San Gil is a popular destination on the Colombian backpacker trail. It’s the adventure capital of the country and you’ll find so much to do here. But, San Gil can be out of the way. From Bogota, you’re looking at an eight hour bus ride—if traffic cooperates. So, many visitors (especially those not on a tight budget) opt to fly instead, which makes sense. However, San Gil doesn’t have an airport, so you’ll have to catch a bus, then a taxi, before finally arriving at the airport.
In this guide, I will lay out how to travel from San Gil to the Bucaramanga Airport.
San Gil to Bucaramanga Airport
Obviously, you can do this in either direction, but since I was traveling from San Gil to the airport (as opposed to the airport to San Gil), I’ll be starting this journey in San Gil.
Walk to the San Gil Bus Terminal
Your first step is to get to the bus terminal in San Gil. While straight forward, make sure you go to the right terminal as there are two terminals in San Gil. You want the main bus terminal which is located about a twenty minute walk from the center for San Gil. The smaller bus terminal (Terminalito) is closer to the main square, but only serves smaller towns in the region. You need the big bus station that serves the rest of the country.
As mentioned, it’s about a twenty minute walk from the main square to the bus station. This walk is doable (I did it), but you’ll be walking along a busy road. I found there to still be plenty of space, but I can understand if you don’t want to walk. Taxis are also available throughout the city.
Purchase a Ticket for the Next Bus
Now that you’ve made it to the San Gil bus terminal, you need a ticket. This was my biggest frustration with traveling in Colombia. Trying to find bus schedules online is not an easy task. Bus stations don’t make it any easier.
Instead of posted schedules, you’ll find counters for each bus line with a digital sign that advertises where they service. Look for a counter that is advertising for “Bucaramanga”. Note that sometimes, these signs may read “B-manga”.
At the counter, ask when the next bus to Bucaramanga is. Cuando es la proxima autobus a Bucaramanga? Hopefully the answer will be cinco minutos (5 minutes) or diez minutos (10 minutes).
Not every bus company has a presence online, but through my research, I was able to find that buses to Bucaramanga should leave every 20 to 30 minutes from San Gil. Still, it’s best to ask at the station since they will have the most up to date information.
When I bought my ticket in November 2024, it cost 25,000 COP.
So let’s talk about my experience.
I went up to the Concorde desk, because I had just used them for my journey from Tunja to San Gil and had a decent experience. When asked for Bucaramanga, they pointed me to the counter next door, which was a different company (I believe it was Copetran but I’m not 100% positive on that and apparently I never wrote it down). Weird, but I stood in that line behind a couple buying their tickets.
A man came up to me asked where I was going and I told him Bucaramanga. He told me to follow him and he led me to the mini bus outback. I bought a ticket directly from him, he put my bag on the bus, and I got on. That couple in front of me eventually came out and boarded the same mini bus. I got where I wanted to go, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit confused in the moment.
Board Your Bus and Settle In
Once you have your ticket and your luggage is loaded, find a seat and settle in.
If possible, I recommend trying to get a seat on the right side of the bus (the left side if you’re traveling from Bucaramanga to San Gil). Why does this matter? Technically it doesn’t, but you’ll drive through some great scenery and the views are better on the right side. I sat on the left side, because I wasn’t prepared for it and definitely had some regret once we reached this canyon. You can get some nice views on the left side of the bus, but the right side is significantly better.
Before I move on, I have to give a time estimate. I looked up the route on Rome2Rio to see if I could get a list of bus lines for this article. Rome2Rio has the bus journey taking two hours. That might be what the company advertises but it’s not accurate. Expect your bus to take at least three hours, possibly longer depending on traffic.
In Bucaramanga, Exit the Station
Once you arrive at the Bucaramanga bus station. Grab your bag and make your way up the stairs and to the front of the station. There should taxis waiting out front.
As a side note, hopefully your journey goes a bit smoother than mine. At some point during our journey from San Gil to Bucaramanga, the door to the bus broke. So instead of exiting the bus like normal, our driver moved his seat up as far as it could go and had to crawl out through the driver’s door. It was a ridiculous, but it makes for a fun story.
Get a Taxi and ask for “Aeropuerto”
Go to the front of the taxi rank and ask for “Aeropuerto”. They will know that you mean Bucaramanga’s Palonegro airport (BGA). I tried to ask for an estimate of the cost, but was told “Es en el metro” or “It’s on the meter”. Well I got in to the taxi because what choice did I have? I needed to get to the airport.
In the end, the journey cost me 41,600 COP, but I couldn’t really tell what I was going to pay. From what I could tell, the taxis in Bucaramanga count segments of a journey and that’s measured by distance (at least I hope it’s distance and not time—keep reading to see why). Once you arrive, the driver will hit a button and that number will magically convert to a number that you need to pay. For me, that was 41,600. I had read that you should always try to use exact change, and I do recommend that, but I handed over 42,000, expecting to just not get the 400 COP back, but I did get change.
Expect the journey from the bus station to the airport to take about 30 minutes, longer if there is traffic or if you get my driver.
Ok, so let’s talk about my journey because it was interesting to say the least. I got into the taxi and things seemed normal. We were moving through the city and I was tracking the route on my phone.
Everything seemed fine until we got to the highway. Then I started noticing that seemingly everyone was passing us. We were going so freaking slow. I wondered if the driver was just trying to pull some scam or what was happening. But from the back of my seat, I noticed that his gas monitor was below E. Were we seriously running out of gas? That’s the theory I’m going with. I finally got to the airport (at least ten minutes later than I should have) and all I could do was hope that the driver took my money and put some gas in his car.
A Note about Uber
If you don’t speak much Spanish, you may not feel comfortable negotiating with taxi drivers. Therefore, you might feel more comfortable using Uber (or some other ride sharing service like Cabify or DiDi).
If you look online, you’ll find mixed answers to whether or not you can use Uber in Colombia. There was a court case a few years ago and Uber’s legal status was questionable. When I traveled in 2024, Uber was operating in the big cities in Colombia. And yes, it was operating legally.
Bucaramanga is one of the cities that Uber operates in, so if you feel more comfortable you could take an Uber from the bus station to the airport, instead of using a taxi. I wanted to use Uber just to get a rough idea for the price of the taxi but of course when I arrived at the bus station, my phone decided not to work. I had had issues sporadically throughout Colombia with my phone service so I wasn’t surprised that it didn’t work, but it was frustrating nonetheless.
The bottom line is that you can also use Uber to get to the airport.
How Much Does it Cost to Travel from San Gil to Bucaramanga Airport?
In November 2024, I paid about 67,000 COP for my entire journey. I paid 25,000 COP for the bus ticket and another 41,600 COP for the taxi to the airport, so 66,600 COP (or roughly $16 USD).
Note that I paid in cash for both purchases. For the bus ticket, since I bought my ticket directly from the driver, I had no choice but to pay cash. That said, I had bought bus tickets from the counter at other bus stations and had no problem paying with my credit card. For the taxi, I had to pay cash as well.
More in San Gil
San Gil isn’t my favorite city in Colombia, but that’s ok. Most people don’t visit San Gil to stay in the city. They visit because of all of the activities nearby. San Gil is the adventure capital of Colombia and you’ll find numerous companies offering activities like white water rafting, zip lining, bungee jumping, waterfall repelling, and so much more.
If you want to adventure on your own, Barichara is one option, but you can also easily reach the Juan Curi Waterfalls or Curiti.
When to Visit Colombia
While many countries have weather that can change drastically throughout the year, Colombia has just two seasons: dry season and rainy season.
Dry season is more popular because rain is less likely. Dry season typically runs from December through February or March. Then there is another dry season from June through August.
Rainy season comprises of the other months of the year. April and May and September through November. While it is rainy season, it may not rain every day, but you need to be prepared that it could rain at any time.
While dry season, particularly December through February, is the most popular time to travel, I chose to visit in November. It was rainy season and it did rain every day of my visit. However, the rain typically did not occur until the late afternoon or evening, meaning on most days my mornings were dry and I was able to explore in the dry sunshine.
Final Thoughts
Compared to other journeys in Colombia, the transfer from San Gil to the Bucaramanga airport is easy. Take a bus, then a taxi, and catch your flight and you’ll be on your way to your next destination.
Continue Your Adventure
San Gil: San Gil is the adventure capital of Colombia and there’s a lot to do. Day trip to Barichara for a cute, colonial town. In Barichara, you can hike to the even smaller town of Guane on the Camino Real. Another easy day trip is to the Juan Curi Waterfall. Plus, don’t miss my San Gil two day itinerary.
Colombia: Start planning your trip with my Colombia Travel Guide and my nine day itinerary from Bogotá to San Gil. Learn about my top Colombia safety tips. Plus don’t my my realistic Colombia Travel Budget.