Travel

Flight

Air Canada Promotional Discount & Flight Information

We are pleased to announce Air Canada will be the official airline for the wedding. Hehe. Well they asked us to say that, nonetheless, Adrian's former employer has kindly offered to provide wedding guests a 15% discount for flights in March 2020. Yes, it's true. To book a flight with your promotional code, access aircanada.com and enter your the code CC7HC3A1 in the search panel. Please do not make public the Code to any third parties other than the potential Eligible Passengers. The code is valid for return travel to Cartagena (CTG) only. The travel period begins Sunday, March 01, 2020 and ends Tuesday, March 31, 2020. As at 27/7/19 flights dep SYD-CTG on 7/3/20 and ret 31/3/20 are $1414 aud. By comparison, a flight on LATAM is $1596 aud. Flight information: Generally, booking travel in advance will get you the best deal & travel times vary. If you find an airfare for $1500 or less from SYD-CTG, buy it! LATAM, QANTAS, Air New Zealand and Aerolineas Argentinas fly to South America.

Discount Code - CC7HC3A1

Hotel

Movich Hotel Discount and Other Options

We are happy to advise that the venue of our wedding reception, Hotel Movich, has offered discounted rates to our wedding guests. Please contact Genny Mendoza to make your reservation and enjoy approxmately 50% off the standard rates. Genny's details are: Email: genny.mendoza@movichhotels.com Mobile (including Whatsapp): +57 3203044992 Code: MANUELA & ADRIAN Addtionally, there are many beautiful discoveries to be made on Airbnb. https://www.airbnb.com.au/s/Cartagena--Colombia. Please believe us when we say you're best to stay within the Walled City where all the fun is. If you're thinking of staying elsewhere, please contact us beforehand for us to give you some tips.

Discount Code - MANUELA & ADRIAN (Not valid for Internet Reservations)

Travel Note

Passport and Visa requirements

A valid passport, which is dated 6 months post-travel, is required to enter Colombia. ***This means that if you are departing Colombia on 22 March 2020, your passport expiration date must be dated September 22, 2020, or later*** Generally, for most passport holders a tourist visa is NOT required to enter Colombia for a tourist or business stay of 90 days or less. For further visa information, please visit the Government of Colombia's website by clicking the 'View' button below.

Travel Note

Timezone

Cartagena is on Colombia Time (COT), which is 5 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). For example when it is 7am in Cartagena it is 10pm the same day in Sydney.

Travel Note

Temperature

The average temperature in Cartagena in March is 29°C, with a high of 32°C and low of 26°C. March has a 3% chance of rain. (Let's keep our fingers crossed!)

Travel Note

Do I need to speak Spanish?

It helps, but is not necessary to get around in Cartagena. All hotel concierges and most restaurant and bar staff speak English. However, if you feel like brushing up on your Español, we recommend downloading the free app, DuoLingo, for a fun and easy, gamified way to learn as much or as little Spanish as you like or using the app, iTranslate.

Travel Note

Safety

If you've been watching the hit Netflix drama, Narcos, and you are worried that you may be kidnapped or asked to be a drug mule...don’t worry!!! Cartagena is an incredibly safe city and Costeños (Folks from Cartagena) are some of the friendliest people you’ll ever meet. Just like travelling to any foreign country, you always want to be aware of your surroundings and exercise normal travel common sense, e.g. don't carry your phone in your back pocket or be counting your cash out on the street.

Travel Note

Getting around

We're a big fan of UBER for several reasons. UBER is everywhere, safe, and trackable. For the most part, you can use it even if you don't speak Spanish. You don't have to worry about currency conversions or carrying around Colombian Pesos. We highly recommend downloading the UBER app and linking it to a credit card with no foreign transaction fees prior to travel. Once you are in the Old City, almost everything you want to do is either walking distance or just a horse carriage ride away but again, UBER is available as well! The taxis frown upon UBER, so don't be surprised if your driver asks you to sit in the front seat :) If you're staying at a hotel and don't use UBER, your hotel will be able to arrange transportation for you to and from a destination.

Travel Note

Travel Health Advice

Just to alleviate any concerns, firstly, Zika is not found in Cartagena. Nonetheless, if you are pregnant, it is recommended you contact your doctor about precautions you can take for travel in Central and South America. Similarly, for all people travelling to Cartagena, please contact your doctor about any routine travel shots (e.g. yellow fever) and precautions you can take.

Travel Note

Currency

The official currency of Cartagena is the Colombian Peso and the symbols are "$," "COP," or "COL$." AUD and other foreign currency is not accepted. We recommend pulling out cash at the ATMs in the airport once you land. If you happen to forget, you can find a handful of ATMs around the city. You will always get a better conversion rate at the ATM, so avoid using the currency exchange counters. Click here to check daily conversation rate

Travel Note

Credit Cards

Generally speaking, using credit cards in foreign countries is not wise and you would be better off using a debit credit card. Nonetheless, credit cards are accepted everywhere in Cartagena and Visa, MasterCard, and American Express are the most commonly accepted credit cards. If you use your card, you might be asked if it’s credito (credit) or debito (debit). If you’re using a tarjeta de credito (credit card), you might be asked how many instalments you want to pay in. Be sure to select ‘una, por favor’ (one, please) - although you can reportedly even have your dinner bill paid in up to 24 instalments. If using a tarjeta de debito (debit card), you’ll be asked if its a checking or savings account. Prior to travelling, tell your bank or card issuer that you’re going to be travelling abroad to Colombia and the dates you'll be travelling. This will stop them from freezing your card for potential fraud when you’re using it in Colombia.

Travel Note

Tipping

Standard practice is for a 10% tip (service) to be added to your bill, so there is no need to provide any further tips. Unless of course service was extraordinary, feel free to add some extra pesos. If not, you will not be offending anyone. If you sign up for any excursion or tour, we recommend you tip your guides between 20,000 and 30,000 pesos.

Travel Note

Internet & Phone

We recommend that you check with your cell phone provider regarding international data plans and roaming charges. If an international plan is not an option, you should turn off "mobile / cellular data" once you land to avoid any surprise charges for international roaming, texting, or data usage. We recommend purchasing a local sim card for minutes and data, and these can be purchased at the airport or convenient stores in Cartagena. Most hotels, cafes and restaurants around the city offer complimentary WiFi. For Apple users, you can use iMessage and FaceTime while connected to a WiFi network for no charge. We highly recommend using the app, WhatsApp, for international texting. This is the best way to reach the bride and groom throughout the wedding festivities.

Travel Note

Electrical Converters

If you are travelling from the Australia, you need a power plug adapter to charge your electronics. Colombia has the following plug types - types A and B and operates on a 110V supply voltage and 60Hz.