-How To Get From Colombia To Ecuador. The 2020 Guide –
06 Jan 2020 By James/ LOST SOULS AND PIONEERS.
We have read a lot about the borders being dangerous between a lot of South American countries but this guide will help you to get from Colombia to Ecuador. We felt mostly safe and had no problems at all. I would recommend tackling the border in daylight hours and always remain vigilant.
Where to cross?
In this blog we will specifically be talking about the border crossing between Ipiales, Colombia and Tulcan, Ecuador. This is the main border crossing and the only place you should cross according to the UK government travel advice. https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/colombia
The first step is getting to Ipiales
Ipiales Town
Ipiales isn’t a particularly nice town and has only 1 worth while stop which is the Las Lajas church. We do recommend taking the time to see it.
Check out our quick guide to visiting Las Lajas sanctuary
Where we stayed
Hotel San Jose Ipiales. This hotel was pretty nice and very clean. It was also right near the bus station. There is a café downstairs which does good breakfast.
Las Lajas Sanctuary
Getting to Ipiales
Ipiales is well connected and easily accessible from many cities but especially Pasto and Popayan. You can catch a bus from Popayan and go all the way to Ipiales or stop at Pasto for the night like we did.
There is also the option to spend some time around San Agustin which isn’t far from Popayan. We unfortunately didn’t have time but read about some worthwhile sites to see.
Our route
Salento to Popayan – 8 hours
Popayan to Pasto – 6 hours
Pasto to Ipiales – 2.5 hours
The reason we did it like this was so we could arrive in Ipiales early enough that we could visit the church in the same day and then get up early the next day to cross the border.
Bus Terminal
Coming from Salento
You are likely to be coming from Salento if you are heading south. From Salento you need to catch the local bus from the small terminal to Armenia which costs 5k and takes around 45 minutes.
At Armenia bus station you need to catch a bus to Cali. It may be possible to catch a bus from Armenia to Popayan but we wanted a break to get lunch and stretch our legs.
We used https://www.expresopalmira.com.co/ and booked at the kiosk inside the bus terminal From Armenia to Cali. This bus cost 28k and took 3.5 hours. The bus was a small coach which was comfortable.
From Cali
Again, just walk inside the terminal (3.465400, -76.521356) and find a bus heading to Popayan or pasto. Be Careful which bus you take. We recommend Palmira Expreso which is direct to Popayan (2.451022, -76.607900) and takes 3 hours. It costs 18k.
DO NOT BOOK THE BUS NEXT TO Palmira Expresso. We made that mistake and it took 6 hours to get to Popayan.
From Popayan
From Popayan it’s easy to find a bus heading to Pasto or Ipiales. Just head inside the bus terminal and look for busses heading that way. We used Transiplease to Pasto which cost 30k and took 6 hours. This was by minibus.
We stayed
Hostal Valparaiso which was very nice and close to the bus station. It was booked through Booking.com.
We ate at
Ria, comidas rapidas which is close to the hostel and did great food for a reasonable price.
From Pasto
Pasto is the nearest larger city and buses run from Terminal de Transportes de Pasto (1.198436, -77.269380). To purchase tickets just go into the station and from a kiosk that runs a service to Ipiales. We used Transipiales which was a minibus which cost 20k and took around 3 hours.
We stayed
Hotel Monaco. Its not a luxury hotel but it was close to the bus station and had everything we needed.
We ate at
Coffee Bolivar. This restaurant was very good and well priced. We even had the luxury of an English speaking waiter. There is also a great ice-cream shop opposite if you want a treat.
How to get from Colombia to Ecuador
Crossing the border
Always be vigilant at border crossings and watch for dodgy characters/ pick pockets etc. Borders always feel a bit dodgy to me, but I never felt in danger or unsafe.
The whole process took us less than an hour, but it can take much longer so allow plenty of time. I would always recommend doing this crossing as early in the day as possible especially if you plan to get to Quito.
Part 1
Town to the border
You need to get from Ipiales town to the border checkpoint on the Colombia side located here (0.81481, -77.66285). Taking a taxi is the best way which cost 10k. Ask you hotel to book you one.
We have also read there is a bus that goes to the border (ask your hotel) but sometimes it isn’t worth the small saving trying to catch the bus when you have a whole day of travelling ahead. Ask your taxi to drop you off at the Colombian customs
Part 2
Get your exit stamp
We arrived here around 8.30 Am
Here you need to get your Colombian exit stamp in your passport. The building will be on your left and has white tunnels outside. The process is straight forward and all you need to do is que up and wait to be called to the window.
We have read about huge ques at this border so leave plenty of time but for us we only waited around 5 minutes.
Part 3
Exchange money if you wish
Outside both customs areas there are many people to exchange currency with. We don’t usually use these people, but we wanted to get rid of our pesos. We had already worked out how many Pesos we had and worked out how much USA dollar we should get using a currency converter app.
You will never get the exact exchange rate, but we wanted a rough idea so we didnt get ripped off. We changed our money with an elderly lady who gave us a very good exchange rate, so we done the deal and left.
NOTE: Ecuadorian currency is USA Dollar. They also use 1 dollar coins in Ecuador so don’t worry if you get these.
Cross The Bridge For Customs
Part 4
Cross the border
This border is very relaxed, and you can freely walk around. You need to head towards the yellow bridge and walk over it. Once over the bridge on the right-hand side is the Ecuadorian immigration where you need to get your Entry stamp.
Again, all you need to do is que up and get the stamp assuming your passport is accepted for visa on arrival. (Do check beforehand).
We had heard about ques again here, but we waited only for about 10 minutes.
Part 5
Enter Ecuador
Once you have the stamp all you have to do is leave the building and walk to the right where the taxis are, and you are in Ecuador. That easy!
Part 6
Get to Tulcan
The best way to get to Tulcan is to taxi a taxi. A taxi costs 3 USA dollars from the border to the bus terminal. We had arrived in Tulcan by 9.20. The whole process was very quick but do allow extra time in case it is busy.
Onwards
From Tulcan its very easy to catch a bus from the terminal to Otavlo or Quito. Within minutes of arriving we were on a bus to Quito which cost 6 dollars and would take around 6 hours.
Note: Once on the bus you will have to pass a security check which can take up time. A policeman came on and checked everyone’s ID. This whole process took about 20minutes and we were on the move again by 9.40.
Do check which bus terminal you need and which station the bus goes to if you are going to Quito as most buses do stop at Terminal Carcelen and Quitumbe.
Ecuador to Colombia
Obviously, we haven’t done it this way round, but the process should be the same but in reverse.
Popayan and Pasto are nicer cities so if you can make it to one these for a stopover instead of Ipiales then I recommend doing that.
I hope this has helped and if you have any other questions about how to get from Colombia to Ecuador then get in touch.
We are Scarlett and James from a small town in the UK and currently exploring this big world together and trying to find a cure to the travel bug we caught on our last adventure to Australia and South East Asia.
We met in our home town and after being together 1 month we set off on our first adventure. It would either work or it wouldn’t, right? And here we are today five years later and back at it again.
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