The number to have in mind at the gate is the altitude. Bogot\u00e1 sits at about 2,640 meters, and the airport is barely lower. Most people feel nothing worse than a shorter breath on the stairs and an early bedtime; the ones who suffer are the ones who land, drink, and go dancing. Water, a light first dinner and a slow first morning are the treatment, and it is why our layover tour drives you up Monserrate instead of walking you up. The whole first day, by the city’s health secretariat and the CDC, is in our Bogot\u00e1 altitude guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n Bogot\u00e1 taxis run on a meter, unlike Cartagena’s, and the airport trip is metered too rather than a flat fare as in Medell\u00edn; the airport’s authorized company is Taxi Imperial, with a lane on the first floor outside Terminal 1 between Doors 8 and 10 and uniformed staff assigning cars between Doors 7 and 10. The 2026 tariff is fixed by Decreto 042 de 2026, in force since February: the meter starts at 4,500 pesos, adds 159 pesos per 100 meters, has a minimum fare of 8,000, adds an 8,000 peso surcharge for any trip from the airport, and adds 3,800 at night and on Sundays and holidays. On those figures a trip of twelve to fifteen kilometers, which is what Chapinero, the Zona T or La Candelaria are from the terminal, comes to roughly 31,000 to 36,000 pesos in distance and fixed charges, plus whatever the meter adds for time stopped in traffic and the night surcharge if it applies. Taxis on the higher “excelencia operacional” tariff, for cars certified under that scheme, charge 4,800 to start, 172 per 100 meters and 8,600 for the airport surcharge.<\/p>\n The airport lane is the organized exception to the rule in our guide to why we do not take street taxis in Bogot\u00e1<\/a>: the cars are assigned, the plates are logged, and the meter is the meter. It is a fair choice in daylight for people who are comfortable in Spanish and know what the meter should read. It is not what we do at night, and it is not what we recommend to anyone landing in Colombia for the first time, for a reason that has nothing to do with the driver: after a long flight you will not know whether a route through Puente Aranda is the fast way or the long way, and the meter does not care.<\/p>\n Uber, DiDi, Cabify and inDrive all operate in Bogot\u00e1 and all pick up at El Dorado. The pickup is not at the taxi lane; the app sends you to a meeting point it chooses, usually a short walk with your bags, and Uber’s own airport page tells riders to follow the in-app directions rather than promising a fixed spot. The price is shown before you confirm and it rises with demand, which at El Dorado means the evening bank of arrivals and the rain. Ride-hailing sits in a legal gray zone in Colombia: the platforms are not licensed as public transport, so drivers may ask you to sit in the front seat and avoid the lane where the authorized taxis are. Our own rule for apps, from the taxi guide above, is simple: match the plate, share the trip with someone, and keep the phone in your pocket while you wait on the sidewalk. The apps also carry licensed taxis now, and the city’s decree sets a separate tariff for taxis hired through a platform, with a 4,600 peso start, 1,625 pesos per kilometer and an 8,100 peso airport surcharge.<\/p>\n El Dorado is the rare Latin American airport with a real bus rapid transit connection at the door. TransMilenio’s K86 service leaves from Door 2 on the first floor of Terminal 1, Monday to Friday from 5:30 am to 11 pm, Saturdays from 6 am to 11 pm, and Sundays and holidays from 7 am to 10 pm; the SITP feeder 16-14 leaves from Door 4 to the Portal El Dorado station, Monday to Friday from 4:30 am to 12:20 am, Saturdays from 5 am, and Sundays and holidays from 5:30 am to 11:20 pm. Both need a Tullave card, sold and loaded at the kiosk in front of Door 1, and the 2026 fare is 3,550 pesos per trip. The K86 is a dual bus that runs the Calle 26 corridor into the center and continues up Carrera S\u00e9ptima, which is why it is the one to take for the Museo Nacional, the Centro Internacional and the hotels along the S\u00e9ptima; from Portal El Dorado the trunk lines along Calle 26 reach the university district and La Candelaria’s edge. Check the current routing in the TransMiApp, because routes change and the airport’s page is the only stable fact.<\/p>\n It is a real option for one traveler with a backpack, in daylight, going somewhere on the Calle 26 or Carrera S\u00e9ptima corridors, and at 3,550 pesos it is a tenth of a taxi. It is not an option with suitcases, because the buses are full and the stations have stairs and turnstiles, and it is not an option at night, when the walk from a station to a hotel is the part of the trip we would not do.<\/p>\n Our transfers are operated by Safe Transfers by Cielo.Travel, our transfer company. A private transfer from El Dorado to Chapinero, the Zona T, Parque de la 93, Usaqu\u00e9n, La Candelaria or Salitre starts at 49 US dollars per vehicle, with a host inside the terminal at arrivals holding a Safe Transfers sign, whichever terminal you land in, your flight tracked so the driver moves with your delay, and the price fixed in dollars when you book. It is what we do for our own guests, and it is the right choice in four situations: a night arrival, when we would rather you walked out to a person than to a lane; a family, or anyone with more bags than hands; a first trip to Colombia, when a fixed price and a known driver matter most in the first hour; and a tight connection between the airport and a hotel meeting, when the flight tracking is what makes the meeting. In our transfer company’s experience, arrivals after 9 pm and before 6 am are the smoothest window on the road, which is one more reason not to let the hour decide against booking. Book it at Safe Transfers, Bogot\u00e1 airport transfer<\/a>.<\/p>\nOption 1: the authorized taxi lane, on the meter<\/h2>\n
Option 2: the apps<\/h2>\n
Option 3: TransMilenio from Door 2, and the feeder from Door 4<\/h2>\n
Option 4: a private transfer, with a host inside the terminal<\/h2>\n
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