Colombia

Colombia, in a few days

From high-altitude Bogotá to Caribbean Cartagena, by way of Medellín and the wax palms of the Cocora Valley: the map, what is worth booking, everything that costs nothing, and where to sleep at three budgets.

Day by day

1

Bogotá

Days 1-2

A capital at 2,640 metres, which you feel on the first flight of stairs. The colonial lanes of La Candelaria sit at the foot of Monserrate, the peak the whole city looks up to.

🎟️ Worth booking

• Monserrate and the old town, guidedHalf day · from €30
  Up by cable car or funicular to the sanctuary at 3,152 metres, then back down into the colonial centre with a guide.
• The Gold Museum and street artHalf day · from €25
  Tens of thousands of pre-Columbian gold pieces in one museum, then the murals that cover the walls of the centre.

✦ Free to visit

• La Candelaria, the colonial quarter
• Street art in the centre
• The markets and their tropical fruit
• The view of Cerro de Monserrate

📲 Book things to do in Bogotá on GetYourGuide

2

Cartagena

Days 3-5 · ✈️ Domestic flight 1h30

The Caribbean port Spain walled in against pirates, now UNESCO-listed. Painted houses, wooden balconies heavy with bougainvillea, and the sea on the far side of the ramparts.

🎟️ Worth booking

• The walled city, guidedHalf day · from €25
  Colonial squares, flowered balconies, and the stories of the pirate raids that made the walls necessary.
• Rosario Islands day tripFull day · from €45
  A boat out to the coral islands off Cartagena, for clear water, snorkelling and a beach lunch.

✦ Free to visit

• The colonial city (UNESCO)
• The ramparts at sunset
• Getsemaní and its street art
• The nearby beaches

📲 Book things to do in Cartagena on GetYourGuide

3

Medellín

Days 6-7 · ✈️ Domestic flight 1h15

Known as the city of eternal spring for its mild climate. Once a byword for violence, it rebuilt itself around cable cars that link the hillside districts, Comuna 13 among them, to the valley floor.

🎟️ Worth booking

• Comuna 13 graffiti tour, guidedHalf day · from €25
  The district that became the symbol of Medellín's turnaround, with its outdoor escalators and murals, explained by a local guide.
• Guatapé and El Peñol day tripFull day · from €45
  Around 700 steps up the granite dome of El Peñol for the view over the reservoir lakes, then lunch in the painted village of Guatapé.

✦ Free to visit

• Plaza Botero and its sculptures
• The botanical garden
• El Poblado

📲 Book things to do in Medellín on GetYourGuide

4

Salento and the Cocora Valley

Days 8-10 · 🚗 Car 5h

The valley of the Quindío wax palm, the national tree and the tallest palm in the world, which can pass 50 metres. Salento is the painted village at its mouth, in the heart of coffee country.

🎟️ Worth booking

• Cocora Valley hikeFull day · from €20
  A loop through cloud forest and pasture to the stands of giant wax palms, with river crossings on wooden bridges.
• Coffee farm visit and tastingHalf day · from €25
  From the bush to the cup on a working finca, with a tasting at the end.

✦ Free to visit

• The giant wax palms
• The painted village of Salento
• The coffee plantations
• The Willys jeeps

📲 Book things to do in Salento and the Cocora Valley on GetYourGuide

Worth sorting before you go

Fly between the cities · Domestic flights link Bogotá, Medellín and Cartagena in about an hour and cost little. Roads across the Andes are slow, so keep the bus for the short hops in coffee country.

📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly

🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta

🚗 Car hire
Compare the agencies before you land.
Compare · Booking

💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut

🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer

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Flavours & local habits

🍽️ Worth tasting

• Bandeja paisa: a heaped plate of beans, rice, minced beef, chicharrón, fried egg, plantain and avocado, from the Medellín region.
• Arepas: griddled corn cakes, eaten at every hour and made differently in every region.
• Ajiaco: the chicken and potato soup of Bogotá, served with capers, cream and avocado on the side.
• Empanadas: crisp fried corn pastries, most often filled with meat and potato.
• Coffee: grown on the slopes around Salento, and best tasted at the farm rather than in town.
• Fresh juices: lulo, maracuyá and guanábana, blended with water or milk.

⚠️ Best avoided

• No dar papaya, as the saying goes: do not make yourself an easy target by waving a phone or camera around in the street.
• At night, order a taxi through an app or ask your hotel to call one rather than hailing one in the street.
• Ask locally which neighbourhoods to avoid, above all after dark.
• Take your first day in Bogotá slowly: at 2,640 metres, the altitude can leave you short of breath.

Words that help

English ↔ Spanish

✈️ Flight delayed by 3 hours or more, or cancelled? You may be owed up to €600. Check your flight on AirHelp.

The practical page

Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/colombia

Packing checklist

Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.