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12 Day itinerary in Colombia, South America

Bogota to Cartagena Travel Pass

Experience the best of Colombia on an unforgettable adventure from Bogota to Cartagena! This unique Bamba travel tour takes you from Colombia's vibrant capital to the historic, coastal charm of Cartagena, offering diverse excursions including the Coffee Zone, Medellín's rich culture, and the breatht... Read More

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Bamba Travel Inc

By Bamba Travel Inc

Overview

Physical Difficulty

Easy
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Recommended Age

Everyone

Operated in

English

GUIDANCE

On Some Day Trips

starting point

Bogotá

trip type

Private

trip attributes

Backpacking

Start

Night

End

Highlights

1

Bicycle around bustling Bogota on a guided tour

2

Sip artesanal coffee from the Manizales region

3

Go on a mangrove tour through pristine nature

4

Enjoy the natural setting of the Taironaka Natural Park and look out for the local fauna

Itinerary

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Day 1

place Day 1: Bogota, Colombia

Bogota City Day Trip

Departure Time: 9:00

Duration: 4 hrs

The panoramic tour through Bogotá begins in 93 Park, a well known commercial area packed with restaurants and high-end stores. You will also visit the T Zone of Bogotá, very sought out by tourists thanks to its enchanting bars and cafes. The next stop of this Bogotá City Tour will be the emblematic neighborhood Usaquén, a place where you will appreciate Bogota’s creativity expressed through its beautiful artisanry. Right after, you will head to the city center to walk around the streets of La Candelaria, known for its particular colonial balconies and for being one of the areas that has best conserved the past of this capital city. In downtown Bogotá, you will also visit the Bolívar Plaza and the Chorro de Quevedo, two must-see tourist spots in the Colombian capital. Finally, you will make your last stop at the Monserrate station and, if you choose (the cable car or chairlift is not included in the price), you can go up to one of most breathtaking lookout points in Bogotá, located at 3,150 above sea level. Upon finishing the tour, the driver and guide will be waiting to take you to a central meeting point in the city.

Day 2

place Day 2: Manizales, Colombia

Bogota to Manizales

Type: Bus

Time: 06:30, 08:00, 09:30, 11:00, 14:00, 18:00, 20:00, 21:00, 21:30, 21:50, 22:00

Duration: 9 Hours

Transfer from Bogota to Manizales

Please make your own way to the bus station to catch your bus to Manizales.

Day 3

place Day 3: Hacienda Venecia, Colombia

Manizales Coffee Experience 2D/1N

Departure Time: 08:30, 08:45, 09:00 hrs

Duration: 2 days

Coffee Tour (L)


In the morning, you will be picked-up from your accommodation and transferred to Hacienda Venecia, a working coffee farm with 100 years of history and tradition, declared part of the cultural and landscape heritage, by UNESCO in 2009. During the 3-hour tour, you will receive a detailed explanation about the processing of coffee, which includes learning the culture, history and varieties of coffee, watching the roasting process, experimenting with scents and flavors, walking through the coffee plantations and visiting the wet mill, where the coffee is washed, dried and packaged. You will also visit the main house gardens which hold 100 years of history, and are a symbol of the typical architecture of the region. Enjoy the rest of the day at leisure and overnight at the Hacienda.

Meals: Lunch

Accommodation:

  • Travel Pass: Hacienda Venecia Coffee Farm Experience
Day 4

place Day 4: Manizales, Colombia

Manizales Coffee Experience 2D/1N


Transfer to Manizales & End of Trip (B)

Make your own breakfast before saying goodbye to your new friends. After checking-out from your accommodation, you will take a shared transfer back to Manizales 17:00 where this amazing adventure will come to an end.


Note: A transportation is available at 14:00 from Hacienda Venecia to the main highway (included in the value of the package) where you can take a bus to Manizales (not included).

Meals: Breakfast

Day 5

place Day 5: Medellin, Colombia

Manizales to Medellin

Type: Bus

Time: 04:30, 05:00, 06:30, 08:30, 10:00, 10:15, 11:30, 15:30, 17:30

Duration: 5 Hours

Transfer from Manizales to Medellin

Please make your own way to the bus station to catch your bus to Bogota.

Day 6

place Day 6: Medellin, Colombia

Medellin City Tour

Departure Time: 8:30, 13:00

Duration: 4 hrs

This Medellín City Tour will take you to iconic places such as the Parque de las Esculturas, also known as Plaza Botero, an urban space that exhibits 23 sculptures by local artist Fernando Botero. You will also visit the Parque de Los Pies Descalzos, a space full of gardens and bamboo that invite children and adults to play barefoot and connect with nature. Other important attractions that you will see during this tour of Medellín are the Parque de Los Deseos, located next to the House of Music, the Planetarium, the Explora Park and the University of Antioquia. To end this visit to the iconic places of Medellin, we will take you to the Cerro Nuibara where you will find Pueblito Paisa, a replica of a typical town in the department of Antioquia (known as paisas), with a variety of restaurants and souvenir shops to take home. During the tour, you can take the Metro and the Metrocable, an aerial public transport system that connects to the outer zone of Medellín, where you can see the city from above and learn more about its social composition and its development in today's society. This city tour is the perfect introduction to Medellín, as it provides travelers with an overview of the most important points of interest and attractions in the city.

Day 7

place Day 7: Santa Marta, Colombia

Medellin to Santa Marta

Type: Bus

Time: 09:15, 13:00, 16:00, 19:00, 20:00, 21:00, 22:00

Duration: 16 Hours

Transfer from Medellin to Santa Marta

Day 8

place Day 8: Taironaka Natural Reserve, Colombia

Taironaka Natural Experience 3D/2N

Duration: 3 days

Santa Marta - Taironaka Natural Reserve

Departure from your hotel. Transfer by car for 1 hour and 40 minutes to Don Diego, an ideal place to appreciate the wonders of nature, where freshwater merges with the salinity of the sea.

A 1-hour hike along an ecological trail, followed by descending into tubing activity, an ecological walk where we will witness the river's mouth to the sea. Return to the starting point with a guided tour.

Transfer by vehicle to Tayronaka and entrance to the site, a 20-minute ecological walk, lunch, and a guided tour of the archaeological site, with free time to enjoy the place.

You will start with a tour to the Ancestral Trails and the Archaeological Traces, Terraces, and Indigenous Architecture, where you will hike on a reconstructed stone-paved trail among ancient paths, aqueducts, stairs, terraces and relics of this ancient city. Originally settled by ancient peoples for its fertile soils, the area is landscaped with colorful tropical flowers among cacao plantations.

The archaeological museum showcases ancient Taironaka life as goldsmiths, craftsmen, sailors and warriors, here you will find more than 300 Taironas archaeological pieces and current pieces of the Kogui culture.

Get to the hotel at 5:00 pm and overnight at Taironaka Natural Reserve.

Accommodation:

  • Travel Pass: Taironaka Turismo Ecológico Y Arqueología
Day 9

place Day 9: Taironaka Natural Reserve, Colombia

Taironaka Natural Reserve (B)

Start your day with a tasty Colombian breakfast and get prepared for an exciting day. 

Feel free to explore this natural reserve for your enjoyment.

Overnight at Taironaka Natural Reserve.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation:

  • Travel Pass: Taironaka Turismo Ecológico Y Arqueología
Day 10

place Day 10: Santa Marta, Colombia

After enjoying your delicious breakfast, spend the morning to enjoy the park before catching your transfer back to Santa Marta. 

Meals: Breakfast

Day 11

place Day 11: Cartagena, Colombia

Santa Marta to Cartagena

Type: Bus

Time: 07:30, 11:00, 12:00, 12:30, 13:00, 14:00, 15:00, 18:00, 20:45

Duration: 5 Hours

Transfer from Santa Marta to Cartagena

You will be picked up at your accommodation/meeting point for your shuttle transfer to Cartagena, where you’ll be dropped off at your next accommodation/meeting point.

Day 12

place Day 12: Cartagena, Colombia

Totumo Volcano & Mangrove Forest Tour

Departure Time: 8:00

Duration: 10 hrs

Visit the Totumo Mud Volcano, a mythical volcano filled with mud located an hour away from Cartagena. Take a mud bath and enjoy its curative values. The legend says that one day, a monk spilled holy water in the volcano, full of lava.

The lava turned into a soft, thick mud having the power of curing and rejuvenating. You will witness wonderful muddy landscapes - a peculiar geographical formation that turned into one of the most visited places in Colombia, you cannot miss it! On arrival, you will climb a rustic wooden stairway that will take you to the summit of the volcano - 20 meters high and 2.000 meters deep. You will then bathe in the volcanic mud, where you will feel like if you were floating while enjoying a panoramic sight of the Santa Catalina region.

The moment you step into the crater of the Totumo Volcano, you'll notice the density of its warm thick mud, which helps to tone your skin. The maximum allowed time to stay in the mud is 15 minutes; it's not recommended to stay longer due to the temperature. After the bath, you'll be able to retreat to the mud of the Totumo swamp.

Afterward, we'll have a delicious typical lunch in the area, which will include different regional specialties. After lunch, we'll move to the area of La Boquilla for a tour of the mangroves of Cartagena. During the tour, we'll see what species of plants and animals inhabit this unique natural ecosystem.

The tour will then take us to a swamp where we'll go on a canoe ride to check out the different natural mangrove tunnels. Here, you will also enjoy a show involving an artisanal fishing technique.


Finally, we'll return to Cartagena, where arrival at your hotel is scheduled for 8 hours after pickup


Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

What’s Included

Accommodation expand_less

  • Taironaka Turismo Ecológico Y Arqueología
  • Hacienda Venecia Coffee Farm Experience

Meals expand_less

  • Lunch (2)
  • Breakfast (4)

Transport expand_less

  • Manizales to Medellin
  • Medellin to Santa Marta
  • Santa Marta to Cartagena
  • Bogota to Manizales

Activities expand_less

  • Bogota City Day Trip
  • Medellin City Tour
  • Totumo Volcano & Mangrove Forest Tour
  • Taironaka Natural Experience
  • Manizales Coffee Experience

Not Included expand_less

  • Other Meals / Drinks
  • Accommodation where not mentioned
  • Guide throughout the tour
  • Tips & Gratuities
  • Personal Expenses
  • Travel Insurance

About Bamba Travel Inc

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