Colombia Viva Travel Guides

Posted In: Colombia

Vinnie Springmeyer says...

I've always appreciated the Viva! format, but the guide really does not flow seamlessly. A Rough Guides will tell you where and how to pick up traditional forms of transportation and how much it should cost, but this guide really misses these practical descriptions. Overall, I enjoy reading visitors' impressions of certain regions, but Colombia is really crying out for a more comprehensive guide.

Posted on September 1, 2011

Cari Lagrow says...

I was shocked at many errors I found in this book. The first page I read was an overall map that listed several key sites on page 12 and 13. San Agustin was somehow shown east of Bogota. It is really south west of Bogota! Way off... Parque National del Cafe was shown in the right place but the description says, "Located 160 miles north of Bogota..." It is west! This is the first map in the book and usually the first thing readers try to catch. These errors made me feel that I could not trust anything written on this book. I am going to return this now.



One good thing about this book is that this has many maps that Footprint and Bradt do not. For instance, neither Footprint (South America 2009) nor Bradt (Colombia) does not have a map of San Agustin. This book does. But I am not sure these maps are reliable.

Posted on September 2, 2011

Edgar Schlieper says...

I bought this book previous to my first vacation to Colombia to visit my wife's parents this year.This book is truly amazing because it explains the social and economic climate as well as providing detailed listings of destinations throughout the book, including small towns and remote destinations. Pollard's book does not ignore the fact that using common sense is important when visiting this beautiful country, but contrary to the US State Department warnings, he reminds us in his own words that this is indeed a wonderful country to visit and the people are as open and friendly as anywhere in the world. My friends and family who live in Colombia were truly impressed with the wealth of information presented in this book.The only criticism is that the book is now over three years old and some of the information regarding specific locales need updates.Overall, this may be the best travel book I have ever used.

Posted on September 2, 2011

Tien Coward says...

I just came back from a 5-week trip to Colombia. Before I left, I was told there really wasn't a good guidebook for Colombia. Checking the Amazon.com reviews, I found a litany of complaints for all the other guidebooks, and finally I settled on a brand-new edition of the VIVA Colombia which at the time didn't have any reviews. While not perfect, the VIVA guide had pretty much everything I needed. (For full disclosure, I'm a budget traveler, and I went primarily in order to improve my Spanish.)



First of all, at 505 pages, VIVA is a longer book than Lonely Planet or the other guidebooks. VIVA will devote an entire paragraph to describing a site that other books gloss over with a sentence or two. It breaks Colombia into regions and devotes a whole chapter to each one (Bogota, Valle del Cauca, Zona Cafetera, Tierra Paisa, the Pacific Coast, Upper Magdalena, Lower Magdalena, the Caribbean Coast, La Guajira, Eastern Colombia, Southern Colombia, and Llanos and Selva). Every chapter has a regional map, a map of each major city, a blurb on the history, a "When to Go" blurb, transportation information, information on local safety and traveler services, and of course a "Things to Do" section, a section on hotels and hostels, and restaurants. It is very comprehensive and easy to use.



VIVA's claim to fame, as I understand it, is that traveler's contributions to the VIVA website are compiled into the book. And VIVA claims to be "the most up-to-date" guidebook. Almost every paragraph on a new topic (be it about a restaurant or about the safety situation in a certain city) is followed by the date on which that information was last updated. And quotes from website users about various restaurants, hotels, or activities are scattered throughout the book.



I haven't had a whole lot of experience with travel guides, but here are my criticisms for whatever they're worth. First, some of the blurbs (for tour companies or Spanish schools) read like advertisement hype rather than insider info. I noticed the "Studying Spanish in Cartagena" section lists five options that actually turn out to be the same exact program under different names. I could have used more guidance on local customs and etiquette (when to top, etc.) than was given. The city maps are pretty simplistic, but you shouldn't rely on guidebooks for city maps anyway. Just pick one up from a tourism office or the airport. Finally, the book needs a better editor (the index is too short and a couple page numbers referenced in the introductory section are actually wrong).



All in all, not perfect but certainly handy, and probably the best on the market for travelers to Colombia.

Posted on September 2, 2011

Andre Darthard says...

The old adage rings true- Never judge a book by its cover.This is the worst travel guide that I have ever bought. After travelling for 2 weeks in Colombia, I must say that i got increasingly frustrated with the guide that i eventually asked locals for information. Some problems with the books:

- Maps are really really BAD. Some attractions are listed wrong on the maps, and what's more, most of the maps are incomplete references of the city. Take Cartagena. The book only gives you the old city map, but not that of Bocagrande or other parts of the city. What is the use of listing sleeping, eating, and sites if you don't even know how to get there?

- Nothing in this book raises an eyebrow. Please.. there must be someway of deciphering which are the more popular attractions from the ordinary ones. The book always has this long drawl about this church and that plaza but never tells you what is appealing historical, culturally or perhaps even visually.

- NOT Helpful for finding convenience services. The book rattles on about all the Colombian banks in town. But do foreigners really want to go to a local bank? Wouldn't listing HSBC, Citibank and other global banks be a much more appropriate choices because the familarity of the banks, and possibly even having an account with them might help solve financial issues??!



Don't pinch the money and buy this book. Lonely Planet is way better value for its content.

Posted on September 3, 2011

Kati Villapando says...

This guidebook shares some valuable insight and general information but is lacking in important categories. I found the vast majority of maps completely useless--they lack detail and are often faulty. There is no useful country map (the map on pp 12-13 is a joke). Road maps miss important roads. The map of the old town of Cartagena (218), for instance, showed our hotel in the wrong place, and the map of Barichara (360)--one of the few usable maps--shows a train line that positively is not there. The map of Tunja shows the bus terminal one block from the main plaza (326). I was going to take a peek while changing buses--just to find out that we were two miles from the plaza. Also descriptions of how to get places are hit and miss--sometimes accurate, sometimes not, but usually so imprecise that it was impossible to get around without additional help. Hotel tips usually worked out, and some restaurant tips did too. Colombia is rich in important buildings, such as churches and plazas. Unfortunately, this guide says nothing about art and architecture and very little about the history of places. The organization leaves something to be desired as well. Why, for example, is the description for the Tayrona Park in the middle of the Taganga section even though access is really from Santa Marta? The index is a bit sloppy: a lot of places discussed in the text are not in the index, the town of Honda for example (191-2). Some fact-checking would have helped. The copy editing of this book is exceedingly poor: the organization of chapters and sections is not consistent, the user has to patch info together from various places in the book, and descriptions and level of details are very inconsistent.

Posted on September 3, 2011

Anya Miesen says...

I was in Colombia in 2000 and will go back next year. I checked on the places I know and really liked the stile and information provided. I liked the positive outlook, it warns of dangers but also makes you feel comfortable of going. I liked that. The book is compact, well organised and includes lot of unlikely and not too obvious places. It also hast lots of tips and adresses for nature travel, trecking, rafting etc.

Posted on September 4, 2011

Sharleen Gueningsman says...

This book is exactly what I needed for my trip to Colombia. What I've found with VIVA is that their maps are always up-to-date, unlike some of the other travel guides I've had to deal with. Moreover, I like that these reviews are really rated by people who have traveled to the country before. These guides aren't like other guidebooks that cater to a specific demographic, like budget student travelers or the five-star-only set. I can stay in a hostel in one city and a historic landmark in another.



I've been a member of the South American Explorers for a while, and what I've found is that most of the people I meet in countries down there like to use VIVA's website just as much as I do. It's a guide put together by travelers and for travelers, and that's why I stick with them. Yet another great guide!

Posted on September 6, 2011

Tawanna Kulseth says...

I have purchased many a guidebook from many different companies, and this is the first that has actually made me so annoyed I've spent the time to write on Amazon.I just got back from a 5 day trip to Cartagena.This book is so poorly edited that the same paragraph appears multiple times on the same page, headings of paragraphs have nothing to do with what they contain (i.e. a section called "keeping in touch" talked about laundry facilities), and it really seems like the paragraphs themselves were written by high school students with no editor.This book provided no value whatsoever.Do not get it.

Posted on September 10, 2011

Maragaret Aguinaldo says...

The guide is acceptable but needs updating. To travel to Cartagena the best source I found was www.baruycartagena.com Caribe Cordial had the best info on Cartagena. Cartagena is very dynamic and many things are changing. Also for Tayrona y Taganga they have better info on hotels, restaurants, where to rent a boat, or even a helicopter ride to the lost city.

Posted on September 11, 2011