Travel and Living in Colombia: Visiting the Pacific Ocean Coast

If you’re thinking of visiting the Pacific Ocean coast of Colombia, know that there are various options which offer opportunities for salt-water fishing, whale watching and beach vacations. Here are three:

– Bahia Solano, a resort town in the northern sector of the Pacific Coast. Some major sport fishing tournaments are held here annually. There are nature walks and diving tours available as well as a number of basic but acceptable hotels. Two major luxury hotels also offer accommodations here. The town has one of the few Pacific Coast located airports and the only one in the northern sector of the coast. One of Colombia’s largest, most beautiful national parks, Parque Nacional Utria, is located but a 20-minute boat ride away. The park, which includes a generous section of the coast and Pacific Ocean waters as well, houses one of the largest concentrations of tropical wildlife and marine life for this section of South America outside of Brazil. Frequently, marine scientists congregate in the area to study the amazing conglomeration of aquatic life found here.

– Nuqui, a regional county seat is another Pacific coastal town boasting airport service. There are also a handful of decent hotels offering full amenities, meals and regional tours. The central Colombian coast location of Nuqui is convenient for watching migration of Humpback whales during the spring. During late summer to early fall, the migration reverses as the whales with their newborn calves turn south to head for southern Pacific Ocean waters off the coasts of Chile and Antarctica. Porpoises, seals and freshwater aquatic life are in abundance too as are natural thermal baths and protected environmental zones featuring wildlife which you can get very close and personal with. Just be careful. Yes, they bite. If you have an interest in visiting indigenous Embera Indian villages, there are a number of these located near Nuqui to which tours or visits can be arranged.

– Buenaventura, a sometimes unacceptably dangerous environment, this unkempt, shabby city is the largest on the Pacific coast of Colombia and is driveable from the city of Cali and the central coffee region of the country. There is motor launch service to much of the Colombian coast from here and a handful of passable beaches like those located in Ladrilleros and Juanchaco. A major military and naval base is also on the bay here. The main market here features an astonishing variety of not only marine fare but edible jungle wildlife too. Armadillo, peccary, three-toed sloth, sea turtle and iguana can be purchased and eaten at food stalls on the market’s second floor. Due to population controls and regional seafood harvesting regulations, sometimes creatures which would be illegal to harvest in other locations and countries are legally harvested and available here.

Travel and Living in Colombia

From Humpback whale watching to sport fishing and therapeutic thermal baths, you can enjoy a wide range of activities and nature pursuits along the Pacific Ocean coast of Colombia. Did I mention that you’ll find the prices to be a great relief? You’ll keep more in your wallet due to the economy of the region when compared to other locations such as Panama or Costa Rica. True, there are trade offs and the services available in both of these countries is certainly first rate, but a visit to Colombia’s Pacific coast can be an amazingly enjoyable one at affordable rates.

Why not see for yourself?

I did and I’m still here!