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If you are coming to Colombia, you are going to need to learn Spanish to really have the best experience here — so which areas are the best Colombian cities for learning Spanish?
Well, there are some things to take note first before jumping into this topic
First, it would be ideal for any traveler to Colombia to know which accents in Colombia are harder to understand
Because it is true that it is going to be harder to understand what people are saying in certain parts of Colombia in comparison to other parts
In addition, some parts of Colombia simply have much better tourism infrastructure
Which, in a way, is a good and a bad thing
Good in the sense that there are more Spanish learning schools in those types of cities and also because there will be more people who can switch to English in times when you need it
However, switching to English can be a negative because sometimes people become too reliant on those who can switch to English for conversation
Which hurts your ability to learn Spanish in the long term since you would be practicing it less while here in Colombia
Having said all of that, which cities or areas in Colombia are the best for learning Spanish?
Let’s break that down — which are the best Colombian cities for learning Spanish?
Best City 1: Bogota
Though I am likely a bit biased since I live in Bogota, I personally believe that Bogota is the best place to learn Spanish in Colombia
One of the reasons being is that I personally find the accent in Bogota to be a bit easier to understand than most accents in Colombia
It is much clearer all around
Additionally, this city has a lot of tourism infrastructure which usually comes with plenty of good Spanish schools to learn Spanish
Furthermore, I have found the people in Bogota, especially the women, to be a little more open and friendly with foreigners than the people in Medellin
One of the reasons for this is that a lot of women (and men) in Medellin have more negative assumptions of foreigners
Such as that we are all sex tourists and there to do drugs and party only
For that reason, I usually find the people in Medellin to be a little less friendly and open to meeting a foreigner
And meeting Colombians is absolutely important if you want to improve your Spanish
Finally, though this is an article about learning Spanish, it is also always important to keep in mind the quality of the city itself
For me personally, I find Bogota to be a better city to be in than Medellin for numerous reasons
One of which being that the tourism opportunities around Bogota are better than the ones around Medellin in my opinion
Therefore, overall, Bogota serves as a better option because of all the reasons above
If interested in learning more about Bogota, check out this guide I wrote
Best City 2: Coffee Triangle
Alright, alright, this technically isn’t a city
However, when making this list, some of the best cities I had written down were Pereira and Manizales
So I figured I might as well just put those two together and call it “Coffee Triangle” for practical purposes
Which, by the way, the Coffee Triangle for those who don’t know is one of the most beautiful areas of the country as illustrated by these photos for example
Outside of Bogota, Pereira and Manizales are two other cities in this region that I always considered living in
It’s all around a very nice, calm and relaxing area with beautiful mountains and nature all around
When it comes to learning Spanish, you will find the accent here to be very easy to understand
You can also find some good Spanish schools here as well
And better yet, the cost of living in this area is much lower than in Bogota and Medellin
Which makes this area a very budget friendly option
Additionally, there are much fewer tourists here in this area of the country
Meaning that you are going to have less people trying to speak English with you, forcing you to use Spanish more
And don’t worry – the people in the Coffee Triangle are personally some of the nicest people you can meet in Colombia from my experience
Nicer than the people in both Bogota and Medellin for example
With all of those reasons, I consider the Coffee Triangle the second best place in Colombia to learn Spanish
Now when it comes to picking a city, I’d go for Pereira personally because the city is bigger and nicer to live in
But you can’t go wrong with either of the two cities that I’d recommend you try – Pereira or Manizales
Or a third city, Armenia, which is also a decent city to visit in my opinion
Best City 3: Medellin
Coming in as a close third, Medellin is the next best city to learn Spanish
Similar to Bogota, the Spanish that you hear in Medellin is much easier to understand than other parts of the country
And the tourism infrastructure is strong enough that you can find a good Spanish school here
Additionally, I don’t want to make it seem like there are literally no nice Colombians in Medellin
Though less friendly than the ones in Bogota in my experience…
There are still plenty of nice people to meet in Medellin regardless of the stereotypes that exist about foreigners here
Making all around Medellin a clear third choice if you want to learn Spanish in Colombia!
If interested in Medellin, check out this guide I wrote for this city
Best City 4: Bucaramanga
This city in Colombia is not a bad option for learning Spanish
There are some institutions here from what I know that will help foreigners learn Spanish
The accent in Bucaramanga is also not too difficult to understand and you will find it easier to understand the Spanish here than in other parts of Colombia
Additionally, very few people here speak English well from my experience, which will force you to practice Spanish more
Although, on the other hand, that could be a negative for some in that it will be harder to understand some things said to you given less people can switch to English when needed
Regardless, Bucaramanga is another decent option for learning Spanish in Colombia
If interested in Bucaramanga, check out this guide I wrote for this city
Best City 5: Caribbean Coast
Finally, there is the Caribbean Coast
And that includes the most popular cities in that area – Barranquilla, Cartagena and Santa Marta
Though this area of Colombia is OK for learning Spanish and you can certainly do that here if you want…
I’d suggest you don’t since there are much better areas in Colombia
Some of the reasons being that the accent in this area is harder to understand than other parts of Colombia
Especially for a beginner in Spanish
On the positive side, the people here are very nice and friendly to foreigners, making it easier to make friends here
And you can find most likely some good Spanish schools in some of the cities here like Cartagena or Barranquilla
Though in Cartagena, given how touristy it is there, you are likely to find more people who will try speaking English with you than Spanish
Something to keep in mind
Overall, this isn’t a terrible area to be learning Spanish in Colombia but by far there are better alternatives
If interested in this part of Colombia, check out my guides for the cities in this area — Barranquilla, Santa Marta and Cartagena
Overall
There are plenty of options for learning Spanish in Colombia with different Colombian cities for learning Spanish
Hopefully you pick the right option for you and good luck!
If you want to begin improving your Spanish before showing up, make sure to check out a nice Spanish learning book or get a translator if you think you will need it
And also if you want some solid advice on how to learn Spanish in a time and financial efficient manner, then check out this great guide I wrote on how to do so.
If you have any questions or insight of your own regarding the best Colombian cities for learning Spanish, let me know below. Thanks and take care!
Hasta luego parceros,
Seth
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