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Colombia

⭐️ Best for: Beaches, Nightlife & Adventure

⚠️ Difficulty: Moderate

💰 Budget: £-£££

Itinerary

2 weeks

Medellín (5 days)    >>    Salento (3 days)    >>    Bogotá (4 days)

​3 weeks +

Bogotá (3 days)    >>    San Gil (4 days)    >>    Santa Marta (5+ days)    >>    Cartagena (4 days)    >>    Medellín (5 days)    >>    Salento (3 days)

Places

Medellín

Medellín

'The City of Eternal Spring' (due to its constant warm days and cool nights). Medellín is lively, fun & I had such a great time here!

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Things to do:​​

  • Memory House Museum

  • Comuna 13 - shops, food, bars

  • Walking Tour (Zippy Tours) - graffiti art, street dancers, local vendors & Comuna 13 included

  • Nightlife

  • Day trip to Guatapé - climb 741 steps up El Peñón de Guatapé for an incredible view of the lake & take a boat ride on the lake

Guatape

🛏️ Where I stayed:

Los Patios Hostel - Amazing!

  • Good located in El Poblado, not too far from the city centre, close to restaurants, clubs & metro station

  • Rooftop bar, rooftop pool, gym & kitchen

  • Dorms were super comfy & clean

  • Is a party hostel but they get everyone quiet or out to bars/clubs by 11pm

  • Security by the door, only those who are staying at the hostel are allowed in at night​

🍴 Where I ate:

  • Helecho Vegan Sushi - Incredible vegan sushi for cheap

  • Real Vegetal (Vegan) - Food was also really good, but pricey

  • Zacatecas Poblado - Mexican restaurant with veggie and vegan options

What to watch out for:​​

  • Take extra caution at night & use Ubers in the evening

Helpful Tip:​

  • One metro card can be used for multiple people & in Medellín it can be used for the cable carts too

Cartagena
Cartagena

Cartagena

Wasn't for me, didn't feel like there was much to do here unless you go to the islands. Takes 5 hours by bus from Santa Marta to get here.

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Things to do:​

  • Walking tour (Beyond Colombia)​

  • Beach

  • Island hopping - Rosario, Baru and Tierra Bomba

  • Nightlife

🛏️Where I stayed:

Los Patios Cartagena

  • Nice and clean and the beds were comfy

  • Quite dead whilst I was there
     

  • In general, Cartagena was the toughest place to find a well rated hostel. 

🍴Where I ate:

  • Di SilvioTrattoria - Italian restaurant with quite a few veggie options, & a handful of vegan options

  • Tahini Kebab - Had a good falafel wrap

  • I didn't really find any completely vegan restaurants in Cartagena

What to watch out for:​​

  • Be cautious around the the quieter roads away from the centre and Getsemaní, especially at night.

Salento

Salento is a cute town, famous for being the coffee region & because of Cocora Valley. Just a 6 hour bus away from Medellín.

 

Things to do:​

  • Coffee tour (I don't drink coffee but I liked the coffee here)

  • Chocolate/cacao tour & tasting

  • Cacora Valley Hike - 4hr or 5-6hr hike route

  • Hot Springs

  • Cancha De Tejo Los Amigos - Play Tejo and have a few drinks

Cocora Valley

🛏️Where I stayed:

Coffee Tree Boutique Hostel

  • Spacious, clean dorms with comfy beds

  • Location is away from the noisy town centre

  • Connect you with people at the hostel who want to do the same activities as you & organise hostel activities like playing Tejo (a traditional Colombian sport)

🍴Where I ate:​

  • Serendipia Encuentro (Vegetarian) - Has vegan options (don't get the lasagne)

  • Angel Veggie Bistro (Vegetarian) - Has vegan options and the food was decent

  • Trattoria Urrea Salento - Pizza restaurant, meh

Helpful Tip:​

  • It's actually quite cold in Salento which was a shock considering how warm it was in Medellín, so make sure you've got lots of layers, especially for the evenings.

Salento
Santa Marta

Santa Marta

Santa Marta is one of the few places on my South America trip where I felt uncomfortable walking around alone, even in the daytime. The actual city didn't have much going on, but it's a good base for the surrounding areas (Taganga, Minca, Buritaca and Tayrona National Park) which is why people come here.

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Things to do:​​

🛏️Where I stayed:

Masaya Santa Marta​

  • Would not recommend - The staff were unhelpful and uninterested and the dorms had no natural light or space

🍴Where I ate:

  • Ikaro Cafe (Vegetarian) - Lots of vegan options, but I didn't like my food, I ordered the cauliflower sandwich and got a whole head of cauliflower between 2 pieces of bread, the top one wouldn't stay on and the bottom one was drowned in sauce

Helpful Tip:​

  • You can book the The Lost City Trek from any of Santa Marta's surrounding areas

  • ​Local transport or motos are the main modes of transport in the surrounding areas, but they're fairly easy to navigate

Santa Marta

Minca

Minca was slower paced and chilled. To get here, you take a bumpy 45 minute collectivo from Mamatoco, you can opt for a private taxi or moto, however these cost considerably more.

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Things to do:​

  • Lots of waterfalls you can hike or moto to (Marinka falls, Pozo Azul)

  • Coffee tour

  • Cacao experience

  • Rio Elemento pool party (wouldn't recommend getting in the pool)

Minca

🛏️Where I stayed:

Casa Loma

  • Have to climb roughly 300 steps to get to it but the view is great

  • Has a restaurant with only veggie & vegan options, serves breakfast, lunch & dinner

  • Has a bar & area for live music

  • The hostel gives you a wristband so you tap tap away, accumulating the costs until you get the bill on the last day...

🍴Where I ate:​​

  • Casa Loma - foods good but kitchen's only open at set meal times

  • Marhaba - Lebanese restaurant with great food with veggie & vegan options

  • Taco y Chela Minca - Mexican restaurant, few veggie options that can be made vegan

Helpful Tip:​

  • You need cash for the motos and to pay for entry at the waterfalls. There's lots of routes to different waterfalls and natural pools in one area so come prepared with lots of cash if you're trying to visit them all.

Buritaca

Tayrona National Park is close to Buritaca, therefore a lot of people will spend a few nights in this area so they can leave their big bags at the hostel and not have to take all their things with them when overnighting in the National Park.

Buritaca

🛏️Where I stayed:

La Ponderosa Reserve - Chill vibe

  • Quiet, relaxed hostel in the jungle along the Buritaca River (45 minute moto ride from the main road, followed by a short raft across the river).

  • Serves 3 vegetarian meals a day (at a cost) at set times, a few options for breakfast, but 1 option for lunch and dinner each, but portions are generous

  • Has a bar, pool table & a small gym area

  • Hippy, eco hostel vibe, no AC

  • Offer tubing, swimming, hiking, a beach or learning about permaculture

  • Wristband payment, settle at checkout rule

🛏️Where I stayed:

El Rio Hostel Buritaca - party vibe​

  • Major party hostel with big events open to anyone

  • Lots of different food options, food court style with different stations for pizzas, desserts, drinks etc.

  • Has its own beach area where you can swim, chill on the floating platform or go tubing

  • I paid extra for a smaller dorm with AC as the 25-bed dorm only has fans

  • If you value your sleep, I'd suggest staying at another hostel as you can hear the music and people throughout the night from the farthest rooms. 

  • Wristband payment, settle at checkout rule

Helpful Tip:​

  • These hostels get booked up quite quickly so if you want a better room, you might want to book ahead

Taganga

This fishing village is popular among travellers as it is a relatively cheap place to get your PADI Scuba Diving certification. Takes a 15 minute local bus journey from Santa Marta to get here.​

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Things to do:​

  • Scuba diving

    • Dive sites include a small wreck and Tayrona National Park

    • Great conditions, 30 degree celsius water temperatures and great visibility, it's an easy place to learn

    • Bit boring for experienced divers

Taganga

🛏️Where I stayed:

Divanga Hostel

  • Hostel is quite nice, with a small restaurant (basic veggie options available) & a kitchen for guest use

  • Has a pool - mainly used for scuba courses

  • Has a partnership with a dive shop so you can book dive course or fun dives through them

  • Not much else in Taganga - beach wasn't that nice & mostly filled with dive and fishing boats

🍴Where I ate:​

  • Restaurant & Pizzeria Ambos Mundos - didn't find much else for us veggies.

Helpful Tip:​

  • Check Tayrona National Park is not closed for maintenance, otherwise you won't get to dive inside the park

  • You don't have to stay in Taganga to dive, as the drive is short you can travel in from Santa Marta

Bogotá

Bogota

Located on a plateau in the Andes Mountains at an altitude of 2640m above sea level.  Bogotá has a rich history and even though I hated history at school, it was really interesting learning about this city.

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Things to do:

  • Walking Tour (Historic Candelaria tour with Beyond Colombia)

  • Hiking up Monserrate Mountain (or taking the funicular or cable cart)

  • Museums - Gold Museum

  • Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá

  • Theatron - one of the biggest nightclubs in South America with 13 different rooms

🛏️Where I stayed:

The Cranky Croc Hostel

  • Nice location in La Candelaria

  • Dorms were nice with comfy beds

  • Has a kitchen you can use

  • Atmosphere was pretty chill when I was there

🍴Where I ate:

  • Nativo Arte y Comida Natural (Vegan)

  • Marvelous Vegan Plant Power Food (Vegan)

  • Pasta y Pesto - Had veggie options

  • Casa Galeria - The best hot chocolate with cheese (a common combo in Colombia)

What to watch out for:​

  • If you haven't already acclimatised to high altitude, it may take a few days once you have landed.

  • Pickpockets

Bogotá

San Gil

I loved it here, there's so many activities to do, it's known for adventure sports, and the town is really cute. Just an 8 hour bus away from Bogotá.

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Things to do:

  • White water rafting - grade 1-3 & 4-5 rapids
    (It was my first time and grade 4-5 was manageable & really fun)

  • 70m bungee jump (Colombia Bungee Jumping)

  • Paragliding over Chicamocha Canyon

  • Take a local bus from San Gil, then hike 45 minutes to Balneario Pescaderito - has natural water slides & swimming holes you can swim or dive in

  • Caving, kayaking, Juan Curi 180m waterfall

  • Botanical garden

  • Visit Barichara - Colombia's prettiest town

Bungee jump

🛏️Where I stayed:

Macondo Hostel - Cannot recommend this hostel enough!

  • The owner Sean was amazing & gets hostel guests together on Tuesdays to play Tejo, a traditional Colombian sport

  • Staff are great at helping you plan your time in San Gil

  • Hostel has a pool, kitchen and hammocks

  • Dorms were quite spacious

🍴Where I ate:

  • Gringo Mike's - has great food, has vegetarian menu with some vegan options (the veggie burger was beaut)

  • The D1 Supermarket - Really close to the hostel and there were lots of fresh fruit and veg stores so I cooked dinner most nights in San Gil

  • There are nice bakeries all over town

What to watch out for:​

  • There is a taller bungee jump at 140m however the hostel owner recommended we stay clear of this place, as they don't maintain it often and there have been complaints of injuries and the experience feeling iffy.

San Gil

Transport

  • Avianca does domestic flights - I had no problems with them

  • In the interest of saving time, opt for flights, however Colombia is doable by bus

  • Easy to travel around via bus

  • Copetran, Expreso Brasilia & Flota Occidental - got me to my destinations safely, however there were always delays​

  • Buses are cheap but basic with seats quite close to each other

  • On long journeys there is a pit stop for you to grab food & snacks, & checked-in bags are tagged & ticketed for when you collect them

  • ​Uber is cheap to use in Colombia

  • Metro in Bogotá and Medellín were easy and cheap to use

Safety

  • Generally I was comfortable walking around alone
     

  • San Gil & Salento were quieter towns that felt safe all all times
     

  • Bogotá & Medellín I stayed cautious especially at night
     

  • I felt on edge in Santa Marta because I was starred at & heckled, even in the daytime

Practical Tips

  • Language: Spanish, Currency: Colombian Peso
     

  • Pack with all weathers in mind as it can get cold up in the Andes in Bogotá, but it's boiling on the northern coast in Santa Marta & Cartagena.​
     

  • Almost everywhere I went, card was accepted, but I needed cash during multi-day hikes from Santa Marta & when taking local buses.

More To Try

  • Jardin - Small, colourful, quiet, less touristy town. You can go canyoning, hiking, see waterfalls or go on a coffee tour

  • Cali - The home of salsa dancing where you can take lessons or join people in the streets dancing until the morning

  • Malpelo - There's a liveaboard that goes around Malpelo Island which has similar marine life to The Galápagos. It gets booked up quickly & you need to have at least 100 logged dives.​​​​

  • Arepas - Flatbread made from ground maize dough that can be eaten plain or with different fillings.​​

  • Chicha - Traditional alcoholic fermented corn based drink which comes in different colours & flavours

  • Aguardiente - Liqueur derived from sugarcane & flavoured with anise

  • Hot chocolate with cheese

  • Instagram
  • TikTok

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