Visiting Pereira, Colombia - First Days Dining - Nightlife - Things to See

I am waiting in terminal 2 of the Bogota airport. In an hour I will be in Pereira. What are my thoughts of Pereira before I get there? Well let me ask you, what do you know of Pereira? That is okay, Not many people know much of Pereira or have even heard of the place. I’ve been told that Pereira has some the most beautiful women in Colombia. It is also Center hub for the coffee coffee farms. If you want to learn more about the coffee area this is where to go. There’s also a bunch of nature that surrounds Pereira. For all these reasons, this is why I wanted to go and visit Pereira. But I found that Pereira was different than all of that, and my first days, I found a party town, and great places to eat.

First Impressions Not Good

An hour goes by, and I land in Pereira. My impressions from the airport are not good of this place.The airport was dirty and small, Which is strange because this is an international airport. People who were kind of rude as well. Much different than the other sections of Colombia I have visited. But I can’t judge a city by just this one situation and this one place. After picking up my luggage I head on out to grab a taxi, where I tell the taxi driver the address to my hotel. The hotel is Hotel Benidorm in Pereira..

Hotel Benidorm Pereira

Let’s start talking about this hotel. Hotel Benidorm Pereira I chose because it was a budget hotel that I could write about. The place was kind of small, but no different than any others budget hotels. I also picked this place because it was locally owned. I was greeted as my taxi pulled up, they opened the door for me and grabbed my luggage and started checking me in. They proceeded to show me to my room. The room looked average, not big, kind of small and was enough to just lay your head.

Hotel Benidorm Pereira Lobby - iPhone

The one thing I was hoping for was a window with a view. Because of no outer window the room seemed really dark. The only window that was in the room did not even close. This is security’s concern for all my camera equipment. It was a budget hotel, I could not complain to much about the room. Hotel Benidorm does make up for all this with good service. Which comes later. For the night I decided to take it easy. I slept in the room and wait for the next morning. In the morning the hotel served free breakfast. I took advantage of this. The breakfast consisted of eggs, arepa, coffee and juice. It was not bad, it was like eating something from home. Following breakfast I decided to take a walk through the city or set down in a little bench area and enjoyed a morning in a small little park. There a many small parks and plaza through out the city, to sit down and relax.

Walking Around Pereira

The next stop was a Cemetery name San Camilo where I proceeded to take some photos of the cemetery.

Mary Statue in the center of San Camilo Cemetery - Pereira

Testing the wide angle aspects of my new lens San Camilo Cemetery - Pereira

As I started to walk out I was told that I was not allowed to take photos. Good thing it happened as I was walking out.

One more shot of San Camilo Cemetery before leaving

Time to Eat Lunch

Afterwards I headed to eat at Crepes & Waffles my favorite chain of restaurants in Colombia, they are great because they use fresh ingredients. They even had a bottle of my favorite beer available.

Monserrate Red in a Bottle from my favorite brewing company in Colombia Bogota Beer Company

After eating I went back to my hotel to work and rest. For the night was going to be busy for a night with my friend. It was her birthday. At this point I asked the front desk for some places to take her for our birthday. They gave me some great ideas of where to go including a Peruvian restaurant named Piura, Las Cayanas an international restaurant known for its sauces, Lenos y Parrilas Argentinian cuisine. I contacted my friend and we headed out to Aly Torres Restaurant (my choice) but instead the taxi took us to El Mirador. A nice fancier restaurant on top of a hill over looking Pereira. It was a great place to eat but not great for vegetarian like myself, so I had fish (which I don’t eat) and enjoyed some wine. The place is kind of on the pricey side, but still not bad for an American income. There was live music which set a good tone and atmosphere.

Enjoying wine and the view of Pereira from El Mirador

After dinner we to the nightlife, which is heavily on the street of Circunvalor where enjoyed a live band playing rock music at M.E.L.M.A.C. I really enjoyed the environment here. We had fun that night. The next day was sleeping in. Due to the bottles of wine and many beers. I woke up and had Crepes & Waffles at Victoria Plaza again and then proceeded to take photos of street performers. That was the extent of my first few days of Pereira and some of the places to eat and visit.

Singers On The Streets of Pereira, Colombia near Plaza Largo

Street Performer in Simon Bolivar Plaza, Pereira, Colombia

In all I liked Pereira. It was a great place to get some good food and dining as well as enjoy the night life. There the city was easy to walk around and enjoy the various Plazas and parks and enjoy the day. What do you think of Pereira? Have any questions? Ask away. Leave a comment below, send me a tweet on twitter, or post on my facebook. Heck even send us a message. Let me know so I can help. Happy travels

Erick Redcloud

A partially blind Graphic Designer, Freelance Travel Photographer, Artist, Buddhist and Vegetarian who loves to travel. Erick loves traveling by being with the locals and going off the beaten path. He is the founder and owner of Pathlesstravels and loves inspiring others to follow their dreams, whether it is to travel or something completely different. He started Pathlesstravels to hone is photography skills and to meet amazing people, and to help a friend break into journalism. Check out his photography at his link.

More Posts - Website

Follow Me: