A new and interesting guidebook to Colombia has hit the shelves, available online at the Explore Travel Guides website and in various hostels about Colombia, offering a new and up to date look at the key touristic centers in this burgeoning and popular destination.
The Author of Colombia: Bogota and North Coast
The author, Justin Cohen, formerly a teacher in Honduras before accepting a job at an international school in the Guajira in 2009, has committed himself “to producing the most accurate, factual and diverse travel guide on all of Colombia.” In 2012 Cohen hopes to have editions published in Spanish and French in addition to the present English edition.
A Guide Book with an Emphasis on Backpacking
Cohen himself is an adventure biker and throughout the guide book you can tell that he has personally covered the routes he promotes giving the book an individual and independent touch. This is something that the backpacking market – one that is growing exponentially in Colombia – will clearly enjoy. There is, as you would imagine given Cohen’s hobby, also a helpful chapter on motorcycling and a list of hostels or establishments that have secure parking, a nice detail that sets this guide apart from the others on the market.
Focus of the Guide Book
Cohen has deliberately picked areas that he knows well and understands. Obviously no guide book is complete without a comprehensive chapter on the capital of Bogota, which is also statistically speaking the main port of entry into Colombia for most travellers. Then, he has dissected the Caribbean coast, again, arguably the most visited region of Colombia by foreigners, and included sections on lesser known attractions such as Valledupar, Aracataca, Mompós and the Guajira in addition to the eternal favorites of Tayrona, Cartagena and Taganga.
One reason alone to purchase this book is that it comes with a selection of fantastic maps; any traveller to Colombia will have realized that there exists a dearth of good maps of the cities and destinations here and the author has bravely addressed this issue.
Guide Book Tips
An element to the publication that sets this guide book apart from the rest is that the author has fashioned small paragraphs into his guide book at the beginning of each chapter on a major city or site, titled “For Who?” therefore explaining which type of tourist is best suited to which attraction. His tips on what to do are far and away the most up-to-date of any guidebook.
The Guide Book with a Social Conscience
Perhaps the most striking side of this publication is the author’s wish to inform and to help Colombia. You really feel that Cohen is giving something back to the country that he so clearly loves. He has set up partnerships with various grassroots NGOs and a portion of the proceeds of each book will go to a few charities identified in the opening pages of the book. Colombia needs help like this.
Richard McColl - I am a freelance writer from deepest darkest London but for the past 10 years or so I have been maintaining my extended "writing break" in ...
