Places to see!
There is really no need for an introduction to Cartagena, Colombia’s most Instagram-prominent city. Cartagena is the perfect place for a warm-weather getaway. Cartagena has it all, that tropical Caribbean vibe and a historic old-town packed with colourful colonial architecture and cobblestone streets. Then there’s its charismatic locals, the nearby tropical islands...
The Tayrona National Park is one of the prettiest national parks in Colombia. Located on the Caribbean Coast, Tayrona is pretty much paradise on earth. With palm trees galore, stunning blue water, white sandy beaches and abundant wildlife, it’s everything you might be looking for in a tropical getaway. It sounds perfect and it sure is! The only problem with Tayrona...
No trip to Medellín would be complete without spending some time in Guatapé, Colombia’s most colourful town. Guatapé is only a two-hour ride from Medellín and it’s the perfect getaway from that big city. You can go there for the day or spend a night or two there as we did. Whatever you do, you are going to love Guatapé, it’s impossible not to! El Peñon What to...
How did a visit by Justin Bieber in 2013 lead to a flourishing street art scene in Bogota? Well, that’s just one of the fascinating things we learned during our travels in August. Read on to find out why! August was all about Colombia. At the end of July, we’d just finished ten days in Medellin. We were heading up to the north of the country, to explore the Caribbean...
Not so long ago, Medellín was a no-go city for tourists. In fact, in the ’80s, Medellín had the highest homicide rate in the world. Pablo Escobar and other cartel members were turning the city into a war zone and their violence was at its peak. Thankfully, after Pablo Escobar died in 1993, things started to turn around for Medellín. Since then, Medellín has become...
The small town of Salento is nestled in the middle of the Colombian Zona Cafetera. Only a few years ago, Salento was not a safe place to travel to. It was totally off the tourist grid, thanks to the guerrillas who had control over the whole region. However, things have changed for the better in recent years. Like many other destinations in Colombia, Salento is now...
The Wax Palm Tree is Colombia’s national tree and in the Cocora Valley, the Wax Palm trees stand up to sixty meters tall. They are the tallest palm trees in the world and they are certainly an impressive sight. The Cocora Valley is part of the Los Nevados National Park and is situated in the coffee region of Colombia. It’s an easy day trip from the pretty little...
Cali, the capital of Valle del Cauca, is a Colombian city that’s seen a lot of change and turmoil throughout the years. From its slave history during the colonial period to its most recent drug-related violence, it hasn’t been the safest city on the planet for years. For this reason, Cali is often underrated and avoided by tourists. However, in recent years, Cali has...
I’m not going to lie, our time in Colombia did not start quite how we’d imagined it would. After our uneventful border crossing from Ecuador to Colombia, (read more on this here), we decided to stop for the night in Pasto, and catch an early bus the next day to Popayan. Early morning the next day we headed out on the five-minute walk to the bus station. Temporarily...
After a lot of researching online to find a cheap flight from Quito to Colombia, it seemed rather difficult. We tried every city, every airline, every time of day but with nothing under US$400 per person, we eventually gave up. When you travel on a budget, sometimes you can’t always do things the easy way. We’d have to take a long bus ride and do the border crossing...