In this post, we’ll tell you how to get to Cali in Colombia. Cali is the largest city in the south of the country and the cultural capital of Colombia.
It’s a city that doesn’t feature on the traditional tourist circuit, and yet it’s well worth the detour! Cali is well worth a visit!
Cali is the best-served city in southern Colombia, thanks to its geographical location on the corridor leading to the border with Ecuador. You can reach Cali by bus, plane or, if you’ve chosen to rent a car in Colombia, by car.
Disclaimer: we apologize in advance for any grammatical or syntactic errors, as our native language is not English (we're a Colombian-French couple), so we hope you'll forgive us and still enjoy the information we share with you! Please note that all the information on our blog is based on our own experience, and is checked and updated regularly.
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Getting to Cali by bus
Transportation to Cali
Cali is accessible by direct bus from the country’s major cities. There is also a network of regional buses linking Cali to nearby towns and villages such as Popayan and Buenaventura.
Getting to Cali by bus from Bogotá
- Duration: approx. 10h
- Fare: between $50.000 and $80.000 COP
- Companies: Expreso Palmira, Flota Magdalena, Bolivariano
Bus to Cali from Medellin
- Duration: 8 hours
- Fare: approx. $65.000 COP
- Companies: Empresa Arauca, Flota Magdalena
Bus to Cali from Pasto
- Duration: 10h
- Fare: $70.000 COP
- Companies: Transipiales
Bus to Cali from Popayan
- Journey time: 3h15
- Fare: about $23.000 COP
- Companies: Expreso Palmira, Cooomotor
Bus to Cali from Pereira
- Duration: 4 hours
- Fare: about $45.000 COP
- Companies: Expreso Palmira, Taxcentral
Bus to Cali from Buenaventura
- Journey time: 2h30
- Fare: about $28.000 COP
- Companies: Corredor del Pacifico
Bus to Cali from Ipiales
- Duration: 11 hours
- Fare: between $50.000 and $70.000 COP
- Companies: Bolivariona, Fronteras
Bus to Cali from Neiva
- Duration: 9 hours
- Fare: around $70.000 COP
- Companies: Coomotor, Flota Magdalena, Bolivariano
More info on bus travel in Colombia
We’ve written an post giving you all our tips for finding bus information, timetables and fares in Colombia. It can be tricky, so you might as well have some tips on how to get around by clicking below.
Information on the Cali bus terminal
Where to find the Bus Terminal in Bogotá
- Website: terminalcali. com
- Address: Calle 30N 2AN-29
- Phone: 57 (2) 668 3655
- Mail: info@terminalcali.com
How to get to the Cali Bus Terminal
Cab to/from the Bus Terminal
The Bus Terminal is about 15 minutes by cab from downtown Cali.
Getting to Cali by plane
Find a flight to or from Cali
To find a flight to Cali in Colombia, we recommend you fly with the national airline Avianca.
To reach Cali from cities such as Santa Marta and Bucaramanga, you’ll need to make a stopover in Bogotá. Here are the direct flights to Cali.
Flying to Cali from Bogotá
- Duration: 1 hour
- Fare: between $140.000 and $290.000 COP
- Airlines : Avianca, Latam
Fly to Cali from Medellin
- Duration: 1 hour
- Fare: between $180.000 and $300.000 COP
- Airlines : Avianca
Fly to Cali from Cartagena
- Duration: 1 hour
- Fare: between $160.000 and $260.000 COP
- Airlines : Avianca, Latam
Fly to Cali from Guapi
- Duration: 1 hour
- Fare: approximately $200.000 COP
- Companies: Satena
ONLINE PAYMENTS ON COLOMBIAN WEBSITES
Refusals to pay often occur when we try to pay online. For example, this has happened to us several times on the San German Express site, the Satena site and the Avianca site. We solved the problem by using our VPN and locating it in Colombia. This enabled us to bypass local restrictions and the payment was accepted.
Cali airport info
how to get to Cali
The international airport is located near the town of Palmira, outside Cali.
Where to find Bogotá airport
Name : Alfonso Bonilla Aragón Airport
Code : CLO
Website: aerocali.com.co
Address: Palmira, Valle del Cauca
Tel : 57 (2) 280 1515 / 57 (2) 441 7041
Email: acliente@aerocali.com.co
How to get from Cali airport to the city center
Cab from Cali airport to city center
- Duration: approx. 50 minutes
- Fare: approximately $60.000 COP
- Official company: Asotaba
Bus from Cali airport to downtown
- Duration: about 40 minutes from the bus terminal
- Fare: about $7.000 COP
- Companies: Expreso Siglo XXI / Rápido Aeropuerto / Líneas Cónsul / Expreso Palmira
More info about your airport transfer in Cali
We’ve written an post dedicated to transport in Cali, and in particular to transfers to and from Cali airport. Find all our tips by clicking below.
Getting to Cali by car
Transportation to Cali
Driving to Cali from Bogotá
- Time: 9h
- Distance: 465km
- Tolls: $95.000 COP
Driving to Cali from Buenaventura
- Driving time: 2h30
- Distance: 120km
- Tolls: $8.000 COP
Drive to Cali from Popayan
- Driving time: 3 hours
- Distance: 140km
- Tolls: $17.200 COP
Drive to Cali from Pasto
- Driving time: 8h
- Distance: 390km
- Tolls: $35.700 COP
Drive to Cali from Pereira
- Time: approx. 4h
- Distance: 210km
- Tolls: approx. $48.000 COP
Drive to Cali from Ipiales
- Time: 10h
- Distance: 470km
- Tolls: $45.600 COP
Drive to Cali from Neiva
- Driving time : 8h30
- Distance: 340km
- Tolls: $8.300 COP
Rent a car in Cali
Transportation to Cali
Whether you’re planning a tour that includes Cali, or exploring the surrounding region, you may want to rent a car. We have fond memories of our road trip between Bogotá and Santa Marta, and we often take the car to explore the Bogotá area when we’re with the family.
Before you take the plunge, we suggest you read our posts which will prepare you for driving in Colombia:
Best tips
Rent a car in Colombia
To rent a car, we advise you to use the Rental Cars comparator, which gives you a complete overview of the different rental companies in Colombia.
Visit Cali in english
Another way to visit Cali
Contact our local partner for a guided tour of Cali in english!
