Colombia Encompassed
Prices start at $3,680 per person excluding international flights.
A first time visit to Colombia can be much more than covering a couple of destinations. This is the ultimate itinerary which encompasses almost everything you may want to see in your first or second venture to Colombia. Ranging from coffee plantations to Caribbean beaches, this itinerary give you a superb overview of what Colombia is all about.
Travel to Colombia
International flight to Bogota. There is now a direct service from London which takes just over 11 hours.
Bogota
After breakfast you will have half day visit to the historic centre of Bogota known as La Candelaria. You will also visit Bolivar Square, the Botero Museum and the Gold Museum, one the finest of its kind in the world. Your day will end with a visit to the Santuario de Monserrate, a symbol of Bogotá. You will ride the cable car or funicular to reach it at 500m. The site offers the incredible panorama of the city on one side and the Andes on the other.
Zona Cafetera
Today you return to Bogotá visiting the Convento del Santo Ecce Homo on the way. This was founded by the Dominicans in 1620 and was an important point of evangelization of the local Indigenous communities.
You will then be transferred to the airport in time for your flight to Pereira in the famous Coffee region. Here you will explore the Cocora Valley (within the confines of Los Nevados National Park) on foot or horseback and encounter the staggering 60m high wax palm trees (Colombia’s national tree) and perhaps sight some hummingbirds and palm parrots. On your way back you will stop at a trout farm and enjoy a traditional meal of smoked trout. In the afternoon continue towards the traditional town of Salento and then, transfer to the traditional village of Filandia where you can stop for coffee in one of the traditional coffee shops in the area.
On day 7, you will go to Chinchina where you will enjoy a half day coffee tour. This includes a visit to some coffee plantations along the steep hills and learning in detail the process of coffee production from its preparation, toasting and what the character of Colombian coffee.
Medellin
You start your exploration of Colombia’s second most important city with a half day city tour. Some of the sights included in your visit are La Plazoleta, home to around twenty-three famous Botero sculptures and the Museum of Antioquia to see artifacts from pre-Columbian times up to the modern age.
You will also be taken to the Santo Domingo district for views of the city and pay visit the Biblioteca España. For a different perspective, you then continue on to Nutibara hill as well. On day 8, you will have a full day out to nearby Santa Fe de Antioquia where it feels as if time has stood still since Colonial times. The former regional capital city was founded in 1541. You will explore the narrow streets that run alongside the whitewashed buildings and take in the wonderfully preserved town of San Jerónimo on the way back to Medellin.
Caribbean Coast
Transfer to Medellin airport for your flight to Santa Marta.
The following day you will head to Tayrona National Park which is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and covers an area 17,000 square kms, including dreamlike white sandy beaches lapped by turquoise blue waters, coral reefs, huge ocean boulders, densely rich jungle vegetation, mangroves and of course the famous Ciudad Perdida or Lost City. You will descent down to Playa de Neguanje into the Bay of Gayraca and hop onto a local boat where the fishermen will then sail around the cove to Playa Cristal. This beach stands out for its extraordinary beauty and is the ideal place to enjoy the water, the sun and the opportunity to paddle between the coral reefs.
Cartagena
Road transfer to Cartagena and taken to your hotel. You will start the next day with a morning Panoramic City Tour which will take you to the famous Monasterio and Iglesia de La Popa built in 1606 from where the best city and seaviews are waiting. Your last day will be free but you may opt to do a half day visit to local markets and a cooking lesion with lunch or a walking city tour.
Head home
Transferred back to the airport for your flight to Bogota connecting on to your international flight home.
