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cali, CO

Now Cali. I think Cali is the chaos center of an already chaotic country. At least when it comes to the big cities. It’s like the wild west at times. The traffic is crazy. There appear to be more motorcycles in this town than in the rest of the world combined, I think. Driving around this city was one of my least favorite driving experiences in Latin America to date. I wasn’t a huge fan of Cali to be honest. Its frankly not very safe and two poor British girls were mugged and grazed at knife point in the middle of the day in front of the hostel we were staying at. It’s just a big kind of shady city to be honest. Don’t walk alone at night here, and don’t go into the wrong parts of town on your own. You could very well be asking for trouble. And in a place like Cali, the trouble is also looking for you. However, there is one major draw here in Cali. Salsa. If you want to come dance salsa, and enjoy all the nightlife that is related to this amazing traditional dance then Cali is 100% your place. Most everyone in the town here who is visiting is doing a salsa course and the hostels have their own schools within. So, if you want to dance salsa, or learn how to dance salsa, then Cali is your place. However, if you aren’t interested in Salsa or learning it, then I would say you can absolutely skip Cali and move along. Nothing all that special about it. Its chaotic, unsafe, not that pretty and just not a super great place in general. That’s only my opinion though after being stuck against my will in the city for a week while the car was undergoing repairs. So maybe I’m just salty.

GENERAL OVERVIEW

  • LOCATION - Cali is located in the Southwest of the country. It's the most Southern of the big cities. Its also one of the biggest cities in the country with over 2 million people. As a result, it's got a giant international airport called CLO so you can easily get here from anywhere. Theres not much to arriving here. It's also easy, albeit long, to take a bus here from anywhere in the country. 

    • NEIGHBORHOODS - Cali isn't very safe for tourists, even in these areas it can be dangerous but they are safer than the rest. This is where most of the tourists will congregate and stay. You really want to be as close as humanly possible to Parque San Antonio. ​The northern part of town is much more westernized and that might be a bad thing for some, but being a shady city, you want to be around there. 

      • Barrio San Antonio - ​The most popular and the best place to stay in Cali for tourists. It's a great walking area, with lots of restaurants and shops. The safest spot to be for tourists. 

      • El Peñon - El Peñon is a more upscale neighborhood in Cali Colombia. It is filled with restaurants, shops, hotels and museums. Its right next to Barrion San Antonio. 

      • Centanario - Another barrio that wont have as much to do as the other two in it for tourists but its a relatively safe residential neighborhood thats more upscale and still walking distance to San Antonio. 

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  • ACCOMODATION - Being a huge huge city there are obviously going to be a lot of different options of places to stay. I would recommend that you limit yourself to a few areas though.  

    • Viajero Cali Hostel and Salsa School - This is a part of the big Colombian hostel chain. I usually dont like the chains too much but this one is good. Its perfectly located in San Antonio and it's a great place to meet people. Its also got a salsa school ingrained in the spot. So its well located and has the thing everyone is looking for, salsa, right inside.  $14. 

    • La Sucursal - The location is a little bit out of the way in Centenario, but its still close enough to San Antonio and it's a nice spot. $12. 

    • Oasis Cali - Also a little bit out of the way but a really good option that will be full of people and have a good vibe. $!2. 

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  • EATS - I didn't really go out of the San Antonio area. I dont like big cities and didnt like Cali so I did not explore much. Here are a few places I ate and liked though. 

    • Casa Nona - Easily the best place that I ate in Cali. Its a restaurant in what feels like a house and its delicious and cheap. ​

    • Sisa Atahualpa - Pretty bad food but its a nice rooftop to sit at and have a drink. 

    • Alma y Cafe - Small and really chill little cafe in San Antonio with good cheap food and some healthy stuff as well. 

    • Tierradentro Café & Co - Actually a super cool cafe worth checking out. 

    • El Zaguán de San Antonio - A classic local spot that is great if you want traditional food. 

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  • NIGHTLIFE - There is tons of nightlife here. IF. If you are salsa dancing. The entire nightlife scene is revolved around this and you cant escape it even if you tried. I wont get into the nightlife. But here linked is a guide to Cali Salsa that is much more in depth and will answer your questions. It has a list of where to go every day of the week. I wasn't here to dance, and did not do any of it so I will be of no help.   

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  • SIGHTS - Salsa is really the thing to do here. If you dont want to dance salsa, dont come to Cali.

    • Dance Salsa - there are schools everywhere and people stay here for weeks trying to teach their gringo legs how to move in some kind of an acceptable fashion. 

    • Parque San Antonio - This is the park at the center of the San Antonio Neighborhood. Its a nice place to walk around and theres a good view of the crowded city below from the top of the park. 

    • La Linterna Cali - This was my favorite thing i did in Cali and I randomly stumbled upon it. Theres a small, classic printing press place that makes colorful and unique posters. Its a super cool place to go inside, watch them live print these unique posters, and buy something authentic and cool. I highly recommend stopping in.  

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  • SURFING - Unlike the other Cali, there's nothing to do here but shake your ass. 

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