Budget Hotels in Zona Cafetera

By Brenda Yun

For the most part, the municipalities in the Zona Cafetera have a wide range of accommodation options for foreigners. Manizales and Salento in particular have good low-cost backpacking hostels that draw foreigners year round. There are, however, only a handful of places that offer dorm beds, which are clearly the cheapest option for travelers on a budget. You will be surprised, however, how far your cash can go if you break from the backpacker route and search for your own accommodations in town. Los Sauces in Manizales, for example, provides you with a private room for less than a dorm bed in the popular Mountain House -- and Los Sauces is two blocks from Plaza Bolívar. It is a bit more difficult finding cheap accommodations in Armenia and Pereira, as these cities are a bit behind the times with regard to tourist infrastructure. If you plan on spending a night or two there, first go to the information booth at the bus terminal. This is the best place to acquire good accommodation suggestions and business cards, as well as get your bearings and know the safest neighborhoods and the ones to avoid. As this region is quite temperate and often cool, all accommodations have 24-hour hot water, which is something you will come to appreciate on chilly evenings.