Colombia
Eleven cities I explored, four routes that actually work, and the practical page. I wish someone had handed me that the first time.
Updated September 2026
What nobody tells you before you land
Colombia is three countries stacked on top of each other: the cold high plateau of Bogotá, the green coffee mountains around Medellín and the Eje Cafetero, and the hot Caribbean of Cartagena and Santa Marta. The mistake almost everyone makes is trying to do all three in a week — and spending half of it in an airport.
So this page is built around distance, not a bucket list. Below you'll find the routes that actually fit the time you have, the cities I walked one street at a time, and a practical sheet I keep checking so you don't have to.
Fact sheet
Everything practical, on one page
Itineraries
Four routes that actually work
Seven days is the minimum that doesn't feel like a tour of airports. Twenty-one is the whole country.
Two flights, no long bus rides. The version I recommend to anyone with one week and little patience for the road.
The extra days go to day-trips: Guatavita and Chingaza from Bogotá, Guatapé from Medellín, and a Tayrona beach day before Cartagena.
Salento, Cocora and the fincas around Manizales — where Colombia is greenest and slowest — plus the islands of Barú and Rosario off Cartagena.
The one I'd take. Caño Cristales (the river of five colours) and the Coffee Region are what people remember most, and they're not on the shorter lists.
City guides
Eleven cities, walked one street at a time
Bogotá
La Candelaria on foot, Monserrate, and the best day-trips out of the capital.
3–4 days · Coming soonMedellín
Comuna 13 with a guide, and a slower week in Laureles and El Poblado.
3 days · Coming soonCartagena
The walled city at dawn, Getsemaní at night, and the islands offshore.
3 days · Coming soonSanta Marta
The base for Tayrona and Minca — not the destination itself.
2 days · Coming soonCali
Salsa in San Antonio on a Thursday, and the warmest welcome in Colombia.
2 days · Coming soonBucaramanga
The "pretty city" and the launch pad for Barichara and paragliding at Chicamocha.
2 days · Coming soonGuatapé
740 steps up El Peñol and a lake town that looks invented.
1 day · Coming soonLa Guajira
Cabo de la Vela and Punta Gallinas — the wild northern tip of the continent.
2–3 days · Coming soonCaño Cristales
The river of five colours — Colombia's best-kept secret, in season Jun–Nov.
3 days · Coming soonAmazonas
Leticia, the river, and the jungle where three countries meet.
3 days · Coming soonEl Cocuy
Snow peaks and high-altitude trekking in the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy.
3 days · Coming soonAsked every week
Questions I get about Colombia
How many days do I need?+
Seven is the minimum that doesn't feel like a tour of airports. Ten is comfortable for the three big cities; fourteen adds the Coffee Region; twenty-one is the whole country including Caño Cristales.
Fly or take the bus?+
Fly between the big cities — domestic flights are cheap and the road distances are long and mountainous. Keep buses for short hops like Cartagena–Santa Marta.
Is it safe?+
The tourist routes are well-trodden and safe with normal city sense. Use registered taxis or apps at night, don't flash valuables, and ask locals which neighbourhoods to skip after dark.
Do I need Spanish?+
A little goes a long way. English is limited outside hotels and tours, but Colombians are patient and warm — a few phrases open every door.
The podcast
I walked this before I wrote it
Every guide starts as an episode. Listen to the Colombia introduction — the context, the history and the honest bits — then come back for the routes.