Salento is a beautiful town in the small Colombian department of Quindio. Renown for its iconic coloured houses, fantastic coffee, Cocora Valley and trekking access to the Los Nevados National Park. Here we explain how to get to Salento- a quick and easy guide.
This town is often seen as the perfect stop for people traveling between Bogota and Medellin. The iconic Eje Cafetero / coffee zone is high on the list of most people’s travel lists, there is a remarkable amount of things to see and do.
From Bogota to Salento
As with a lot of Colombia, traffic leaving the city and roadworks along the way make predicting the number of hours very difficult.
Bogota – Armenia
There are many bus companies with buses (of varying comfort levels) essentially leaving every hour from 6am-11pm. Below are a couple of bus companies with better reputations.
| Company | Route | Price | Hours |
| Bolivariano | Direct | $41,000COP – $69,000COP | 8.00am, 8.30pm and 9.30pm |
| Velotax | Direct | $66,000COP | 10pm |
(Please note that during Colombian holidays the buses can book up very quickly- we recommend booking online).
‘La Linea’ is the famous network of tunnels and bridges that will one day connect Bogota to Armenia (and beyond!). Unfortunately, this project has taken many, many more years than anticipated, meaning that predicting travel time can be tricky. This journey could take anywhere between 6.5 – 10 hours depending on the traffic and roadwork situation.
Armenia – Salento
Armenia bus terminal is small and easy to navigate. If you have any trouble, simply ask anybody working in the main building and they will point you in the right direction.
- Once you have disembarked from your Bogota bus, you need to walk up the stairs/ramp into the bus terminal.
- Keep walking up the following set of stairs/ramp to the end of the main part of the terminal and pass through the open doors in the far right corner.
- Walk outside the main terminal building and follow the footpath until you see the sign for Salento.
This bus leaves roughly every 20 minutes and there is no need (or way) to book tickets previously. Typically there are always spaces available.
| Price | Route | Frequency |
| $4700COP | Direct – this bus often passes through the town of Circasia, but there is no need to change bus. | Every 20 minutes |
This journey takes between 1 – 1.30 hours (approximately).
The route of the bus upon arrival to Salento varies depending on the day of the week. During the weekend a lot of roads are closed in town, however, if you simply ask your driver where best to get off for the main square/el parque principal they are often very friendly and helpful.
Medellin to Salento
This is a comparatively much easier route. Flota Occidental run a direct service from Medellin Bus Terminal to Salento bus terminal 3 times a day:
| Company | Route | Price | Hours |
| Flota Occidental | Direct (via Pereira) | $49.000COP | 9.00am, 11.00am and 2.00pm |
We recommend that you book this bus in advance- there are often occasions during the peak season where they book up very quickly.
Once again due to roadworks, there is a big fluxation of journey times. It could take between 6 – 10 hours.
Private transport from Pereira or Armenia airport
For ease and comfort, as well as saving a lot of time, many people opt for a private service direct from the nearby airports of El Eden in Armenia and La Matecaña Airport in Periera.
Taxi drivers at the airports, whilst safe, often overcharge for this ‘out of city’ service. Under no circumstance use an unmarked/unofficial taxi. All taxis queuing in the official lines at bus terminals and airports are official and can be trusted.
We will happily organise your private transfer with one of our trusted, professional and officially licensed transport providers.
| Route | Price | Estimated time |
| Aeropuerto El Eden (Armenia) – your hotel in Salento | $110,000COP | 1.00 hour |
| Aeropuerto La Matecana (Pereira) – your hotel in Salento | $140,000COP | 1.30 hour |
Message us today for your private transport requests.
All information, times and prices are updated frequently, however, should there be any changes please let us know. It soon becomes apparent to people when starting their travels in Colombia that the transport options are predictably unpredictable. As with most things, there is always a solution and it is more often than not the case of finding an extra bit of patience. We cannot recommend enough that you have some bus snacks with you- nothing worse than being delayed by road works/traffic AND being hungry!
