Viva Cartagena!

A vibrant view of colorful colonial buildings with ornate balconies, complemented by flowers and greenery.

Cost: $3,395 (market value $6,495).

A $500 deposit secures your space.

Get the Early Bird savings of $200 off when you register 6+ months prior to departure! Single rooms are available for $500.

What’s included:

  • Expert bilingual Colombian Guide

  • 8 nights in comfortable, hand-picked hotels that reflect local culture

  • 13 meals (8 Breakfasts, 3 Lunches, 2 Dinners)

  • 2 in-country flights during the program

  • Private, air-conditioned ground transportation in each city

  • Fees for included activities

What’s not included:

  • Airfare to/from the US

  • Trip Insurance

  • 9 meals, alcohol, tips

  • “Choose-your-own-excursion” in Cartagena

 

At a Glance:

Experience charming Colombia as you get a taste of Bogotá, wander among the world’s tallest palm trees in Salento, sip the famous coffee of Armenia, and explore the 16th-century architecture of Cartagena. This is an incredible nine-day trip connecting you with local culture, colonial architecture, gourmet cuisine, and stunning nature. The UNESCO World Heritage sites will inspire you, and you’ll have personal experiences with Colombians that the big companies can’t offer. The tour wraps up in Barranquilla, the home of the world’s second-largest Carnaval event. Come travel with us!

  • Bogotá- Colombia’s largest city

    • Paloquemao Fruit (and flower!) Market

    • Culture of Bogotá experience

  • Armenia-UNSECO region

    • Arabica coffee plantation educational park

    • Cacao tour

    • Merengue/Salsa lessons

  • Salento/Cocora Valley

    • Hiking the Cocora Valley

    • Guided birdwatching tour

    • Learn Tejo (explosive Colombian game)

  • Cartagena- UNESCO World Heritage Site

    • Historic walled city & Getsemani

    • Colombian cooking class, optional beach/snorkeling

    • Sunset in Cartagena activity

  • Barranquilla

    • La Casa Del Carnaval

    • Farewell dinner (and dancing?!)

    Activity Level - Walking up to three miles in a day, often on dirt paths, cobblestones, or other uneven terrain. Elevations up to 9,000 feet.

  • Yellow Fever vaccine NOT required with these destinations! Check with your doctor for your personal needs, but there are no vaccine requirements for this itinerary.

Map of Cuba with marked locations.

Experience Colombia:

Three different climates, a mix of city and rural adventures in this emerging tourist destination.


Detailed Itinerary

Mural depicting a young individual with traditional headwear and nature elements against a colorful backdrop..

Day 1: Welcome to Colombia!

Arrive at the end of the day in Bogotá. We will get settled and rested up to start exploring tomorrow. You will be picked up at the airport by hotel transportation and taken to our hotel in La Candelaria neighborhood. If you arrive in Colombia before Day 1, we’ll give you the hotel info to book, or make the arrangements for you.

Vibrant array of fresh flowers at a bustling market stall.

Day 2: Taste of Bogotá

Bogotá is Colombia’s largest city with 8 million people, in the high mountains (8,600’) with consistently cool temperatures in the 70s. Eat a light breakfast because we are headed to the famous Paloquemao Market to taste exotic fruits and snacks. You’ll quickly see why Colombia is the second-largest exporter of flowers in the world.

There are many spectacular things to see in Bogotá, murals, museums, trams, and more, so we’ll have a guided tour as time permits.

After checking in at the airport for a quick flight to Armenia (domestic airfare included in the tour), we’ll have an early dinner. Crepes and Waffles is a social impact business throughout Colombia, and they have a full restaurant in the airport. Savory crepes at a B Corp business, all in Bogotá. You’ll feel good about this!

Our flight to Armenia puts us in the Coffee Triangle of Colombia, so you know what’s coming tomorrow!

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch


Person with a hat exploring lush coffee plantations.

Day 3: Armenia

After breakfast and fine locally-grown Arabica coffee, we’ll explore this special UNESCO world heritage region by starting at a coffee plantation.

The farm tour includes understanding the native trees that protect the coffee plants, bean picking (typically Nov-Mar), cherry pulping, washing and the post-harvest processes. The tour is an outdoor educational, interactive experience. It will be fun!

In the afternoon, we’ll learn about cocoa grown in the area, with a little chocolate tasting involved.

We’ll head back to the hacienda where we are staying for dinner and dance lessons. Perhaps taste Colombia's national spirit, aguardiente, with its soft notes of anise layered over tropical fruit, and a perceivable sweetness.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Scenic view of towering palm trees amidst green fields with a misty mountain backdrop.

Day 4: Cocora Valley

After breakfast, we’ll take the 1 hour scenic drive to the Cocora Valley, part of the UNESCO World Heritage region. Enjoy a morning hike through the valley of green pastures, cows, hummingbirds, and wax palm trees.

Here is a short video of the hike.

The wax palm trees are described as looking like, “lit sparklers on the Fourth of July with their long skinny trunks topped with an explosion of palm fronds.” These 200’ tall trees are home to unique birds and much of the Disney movie, “Encanto”, is based there.

After a day in Cocora Valley, we’ll check into our accommodations in Salento where we can rest and relax or go out and explore the charming town.

Tonight we’ll play Tejo, an explosive Colombian game reminiscent of corn hole. Even Anthony Bourdain loves this game!

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Close-up of a hummingbird with iridescent green and blue feathers resting on a branch.

Day 5: Salento


Wake up with the sun for an optional birdwatching tour and maybe even see this Sylph hummingbird with its long tail feathers. If you’re not a birdwatcher, you could sleep in and enjoy a leisurely breakfast or take morning photos of the colorful small town.

This is a great place for shopping, and we have a secret coffee house that we like to visit.

We’ll take a late afternoon flight to Cartagena, and enjoy a delicious dinner in this fantastic city. Get ready for coconut rice, a traditional coastal side dish.

Meals: Breakfast

Two Colombian women in vibrant traditional dresses carrying baskets on their heads in a yellow-walled street.

Day 6: Cartagena

This morning we’ll get a tour of the key places in the city, the San Felipe de Barajas fortress, the modern (Miami-like) neighborhoods, the historical center, and our neighborhood of Getsemani.

Following lunch, you could choose to retreat from the sun in your air-conditioned room, take a refreshing dip in the pool, or explore pirate artifacts at a nearby museum.

In the late afternoon, we’ll go to a Colombian-French fusion cooking class followed by dinner. This social impact business is designed to employ single mothers, both in the restaurant and at the market. You’ll come away knowing how to make patacones, have a full belly, and feel good about the local entrepreneurs you met.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Woman snorkeling underwater with vibrant coral reefs and clear blue waters, island visible above.

Day 7: Cartagena

You have a free day! What’s your adventure, island hopping? Snorkeling? Investigating Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s haunts? Emerald shopping? Book your adventure in advance on Get Your Guide or Viator, or wait to see what inspires you when you’re there.

Rejoin the group at 5 pm for a special sunset experience. Dinner will be at Candé, our favorite gourmet restaurant in Cartagena with live music.

Meals: Breakfast

Vibrant tribal masks hanging on poles in a dimly lit room.

Day 8: Barranquilla

After breakfast, we will drive a couple hours north to Barranquilla, where the River Magdalena flows into the Caribbean. An industrial port city, it is the hometown of Latin Pop Star, Shakira, and hosts the second-largest Carnival in the World (think Rio and Fat Tuesday). We will visit downtown and the museum to see the costumes and floats that have been featured in previous years. Learn about the strong Lebanese influence in the culture of this young city, founded 300 years after Cartagena.

Enjoy a final farewell dinner with your new friends before packing for the flight home.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Colombian flag hanging from a balcony of a colorful historic building with mountain backdrop.

Day 9: Fly Home

Arrive at the airport 2-3 hours before your flight. We hope you fully experienced the richness of Colombia through fun, hands-on exploration, city and nature experiences with free time built in, all while enjoying the structure and security of traveling in a small group on our custom Viva Cartagena! tour.

Meals: Breakfast