Yes, your airline will prompt you to fill out this simple “CheckMig” immigration form before entering Colombia. Make sure you fill it out and submit it up to 72 hours in advance of your flight to ensure your immigration process goes quickly and smoothly! It’ll help save you time in the passport/interview process. As a US citizen, you don’t need any additional paperwork, visas, etc, and won’t need to do anything on your way out of the country.

FROM:

Contact Hotel B.O.G. to book transportation. Perfect for groups both large and small, the hotel will happily arrange a pickup for you at the airport. $25 total for up to 4 people, $45 total for up to 11 people. Highly recommend! Just contact recepcion@boghotel.com before flying out, and include your flight # and arrival time.

Uber pickups are highly regulated around the Bogotá airport, so if you’re Ubering, we recommend using the app to call a Yellow Cab. That way, payment is already handled, and you can easily figure out where your driver is.

Getting TO the airport is a bit easier, as Uber drivers can drop you off without difficulty. When taking an Uber, one of your party should sit in the front seat, as is customary. You can also book your transport with Hotel B.O.G. Easy peasy!

Fashion aside, here are some helpful things to remember when packing your bags for Bogotá and Villa de Leyva:

• Passport & a photocopy, just in case.

• Some Colombian pesos for small vendors and tips. We recommend exchanging at your bank before traveling to avoid the fees.

• Colombia uses US-style plugs, so no adapters needed. Don’t forget that phone charger though.

• Sunscreen, sunglasses and/or a hat. The altitude in Bogotá means more sun exposure.

• Layers for the chillier nights, and you can’t go wrong with a little travel umbrella.

Villa de Leyva’s weather is very consistent: 70°-ish in the daytime and 50°-ish at night. You’ll want to have layers like jackets or light sweaters. Feel free to dress as creatively as you want.

We don’t recommend bringing stilettos or heels for getting around Villa, but they should be fine at the wedding venue.

Bogotá is a bit colder, and you won’t want to look as flashy. It is generally frowned upon to wear shorts in either of these parts of Colombia.

Wedding day attire can be as bold, colorful, flashy, or fashionable as you’re comfortable. Impress us, surprise us, maybe even try to out-do us. Because why not?

The currency is Colombian Pesos (COP).

You can use a credit card almost everywhere, but may want some cash for small vendors. We recommend contacting your local bank and having them exchange COP for you before you travel.

Tipping is customary at restaurants, and most will ask you if you’d like to include the standard 10%.

Yes. Villa de Leyva is an incredibly safe town in a tranquil part of Colombia that sees a lot of tourism from all over the world. If it weren’t safe, we definitely wouldn’t be having our gay wedding there.

For those staying in Bogotá for a night or two, we’ll be staying in the Zona T district, and recommend you do the same. See our Thursday Night in Bogotá page for more travel and safety tips. In short: stay alert, especially when traveling alone, know where you’re going, and don’t be too flashy. This is called “giving Papaya,” and it’s a bad thing.

It depends on your provider, but most have coverage in Colombia, and many offer an international unlimited data pass. (We get $35 10-day passes through the T-Mobile app.)

Check with your provider for international coverage options.

You’ll have some time to explore Villa after we arrive on Friday, and for a few hours before we depart on Sunday.

Villa de Leyva is built on the site of a prehistoric lake, so you’ll find a number of gorgeous geological features, fossil museums, and guided tours (on foot, horseback, or ATV) around the area.

It’s also a great place to shop, stroll around, have a coffee, and just absorb the culture, as we like to do.

Oh, and if you fancy a drink, check out El Duende Bar. You won’t believe El Duende Bar. It would be difficult to even describe it to you here.