South America Vacations

Colombia Adventure Vacations

14 Days Luxury Adventure - Colombia Tour Package
Duration: 14 Days / 13 Nights
Priced From: $3,946 pp. Dbl. Occ.
Dates: Feb, Oct

Explore a land where few visitors have ventured. From stylish Bogota to horseback riding and rafting in the Andean hills of the Zona Cafetera where historic haciendas dot the landscape. Go paragliding over Colombia’s second city - Medellin and hike around a bygone era in Santa Fe de Antioquia. Your journey will culminate in Cartagena - a Caribbean colonial gem surrounded by the azure waters of the Rosario Islands and the exotic wilderness of Tayrona National Park. Colombia really is, yours to explore.

Tour Itinerary

Day 1 Arrival in Bogota

On arrival into Bogota, you will be welcomed at the airport and transferred to the Hotel La Opera for a 2 night stay. The drive time is 25 minutes approx.

Hotel: La Opera
Meals: none

Day 2 Explore Bogota

Privately guided tour of Bogota including the historic Candelaria district. Situated at more than 2,400m (8,000 ft.), and bordered by the Andes to the east, Bogotá is the third-highest capital in the world. Its nearly eight million residents make it Colombia’s largest city by far, and one that has some of South America’s best museums, universities, and restaurants - the world renowned Gold Museum is a must. For the best city views, journey by cable-car or funicular railway to Monserrate, a sanctuary of pilgrimage for many Colombians.

Hotel: La Opera
Meals: B

Day 3 Fly to Pereira / Horseback riding

After breakfast, you will be collected from the hotel and transferred to the airport for a flight to Pereira. This is Colombia’s coffee country, not to mention one of its wealthiest regions, blessed with magnificent mountain scenery, coffeeterraced slopes, and oldworld small towns. But Antioquia and the Eje Cafetero aren’t all country: Armenia, Manizales, and Pereira are thriving cities with a coffee-based economy. In the afternoon you’ll head off on a horseback riding trek through the coffee zone to witness the stunning Andean scenery and visit the local trapiche - a mill used for the extraction of sugar cane.

Hotel: Hacienda San Jose
Meals: B

Day 4 Explore the Coffee Zone

Spend the day with your private guide exploring the Zona Cafetera. Travel through lush fertile valleys and visit a coffee plantation and finca with its colourful wooden houses encased by balconies and picturesque landscape. Learn about the coffee process from its initiation as a red bean to the drinking stage as you sample the beans in their freshest and smoothest form.

Hotel: Hacienda San Jose
Meals: B

Day 5 Travel to Medellin

Spend the morning relaxing or exploring the hills around the Hacienda. In the afternoon you’ll be transferred from Risaralda to the airport in Pereira to take a flight to Medellin, Colombia’s second largest metropolis and one of Latin America’s most progressive and innovative cities. On arrival a local representative will welcome and transfer you to your hotel in the affluent El Poblado district. Spend the evening sampling one of the many fine restaurants dotted around Parque Lleras - Medellin’s social hub.

Hotel: Parque 10
Meals: B

Day 6 Medellin / Paragliding

After breakfast, head off to the outskirts of the city for a gentle para-gliding trip. After your instruction you’ll take off and witness incredible views of the city in the distance as well as quaint colonial towns from the Spanish period. In the afternoon, enjoy a city tour of Medellin including a visit to the Plaza de las Esculturas where many of Fernando Botero’s ‘fat sculptures’ can be found.

Hotel: Parque 10
Meals: B

Day 7 Santa Fe De Antioquia

Full day trip to explore colonial Santa Fe De Antioquia. The old colonial centre looks much as it did during the 1800’s, with narrow streets, whitewashed colonial buildings and plazas full of old men playing cards and simply watching the world go by. Santa Fe de Antioquia is one of Colombia’s most beautiful colonial towns (almost as beautiful as the more visited Villa de Leiva in the north of Colombia). Take a tuktuk to the Puente de Occidente, a historic wooden bridge built between 1887 and 1895 to enjoy the views of the surrounding landscape and Cauca river. Don’t forget to sample a freshly squeezed ‘guarapo’ - sugar cane mixed with fresh limes.

Hotel: Parque 10
Meals: B

Day 8 Fly to Cartagena

You will be transferred to the airport in Medellin for a flight to Cartagena. Cartagena, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the Venice of Colombia, with one of the most impressive old towns in the Western Hemisphere combined with just the right mix of sun, sand, and Latin charm. Cartagena’s tourism infrastructure is more developed than anywhere else in the country, so once you’ve found your bearings, it’s a pretty easy place to travel. A walk through Cartagena’s inner walled city feels a bit like stepping onto the set of a 16th-century sitcom, complete with cobblestone streets and grandiose balconies.

Hotel: Santa Clara
Meals: B

Day 9 Cartagena / Rosario Islands

You will be transferred to La Bodeguita Pier in Cartagena for a full day trip to the Rosario Islands archipelago - an idyllic group of some 30 small islands protected by a National Park. The boat transfer will take around an hour. Go swimming, snorkelling, sailing, kayaking or whatever you prefer. Enjoy great seafood and sip refreshing cocktails in this simple paradise. Head back to Cartagena in the evening to sample some more of Cartagena’s Latin nightlife.

Hotel: Santa Clara
Meals: B

Day 10 Cartagena / Totumo Volcano

Today’s excursion to enjoy a mud-bath and massage in the cone of a volcano may sound strange but its surprisingly relaxing and the nutrients in the mud are reputed to have skin-enhancing qualities! The thick warm mud has a strange gravitational force so its impossible to sink as you float around the crater. Local women will wash the mud from your body in the lake next to the volcano. Return to Cartagena and spend the rest of the day at your leisure.

Hotel: Santa Clara
Meals: B

Day 11 Travel to Tayrona National Park

Journey 3 hours overland to Taganga, a local fishing village, where you stop for lunch and have time to take a swim in the warm Caribbean waters of this remote hang-out. Continue to Tayrona National Park for a 3 night stay in barefoot rustic comfort in your own private cabana in Canaveral. The location is idyllic, set on a hillside and overlooking the ocean. Access to other areas of the park is by jungle trail on foot or horseback.

Hotel: Eco-Habs
Meals: B

Day 12 Tayrona National Park

The popular Tayrona Park lies at the Caribbean coast near Santa Marta. It has some of South Americas best coastline. The delightful spot has stunning beaches, hammocks to rent for the night, surf and water sports. Additionally, you can hire a guide to take you to the native village of Pueblito - a set of ancient Kogui Indian dwellings high up a mountain trail, with spectacular views of the ocean below.

Hotel: Eco-Habs
Meals: B

Day 13 Fly to Bogota

You will be met at Tayrona for the drive back to the airport in Santa Marta and a flight to Bogota. Transfer to your hotel on arrival for a final night out in Colombia’s capital city.

Hotel: Casa Medina
Meals: B

Day 14 Departure

At leisure until your transfer to the airport and departure flight home.

Hotel: none
Meals:B

In the heart of the Candelaria District in the historic centre of Bogota is La Opera - a colonial style character hotel in the former home of Simon Bolivar’s personal guard. The room decor is traditional and facilities range from a Thermae Spa, restaurant and cosy cafe in which to enjoy an exquisite cafe. The hotel is within walking distance to the Botero Museum and the Presidential Palace.

Hacienda San Jose

Dating back to 1888, San Jose is a wonderful hacienda surrounded by spacious grounds and colourful gardens, situated in the heart of the coffee triangle in between Pereira and Chinchina. Owned and run by the Mejía Jaramillo family, the traditional two-story hacienda is full of charming colonial décor, period furniture and family mementos, an elegant testament to a by-gone era. There is an open verandah running the length of the building where breakfast and meals can be served while towards the back, a paved patio enclosing an elegant pool and Jacuzzi.

Parque 10

With its prime location in the residential El Poblado district and within walking distance of Parque Lleras where dozens of upmarket restaurants and bars can be found, Parque 10 is the epicentre of Medellin’s fashionable elite. There are just 55 luxurious rooms equipped with all modern conveniences and complemented by two restaurants, a gym and spa.

Hotel Santa Clara

Cartagena continues to evolve, restore and reinvent itself as Colombia’s number one tourist destination and the Hotel Santa Clara remains the top place to stay with celebrity endorsements throughout. Rooms and suites are spread between the Colonial and Republican wings, some of which surround the internal courtyard, others look over the large tropical swimming pool.

Eco-Habs

At Canaveral is the Eco-Habs lodge offering guests rustic individual cabanas with private bathrooms. There are stunning beaches near Eco-Habs including La Piscinita, Cabo de San Juan and Arrecifes. Excellent food and cocktails served by Eco-Habs is on La Piscinita beach.

12/09

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