Montería
Monteria is a city in Córdoba.
Understand
Montería is a city with about 275.000 inhabitants in the Cordoba department in Colombia. Even though it is not a coast city, Monterians call themselves 'costeños', and are said to speak 'costeñol' (from the words español + costeño). They see themselves as cheerful, relaxed and informal, and are very proud of it. Most of the times, the letters s and r in the middle and ending of words are not pronounced. For example, escolar (scholar) would be pronounced e-colá.
Get in
There are several bus
- to/from Cartagena : 45,000 COP / 4.5 hours (every hour)
- to/from Turbo : 15,000 COP / 2.5 hours (every half hour)
- to/from Tolú : 18,000 COP / 2 hours (every hour)
- to/from Medellin : 100,000 COP / 10 hours
The bus terminal is located 2km southeast from downtown on calle 41. Frequent MetroSinu bus (yellow in colour) takes you there for 1800 cop. The bus leave from inside the terminal.
Get around
Motorcycles Montería's vehicle of choice is motorcycles. Mototaxis are, as their name suggests, motorcycle taxis. They are the cheapest and fastest way to get around, a carrera costing around $1000.00 COP. On Tuesdays, motorcycles are banned from the city, which results in less traffic but slower buses.
Busetas Buses are called busetas. The safest ones are yellow, from the company MetroBus. It costs $1400.00 COP for a ride, but with an ElTike card, a ride is $1160.00 COP. ElTike cards can be purchased at the MetroBus terminal for $5000.00 COP and the minimum recharge is for $14,000.00COP.
Taxi All the taxis in Montería are regulated, so they are very safe. They can be stopped on the street or be called to pick one up. During the day, a carrera is $4000.00 COP. Foreigners should negotiate the price before getting in the taxi or risk being charged more. By night, it can be more than twice the cost than a regular ride; the destination also affects the cost. Be sure to negotiate with the driver before getting in.
Planchón Montería is divided by the River Sinú. It can be crossed by either bridges, or by planchón. Planchón is a sort of flat boat which crosses the River at only $300.00 COP. Any of the planchones that are on the Ronda del Sinú are perfectly safe, but it is advised not to go to the ones by the market after dark.
See
Ronda del Sinú Along the East Bank of the River Sinú, the Ronda del Sinú is a recreational park with restaurants, a cycle road, an open-air theatre, etc. Monkeys and iguanas run freely in the park, and it is considered to be the only tourist attraction in Montería.
Do
Buy
Eat
- Tocinita, In a shopping boulivard off Carrera 2 (Look for the play park and Nintendo World). Small cafe with cheerful chatty owner does good, cheap set breakfasts and lunches for $6000 COP with the excellent "huevos pericos". Will do vegetarian version if you ask
Drink
Sleep
- Hotel medellin, carrera 4, 34-41, centro, ☏ 4 781 5451. relocated to a new location, rooms are clean with t.v, private bath and wifi but most don't have a window (not even to the corridor). There are a few facing the street but subject to constant noise from traffic. $30,000 cop single no A/C 50,000 with A/C (Nov. 2015).