Classic Colombia

The Trip

Day 1: Bogota – Arrive Bogota and transfer to hotel / Hotel de la Opera
Day 2: Bogota – City tour of Bogota with local guide / Hotel de la Opera
Day 3: Villa de Leyva – Visit Zipaquira Salt Cathedral / Posada San Antonio
Day 4: Villa de Leyva – Tour of Villa de Leyva / Posada San Antonio
Day 5: Cartagena – Fly to Cartagena and transfer to hotel / Casa Pestagua
Day 6: Cartagena – City tour of Cartagena / Casa Pestagua
Day 7: Cartagena – Free day to explore / Casa Pestagua
Day 8: Cartagena – Free day to explore / Casa Pestagua
Day 9: Cartagena – Transfer to airport for return flight

Chaotic capital Bogota

Arrive in the Colombia’s capital Bogota. Our local guide will be waiting to take you to the Hotel de la Opera. We’ll show you around the classic parts of Bogota, the country’s capital, teeming with surprises once locked away in colonial mansion houses, overflowing with nuggets of gold from old world glory.

Salt Cathedral

South America is all about the senses, and nowhere is there a better example than our drive that takes you through the fragrant carnations and roses that line the route to the fascinating city of Zipaquira. It’s here you’ll find the much-admired Salt Cathedral, a church constructed out of coarse salt and considered a feat of engineering. It’s as appealing to the touch as it is the eyes.

Fossils and architectural history

Continue your trip to visit the beautiful town Villa de Leyva that has remained much the same since it was founded in 1572. The enormous plaza is surrounded by beautiful Spanish style homes and lovely cobble stone streets. The town is home to interesting little museum built over and around the complete fossil of a kronosaurus that is over 120 million years old. Here you will stay at the Posada San Antonio.

Pure chill

Jet off to Cartagena and see its stunning colonial grandeur, where you will walk alongside fountains and achingly gorgeous squares. Cartagena brims with 17th-Century colonial gems, churches, gardens, alleyways, and majestic castles and sweeping views of turquoise ocean that beckon you into its refreshing waves like a long lost friend.

The town is the setting of Gabriel Garcia Marquez novels such as Love in a Time of Cholera, and an inspiring place to begin your exploration of the country’s coast. You’ll be looked after well at the Casa Pestagua. As well as taking tours of the city, you’ll have plenty of time to explore on your own terms. For a spot of beach time visit the Rosario Islands which are stunningly beautiful and will leave you relaxed and refreshed. Get there with either a 45 min speedboat ride from Cartagena, or take a couple of days and have a more languid journey over the sea on a floating home. Head home with great memories and a reinvigorated spirit.