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Timetables & Bus Fares (2020) Airport Pereira – Salento. Transport Salento – Cocora Valley / Boquia / Armenia

Pereira and Armenia have the two closest airports to Salento. We decided to land in Pereira because the flights Bogota – Pereira are cheaper than Bogota – Armenia. Fares and schedules are as of September 2019.

In this article, I will show you how to go, very easily, from Pereira airport to Salento. To do so, you need :

  • Step 1: go from Pereira airport to the bus terminal (Pereira transport terminal)
  • Step 2: From the bus terminal, take the bus of the company Expreso Alcalá to Salento

Step 1: Pereira Airport => Pereira Transport Terminal

Schedules:
Monday to Friday: from 4:30 am to 10:45 pmSaturday
: from

6:00 am to 10:45 pmSunday
and holidays: from 6:00 am to 9:45 pmFrequency:

Every 15 to 20 minutesRates:
2,100
COP/personsTravel
time:
about 1 hour






As soon as you leave the airport, turn right and you will see this bus sign

Wait for bus 26, which passes every 10 to 15 minutes. The trip will cost you 2,100 COP/person. There is no space to store your luggage, keep it on your lap if possible.

Because of the traffic, it will take about 1 hour to reach the bus terminal. The stop isn’t announced, you will have to look at Google maps and ask for the stop by pressing the red button at the back door

Here is the route of bus 26

Step 2: Bus Terminal Pereira => Salento

Locate the counter of the company Expreso Alcalá (just in front of the toilets)

Schedule :
Monday to Saturday : Every hour from 5:30 am to 5:30 pm last bus at 6:50 pmSunday
and holidays : 5:30 am, 6:30 am, 7:30 am, 8:30 am and then every 30 minutes until 6:30 pm; last bus at 6:50 pmFare :

8000COP/personTime



of




travel : 1h15




The bus will stop, on the way, in Filandia, in Boquia, at the bus terminal of Salento and then in the main square.

the bus terminal of Salento

Hotel/Aberge in Salento

In Salento, I highly recommend the hostel El Zorzal (link Booking), very close to the bus terminal, 3mn walk from the city center, with a breathtaking view of the mountains, very quiet, hot water, hammocks in the garden, hearty breakfast.

The hostel has private rooms and dormitories. If you opt for a private room, ask for the room upstairs with mountain views (21€). It has a small balcony as well.

the garden of the inn

How to get from Salento

Note: The ticket sales office at the Salento bus terminal is open only between 7:00 am and 4:30 pm. But in reality, if you can’t manage to buy a ticket, you can pay directly, in cash, to the driver.

Jeep Salento => the Cocora ValleyJeep
Salento => the fincas

From Salento there are jeeps that leave from the main square to the fincas (coffee farms), and to the Cocora Valley. Buy tickets at the ticket office, or directly from the driver (if the office is closed).

The best seats are those next to the driver. In the back, you risk being squeezed, even standing, or even outside the jeep 😀

Schedules and rates are shown in the images below (between 3000COP and 4000COP one way), right click to save on your phone or computer. The trip takes between 20 and 30 minutes.

For the return trip, it’s very simple, just stop any jeep that passes in front of you and give the ticket to the driver. They pass by very regularly, so avoid getting on jeeps that are already full. More info about the Cocora Valley here

Bus Salento => Pereira or Armenia

you just have to take the opposite path. Buses leave every hour to Pereira or Armenia from the bus terminal. Every hour between 7 am and 10 pm (11 pm for Armenia, since September 16, 2019)

Bus Salento => Filandia & Boquia

  • Option 1: You take the bus that leaves every hour from the bus terminal
  • Option 2: You take a jeep from the main square. 6500COP/person for Filandia. This same jeep also stops in Boquia. For the return, you just have to hail a jeep that passes in front of you, to return to Salento.

Jeep schedules for Filandia :

Direct Bus Salento => Medellín

Option 1: you take a bus (which leaves every hour) to Pereira (1h15). From there, you take another bus (which leaves almost every hour) to Medellín (7h++). Cost: between 35,000 and 49,000COP/person

Option 2: there is a direct bus that leaves every day between Salento and Medellin. Schedules: 8h, 10h, 16h. Cost: 54,000COP/person

It makes a stop of about 15 minutes in Pereira, then another stop in the middle of nowhere to eat. The bus is equipped with toilets, USB plug and charger (very low Wifi on the other hand) and even an individual screen as in planes. In Medellín, it will stop at the Sabaneta metro station (we advise you to stop here), then Terminal del Sur. Duration of the trip: 8 hours due to construction work (in September 2019), 6 hours in normal times. The route is provided by the company Flota Occidental (tickets can be purchased online).

Bus Salento => Garden

There is no direct bus to Jardin, you have to stop in Riosucio (4h), then take another bus to Jardin (3h30).

The bus Salento => Riosucio leaves every day at 9:50 am from the bus terminal

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