It’s a long way from Pereira to Jardín. But Jardin is worth it, I promise you. We ended up in Pereira after doing an epically rainy trek in Los Nevados National Park. It literally rained for the whole 4 days. I have never been so soggy in my entire life and still haven’t dried out a few months later! Anyhow, here’s how to get from Pereira to Jardin by bus.
Pereira – Riosucio – Jardin
There is no direct bus between Pereira and Jardin. You have to go to Riosucio first and then change buses (and bus companies) to get to Jardin.
Pereira to Riosucio
You will need to get yourself to the bus station in Pereira, it is called Terminal de Transportes. In the bus station, find the Flota Occidental stand. There are a number of companies that go to Riosucio but this is one of the better ones. Buses depart regularly throughout the day (usually every 15 minutes) but if you want to get all the way to Jardin in one day, you should get an early bus. I recommend aiming for the 8:30am one.
You will want to get the earliest bus possible, as buses from Riosucio to Jardin fill up quickly. We really struggled to get on a bus there.
It takes around 3.5 hours to get from Pereira to Riosucio by bus. If you get travel sick, I recommend taking travel sickness pills. I threw up as we zoomed along the mountain roads. If you don’t get travel sick, you can gaze out the window and take in some glorious views.
The Flota Occidental buses are basic, but not too bad compared to some buses we had been on in Colombia and in the rest of our travels. Our driver swung around the corners pretty fast but wasn’t dangerous (at least compared to other drivers we have had!).
Price for bus between Pereira to Riosucio: 22,000 COP per person for this leg of the journey
Riosucio to Jardin
The Pereira bus takes you right into the small Riosucio bus station where you can catch the bus to Jardin. Annoyingly, buses from Riosucio only seem to run 3 times a day at the following times:
8am
12:30noon
3pm
We almost didn’t get on the 12:30noon bus as there weren’t enough seats. However, after much discussion, this problem was easily solved by getting my partner, James a plastic garden chair and saying he could sit on that on the bus. Safety first kids!
The bus between Riosucio and Jardin was a minibus rather than a proper bus. It was cramped and uncomfortable. I spent the whole time almost flying off my seat every time the driver hammered on the breaks, along with trying to stop James’ plastic chair from tipping over.
Due to roadworks on the road between Riosucio and Jardin it took us 5.5 hours. We kept having to stop at the road works for 10 to 20 minutes and let all the traffic going the other way through. We then drove for a little bit and the whole process would start again. It was slow and dull. By the time we got to Jardin, we were both pretty jaded.
Price for bus between Riosucio to Jardin: Well this depends on which time you catch the bus (even though they are all run by the same company). The 12:30 one that we got was the most expensive and cost 26,000 COP per person. Maybe it was more expensive because of the luxury garden chair James got.
Exploring Scrumptious Jardin, Colombia
That jaded feeling didn’t last long, there is just too much to love about Jardin. We loved it so much, we ended up spending two weeks there. Don’t miss out on these 11 brilliant things to do in Jardin.
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