Buenaventura

Seaside park near the harbour.

Buenaventura is a city in the Valle del Cauca department of Colombia with a population of 432,000 (2019). The most developed part of the city lies on Cascajal Island, while much of the city's land is rural with small villages scattered throughout.

Understand

It is located a few miles from the western cordillera of the Andes mountain range and the major city of Cali, the department's capital. Buenaventura is one of the rainiest cities in the world with 6,000–7,000 mm (240–280 in) precipitation annually.

As a seaport, Buenaventura has attracted criminal gangs seeking to export Colombian cocaine to Mexico.

Get in

By bus

There are frequent buses to and from Cali which is a 4 hours ride away for around COP$20,000. Direct buses to Bogota leave at 7AM and 7PM. If you're heading north, avoid going through Cali and catch a bus to Buga instead (COP$16,000). The 1 bus station is close to the city center.

By boat

The docks for cargo boats are on the way in to town. There are boats to most places along the Pacific coast.

Fast boats (lanchas) to Ladrilleros and close destinations leave from the Muelle Turistico in the center of town (COP$4,000 taxi ride from the terminal).

Do

You can catch a boat to nearby towns like Juanchaco and Ladrilleros in Bahia Málaga (Málaga Bay). It is humpback whale season between July and October, there you can get a boat for whale seeing.

Eat

Fruit called Chontaduro.

Lenos y Mariscos and La Casa are recommended restaurants.

Drink

Agua de Coco (coconut water).

Sleep

For the most part, if you have to stay any length of time in Buenaventura then you should head to Calle 1 where there are a number of decent and safe hotels and restaurants in front of the park at reasonable prices

There are also some cheap hotels near the bus station.

• 1 Hotel Estación Buenaventura, Calle 2 No. 1A. Historic hotel in the former railway station. (updated Aug 2018)

Go next

One reason for passing through Buenaventura is to get to the resort areas of Juanchaco and Ladrilleros. These towns found to the north of the city are pleasant places to visit catering to package tourists and those interested in watching the annual marvel of migrating humpback whales in the months of July to late September through the waters of Bahia Malaga. Buenaventura is also the starting point for the Colombian islands Gorgona and Malpelo which are world class diving destinations.