Hello, I will be traveling in Colombia with my spouse and 2 young adult kids at the end of January. I would love to hear suggestions of people's Colombia "highlights." We are interested in spectacular scenery, possibly hiking/trekking, and local/village life. We have less interest in large cities, museums etc. We are happy to take public busses when possible, and would like to stay in special, charming but not necessarily fancy places. Thank you.
We spent a couple of months in Colombia last year. Here is a link to our blog of our time there which may provide a few ideas. https://accidentalnomads.com/category/colombia/
"would like to stay in special, charming but not necessarily fancy places" fortunately these places are plentiful in Colombia and reasonly cheap. We stayed mostly in small characterful places, hostals, small hotels. Used the ibis in Med and Bog which were good value and decent locations.
For brilliant hiking, take a look as Salento and Jardin in the Zona Cafetera. The hike through the Valle de Cocora was spectacular.
Barichara is very quiet, very pretty and has a great hike from the town along the Camino Real to Guane - you can get a bus back. Nice walk but very, very hot.
Local buses are ok and unavaodible. Our original plan was to travel the entire country by bus, as we had done everywhere else in South America but after witnessing several accidents in the first couple of days ( and being involved in one) we decided to avoid overnight trips in favour of flying the longer legs. We used VivaColombia who were very good and about the same cost as long distance buses.
Som cities re unavoidable. We preferred Bogota to Medellin worth a day at least, maybe a side trip to Ziapquira. Cartagena provided a nice contrast to the rest of the country.
"would like to stay in special, charming but not necessarily fancy places" fortunately these places are plentiful in Colombia and reasonly cheap. We stayed mostly in small characterful places, hostals, small hotels. Used the ibis in Med and Bog which were good value and decent locations.
For brilliant hiking, take a look as Salento and Jardin in the Zona Cafetera. The hike through the Valle de Cocora was spectacular.
Barichara is very quiet, very pretty and has a great hike from the town along the Camino Real to Guane - you can get a bus back. Nice walk but very, very hot.
Local buses are ok and unavaodible. Our original plan was to travel the entire country by bus, as we had done everywhere else in South America but after witnessing several accidents in the first couple of days ( and being involved in one) we decided to avoid overnight trips in favour of flying the longer legs. We used VivaColombia who were very good and about the same cost as long distance buses.
Som cities re unavoidable. We preferred Bogota to Medellin worth a day at least, maybe a side trip to Ziapquira. Cartagena provided a nice contrast to the rest of the country.
Thank you SO much! We have only 2 weeks to spend, but we are still considering the Lost City Trek. Do you think it would be worth it given our limited time? We definitely want to see some gorgeous scenery and varied landscapes. Alternatively we could do some of the lovely day hikes we have heard about.
You are very welcome. Colombia is a fascinating place, one of my favourite countries on the continent.
Didn’t do the Lost City Trek but did consider it - quite hardcore, but I guess you know that
. Met a few people who did do it and enjoyed it. I think it takes 4 days?? A big chunk of your time but a fantastic experience by all accounts. One of the most memorable times we have had in South America have been experiences like that.
Didn’t do the Lost City Trek but did consider it - quite hardcore, but I guess you know that
. Met a few people who did do it and enjoyed it. I think it takes 4 days?? A big chunk of your time but a fantastic experience by all accounts. One of the most memorable times we have had in South America have been experiences like that.You are very welcome. Colombia is a fascinating place, one of my favourite countries on the continent.
