Your first week in a new city is the highest-density period for practical tasks, logistical overwhelm, and unexpected discoveries. This checklist is built for someone arriving in Barranquilla with a place to stay but without yet having set up the infrastructure of daily life. Work through it in rough order — the items at the top unblock everything else.
Before You Land
Download InDriver (not Uber — Uber doesn’t operate in Barranquilla as of 2026). InDriver is the dominant ride-app. Set it up with your phone number and a payment method before arrival so you’re not figuring it out at the airport with luggage.
Get cash (COP) before leaving the airport. The ATMs at Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport (BAQ) work with foreign cards. Withdraw enough for your first few days — $300,000–$500,000 COP. Many places in Barranquilla are still cash-heavy, particularly taxis, street food, and traditional restaurants.
Save these numbers in your phone: emergency 123 (police + ambulance, unified), 116 (fire). Add the number of your accommodation’s WhatsApp.
Day 1–2: Essential Setup
Get a Colombian SIM card. The easiest option is Claro or Tigo — both have kiosks in most malls and some street vendors. Bring your passport (required for SIM registration). A 30-day plan with 20–50GB of data costs $30,000–$80,000 COP. This is more important than almost anything else on this list — you need data for maps, InDriver, and WhatsApp (how almost all local businesses communicate).
Test your apartment’s internet. If it’s slower or less reliable than expected, identify the nearest coworking space now rather than discovering this on your first working morning.
Buy a UPS (power backup) if you work remotely and can’t afford interruptions. Power outages during rain events are common. Any electronics store (Alkosto, Éxito, or smaller tech shops in the northern zone) sells them for $200,000–$500,000 COP.
Locate your nearest pharmacy (droguería). There is one on virtually every block in the northern zone. Stock up on basics: electrolytes (suero oral), digestive aids (if your stomach is adjusting), sunscreen (the Caribbean sun is intense), and any prescription medications you need refilled.
Day 2–3: Food and Orientation
Eat your first arepa de huevo. Non-negotiable. Find a street vendor or traditional café and try one hot from the fryer. This is the correct way to begin experiencing the city’s food culture.
Find your neighborhood’s almuerzo spot. Walk the streets near your accommodation at noon and follow the workers. A good corrientazo (fixed-price lunch) should cost $12,000–$20,000 COP and include soup, a main, juice, and sometimes dessert. This will be one of your most important daily routines.
Visit a supermercado. The main chains are Éxito, Jumbo, and Olímpica — all have locations in the northern zone. Get oriented with pricing and what’s available. Buy bottled water or a water filter immediately.
Walk your neighborhood. Not with a purpose — just to see what’s there. The mental map you build in the first few days will save you significant friction later. Note where the droguerías are, where you can get juice, where the nearest panadería (bakery) is for morning coffee and bread.
Day 3–5: Infrastructure
Open a bank account or set up a fintech app. Nequi and Daviplata are the dominant Colombian fintech apps and can be opened with just a cédula (Colombian ID) or in some cases a foreign passport. They allow you to receive and send COP transfers (transferencias) and pay at many merchants via QR code. Even if you’re not a Colombian resident, Nequi is worth having. For full banking access, Bancolombia and Banco de Bogotá accept foreigners with a valid passport and some form of income proof.
Register with your embassy or consulate if your country offers this service (most do). The US has STEP (Smart Traveler Enrollment Program), the UK has FCDO registration, Canada has Registration of Canadians Abroad. Takes 10 minutes and matters if there’s ever a national emergency.
Sort your health insurance. If you’re on a tourist visa, make sure your travel insurance covers medical care in Colombia. If you’re on a longer visa, explore medicina prepagada options (Colsanitas, Sura, Sanitas) — these give you access to private clinics and can be purchased as a monthly plan. See our Healthcare Guide for specifics.
Day 5–7: Social and Language
Join the expat Facebook groups. Search “Expats in Barranquilla” and “Foreigners in Barranquilla Colombia.” Introduce yourself. Ask your most pressing questions. People are helpful.
Book your first Spanish lesson or language exchange if your Spanish needs work. The single most important investment you can make in your first week. Even one lesson establishes a routine and signals your seriousness about integrating.
Say yes to the first invitation you get. Barranquilleros extend invitations quickly and genuinely. If a neighbor invites you for tinto, a coworking contact suggests lunch, or an acquaintance invites you to a gathering — go. The social network you need to build here will come from saying yes early.
Things That Can Wait
Don’t try to do everything in the first week. These can wait until you’re more settled: setting up a full Colombian bank account (requires more documentation), exploring neighborhoods far from your base, figuring out the TransMetro bus system, organizing a visa extension. Give yourself permission to do first-week things in the first week and leave the rest for when you’re less overwhelmed.
One Mindset Note
Barranquilla operates at its own pace. Things that should take 20 minutes sometimes take 2 hours. Bureaucratic processes are opaque. Customer service is inconsistent. Power goes out during rainstorms. The correct response to all of this — the one that will determine whether you enjoy your time here or spend it frustrated — is to stop expecting the city to work like wherever you came from, and start observing how it actually works. The city is not broken; it’s different. That shift in perspective usually happens by the end of the first month. The first week is just about getting your feet under you.