Cornelius Amann
October 06, 2026
5/5
Colombia: Bogotá, Medellín, the Coffee Region and Cartagena
10 days from Bogotá to Cartagena: a full day in the capital, Comuna 13 and Guatapé from Medellín, three nights in Salento for the Cocora Valley and a coffee farm, and two nights on the Caribbean.
10 days · Bogotá to Cartagena · up to 12 guests
Wax palms in the Cocora Valley, near Salento Photo: Deivid Sáenz deividsaenz, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Valle_Del_Cocora_silhouette_(Unsplash).jpg)
The facts
At a glance
- Length
- 10 days, 9 nights
- Start and end
- Bogotá to Cartagena
- Group size
- 7 to 12 guests
- Longest drive
- 6 h on day 5
- Activity level
Moderate
One demanding day: the Cocora Valley loop is about 12 km with roughly 600 m of climbing on muddy, uneven trail up to about 2,860 m, or take the easy two-hour walk to the wax palms instead. El Peñol is about 700 steps, which you can skip. Bogotá is at about 2,640 m. Other days are 2 to 4 hours on foot on city streets, cobbles and hills.
- Meals included
- 9 breakfasts, 6 lunches, 1 dinner
- Room of your own
- + CAD 700 (estimated price)
- Season
- December to March and June to August
Highlights
Why this trip
- Monserrate early, before the cloud, then La Candelaria, the Botero Museum and the Gold Museum in one unhurried day
- Comuna 13 with a guide from the neighbourhood, up the outdoor escalators and past the murals
- The climb up El Peñol for the view over the Guatapé reservoir, then the painted zócalos of Guatapé and a boat on the water
- The wax palms of the Cocora Valley in the clear morning, with a short walk or the full loop through cloud forest
- A family coffee farm from seedling to cup, and the lookout over the coffee hills at Filandia
- San Felipe fortress at 8 am, the walled city of Cartagena with a local guide, and sunset on the city walls
What makes this trip different
Short drives, all published
Every drive is listed day by day. The longest is 6 h, on day 5.
Free time is part of the plan
Free time and choices are marked on the days they fall.
Solo without the penalty
A room of your own is + CAD 700 (estimated price).
Day by day
Itinerary
The longest drive is 6 h, on day 5.
Tap any stop on the map to open that dayClick any stop on the map to open that day
Arrive in Bogotá
El Dorado International Airport (BOG) to your hotel in central Bogotá
- Welcome dinner
- Stay in Bogotá
- Drive about 45 min
Fly into El Dorado International Airport (BOG), about 15 km west of the historic centre. A driver meets you in the arrivals hall for the drive in, which takes 40 minutes to an hour depending on traffic. Bogotá sits at about 2,640 m on a high plateau in the Eastern Andes, so it is cooler than most visitors expect: days are mild, evenings need a jacket, and the first flight of stairs leaves you short of breath.
Evening
Take the afternoon slowly, drink plenty of water and go easy on alcohol tonight. Your hotel is central, within walking distance of La Candelaria, the colonial quarter of steep cobbled streets, painted houses and student cafes. At about 6 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a briefing on the days ahead: the two flights, the Cocora walk and what to pack for the Caribbean. Then we walk to a welcome dinner nearby, a first taste of Colombian cooking, from arepas to a slow-cooked stew.
Included
- Pick-up at El Dorado International Airport (BOG)
- Welcome briefing with your guide
- Welcome dinner
Free time: Free until the 6 pm briefing
Activity: Arriving a day early gives you time to rest at altitude and see the Zipaquirá Salt Cathedral, a full day out from Bogotá; we can book the extra night.
Bogotá: Monserrate, La Candelaria and the Gold Museum
Central Bogotá to Monserrate, then La Candelaria on foot
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Bogotá
- Drive about 30 min
We leave at 8 am for the base station of Monserrate, the mountain that stands over the city to the east, and ride the cable car or funicular up to the white sanctuary at about 3,150 m.
Morning
The morning is when the air is clearest, and the view runs across the whole savanna of Bogotá before the clouds build; on Sundays pilgrims fill the summit, so we plan around it where we can. Back down, your guide walks you through La Candelaria: the Plaza de Bolívar with the Cathedral and the Capitol, the little Chorro de Quevedo square where the city is said to have been founded, and the Botero Museum, where Fernando Botero's rounded figures hang beside the European paintings he gave to the nation.
Afternoon
Lunch is ajiaco, the chicken, corn and potato soup of the capital. Then we spend an unhurried 90 minutes in the Gold Museum, one of the largest collections of pre-Hispanic goldwork in the world.
Evening
The rest of the afternoon and the evening are free.
Included
- Monserrate by cable car or funicular
- La Candelaria walk with your guide: the Plaza de Bolívar, the Chorro de Quevedo and the Botero Museum
- Ajiaco lunch in La Candelaria
- The Gold Museum (Museo del Oro)
Optional experiences
- The National Museum of Colombia, in the free afternoon
- A game of tejo in the evening
Free time: Late afternoon and evening free
Activity: About 3 hours on foot on steep cobbled streets at altitude; we walk slowly and stop often. The Gold Museum closes on Mondays and the Botero Museum on Tuesdays, so departures are set so that this day falls between Wednesday and Sunday.
Fly to Medellín, an afternoon in Comuna 13
Bogotá to Medellín by air, then Comuna 13
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Medellín
- Drive about 2 h
We leave the hotel at about 8 am for the flight from Bogotá to Medellín, roughly an hour in the air. José María Córdova airport sits up in Rionegro, and the road down through the Túnel de Oriente brings you into the Aburrá Valley in about 45 minutes.
Evening
Medellín lies at about 1,500 m, warm by day and mild at night, so the weather feels like spring all year. Lunch is a sit-down paisa meal, beans, rice, plantain and arepa, then a local guide who grew up in Comuna 13 takes us through the neighbourhood: the outdoor escalators that opened in 2011 on a hillside once reached only by long stairways, the murals that tell the story of the violence of the 1990s and the military operations of 2002, and the small businesses and hip hop that grew out of it. We ride the Metro back from San Javier station to the city. The evening is free in El Poblado or Laureles, where we stay.
Included
- Flight from Bogotá to Medellín
- Paisa lunch in Medellín
- Comuna 13 with a local guide from the neighbourhood, including the outdoor escalators
- Metro ride from San Javier station
Optional experiences
- A salsa class in the evening
Free time: Evening free
Activity: Comuna 13 is about 2 hours on foot on steep streets and steps; the escalators carry you up most of the hill.
Guatapé and the rock of El Peñol
Medellín to El Peñol and Guatapé, and back
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Medellín
- Drive about 4 h
Morning
We leave Medellín at 8 am to reach El Peñol ahead of the late-morning day tours, about two hours east through the green hills of eastern Antioquia. The rock is a granite monolith about 200 m high, with a staircase of roughly 700 steps built into a crack in its side. From the top the reservoir spreads in every direction, a maze of green islands and inlets made when the Peñol-Guatapé dam flooded the valley, and the old town of El Peñol with it, in the late 1970s.
Afternoon
After the climb we cross to Guatapé for a lakeside lunch and a walk with your guide past the zócalos, the brightly painted reliefs along the base of every house, from sheep and saints to bicycles and coffee pickers. In the afternoon a boat takes us out on the reservoir for about an hour.
Evening
We are back in Medellín by about 5 pm, with the evening free. Weekends and Colombian public holidays are very busy here, so we visit on a weekday where departures allow.
Included
- El Peñol entry and the climb
- Guatapé town walk with your guide
- Lakeside lunch in Guatapé
- Boat ride on the Guatapé reservoir
Easier option: Skip the climb: wait at the viewpoint cafes at the foot of the rock, then join the town walk and the boat.
More active option: Climb El Peñol, about 700 steps up and a separate stair down, at your own pace.
Free time: Evening free in Medellín
Activity: Roughly two hours by road in each direction, paved but twisting; sit at the front if you get carsick.
Over the mountains to Salento
Medellín to La Pintada, Santa Rosa de Cabal and Pereira, then Salento
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Salento
- Drive about 6 h
This is the trip's one long road day. Medellín and Salento are about 260 km apart, around six hours of driving on winding mountain roads; flying would mean two airport runs and, on most days, a change of plane, so the road is the quicker link. We leave at 8 am and break the drive into three stretches. The first runs south down to the Cauca river at La Pintada, where we stop for coffee and to stretch.
Afternoon
The second climbs into the coffee country of Caldas, past steep slopes of coffee bushes, plantain and shade trees, to a sit-down lunch around Santa Rosa de Cabal, known across Colombia for its chorizo. The last stretch, about 90 minutes, passes Pereira and climbs to Salento, a village at about 1,900 m on a ridge above the Quindío valley, where we stay three nights in the same hotel. We arrive around 4 pm.
Evening
At dusk, climb the steps at the top of Calle Real to the viewpoint over the Cocora valley, where we walk tomorrow.
Included
- Drive from Medellín to Salento with your guide, with a coffee stop at La Pintada
- Sit-down lunch around Santa Rosa de Cabal
Free time: Evening free in Salento
Activity: The longest day in the vehicle, over the 4-hour cap because there is no shorter practical link; three stops break it up. If you get carsick, sit at the front and take something before we leave.
The Cocora Valley and the wax palms
Salento to the Cocora Valley by jeep, the loop walk, and back
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Salento
- Drive about 1 h
At 8 am we ride out of Salento's main square in Willys jeeps, the old workhorses of the coffee country, about 30 minutes along the valley to Cocora.
Afternoon
We start early because the morning is usually clear and cloud tends to build after midday; your guide picks which way round to walk the loop on the day. The Quindío wax palm is Colombia's national tree and among the tallest palms in the world, its thin grey trunks rising out of cattle pasture to tufts of leaves far overhead. The easy group walks out to the palm meadows and back. The rest of us do the full loop: the palm meadows, the climb to about 2,860 m at La Montaña, cloud forest with a detour to the Acaime hummingbird reserve, where feeders draw several species close, and the Quindío river valley with its run of wooden suspension bridges. Everyone meets for a late lunch of trout, the local dish, on the valley floor. The jeeps take us back to Salento by mid-afternoon, and the rest of the day is yours.
Included
- Willys jeep from Salento to the Cocora Valley and back
- Walk among the wax palms with your guide
- All Cocora trail fees and the Acaime hummingbird reserve
- Trout lunch in the Cocora Valley
Easier option: Walk to the wax palm meadows and back, about 2 hours on a gentle climb, then wait for the group at the valley floor or take an early jeep to Salento.
More active option: The full loop through the palms, La Montaña, the Acaime hummingbird reserve and the river valley, about 12 km and 5 to 6 hours.
Free time: Late afternoon and evening free
Activity: The full loop climbs about 600 m to roughly 2,860 m on trail that is often muddy; waterproof walking shoes and a rain jacket are essential.
A coffee farm and Filandia
Salento to a family coffee farm, then Filandia, and back
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Salento
- Drive about 1.5 h
Morning
This morning is about the bean. A short drive out of Salento brings us to a family coffee farm on the hillsides of the Quindío, where the farmer walks us through the whole chain: seedlings in the nursery, bushes growing under shade trees, ripe red cherries picked by hand (the main harvest here runs roughly from October to December, with a smaller one around April to June), then pulping, fermenting, washing and drying in the sun. We roast a batch, grind it and taste it beside the farm's other coffees, learning to tell a washed coffee from a natural one.
Afternoon
Lunch is at the farm. After a rest we drive about 45 minutes to Filandia, a quieter village than Salento with the same painted balconies and a tall wooden lookout tower that looks over the coffee hills towards the Cauca valley. We are back in Salento by about 5 pm.
Evening
The evening is free, and your guide can find you a game of tejo, Colombia's gunpowder-target sport, if you want one.
Included
- Coffee farm tour with tasting and roasting
- Lunch at the coffee farm
- Filandia with your guide, including the lookout tower
Optional experiences
- Tejo in Salento in the evening
Easier option: Stay in Salento for the afternoon instead of going to Filandia.
Free time: Evening free
Activity: The farm walk is about 1 to 2 hours on steep, sometimes muddy paths between the coffee rows.
Fly to Cartagena, sunset on the walls
Salento to Pereira or Armenia airport, then by air to Cartagena
- Breakfast
- Stay in Cartagena
- Drive about 1.5 h
Morning
A relaxed breakfast, then about an hour's drive down to the airport at Pereira, or Armenia depending on the day's schedule, for the flight to Cartagena.
Afternoon
Some days have a direct flight; on others we change in Bogotá, and with the connection the journey can take most of the day, so nothing else is planned and lunch is on the way. You land into heat: Cartagena is at sea level on the Caribbean, usually around 30°C and humid, a world away from the cool hills you left in the morning. A short drive takes us to our hotel in or beside the walled city.
Evening
In the late afternoon, once the sun has dropped, your guide walks the group up onto the city walls for sunset over the sea, a first look at the domes, bell towers and wooden balconies inside, and a cold drink. Tonight is free: Getsemaní, the neighbourhood just outside the walls, has the liveliest evenings, with music and street food in the Plaza de la Trinidad.
Included
- Flight from Pereira or Armenia to Cartagena
- Transfers to the airport and to your hotel in Cartagena
- Sunset walk on the city walls with your guide
Free time: Evening free
Activity: Flight times are set with your final itinerary. If a connection in Bogotá lands us after sunset, the walk on the walls moves to day 9, before the farewell dinner, and tonight starts with a short walk to the nearest square.
Cartagena: San Felipe and the walled city
Castillo San Felipe de Barajas, the walled city and Getsemaní
- Breakfast and dinner
- Stay in Cartagena
- Drive about 30 min
We start at 8 am, before the heat, at the Castillo San Felipe de Barajas, the largest of the Spanish forts that defended the port, on the hill of San Lázaro just outside the walls. Its ramps, batteries and tunnels were built against the attacks by sea and land that Cartagena suffered through the colonial centuries, including the British siege of 1741. Then a local guide takes us into the walled city, listed by UNESCO in 1984 with the port and its fortresses: through the Clock Tower gate, across the Plaza de los Coches where enslaved Africans were once sold, past the church of San Pedro Claver and the Plaza de Bolívar, and into the Palace of the Inquisition.
Afternoon
Lunch is your choice in the old town. The afternoon is free for the hottest hours: the pool, a nap, or the Zenú Gold Museum, which is free to enter.
Evening
At dusk we walk through the street art and small squares of Getsemaní to a farewell dinner together.
Included
- Castillo San Felipe de Barajas
- Walled city walk with a local guide
- The Palace of the Inquisition
- Getsemaní walk with your guide
- Farewell dinner
Optional experiences
- A rum tasting or a salsa class in the free afternoon
- The Zenú Gold Museum (free entry)
Free time: Afternoon free
Activity: About 3 hours on foot in the morning, on cobbles and the fortress ramps, in strong sun; bring a hat and water.
Cartagena and home
Cartagena old town to Rafael Núñez International Airport (CTG)
- Breakfast
- Drive about 15 min
Morning
The last morning is free. If you are up early, walk the walls once more while the light is low and the streets are being swept, or take a slow breakfast and a last coffee in one of the walled city's shaded squares. Las Bóvedas, a row of vaulted rooms built into the northern wall in the late 18th century and now craft shops, is a good place to look for hammocks, woven mochila bags and coffee to take home. Check-out is usually around noon, and the hotel can hold your bags if your flight is later. Rafael Núñez International Airport (CTG) is only about 3 km from the old town, around 15 minutes by road, and our driver takes you there in time for your flight. Book any flight leaving Cartagena on this day: there are some direct international routes from CTG, and many more connect through Bogotá. Allow three hours at the airport for an international departure. Your guide says goodbye at the hotel or the airport, depending on flight times.
Included
- Drop-off at Rafael Núñez International Airport (CTG)
Free time: Morning free
Activity: Book any flight from Cartagena on day 10; transfers run to your flight time.
- Bogotá2 nights
- Medellín2 nights
- Salento3 nights
- Cartagena2 nights
- Overnight stop
- Day trip
- By boat or train
Wildlife and weather: Colombia has no summer or winter. The Andes have two wetter seasons, roughly April to May and October to November, when the Cocora trail is muddier; Cartagena is hot and humid all year, wettest from September to November.
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Before you book
Right for you?
Good for you if you want
- First-timers who want Colombia's four best-known places in ten days without one-night stops
- Travellers who like cities and a day of hiking in equal measure
- Coffee drinkers who want to see the whole process on a working farm
- Solo travellers who want a small group and a single supplement shown up front
Not for you if you want
- A beach holiday: Cartagena is a city stay, and the Rosario Islands and Tayrona are not on this trip
- Step-free access: El Peñol's stairs, the Cocora trail and Cartagena's cobbles
- Travellers who cannot face one six-hour road day
- Anyone who finds heat hard: Cartagena is around 30°C and humid all year
Book flights after we confirm your seat.
9 nights
Where you'll stay
Your hotels are named in your trip confirmation.
- Bogotá2 nights
- Medellín2 nights
- Salento3 nights
- Cartagena2 nights
One price
What's in the price
Included
Accommodation
- 9 nights: 2 in Bogotá, 2 in Medellín, 3 in one Salento hotel, 2 in Cartagena in or beside the walled city
- Central hotels of at least a 3-star-plus standard, named when we confirm your dates
- Rooms shared, or your own for a supplement
Transport
- Pick-up at Bogotá airport (BOG) and drop-off at Cartagena airport (CTG)
- Flights from Bogotá to Medellín and from Pereira or Armenia to Cartagena, with one checked bag each
- Our own vehicle and driver for the group, including the road day from Medellín to Salento
- Willys jeeps to and from the Cocora Valley
- A boat ride on the Guatapé reservoir
- The Monserrate cable car or funicular and the Medellín Metro from Comuna 13
Your guide
- A See Sight Tours guide for the whole trip
- Local guides in Comuna 13, at the coffee farm and in Cartagena's walled city
Activities
- Bogotá: Monserrate, a La Candelaria walk, the Botero Museum and the Gold Museum
- Medellín: Comuna 13 with a local guide
- Guatapé: El Peñol entry and climb, the town walk and the reservoir boat ride
- Coffee Region: the Cocora Valley with all trail fees and the Acaime hummingbird reserve, a family coffee farm tour with tasting, and Filandia
- Cartagena: sunset on the city walls, Castillo San Felipe de Barajas, the walled city with a local guide, the Palace of the Inquisition and Getsemaní
Meals
- 9 breakfasts
- 6 lunches: ajiaco in Bogotá, a paisa lunch in Medellín, Guatapé, on the road to Salento, trout in the Cocora Valley and at the coffee farm
- 2 dinners: welcome in Bogotá and farewell in Cartagena
Not included
- International flights to Bogotá and home from Cartagena
- Visa or entry fees, if your passport needs them
- Travel insurance
- Meals not listed: 8 dinners and 4 lunches (lunches on days 1, 8, 9 and 10)
- Drinks
- Tips for your guides and driver
- Extra or overweight bags on the domestic flights
- Optional activities, such as tejo, a salsa class or a rum tasting
- Personal expenses
Extras
- Room of your own
- CAD 700 (estimated price)
When you can go
Dates and prices
Pick your start date when you request to book. We check that date and confirm it in your quote.
Prefer to travel without a group or guide? Ask us about arranging hotels, transport and city tours for you to travel independently.
Before you book
Booking terms
Nothing is charged now. Full terms and the cancellation schedule come with your quote, before you accept.
Business addresses
See Sight Tours Trips (USA): 3172 N Rainbow Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89108, United StatesSee Sight Tours Trips (Canada): 5305 50 Avenue, #1091, Red Deer, AB T4N 4B6, Canada+1-888-961-6584Guest reviews
What guests say
Reviews from guests on our day tours.
Jane
October 06, 2026
5/5
Susan
October 06, 2026
5/5
Tom L
October 05, 2026
5/5
MandL83
October 05, 2026
5/5
Darren O
October 05, 2026
5/5
Good to know
Questions
Prices in these answers apply from Jan 1, 2027. Black Friday offer: 7% off the small-group price for requests received by Dec 1, 2026. From CAD 3,835 per person. Dec 2 to Dec 31: from CAD 3,960. From Jan 1, 2027: from CAD 4,125.
What does the price include?
Nine nights in central hotels, both domestic flights with a checked bag, 9 breakfasts, 6 lunches and 2 dinners, airport transfers, our own vehicle and driver, Willys jeeps to Cocora, a See Sight Tours guide throughout, local guides, and every entry in the day plan, including Monserrate, the Gold Museum, Comuna 13, El Peñol, the Guatapé boat, the coffee farm and Castillo San Felipe.
How big is the group?
The small-group trip runs with 7 to 12 guests. Several Colombia trips take up to 15 or 16, so with us everyone hears the guide in Comuna 13 and the walled city, and the group fits around one table at lunch.
Who leads the trip?
A See Sight Tours guide travels with you from the Bogotá briefing to the Cartagena airport. Local guides join in Comuna 13, at the coffee farm and in Cartagena's walled city, where people who live there tell the story best.
How fit do I need to be?
Moderately fit. The full Cocora Valley loop is about 12 km with roughly 600 m of climbing on muddy trail, and El Peñol is about 700 steps. Both have easy options: a two-hour walk to the wax palms and back, or waiting at the foot of the rock. Bogotá's altitude makes stairs harder for the first day or two.
Is Colombia safe to travel?
Our route stays in the main visitor areas, and a guide is with the group every day. The usual risks are petty theft and phone snatching in the cities, plus drink spiking and dating-app robberies that government advisories warn about. We book taxis after dark and brief you on day 1. Read your own government's travel advice before booking.
I am travelling solo. What is the single supplement?
A room of your own costs from CAD 700 more, shown before you request to book, with no surprises later. You join the group on the same terms as everyone else, at the same tables and on the same activities. If you would rather share a room, ask us: whether we can pair you with another solo traveller is confirmed at booking.
Can we travel privately or on our own dates?
Yes. Besides the small group, the trip comes as a private trip for your party only, on a date you choose, from CAD 7,425 per person. If you would rather travel independently on your own dates, ask us from the dates section and we will quote the same hotels, flights and local guides.
How does booking work?
Pick a start date and request to book. We confirm your place within 24 hours, and no payment is taken until then. The small group starts from CAD 4,125 per person sharing a room, with taxes included; prices are indicative until we confirm your dates.
When is the best time to go?
December to March and June to August are the driest months in the Andes, and Cartagena is driest from December to April. The trip runs all year: in April to May and October to November expect afternoon rain and a muddier Cocora trail, and in Cartagena the heavier rains of September to November.
Do I need a visa for Colombia?
Canadian, US, UK and most EU passport holders do not need a visa for a tourist stay of up to 90 days. Visitors are asked to complete Colombia's online Check-MIG form before flying in. Check the current rules and any fees for your passport; we confirm what applies when you book.
Will the altitude in Bogotá affect me?
Bogotá is at about 2,640 m and Monserrate about 3,150 m, so most people feel short of breath on stairs for a day or two. We start there on purpose and walk slowly, then go down to Medellín at about 1,500 m. Speak to your doctor if you have heart or lung conditions.
Why is there one long drive?
Medellín to Salento is about 260 km and six hours on mountain roads. Flying would mean two airport runs and usually a change of plane, which takes longer. We break the drive with a coffee stop and a sit-down lunch, and it is the only day over our usual four-hour limit.
See Sight Tours has been providing travel services across North America since 2006. Operating in 20 cities across Canada and the USA, the company specializes in small group tours that offer personalized, high-quality experiences for travelers.
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