like any and all info on a place 1st/2nd/3rd hand ect than you continue on reading.

The BACK button is your friend, I promise you.

Post: #22

Your mini-data sheet reads like a travel advertisement, I wouldn't make statements and assumptions about a place based on "research" off the internet.

"Bucara is well organized and clean."

"Bucara has a great reputation in Colombia and deservedly soo. Friendly people, nice weather, good food, and hot women. City itself is very clean, pretty, and organized."

"Bucara has alot to offer when the sun goes, something for everyone's taste."

Post: #23

OGNor

Those were all quotes and statements straight from people that live in Bucara.

PS I wouldnt tell other people how to write their threads.....

The back button can be your friend as well.

Dash

Post: #24

Additional info

Area around Las Palmas park is also supposedly good for nightlife.

Post: #25

(09-21-2011 12:13 PM)Dash Global Wrote:  Additional info

Area around Las Palmas park is also supposedly good for nightlife.

Is this a good place to check out if you're going to be in Medellin? How's the nightlife/quality of girls?