Malfageme

Hey friends,
My friend and I have been planning to go to Colombia this coming month for one month, we want to visit most that we can, we are interested in colonial cities but in mountains and beaches as well. Anyone who could give us suggestions about how can we arrange our trip, we would appreciate it.
Thanks

qwovadis

paisatours.com and footprint guides best info.

Combo Bogota Medellin Cartagena and outlying areas.

Bus suck best to fly aires.aero for me when there last fall.

No clue about your budget or likes dislikes.

Caribe Hotel Cartagena my fav Sheraton Bogota

booking.com other nice hotel options.

Happy Planning,

AnaLena

HI, have been to Colombia for ene month last summer, for preparations on the trip i agree with qwovadis paisatours is great resource for Colombia. We used hostels and hotels that sometimes proved less expensive than hostels. Most of hostels are owned by foreigners, for example the hostel in Bogota ( Chapinorte) is owned by a Spanish who excellently speaks english, Blacksheep is owned by New Zealander, The plantation house in Salento by English guy, hotel in Santa Marta by Irish guy (Alluna casa) etc....
We used planes and buses ( smaller ones up to 20 ppl) and buises didn't suck. If you are not on a budget regardingn planes, i would go for Avianca ( bit more comfortable than aires)
We arranged our acomondation mainly through hostelbookers and hostelworld.You might check out them. Another good thing about hostels in Colombia is that we always had large rooms and private bathroom and spent 300 eur in total for sleeping ( 4 weeks)
our itinerary was:
flight to Bogota from Europe
Zipaquira ( approx. one hour out of Bogota) with underground Salt cathedral
plane to pasto and then to ipiales To see Las Lajas Sanctuary
plane to CAli and bus torwards Salento through aremnia for Valle de Cocora ( the most beautiful landscape and peaceful)
bus to Medellin ( 5hours) via Pereira
One week in Medellin
plane to Cartagena ( walled city, fortress, rosario islands)
bust to Santa Marta ( approx. 5 hours)
taganga, Tayrona ( wanted to travel to Punta gallinas but the weather was poring rains every dayCiudad perdida trek)
plane to Bogota and then on San Andres island ( overrated if you ask me)

pecavo

Cartagena is fantastic, the walled city is spectacular. Have been twice and would go back.

Have heard that the Islas del Rosario just off the Cartagena coast are also great if you like diving and beaches, islands are very small so can get boring if you are looking for any sort of night life -- great for relaxation and water sports.

Bogota is a very cosmopolitan city with a lot to see and wonderful mountains just outside the city. The Botero museum is wonderful and the gold museum likewise. Be cautious in the Candelaria neighborhood -- not the safest area....better is to stay near the financial district.

Medellin is also a beautiful city with the area just outside the city being very beautiful. Great farms and nice, Spring-like weather.

Cali can be a bit boring for a tourist, but the people are extremely nice and is a great place to take salsa dancing lessons if you like salsa.

As stated by the previous post, you need to fly between cities as the mountains make ground transportation difficult .... that being said, if you want to see the countryside, then perhaps a bus would be a good way to see the country, but be prepared for very long drives due to the mountains....45 minutes by air can take 8 hours by bus.

Roberto88

You can now travel safely to many parts of the country by car or bus. There are fantastic tropical places to visit besides Cartagena and Santa Marta (with the nearby Lost City). You can have a great vacation visiting quite unknown and marvelous places such as the Coffee Triangle, Santander, Chocó, the Llanos, and the Guajira. Safety precautions are the same as in other countries in most parts of the country. Avoid very remote areas not visited by tourists.

Roberto88

Holidays in the Coffee Triangle, Santander, Chocó, the Llanos and the Guajira are also great during winter time in Europe as that is summer time in Colombia!

MattFerguson

Well first of all great choice in choosing to visit Colombia! I have been living here for the past year and love it. I would say you have to see Taganga, Cartagena, Rioclaro, and of course my favorite city of eternal Spring Medellin. Do you all speak Spanish? If not it may be a little difficult getting around as very few Colombians speak English. If this is the case you may be better off taking a short tour with an agency in the beginning and then exploring the rest on your own afterward. I went on a tour of Colombia with viventura when I first came here check it out http://www.viventura.com/tours/colombia I usually don't do group tours, but figured I would give it a shot. It was cool only 6 of us and so we really got a lot of personal attention from the guide who was Colombian. He taught us so much! Anyway safe travels, oh and don't forget to visit Cali the salsa capital!