How To Get To San Agustin Colombia (How I Got Here As A Solo Female)
Trying To Figure Out Where To Visit In Colombia & Wondering How To Get To San Agustin To See If It’s Worth The Trouble?
During my time living in Colombia (in the Coffee Region near Pereira), I traveled all over the country, but despite really wanting to visit San Agustin, I went back and forth a few times because figuring out how to get there was a little more difficult compared to other destinations. I did end up deciding to go and it turned out to be one of my favorite trips in Colombia, so it’s definitely a place I recommend!
✈️ How To Get To San Agustin, Colombia
San Agustin is located in the Huila department of southwest Colombia, and though it’s not quite as simple of a place to get to compared to other popular destinations in the country, it’s a really unique, historical, and beautiful location that’s definitely worth the trouble if you’re into those kinds of places.
The Quickest Way To Get To San Agustin, Colombia
If you really want to see San Agustin but you don’t have much time to waste in transit, the absolute quickest route to take would be to fly into the city of Pitalito (the closest airport to San Agustin) from any of the major cities in Colombia (Bogota, Medellin, Cartagena, etc.).
Flights are not as cheap into Pitalito (maybe $200 on average) since it’s a smaller city and airport, plus flights from Bogota are the only ones that you’ll find nonstop into Pitalito so travel time could add up depending on where you’re coming from.
From Pitalito you’d then have to take a taxi or truck ride into San Agustin (since there are no Ubers here), which is about an hour ride.
*️⃣ Tip: you really don’t want to drive yourself in Colombia if possible because road conditions, cell service, and other drivers are just a few reasons it can be more difficult or even dangerous
The Cheapest Way To Get To San Agustin, Colombia
If you’ve got extra time and you want to get to San Agustin the cheapest way possible, you can take a bus depending on where you’re coming from.
I lived in the Coffee Region near Pereira so the bus I took to get to San Agustin was an overnight ride (more on this later), which would be similar in length from other destinations like Bogota, Pasto, or Medellin.
Back when I went, the overnight bus ride into Pitalito cost less than $20, and then I had to take the hour truck ride into San Agustin which was around $2, so it was quite cheap to travel this way.
An In-Between Option For Getting Here
If you’re in the middle when it comes to cost and time, another option for getting to San Agustin from other parts of Colombia is to use Popayan (pictured above) as your flight city and then take a shorter ride (around 5 hours) on a beautiful route past mountains, waterfalls, indigenous villages, and dormant volcanoes to San Agustin.
Flights are usually half the price into Popayan compared to Pitalito so you’ll save more money and more time compared to bussing overnight. You could also mix and match your transportation options (this is what I did) to find the right time and cost fit for you.
🚌 How I Got Here As A Solo Female Traveler
These are the exact steps I took to get from Dosquebradas where I lived (in the Coffee Region) to San Agustin and then back to Dosquebradas:
- I took a city bus to the Pereira Transportation Terminal in the late afternoon
- I found the booth selling tickets to Pitalito and bought a one way ticket (which cost under $20)
- I got my seat on the bus and had a friendly older lady sit next to me so we both felt comfortable and safe
- the bus had small screens on the backs of the seat so I turned on Harry Potter and tried to sleep
- we made numerous stops and were allowed to get off the bus to buy food or go to the bathroom if we needed, but I never had to change busses
- after a long overnight 12 hour ride, we arrived at the Pitalito Transportation Terminal around 6:00am (nothing was open inside except for the bathrooms so bring snacks in case you get hungry)
- once outside, I found the transportation service to San Agustin (which was basically just a driver and a Tacoma-type truck), and me and a few others hopped inside
- the driver dropped people off and picked people up along the way to San Agustin so the overall ride was around 1 hour and cost about $2 (I stuck to my front seat by the window and wouldn’t let them force me to squeeze in, but just know it can get crowded with this kind of public transportation option)
- on the way back I chose to go a different way to see another city and have a different view (and I highly recommend this route)
- from the San Agustin “terminal”, it’s just a specific corner on the street in this small town, I bought a $10 ticket to Popayan (pictured above) and hopped in a minivan-like car to head that way
- I was the only person in the car that spoke Spanish so I sat up front and had amazing views along this 5-ish hour drive (it took longer for my ride because one passenger forgot their phone at a restroom/food stop we made)
- along this route I saw waterfalls, beautiful mountains, an indigenous group living on the side of a mountain, and a dormant volcano
- I was dropped off at the Popayan Transportation Terminal, but I stayed a few days in this city before taking another $15-ish bus ride back to Pereira
Overall it was very simple, safe, and cheap for me to visit San Agustin like this as a solo female traveler, but I really enjoyed the Popayan-San Agustin route so I definitely recommend this option if it’s possible for you.
🔁 Sum Up: How To Get To San Agustin, Colombia
The historic town and surrounding area of San Agustin isn’t the easiest place to get to in Colombia, but it’s definitely worth it for history and nature lovers, plus if you have the time, bus rides can be a really entertaining way to see more of Colombia. I recommend a combo of transportation options for getting to and from San Agustin depending on your budget and time needs, but I’d definitely suggest making the Popayan-San Agustin route one of your options.
