Cúcuta travel guide

Ins and outs

The airport is 5 km north of the centre, 15 minutes by taxi from the town and the border, US$4, $10 at night, $10 to border. Buses from Avenida 3 take rather longer. The notorious bus station is on Avenida 7 and Calle O (a really rough area). There is a private bus station belonging to Copetran on Avenida Camilo Daza, via Aeropuerto. Taxi from bus station to town centre, US$2.40. The new Berlinas del Fonce terminal is much safer; it is 2 km beyond the main terminal along continuation of Diagonal Santander. Note Cúcuta and the surrounding area is a great centre for smuggling. Be careful.

Air

There are only domestic flights from Cúcuta airport. For flights to Venezuelan destinations you must cross the border and fly from San Antonio airport.

Airline offices

Avianca, Av 0, No 13-84, T5712848 and at airport, T5874884, www.avi anca.com. AeroRepública, C 15, No 0E-18, Los Caobos, T5833306, www.aerorepublica. com.co. Aires, Av 1E, No 18-12, Los Caobos, T5833941, http://www.aires.aero.

Bus

To Bogotá, hourly, 15-17 hrs, US$50, with Berlinas del Fonce, 13 a day and Copetran, both of whom have their own terminals , making 2 stops, 1 of which is Bucaramanga. There are frequent buses, even during the night (if the bus you take arrives in the dark, sit in the bus station café until it is light). To Cartagena, with Copetran, 4 a day at 0900, 1400, 1600 and 1730, with Berlinas, 1 a day, 16-19 hrs, US$59-72. To Bucaramanga, US$20, 6 hrs, with Copetrán and Berlinas del Fonce Pullman, hourly. There are good roads to Caracas (933 km direct or 1046 km via Mérida), and to Maracaibo (571 km). Bus to Caracas, 15 hrs, US$30, Expreso Occidente, or taxi colectivo.

Warning

Travellers have been reporting for years that the bus station is overrun with thieves and con-men, who have tried every trick in the book. This is still true. You must take great care, there is little or no police protection. On the 1st floor there is a tourist office for help and information and a café/snack bar where you can wait in comparative safety. Alternatively, go straight to a bus going in your direction, get on it, pay the driver and don’t let your belongings out of your sight. Don’t put your valuables in bus company ‘safety boxes’. Make sure tickets are for buses that exist; tickets do not need to be ‘stamped for validity’. For San Cristóbal, only pay the driver of the vehicle, not at the offices upstairs in the bus station. If you are told, even by officials, that it is dangerous to go to your chosen destination, double check. If the worst happens, report the theft to the DAS office, who may be able to help to recover what has been stolen.

Banks

A good rate of exchange for pesos is to be had in Cúcuta, at the airport, or on the border. Banco Ganadero and Banco de Los Andes near the plaza will give cash against Visa cards. Bancolombia changes TCs. Banco de Bogotá, on Parque Santander, advances on Visa. There are money changers on the street all round the main plaza and many shops advertise the purchase and sale of bolivares. Change pesos into bolivares in Cúcuta or San Antonio as it is difficult to change them further into Venezuela. Similarly, do not take bolivares further into Colombia, change them here. There are also casas de cambios, Casas de Cambio Invercambios, Av 5, No 13-32, Casa de Cambio Unidas, Av 5, No 11-39, L-3 C.C. Cúcuta Plaza, El Bolívar de Oro, C 10, No 4-48.