24 Hours in Bucaramanga
Introduction
Bucaramanga is the capital city of the region of Santander, Colombia. It’s called “The beautiful city” or “The city of parks” and is home to nearly 1,3 million people. It is the footwear center of Colombia. The climate ranges from 20°C to 28°C.
Friday
12pm
When you arrive at Bucaramanga by plane you could take a taxi to the city because the airport is 30 minutes away.
You should stay at the Dann Carlton Hotel (Calle 47 Nº 28–83; danncarltonbucaramanga.com) it is one of the most expensive hotels in the city. It costs about $99.50 per night.
Also, you can stay at the “Guane Hotel” (hotelguane.com)or “Ciudad Bonita Hotel” (hotelciudadbonita.com.co) which are cheaper.
3pm
You should go to Cacique Mall, it’s a new mall that has many stores and restaurants. It is a good place to do some window shopping. On the last floor of the mall you can see the skyline of the city. You should go see the sunset there.
7pm
“El Garaje” is a good restaurant to eat at on friday night (Cll 48 # 34 Esq; 0057-6574768;hamburguesaselgaraje.com.) It’s located in the Cabecera neighborhood. This restaurant has the best hamburgers in the city and they have pineapple and tartar sauce which is so typical for this kind of food in this region. This place is a must eat. On weekends it’s always packed but they have live music and you could drink beers or cocktails.
10pm
In Cabecera, there are many places to go out on weekends. You could go to a liquor store to buy a bottle of “Aguardiente” and drink it sitting on a stoop. Also, you should go to the timeless “Boissons pub” (Cuarta etapa Mall, 4 floor) for some shots before the party and directly opposite you could go to “Matildelina,” a club with Vallenato and Reggaeton music.
Saturday
7 am
You must go to “Chicamocha National Park” (Km. 54 by the road Bucaramanga — San Gil; parquenacionaldelchicamocha.com) it’s a park with a great view of the Chicamocha Canyon. You will pay $27 at least for the entrance fee. You must take the cable car to arrive at the park and visit the Monument to the Santandereanidad, the aquapark, buggies and kids park.
Also, you can enjoy extreme activities like paragliding, canopy and an extreme swing set that is 15 meters high over the immensity of the Chicamocha canyon.
This is one of the tourist attractions that provides more adrenaline.
It’s a must see experience for tourists in Santander.
12pm
“Puerta del Sol” (Cra 30 No 65–08; 00576575386; lapuertadelsol.com.co) is a restaurant with the typical food of this region. You should order a plate of sobrebarriga, oreada (typical meats of Santander), chicken, goat, arepa, yuca, pepitoria (rice with goat) and salad. This lunch costs around $24 and is for two.
2pm
After lunch, you must go to “Obleas Floridablanca” (Cra 7 # 5–54 Floridablanca, obleasfloridablanca.com). It´s located in the Metropolitan area of Bucaramanga. You can eat a typical dessert called “Oblea,” a wafer with milk caramel and multiple combinations.
Later, you must go to an excellent place called “Empanadas Conucos,” which is a hole in the wall, to eat a pastry that is baked or fried and has stuffing consisting of a variety of meat, cheese, rice and vegetables.
