Cornelius Amann
October 06, 2026
5/5
Colombia Complete: Bogotá, the Coffee Region, Medellín, Cartagena and Tayrona
14 days from Bogotá to Santa Marta: the Salt Cathedral and Villa de Leyva, three nights in the coffee hills, Medellín and Guatapé, Cartagena's walled city, two nights beside Tayrona and a last night in Minca.
14 days · Bogotá to Santa Marta · up to 12 guests
The Guatapé reservoir from the top of El Peñol Photo: Dan Gold danielcgold, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Embalse_de_Guatap%C3%A9,_febrero_de_2017,_por_Dan_Gold_(Unsplash).jpg)
The facts
At a glance
- Length
- 14 days, 13 nights
- Start and end
- Bogotá to Santa Marta
- Group size
- 7 to 12 guests
- Longest drive
- 6 h on day 7
- Activity level
Moderate
Mostly easy walking in towns at altitude: Bogotá sits at about 2,640 m and Monserrate at about 3,150 m. Two harder days: the Cocora Valley loop, about 12 km with roughly 600 m of climbing on muddy forest trail (or a 1 to 2 hour palm walk instead), and Tayrona, about 10 km there and back in heat and humidity (or turn back after about 3.5 km). El Peñol is about 700 steps, and you can stay at the bottom.
- Meals included
- 13 breakfasts, 12 lunches, 2 dinners
- Room of your own
- + CAD 1,000 (estimated price)
- Season
- December to March and June to August
Highlights
Why this trip
- Bogotá from Monserrate at 8:30 am, then the Gold Museum and La Candelaria
- The Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá underground and an evening on the cobbled Plaza Mayor of Villa de Leyva
- Three nights in one coffee-region hotel: wax palms in the Cocora Valley and a family coffee farm from cherry to cup
- El Peñol and a boat on the Guatapé reservoir, ahead of the day tours from Medellín
- Comuna 13 with a local guide, then a flight to Cartagena in time for sunset on the walls
- Castillo San Felipe at opening, the walled city with a local guide and a street-food walk in Getsemaní
- Tayrona National Park at opening from a lodge minutes from the gate, with lunch at Cabo San Juan
- A last night in Minca, with the Marinka waterfalls and a farewell dinner
What makes this trip different
Short drives, all published
Every drive is listed day by day. The longest is 6 h, on day 7.
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 1,000 (estimated price).
Day by day
Itinerary
The longest drive is 6 h, on day 7.
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 La Candelaria
- Dinner
- Stay in Bogotá
- Drive about 45 min
Fly into El Dorado International Airport (BOG), and our driver takes you about 15 km across the city to your hotel in or beside La Candelaria, the colonial quarter at the foot of the mountains.
Evening
Plan to land by about 3 pm to make the evening briefing; the exact time is confirmed with your final itinerary. Bogotá sits at about 2,640 m, so the afternoon is for settling in, a slow walk and plenty of water rather than anything strenuous. Evenings are cool here all year, so keep a warm layer to hand. At about 6 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a short briefing on the two weeks ahead: the altitude, the two flights, what to wear for the coffee hills and what to pack for the Caribbean. Then we walk together to a welcome dinner nearby, a chance to try ajiaco or other dishes from the Andes and meet the people you will travel with.
Included
- Pick-up at El Dorado International Airport (BOG)
- Welcome briefing with your guide
- Welcome dinner
Free time: Free until the evening briefing
Activity: Bogotá is at about 2,640 m; take the first afternoon slowly.
Bogotá: Monserrate, La Candelaria and the Gold Museum
Monserrate, La Candelaria, the Botero Museum and the Gold Museum
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Bogotá
- Drive about 30 min
We ride the cable car or funicular up Monserrate at about 8:30 am, before the cloud builds and before the weekend pilgrims climb to the white church on the summit at about 3,150 m.
Morning
On a clear morning the whole city spreads across the high plain below you. Back down, your guide walks the group through La Candelaria: the Chorro de Quevedo, where the city is said to have been founded in 1538, steep lanes of painted colonial houses, and the Plaza de Bolívar, with the cathedral, the Capitol and the Palace of Justice around one square.
Afternoon
Lunch is ajiaco, the Bogotá chicken and potato soup with capers, cream and avocado. In the afternoon we visit the Botero Museum, free to enter, with the painter's own works and his collection of European art, and then the Gold Museum, which holds tens of thousands of pre-Hispanic gold pieces, among them the Muisca raft.
Evening
The evening is free.
Included
- Monserrate by cable car or funicular
- La Candelaria walk with your guide: the Chorro de Quevedo and the Plaza de Bolívar
- The Botero Museum
- The Gold Museum
- Ajiaco lunch
Easier option: Skip the afternoon museums and rest at the hotel; the Gold Museum is a short walk if you want to join later.
Free time: Evening free
Activity: About 3 hours on foot on steep, cobbled streets at altitude. The Gold Museum is closed on Mondays and the Botero Museum on Tuesdays, so departures are set to avoid both.
The Salt Cathedral and Villa de Leyva
Bogotá to Zipaquirá, then Villa de Leyva
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Villa de Leyva
- Drive about 4 h
We leave at 8:30 am and drive about an hour and a quarter north across the high plain to Zipaquirá, where miners have dug salt since before the Spanish arrived. The Salt Cathedral is carved inside the mine, about 180 m below ground: you walk down a tunnel past fourteen small chapels of the Stations of the Cross, cut into the rock salt and lit in changing colours, to a nave large enough for a congregation of thousands. The present cathedral opened in 1995.
Afternoon
Lunch is a sit-down meal in Zipaquirá's old centre. In the afternoon we drive about two and a half hours north through farmland and dry hills to Villa de Leyva, a colonial town founded in 1572 and kept almost unchanged, with whitewashed houses and a cobbled Plaza Mayor of about 14,000 square metres, one of the largest town squares in Colombia. We arrive late afternoon for the low light on the square.
Evening
Dinner is your choice tonight.
Included
- Zipaquirá Salt Cathedral with a local guide
- Sit-down lunch in Zipaquirá
- Evening walk around the Plaza Mayor of Villa de Leyva
Free time: Evening free in Villa de Leyva
Activity: About 1.5 hours on foot underground on a gentle slope; the tunnels are cool and dimly lit.
Villa de Leyva morning, fly to the coffee region
Villa de Leyva to Bogotá airport, by air to Pereira or Armenia, then Salento
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Salento
- Drive about 5 h
Start with the town at its quietest: at 8 am your guide walks the group across the empty Plaza Mayor and through the side streets to the bougainvillea-covered courtyards and the small churches, before the day visitors arrive.
Afternoon
At about 9 am we drive back towards Bogotá, about four hours and 175 km, stopping for a sit-down lunch on the way, and fly about an hour west to Pereira or Armenia in the coffee region, depending on the day's schedule. This is the longest travel day of the first week and goes over our four-hour driving cap: there is no airport near Villa de Leyva, and the road from here to the coffee region would take two long days, so we drive once, break it with lunch, and let the flight do the rest. From the airport it is about an hour to Salento, at about 1,900 m, where we stay three nights in one hotel.
Evening
Arrive by early evening; dinner is your choice in the village.
Included
- Early walk around Villa de Leyva with your guide
- Sit-down lunch on the way to Bogotá airport
- Flight from Bogotá to Pereira or Armenia with one checked bag
Free time: Evening free in Salento
Activity: A travel day: about 4 hours by road to Bogotá airport, an hour's flight and about an hour by road to Salento. The flight we book leaves Bogotá no earlier than about 3 pm, so the drive and lunch are never rushed.
The Cocora Valley and the wax palms
Salento to the Cocora Valley by Willys jeep, and back
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Salento
- Drive about 1 h
Morning
At 8 am we ride the old Willys jeeps that serve as Salento's taxis about 11 km up the valley to Cocora, while the morning is usually clear. This is where the Quindío wax palm, Colombia's national tree, grows up to about 60 m tall, among the tallest palms in the world, scattered over steep green pasture. The full loop is about 12 km: up through cloud forest along the river, across narrow suspension bridges, to the Acaime reserve, where hummingbirds feed at the flowers and you can rest with a hot chocolate, then over the ridge and down through the palms. Your guide sets the pace and the direction on the day, depending on the weather.
Afternoon
Lunch is trout, the local dish, at a restaurant at the foot of the valley. The jeeps bring us back to Salento in the afternoon, which is free for Calle Real, the craft shops and the lookout at the top of the village steps.
Included
- Willys jeep to and from the Cocora Valley
- The Cocora loop with your guide, with all trail fees and the Acaime reserve
- Trout lunch in the Cocora Valley
Easier option: Walk 1 to 2 hours into the palms on the open lower trail and back, then wait at the restaurant for lunch.
Free time: Afternoon free in Salento
Activity: The full loop is about 12 km with roughly 600 m of climbing and a high point near 2,860 m; the forest trail is muddy and uneven after rain. Bring waterproof shoes.
A family coffee farm and Filandia
Salento to a coffee farm in Quindío, then Filandia and back
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Salento
- Drive about 1.5 h
A slower start, then a short drive into the hills to a working family coffee farm. The Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia, which covers this part of Quindío, was listed by UNESCO in 2011 for its small farms on steep slopes and the towns built around them. The family walks us through the whole process: picking the ripe red cherries, pulping, fermenting and drying the beans, roasting, and then tasting a cup brewed from the slope we are standing on. Depending on the month, you may see the harvest itself.
Afternoon
Lunch is at the farm. In the afternoon we drive to Filandia, a coffee town of painted balconies and wooden doors that is quieter than Salento, with a tall wooden lookout tower on the edge of town where on a clear day you see across the coffee hills to the mountains.
Evening
Back in Salento by late afternoon, with the evening free. Your guide can find you a game of tejo, Colombia's national sport.
Included
- Coffee farm tour with tasting
- Lunch at the coffee farm
- Filandia and its lookout tower
Free time: Evening free in Salento
Activity: Easy walking on farm paths, which can be steep and slippery after rain.
Through the Cauca valley to Medellín
Salento to Medellín via Pereira, Chinchiná and La Pintada
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Medellín
- Drive about 6 h
Today is the one long road day of the trip, about 260 km and six hours of driving, well over our four-hour cap. We drive because direct flights from Pereira to Medellín are few and their times rarely fit a group's day, while the road runs through the coffee country we have just stayed in. So we break it into three stretches. We leave at 8:30 am and drive north past Pereira and through the coffee country around Chinchiná, with a stop for coffee and a stretch.
Afternoon
The road then drops into the hot, deep valley of the Cauca river, where the vegetation changes to fruit stands and sugar cane, and we stop for a sit-down lunch near La Pintada. The last stretch climbs back into the mountains of Antioquia and down into the Aburrá Valley. We reach Medellín, at about 1,500 m and mild all year, by late afternoon.
Evening
The evening is free in El Poblado or Laureles, two neighbourhoods with plenty of places to eat.
Included
- Drive from Salento to Medellín with your guide, with a coffee stop
- Sit-down lunch in the Cauca valley
Free time: Evening free in Medellín
Activity: A travel day of about 6 hours on mountain roads, in three stretches. If you get car sick, sit at the front and take something before we leave.
El Peñol and Guatapé
Medellín to El Peñol and Guatapé, and back
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Medellín
- Drive about 4 h
Morning
We leave at 8 am and drive about two hours east to El Peñol, a granite monolith about 200 m high that rises out of a maze of flooded valleys, aiming to be at the foot of the rock before the late-morning day tours from Medellín. About 700 steps, zigzagging up a crack in the rock, lead to the top, where the reservoir spreads out in every direction, its islands and peninsulas the tops of hills drowned when the dam was built in the 1970s. It is a short drive on to Guatapé, a lakeside town where the lower walls of the houses are decorated with zócalos, painted reliefs of animals, flowers and scenes of local life.
Afternoon
After a walk through the streets, lunch is a sit-down meal in town, followed by a boat ride on the reservoir, past the site of the old town of El Peñol, now under the water.
Evening
We are back in Medellín by late afternoon, with the evening free.
Included
- El Peñol entry and climb
- Guatapé town walk with your guide
- Sit-down lunch in Guatapé
- Boat ride on the Guatapé reservoir
Easier option: Stay at the foot of El Peñol, where there is a café with a view of the water, while others climb.
Free time: Evening free in Medellín
Activity: About 700 steps up El Peñol and the same down, with landings to rest. Weekdays are quieter; weekends and Colombian holiday Mondays are very busy.
Comuna 13, then fly to Cartagena
Comuna 13 in Medellín, José María Córdova airport (MDE), by air to Cartagena
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Cartagena
- Drive about 2 h
At about 8:30 am a local guide who grew up in Comuna 13 walks us through the neighbourhood, a hillside district in the west of the city that was among the most violent in Medellín in the 1990s and early 2000s. Its story is told now in murals and hip-hop, and in the covered outdoor escalators that opened in 2011 so residents no longer had to climb hundreds of steps to get home. Our guide explains what changed, and what has not.
Afternoon
Lunch is a paisa meal, beans, rice, meat, plantain and arepa, before the drive of about an hour through the Túnel de Oriente to the airport at Rionegro and a flight of about an hour and a quarter to Cartagena. You land into heat: Cartagena is at sea level, usually around 30°C and humid.
Evening
After checking in, in the late afternoon your guide walks the group onto the city walls for sunset over the Caribbean. The evening is free in Getsemaní.
Included
- Comuna 13 with a local guide
- Paisa lunch in Medellín
- Flight from Medellín to Cartagena with one checked bag
- Sunset on Cartagena's city walls
Free time: Evening free in Getsemaní
Activity: About 2 hours on foot in Comuna 13, partly on escalators and partly on steep steps.
Cartagena: San Felipe, the walled city and Getsemaní
Castillo San Felipe de Barajas, the walled city, then Getsemaní
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Cartagena
- Drive about 18 min
We start at 8 am, at opening, at the Castillo San Felipe de Barajas on the hill of San Lázaro, the largest of the Spanish forts that guarded the port, before the heat and the cruise-ship groups arrive. Its ramps, batteries and tunnels were built against attacks by land and sea, including the British siege of 1741. Then a local guide walks 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, past the church of San Pedro Claver and into the Palace of the Inquisition on the Plaza de Bolívar.
Afternoon
Lunch is a sit-down Caribbean meal in the old town. The afternoon is free for the hottest hours: the hotel pool, a nap, or the Zenú Gold Museum, which is free to enter. Around 5 pm we walk through the street art and small squares of Getsemaní, tasting arepas de huevo, fresh fruit and other street food on the way.
Included
- Castillo San Felipe de Barajas
- The walled city with a local guide
- The Palace of the Inquisition
- Sit-down lunch in the old town
- Getsemaní street-art and street-food walk
Free time: Afternoon free
Activity: About 3 hours on foot in the morning in strong heat; bring a hat and water.
Mangroves at La Boquilla, along the coast to Tayrona
Cartagena to La Boquilla, Barranquilla, then our lodge near Tayrona
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Tayrona
- Drive about 5 h
We leave the hotel at 8 am, and twenty minutes later we are at La Boquilla, a fishing village on Cartagena's northern edge. Local fishermen paddle us in canoes through the mangrove tunnels of the Ciénaga de la Virgen lagoon, where herons and kingfishers work the shallows, a quiet hour before the day heats up. Then we follow the coast road to Barranquilla, Colombia's main Caribbean port near the mouth of the Magdalena river and home of a Carnival listed by UNESCO as intangible heritage.
Afternoon
Lunch is a sit-down meal by the river on the Gran Malecón. In the afternoon we cross the Magdalena, drive between the sea and the Ciénaga Grande wetlands, pass Santa Marta and carry on to our lodge near the El Zaino entrance of Tayrona National Park, where we stay two nights. The day is about 255 km and five hours of driving, over our cap, because no flight links the two cities; the canoe and a long lunch break it up.
Included
- Mangrove canoe tour at La Boquilla with local fishermen
- Sit-down lunch on the Barranquilla Gran Malecón
- Drive along the coast to our lodge near Tayrona
Free time: Evening free at the lodge
Activity: A travel day of about 5 hours by road, in two stretches either side of lunch.
Tayrona: the coastal trail to Cabo San Juan
El Zaino gate to Cañaveral, Arrecifes, La Piscina and Cabo San Juan del Guía, and back
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Tayrona
- Drive about 18 min
We are at the El Zaino gate of Tayrona National Park when it opens, around 8 am, with our entry tickets and park insurance bought ahead, and ride the park shuttle to Cañaveral, well ahead of the day trips from Santa Marta. From there the trail follows the coast through tropical forest, over boardwalks and between granite boulders, with the sea flashing through the trees. Watch for capuchin and howler monkeys overhead. After about an hour we reach Arrecifes, a long beach where swimming is not allowed because of the currents, then La Piscina, a bay sheltered by a reef where you can swim. Cabo San Juan del Guía, about 5 km from Cañaveral, has two small coves and a thatched lookout on the rocks between them.
Afternoon
Lunch is here, fish and coconut rice, followed by time to swim and rest in the shade. We walk back the same way in the afternoon, or ride a horse for part of it, and are at the lodge by about 5 pm.
Included
- Tayrona National Park entry and insurance
- Park shuttle from El Zaino to Cañaveral
- The coastal walk to Arrecifes, La Piscina and Cabo San Juan del Guía with your guide
- Lunch at Cabo San Juan
Optional experiences
- A horse for part of the return walk, paid locally
Easier option: Turn back after a swim at La Piscina, about 3.5 km from Cañaveral, and spend the afternoon at the lodge.
Free time: Evening free at the lodge
Activity: About 10 km there and back on sand, roots and rock steps, in heat and humidity. Bring swimwear, water and insect repellent.
Santa Marta, then up to Minca
Our lodge near Tayrona to Santa Marta, then Minca and the Marinka waterfalls
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Minca
- Drive about 2 h
At 9 am we drive about an hour west to Santa Marta, founded in 1525 and one of the oldest Spanish cities in South America. The Tairona Gold Museum, in the old customs house on the main square, shows the gold work of the people who built stone-terraced towns in the Sierra Nevada long before the Spanish arrived; entry is free. Then we visit the Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino, the hacienda where Simón Bolívar died in December 1830, with its house, memorial and shady gardens.
Afternoon
After a sit-down lunch in town it is about 45 minutes up a winding road into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta to Minca, a village at about 650 m, greener and a few degrees cooler than the coast. In the afternoon a 4x4 takes us up to the Marinka waterfalls, two falls with cold, clear pools for a swim, and we walk back down to Minca, about 3.5 km.
Evening
Tonight is our farewell dinner together.
Included
- The Tairona Gold Museum in Santa Marta
- The Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino
- Sit-down lunch in Santa Marta
- 4x4 to the Marinka waterfalls and the walk back to Minca
- Farewell dinner in Minca
Easier option: Ride the 4x4 back to Minca from the waterfalls instead of walking.
Activity: About 3.5 km downhill on a dirt road from the waterfalls, plus easy walking in Santa Marta.
Minca and home
Minca to Simón Bolívar International Airport (SMR), Santa Marta
- Breakfast
- Drive about 1 h
Morning
The last morning is unhurried. If you are an early riser, a local birding guide can take you along the trails around Minca at about 6:30 am, when toucans, parrots and hummingbirds are most active, and have you back for breakfast. Otherwise sleep in, have a slow breakfast and a last coffee grown on the slopes around you, and pack for home. At about 10:30 am our driver takes you down out of the hills and around Santa Marta to Simón Bolívar International Airport (SMR), about 35 km and an hour away, where your guide sees you to check-in. The runway sits right beside the sea, south of the city. Flights from Santa Marta to Canada and the United States usually connect through Bogotá or another Colombian airport, so confirm the routing when you book, choose a flight leaving after about 1:30 pm and allow time for the connection. If you would rather fly home from Cartagena, ask us when you book.
Included
- Drop-off at Simón Bolívar International Airport (SMR)
Optional experiences
- Dawn birding walk with a local guide, about 6:30 to 8 am
Free time: Morning free
Activity: Book a flight leaving Santa Marta after about 1:30 pm.
- Bogotá2 nights
- Villa de Leyva1 night
- Salento3 nights
- Medellín2 nights
- Cartagena2 nights
- Tayrona2 nights
- Minca1 night
- Santa Martaend
- Overnight stop
- Day trip
- By boat or train
Wildlife and weather: The Andes have two drier and two wetter seasons, so expect some rain in Bogotá and the coffee region at any time of year, and mud on the Cocora trail in April, May, October and November. The coast is hot and humid all year and driest from December to April. Watch for hummingbirds at Cocora, and capuchin and howler monkeys in Tayrona.
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Before you book
Right for you?
Good for you if you want
- First-time visitors who want the Andes and the Caribbean in one trip, with the domestic flights arranged
- Travellers who would rather have the main sights included than pay for them one by one
- Walkers who enjoy a long hike in Cocora or Tayrona, with an easier choice on each
- Solo travellers who want a small group and a single supplement shown up front
Not for you if you want
- Step-free access: steep cobbled streets, El Peñol's steps and forest trails
- Travellers who find altitude hard: the first four nights are at 1,900 to 2,640 m
- A beach holiday: the coast days are for walking and sightseeing, with swims where it is safe
- The Lost City trek, which is a separate 4 to 5 day hike
Book flights after we confirm your seat.
13 nights
Where you'll stay
Your hotels are named in your trip confirmation.
- Bogotá2 nights
- Villa de Leyva1 night
- Salento3 nights
- Medellín2 nights
- Cartagena2 nights
- Tayrona2 nights
- Minca1 night
One price
What's in the price
Included
Accommodation
- 13 nights: 2 in Bogotá, 1 in Villa de Leyva, 3 in one Salento hotel, 2 in Medellín, 2 in Cartagena in or beside the walled city, 2 at a lodge near the El Zaino entrance of Tayrona, 1 in Minca
- Central hotels and lodges of at least a 3-star-plus standard, every room with its own bathroom, 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 Santa Marta airport (SMR)
- Flights from Bogotá to Pereira or Armenia and from Medellín to Cartagena, with one checked bag each
- Our own air-conditioned vehicle and driver for the group on every road day
- Willys jeeps to and from the Cocora Valley and a 4x4 to the Marinka waterfalls
- The Monserrate cable car or funicular, a boat on the Guatapé reservoir, canoes at La Boquilla and the Tayrona park shuttle
Your guide
- A See Sight Tours guide for the whole trip
- Local guides at the Salt Cathedral, in Comuna 13, at the coffee farm, in Cartagena's walled city, at La Boquilla and in Tayrona where the park requires one
Activities
- Bogotá: Monserrate, a La Candelaria walk, the Botero Museum and the Gold Museum
- Zipaquirá: the Salt Cathedral
- Villa de Leyva: an evening and an early-morning walk with your guide
- Coffee Region: the Cocora Valley with all trail fees and the Acaime reserve, a family coffee farm tour with tasting, and Filandia
- Guatapé: El Peñol entry and climb, the town walk and the reservoir boat ride
- Medellín: Comuna 13 with a local guide
- Cartagena: sunset on the city walls, Castillo San Felipe de Barajas, the walled city with a local guide, the Palace of the Inquisition and a Getsemaní street-food walk
- La Boquilla: a mangrove canoe tour with local fishermen
- Tayrona National Park: entry, insurance and the coastal walk to Cabo San Juan del Guía
- Santa Marta: the Tairona Gold Museum and the Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino
- Minca: the Marinka waterfalls
Meals
- 13 breakfasts
- 12 lunches: ajiaco in Bogotá, Zipaquirá, on the way to Bogotá airport, trout in the Cocora Valley, at the coffee farm, in the Cauca valley, Guatapé, a paisa lunch in Medellín, Cartagena's old town, the Barranquilla Malecón, Cabo San Juan and Santa Marta
- 2 dinners: welcome in Bogotá and farewell in Minca
Not included
- International flights to Bogotá and home from Santa Marta
- Travel insurance
- Any entry fees or forms for your passport
- Dinners except the welcome and farewell dinners
- Drinks
- Tips
- Optional activities: a horse in Tayrona, the Minca birding walk
- Personal expenses
- Extra baggage on domestic flights beyond one checked bag
Extras
- Room of your own
- CAD 1,000 (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
What does the price include?
Thirteen nights in central hotels and lodges, 13 breakfasts, 12 sit-down lunches, welcome and farewell dinners, two domestic flights with a checked bag, airport transfers, our own vehicle and driver, your See Sight Tours guide throughout, local guides, and every visit in the day plan, including the Salt Cathedral, Guatapé, Comuna 13, San Felipe and Tayrona entry.
How big is the group?
The small-group trip runs with 7 to 12 guests. That keeps everyone within earshot of the guide in the Salt Cathedral and Comuna 13, fits one jeep convoy at Cocora and one table at lunch.
Who leads the trip?
A See Sight Tours guide travels with the group for all 14 days. Local guides join where they add something or where the site requires one: the Salt Cathedral, Comuna 13, the coffee farm, Cartagena's walled city, the La Boquilla canoes and Tayrona.
How fit do I need to be?
Moderately fit. Most days are easy walking, but Bogotá is at about 2,640 m, the Cocora loop is about 12 km with a steep climb, El Peñol is about 700 steps and Tayrona is about 10 km in heat. Each hard day has an easier choice: a short palm walk, staying at the foot of the rock, or turning back at La Piscina.
I am travelling solo. What will I pay?
A room of your own is from CAD 1,000 more, shown before you book and not added later. If you would rather share, say so in your request; whether we can pair you with another solo traveller is confirmed with you before anything is charged.
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 10,690 per person. If you would rather travel independently on your own dates, ask us from the dates section: we can quote the same hotels, flights and local guides.
How does booking work?
Choose small group or private and a start date, then send a request to book. We check availability and provide the final quote, itinerary and booking terms before you accept. No payment is taken when you send the request. Prices are per person sharing a room, with taxes, from CAD 5,940 for the small group.
When is the best time to go?
December to March is the driest time on the Caribbean coast and drier in the Andes. June to August is also good in the Andes, hot on the coast. April, May, October and November bring more rain to Bogotá and the coffee region and mud on the Cocora trail. We set departures around Tayrona's closures, which vary each year.
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. Check whether the online Check-MIG form is required; airlines often ask for it. Check the current rules and any fees for your passport before you book.
What happens if Tayrona National Park is closed?
Tayrona closes several times a year at the request of the Indigenous peoples of the Sierra Nevada, and it can close at short notice, as it did on security grounds in February 2026. We check before every departure. If it is shut, we replace the walk with another coastal day and tell you before you travel.
Why fly some legs and drive others?
We fly where the road would take a day or more: Bogotá to the coffee region and Medellín to Cartagena. Coffee region to Medellín is by road, because direct flights are few and the road runs through coffee country. Three days go over four hours on the road (days 4, 7 and 11), each broken by a sit-down lunch and stops.
How is this different from your shorter Colombia trips?
It joins the 10-day Bogotá, Medellín, coffee region and Cartagena trip with most of the 8-day Caribbean coast trip, and adds the Salt Cathedral and Villa de Leyva. If you only have 8 to 10 days, pick one of those; this one is for seeing both sides of the country at once.
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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