Valle del Cauca Department · Colombia
Buenaventura travel guide
Buenaventura is a city in Valle del Cauca Department, Colombia, home to about 424,000 people.
- Nearest airport
- BUN8 km · Gerardo Tobar López Airport
- Currency
- COPColombian peso
- Time zone
- America/Bogota
- Language
- Spanish
About
About Buenaventura
Buenaventura is a coastal seaport city located in the Pacific Region of the department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia (South America). Buenaventura (Spanish for "good fortune") is the main port of Colombia in the Pacific Ocean.
It is located a few miles from the western cordillera of the Andes mountain range and the major city of Cali, the department's capital. Buenaventura is one of the rainiest cities in the world with 6000 - precipitation annually. As a seaport, Buenaventura has attracted criminal gangs seeking to export Colombian cocaine to Mexico.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Buenaventura
Do
You can catch a boat to nearby towns like Juanchaco and Ladrilleros in Bahia Málaga (Málaga Bay). It is humpback whale season between July and October, there you can get a boat for whale seeing.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Hotels in Buenaventura
1 hotel within 25 km of the centre, as recorded in Wikidata. Each name links to its encyclopedia article where there is one.
| Hotel | Opened | From centre |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel Tequendama Inn Estación | 5.7 km |
When to go
The best time to visit Buenaventura
Buenaventura has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. April is the warmest month, with average highs of 31 °C; September is the wettest, with about 708 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Buenaventura: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Gerardo Tobar López Airport (BUN), about 7.6 km from the city centre in a straight line; Alfonso Bonilla Aragon International Airport (CLO, 81 km) is also within reach.
Getting in
There are frequent buses to and from Cali which is a 4 hours ride away for around COP$20,000. Direct buses to Bogota leave at 7AM and 7PM. If you're heading north, avoid going through Cali and catch a bus to Buga instead (COP$16,000). The bus station is close to the city center. The docks for cargo boats are on the way in to town. There are boats to most places along the Pacific coast. Fast boats (lanchas) to Ladrilleros and close destinations leave from the Muelle Turistico in the center of town (COP$4,000 taxi ride from the terminal).
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
BUN · Gerardo Tobar López Airport
CLO · Alfonso Bonilla Aragon International Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Buenaventura
Eat
Fruit called Chontaduro. Lenos y Mariscos and La Casa are recommended restaurants.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Buenaventura: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Buenaventura?
Buenaventura has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. April is the warmest month, with average highs of 31 °C; September is the wettest, with about 708 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Buenaventura?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Gerardo Tobar López Airport (BUN), about 7.6 km from the city centre in a straight line; Alfonso Bonilla Aragon International Airport (CLO, 81 km) is also within reach.
What currency is used in Buenaventura?
Colombian peso (COP).
Nearby
Destinations near Buenaventura
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.