Day-by-day programme of this 12-day itinerary across From the coffee Andes to the Caribbean.
Day 1 — Arrival in Bogota
Landing in Bogota, capital of Colombia at 2,600 metres in the Andes. A first stroll in the historic Candelaria district and the Gold Museum.
- ✈️ Bogota — Aeroporto El Dorado di Bogota (BOG)
- 📍 La Candelaria — La Candelaria is the colonial heart of Bogota: cobbled streets, pastel houses, murals and the great Plaza de Bolivar surrounded by the cathedral and the buildings of power. Here is the Gold Museum, one of the most extraordinary collections in the world, with thousands of pre-Columbian gold objects and the legendary Eldorado raft. Nearby, the Botero museum with the works of the famous Colombian painter. In the evening, a hot chocolate with cheese. Tomorrow Bogota from above and the salt cathedral.
- 🏨 Camelia by Masaya Collection — La Candelaria / Centro, Bogota
Day 2 — Monserrate and the salt cathedral
The Monserrate hill for the view over endless Bogota and the extraordinary salt cathedral of Zipaquira, carved into a mine 200 metres underground.
- 📍 Monserrate — A funicular (or cable car) climbs to the Monserrate sanctuary, at 3,150 metres, dominating Bogota: from above the city spreads as far as the eye can see in the valley, one of the most extensive metropolises in South America. It is a place of pilgrimage with its gardens and markets. After the view, you head north, out of the city, towards one of Colombia's underground wonders: the salt cathedral.
- 📍 Zipaquira Salt Cathedral — An hour from Bogota, the Zipaquira Salt Cathedral is carved inside a rock-salt mine, 200 metres underground: a route of dark galleries lit in blue leads to the Stations of the Cross sculpted in salt and to a huge underground nave with an illuminated cross, in a mystical, surreal atmosphere. It is a masterpiece of engineering and faith. You return to Bogota for the evening. Tomorrow you fly to Medellin, the city of rebirth.
Day 3 — Medellin, the city of eternal spring
A flight to Medellin, the 'city of eternal spring', a symbol of rebirth: the Comuna 13 with its murals and escalators, the metrocable and Plaza Botero.
- ✈️ Bogota → Medellin — Aeroporto Jose Maria Cordova di Medellin (MDE)
- 🎯 Comuna 13 — The Comuna 13, once the most violent neighbourhood in Medellin, is today the symbol of its rebirth: outdoor escalators that have connected the hillside district to the rest of the city, colourful murals telling the story of pain and redemption, music, hip hop and street food. A local guide (often from the neighbourhood) accompanies you through the alleys recounting the transformation. It is a moving experience full of hope. In the evening, a stroll in the lively El Poblado district.
- 🏨 Hotel Poblado Plaza — El Poblado, Medellin
Day 4 — Guatape and El Penol
A trip to Guatape, a village of houses decorated with colourful friezes, and the climb up the Piedra del Penol, a giant monolith with a breathtaking view over the lakes.
- 📍 El Penol Rock — Two hours from Medellin, the Piedra del Penol is a 220-metre-high granite monolith rising alone from the plain: you climb the 740 steps set into a crack to the top, from which the view over the maze of lakes and green peninsulas created by a dam is simply spectacular, one of the most beautiful in Colombia. You then descend to the nearby village of Guatape, the most colourful in the country.
- 📍 Guatape — Guatape is a feast for the eyes: the houses of the centre are decorated at the base with 'zocalos', painted bas-reliefs in bright colours depicting animals, trades and scenes of life, along very colourful streets and squares. You stroll the alleys, lunch by the lake and take a boat trip among the islets. It is one of the most photogenic villages in South America. You return to Medellin for the evening. Tomorrow you fly to the coffee region.
Day 5 — The coffee region: Salento
A flight to the Eje Cafetero, the UNESCO coffee region, to Salento, a pretty colourful town among the green Andean mountains.
- ✈️ Medellin → Salento — Aeroporto di Pereira (PEI)
- 🏨 Hotel Salento Plaza — Salento, Eje Cafetero
Day 6 — Cocora Valley and the coffee
The Cocora Valley with the giant wax palms, the Colombian national tree up to 60 metres tall, and a visit to a finca to discover the journey of coffee.
- 🎯 Cocora Valley — You reach the Cocora Valley aboard the picturesque Willys jeeps and set off on a hike among the wax palms, the tallest in the world (up to 60 metres), Colombia's national tree: they tower alone and surreal on the emerald-green slopes, often wrapped in mist, in a fairy-tale landscape. A loop on foot crosses cloud forests, suspension bridges and a hummingbird refuge. In the afternoon you visit a coffee finca. It is one of the most iconic places in Colombia.
- 🎯 Coffee Farm — On a traditional finca you discover the whole journey of Colombian coffee: the hand-picking of the red berries (the beans), the drying, the roasting and finally the tasting of a freshly made cup, among the rows on the slopes. A farmer tells of the caficultor's life and the secrets of the world's best coffee. It is an authentic, fragrant experience. You return to Salento for the evening. Tomorrow you fly to the Caribbean coast, to Cartagena.
Day 7 — Cartagena de Indias
A flight to the Caribbean coast to Cartagena, a splendid walled colonial city and UNESCO site, among flowery streets, wooden balconies and sunsets over the ocean.
- ✈️ Salento → Cartagena — Aeroporto di Cartagena (CTG)
- 📍 Cartagena Old City — Cartagena's old city is enchanting: cobbled streets lined with pastel houses with wooden balconies overflowing with bougainvillea, shady squares, churches and colonial palaces. You stroll the bohemian Getsemani district, full of murals and music, and climb the walls at sunset, when the sun dives into the Caribbean and the air fills with music and the scent of fruit. In the evening the city comes alive. Tomorrow the Caribbean islands.
- 🏨 Hotel Capellán de Getsemaní — Centro storico / Getsemani, Cartagena
Day 8 — The Rosario Islands
A day of sea at the Rosario Islands or Baru, a Caribbean archipelago of white sand, turquoise water and coral reef a short distance from Cartagena.
- 🎯 Rosario Islands — A boat takes you in about an hour to the Rosario Islands, a nature park of coral islets off Cartagena: white sand beaches, warm turquoise water, snorkelling on the reef and a fish lunch in an eco-resort on the water. Alternatively, the beaches of Playa Blanca at Baru, also reachable by land. It is the moment for Caribbean beach relaxation, after the cities. You return to Cartagena for sunset. Tomorrow more of the old city's magic.
Day 9 — Towards Santa Marta and Tayrona
A transfer along the Caribbean coast to the Santa Marta and Tayrona Park area, where the tropical forest plunges into dream beaches.
- ✈️ Cartagena → Santa Marta — Santa Marta / Tayrona, Colombia
- 🏨 Casa Tayrona Los Naranjos — Zona Tayrona / Palomino, Santa Marta
Day 10 — Tayrona National Park
An excursion into the Tayrona National Park, where the tropical forest meets the Caribbean Sea in spectacular beaches like Cabo San Juan, sacred land of the indigenous peoples.
- 🎯 Tayrona Park — Tayrona National Park is one of Colombia's wonders: you walk for a couple of hours in dense tropical forest, among giant trees, monkeys and birds, until you emerge onto paradise beaches where the jungle meets the Caribbean Sea, with huge granite boulders. Cabo San Juan, with its double bay, is the park's icon. It is sacred land of the descendants of the Tayrona, an indigenous people who still inhabit it. You bathe (where allowed) and lunch on the beach. You return to the eco-lodge.
Day 11 — Minca and back to Bogota
A climb to Minca, a village on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada among waterfalls, coffee and cocoa, then a flight back to Bogota for the last evening.
- 📍 Minca — Minca is a relaxed village on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, immersed in greenery with a cool climate: it is the realm of waterfalls (like Marinka), organic coffee and cocoa plantations and an extraordinary variety of birds, including hummingbirds, that make it a birdwatching paradise. You bathe in a pool, visit a cocoa finca and enjoy a view that stretches to the sea. In the afternoon you reach Santa Marta for the flight to Bogota.
- ✈️ Santa Marta → Bogota — Aeroporto El Dorado di Bogota (BOG)
- 🏨 Camelia by Masaya Collection — La Candelaria / Centro, Bogota
Day 12 — Bogota and departure
A last morning in Bogota and the flight home. The end of a journey among Andean capitals, reborn cities, coffee valleys and the Caribbean.
- ✈️ Bogota — Aeroporto di Milano Malpensa (MXP)
