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San Gil is a town and municipality in the Department of Santander in northeastern Colombia, located roughly 300 km (192 mi) from Bogotá and 95 km from the department's capital, Bucaramanga.
- About San Gil, Colombia
- Getting to San Gil, Colombia
- How to Get from Bucaramanga to San Gil, Colombia
- 17 Best Things to Do in San Gil, Colombia
- Where to Stay in San Gil, Colombia
- Best Places to Eat in San Gil
- Thanks For Reading!
San Gil is a small town located in the Santander Department in Colombia’s northwest. Home to under 5,000 residents, San Gil has managed to stay well off the typical tourist trail. However, San Gil is very popular among backpackers and adventure travelers because of the unique and cool activities you can do in San Gil. These include white water raft...
By Bus
The most common and cheapest way to get to San Gil is by bus. However, buses don’t go directly to San Gil. Instead, buses stop in Bucaramanga where you’ll need to change buses to San Gil. For that reason, be sure to look for a bus from your destination to Bucaramanga. For cities such as Medellin, Bogota,and Santa Marta these are easy to find. By using the website Busbud or Bookaway, you can search for buses to Bucaramanga from any destination in Colombia. The cost of each bus varies but is $2...
By Air
As with the bus, those wanting to save time and travel to San Gil by air will need to fly to Bucaramanga first before catching a bus to San Gil. To do so, you must take a taxi to the main bus terminal to catch one of the mini-buses to San Gil as described below. Or, you can get a taxi all the way to San Gil but I can’t imagine that this would be cheap at all. Domestic flights in Colombia are super cheap, but just be aware that the price usually doesn’t include a checked bag and the fee for th...
We took a bus from Medellin to Bucaramanga on a 9-hour-long journey. Once in Bucaramanga, we jumped straight on a mini-bus or “colectivo” for only 12,000 COP ($2.50 USD) which took us right to San Gil. These minibusses are frequent (about every hour or so) and leave from the main bus terminal in Bucaramangaso it’s an easy transfer to make. Hot Tip:...
1. Go Bungee Jumping
San Gil is famous for having one of the cheapest bungee jumps in the world. This adventure activity is easily the best thing to do in San Gil and the reason I originally came here. I have to admit, I almost didn’t do it! But wow, am I glad I did! Bungee jumping is so much fun – don’t miss this adventure activity in San Gil! The largest and most popular San Gil bungee is with a company called Colombia Bungee Jumping. They have a great safety record and the entire operation was very professiona...
2. Whitewater Rafting
Whitewater rafting is another very popular activity in San Gil, Colombia. On the outskirts of San Gil is one of the very few opportunities in the world to raft Class 5 rapids (really intense rapids offering a guaranteed adrenaline rush!) Rio Suarez is the river we chose to whitewater raft on for the simple fact the rapids are rated as Class 4 or 5. The entire day was so much fun and we certainly got wet! We went with the company Colombia Rafting Expeditions as they are very experienced and ha...
3. Explore San Gil
The central park/plaza is the small square in the center of town. Although it is small, it is very busy! I recommend getting yourself an ice cream or croissant from one of the many stores around the park and sitting on a bench, and people-watching for a bit. San Gil is a nice relaxing town, but at the same time, there is a lot going on in the square. I also found that although San Gil is a tourist destination, I didn’t see that many tourists around and felt like I was really experiencing the...
Where we stayed
We stayed at La Mansion Hostelright at the central park/plaza and it was lovely. The rooms were clean and spacious and the hostel also had a large well-equipped kitchen for guest use. The property has free wifi and a restaurant. This hostel is a sister hostel to the very popular San Gil hostel called Sam’s Hostel which is only one block away. For a dorm best costing just $5 USD its hard to beat it! You can book your stay on Booking.com or Hostelworld.
Sam’s VIP Hostel
Sam’s VIP Hostelis the most popular place to stay for backpackers. They have a great bar, rooftop pool, and nightly activities for guests. You can even rent motorbikes to get around and if you like extreme sports this hostel will help you to organize tours for you. A bed in a dorm starts at $6 USD and double rooms start at $17 USD. Overall, a good option for solo or social travelers. You can book your stay on Booking.com or Hostelworld.
Hotel La Montaña San Gil
Hotel La Montanais a good medium-budget hotel in San Gil located 25 miles from Chicamocha National Park. The hotel has really amazing reviews, includes breakfast, and has a pool, sauna, and fitness center. You can hang out in the garden or sun terrace and if you need anything there is a 24-hour help desk. Overall a great stay at a really good price for $32 USD a night! You can book your stay on Booking.com.
San Gil is home to some surprisingly good places to eat. Below are a few of the favorites we found during our visit.
San Gil is easily one of myfavorite places in Colombia. It’s small, cute, and filled with adventure! I really hope this guide has helped you plan your trip here. If you have any questions at all about San Gil, Colombia, or the world in general, please leave a comment below! Also, if you liked this guide then jump over to our Colombia page here and ...
- Zipline bike. Among the many adventure activities on offer in San Gil, ziplining (cable vuelo) is one of the quicker and cheaper options, easily fitting into a spare hour and costing no more than 30,000COP ($12AUD) for two 300m runs across the valley.
- Bungy jumping. I am absolutely terrified of falling (I don’t even like the diving board at a pool), so I always thought bungy jumping was off the table for me.
- Pescaderito swimming holes. Relax from all the ziplining and bungy jumping by visiting some of San Gil’s nearby swimming holes! Pescaderito, which means “little fish” in Spanish, are a series of natural (and FREE) rock pools in the green hills surrounding Curití, a charming neighbouring town which is also worth checking out.
- Paragliding over Chicamocha Canyon. Parque Nacional del Chicamocha is one of the best places to explore while in San Gil, the 2,000-metre-deep Chicamocha Canyon among the largest in the world.
San Gil (pronounced Sun Hill), tucked away in the Andean region of Santander, is the undisputed adventure capital of Colombia. Surrounded by beautiful mountains, rivers and canyons, San Gil is a playground for thrill-seekers and adrenaline junkies.
Mar 25, 2023 · San Gil is one of the most fun places to visit in Colombia. This post highlights all the things to see and do there, with tips on how to plan your visit.
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Colombia, South America. For a small city, San Gil packs a lot of punch. This is the outdoors capital of Colombia and the place to be for extreme-sports enthusiasts. The area is best known for white-water rafting, but other popular pastimes include paragliding, caving, rappelling and trekking.
