Colombians love holidays, and Halloween is one of them! You will find many plans for this day, but here I give you five different suggestions of how to spend Halloween in Bogotá.
Every Colombian or expat should know that the Halloween spirit is out there when October arrives. Neighborhoods, stores, bars, malls – everyone is into the spooky stuff and preparing to celebrate the big day with amazing decorations. When the last week of October arrives (sometimes the last 2 weeks), everybody will usually have their plans already made. But, what would happen if I told you that trick-or-treating with your kids and partying with friends are only a few of the options for Halloween? Here I will share with you my top 5 ways to spend Halloween in Bogotá.
1. Halloween party
This will be the first option for most people, but for me, it is the last one because I’m not much into clubs.
Colombians love parties. For Halloween, they plan their costumes almost a month before. You can see not only a couple’s costumes but also entire groups with amazing ones. I feel that each year gets better in creativity and it is almost impossible to pick a winner! To be honest, being in a club/bar in Halloween in Bogotá is worth it. But be careful. As always, sometimes these parties can get out of control so, to be safe, go with friends and avoid going alone to a club or a bar.
Where can you go? I recommend Andrés Carne de Res, Bungalow and Meeting House Bogotá, but you can surely find many options around Bogotá, especially in the Zona T.
2. Go to a mall
All malls are family-friendly, and in Bogotá, they include your pet as part of the family! So, for me, last year, I ended up in a mall where I fell madly in love with all the pets in their costumes.
This plan is perfect for families because their kids won’t be the only ones who are going to have fun and be entertained by the activities that the mall offers. Adults and teenagers can also walk around, have a break in the food court or stores, or even watch a movie together.
The malls that are always celebrating all kinds of events are: Parque La Colina, Titan Plaza and Unicentro, as well as other ones like Multiplaza.
3. Walk around the neighborhood
If you have a child, this idea is not that original and maybe you will end up doing it anyway. But for me, Halloween is an amazing day to do all my walking-distance errands because I see not only kids and dogs in their costumes, but also entire families in their favorite characters’ clothes and sometimes even personalities. It’s hilarious!
During my first Halloween in Bogotá, I wondered where kids went trick-or-treating since the majority of residences are in buildings or gated communities. The thing is that all the guardhouses at the entrances of each property are prepared to give out candies and obviously some of them are also ready to scare you.
Quick Tip: If you live close to a commercial street don’t skip it: they also give out treats!
4. Spooky tours in Bogotá
This tour consists of going to the old, classic neighborhoods of Bogotá like La Candelaria and Teusaquillo at night and hearing stories that actually happened (or maybe not) in that neighborhood. Some of them have people who will act out the story, others just have people in a position to scare you!
Some of these tours are available all year long, but in October you will have so many spooky tour options to take that you might not be able to take them all.
Where can you find these tours? At Cívico, Airbnb, and Atrápalo.
Quick Tip: You can also have a spooky experience by going to an escape room!
5. Stay at home
This option is one of my favorites since all the old-school movies from Halloween are available on Netflix, plus kids from all the nearby buildings and residences still knock on your door for treats so you can still see awesome costumes.
Staying at home can be fun too. You can invite friends and have a pre-party (in Spanish: pre despacho) before going to the club, you can have a Halloween movie night, or you can be alone doing whatever you want. The thing is that you cannot escape this holiday because Halloween decorations and kids in their best costumes will be close to you. Unless you want to be tricked, have some treats up your sleeve!
Now, I hope you enjoy my ways to spend this spooky season and are ready to have a blast with any plans you have. But you have to remember a few things: if you go to a club, it is better to go with a friend. Never leave your child alone – no matter their age, they should always be with you. Go to this article to learn some Tips to survive Halloween night out in Bogotá.
If you liked this article, share it with all your friends and leave a comment below if you have any recommendations for how to spend Halloween in Bogotá.
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