Bucaramanga is a city in the Santander department of Eastern Andino.
Bucaramanga is a medium sized city, home to nearly 1 million inhabitants (all of the metropolitan area). It's a major commercial hub in northeastern Colombia, playing a significant role in trade between Colombia and Venezuela. It's not a huge touristy destination like Cartagena or Santa Marta but nonetheless it is surrounded by beautiful landscapes and ancient towns with a lot of history, which overall makes the visit to Bucaramanga worthwhile.
Most people in Bucaramanga speak Spanish only, and you will probably have a hard time trying to get addresses and other information from people on streets, but if you go to big hangout places like malls, parks or supermarkets and to the universities, English speaking people will certainly be found around.
There is a public bus from the, airport to the city center.
The city offers a clean, modern and nice bus station at La Terminal de Transportes de Bucaramanga 📍, from where you can take busses to almost any destination around Colombia; you can even take buses from here that will take you to Venezuela and Ecuador. There are frequent buses from Bogota.
The Metrolínea bus system uses exclusive lanes making many trips faster and more comfortable. It is safe a clean although it is almost always full. Tickets around COP$2150.
Plentiful, and all run on meters. For added security take a note of the number plates, or even better: request a cab by telephone.
There are plenty of things to sightseeing in Bucaramanga, starting from the east side via Cúcuta you can find nice and large balconies and enjoy a panoramic view of the city.
The center of Bucaramanga gets really crowded on weekends and peak hours, however you can enjoy lots of bargains and sales in the shops, nice quality of clothes and shoes of course.
In the south of Bucaramanga you can find different resorts or clubs where you can play golf, futbol, swim, or just chill out with your friends.
Generally the most popular zone in Bucaramanga is Cabecera, this is the most modern area in the city with lots of malls and entertainment like cinemas, restaurants and shops.
To buy shoes, there is not a better place than Bucaramanga, due to the many shoe factories the prices are inexpensive. Good leather and excellent manufacturing.
Traditional Santanderean dishes include:
Don't forget to try all the fresh fruits you can find at either the traditional markets, or at the supermarkets. Pineapples from Lebrija (which is 35–40 minutes from Bucaramanga) are famous for their size and sweetness. The best pineapples in the world, with only competition from the Hawaii pineapples. Oranges, tangerines and limes are traditional crops and can be found all year round (like most of the other fruits). Mango, Papaya, Watermelon, Maracuyá (passion fruit), Guava, Curuba, Pitahaya... the list is very extensive.
Some of the most popular places to eat in Bucaramanga are:
Three mid/upscale concentrations of bars and clubs, all within a few minutes walk from one another:
For more working class audience walk westwards along Carrera 33 from Calle 44.
Some of the popular places to hang out in Bucaramanga are:
The new aerial cable is among the longest in the world. You can board in the neighboring towns of Mesa de los Santos or Panachi across the national park |Chicamocha, it covers a fantastic view of a deep canyon (dead link: January 2023).
On the road to Bogota are some excellent spots worth checking out, like the Chicamocha Canyon, the towns of San Gil, Socorro, Vélez and Barichara, among others.
Girón is a small and pretty colonial style town just about 10 km outside Bucaramanga.
If you are going to Pamplona or Cúcuta, the cheapest (and probably fastest) way is to take a buseta (COP$20,000-25,000 depending on your negotiation skills and their mood) from Parque del Agua, not the main bus terminal. To get there, take the #6 bus (Morro) from the center or take a taxi. If you are in La Cabecera and don't have much stuff, you can maybe walk to Parque del Agua.
Primary administrative division