Colombia itinerary

[Anonymous]

Considering Colombia for our next family vacation after spring break. We’re interested in Cartagena after hearing from friends how much they enjoyed it there, but would like to pick another city to fly to mid-week if we go. If you’ve been, would you suggest a Cartagena/Medellin itinerary or a Cartagena/Bogota itinerary?

[Anonymous]

Oh boy, here we go. Colombia is the new Portugal.

[Anonymous]

Medellin is a lot easier and I think more pleasant, so that’s an easy choice I think

[Anonymous]

I’ve spent a lot of time in all three cities both for work and vacation. I’d recommend Medellin over Bogotá because the weather is much better and the city is pretty and a lot less crazy. Having said that, I wouldn’t stay longer than a few days. Three at most. Medellin to me is more of a perfect ex pat retirement destination than a tourist attraction, although there is plenty to see.

Be prepared to be hot AF in Cartagena. It’s a beautiful place, but during the day it can be brutal. Make sure you have very comfortable accommodations that include a pool, because during the day you’re not going to want to venture outside for too long. The city doesn’t really come alive until the sun starts going down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh boy, here we go. Colombia is the new Portugal.

Please stfu. People are allowed to go to places they’ve never been even if you’ve already been there .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve spent a lot of time in all three cities both for work and vacation. I’d recommend Medellin over Bogotá because the weather is much better and the city is pretty and a lot less crazy. Having said that, I wouldn’t stay longer than a few days. Three at most. Medellin to me is more of a perfect ex pat retirement destination than a tourist attraction, although there is plenty to see.

Be prepared to be hot AF in Cartagena. It’s a beautiful place, but during the day it can be brutal. Make sure you have very comfortable accommodations that include a pool, because during the day you’re not going to want to venture outside for too long. The city doesn’t really come alive until the sun starts going down.

Thanks, good to know. My husband and I are originally from Georgia so hot humid weather is more tolerable to us than a lot of other people since we’re acclimated to it. But good to know to keep an eye out for accommodations with a pool !

[Anonymous]

We spent three weeks in Colombia over winter break right before Covid and had a blast. That's a great time to go weather-wise. Our itinerary was roughly:

Flew into Bogota and spent Christmas there, stayed at the Four Seasons Casa Medina which is in a lovely old building. We have some friends from Bogota so it was nice to hang out with them and have them take us around the city.

Then to the coffee region - Salento and Filandia - really beautiful area with lovely towns - and of course coffee! We visited coffee hacienda, went on some beautiful hikes, visited charming small towns and ate great food. We flew here from Bogota and rented a car for this portion of the trip; you really need a car in this region. We didn't need a car anywhere else.

Medellin - we really loved Medellin and spent five days including New Year's Eve - city was really fun. Our DCs were high school aged and really enjoyed Medellin. There is a lot of history around Pablo Escobar and the era of the drug cartels. Our kids had just watched Narcos and were very curious about learning more. Highly recommend a Comune 13 walking tour - it was really amazing.

Cartagena and Tayrona National Park. Loved Cartagena as well, but it was winter so the heat wasn't so bad. Great beach weather. We flew home from Cartagena.

I highly recommend Colombia - beautiful country, lovely people and so many things to see and do.

[Anonymous]

Thanks 8:05! That trip sounds amazing. I know we can’t squeeze in as much in 7-8 days but you’ve given me lots of good ideas to consider as we plan a route and which cities to fly in/out of

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh boy, here we go. Colombia is the new Portugal.

Please stfu. People are allowed to go to places they’ve never been even if you’ve already been there .

Yes, like sheep and because of some stupid reason, like the Disney Bruno film in this case, or Game of Thrones in the case of Croatia, or now White Lotus for Sicily. God forbid people go places for original reasons. It’s a shame, because places like Colombia, Portugal, Croatia, and Iceland were absolutely wonderful decades ago. But mass tourism is unsustainable and completely ruins places. It’s a pity. But oh well, so many other places to explore that people like OP would never even know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh boy, here we go. Colombia is the new Portugal.

Please stfu. People are allowed to go to places they’ve never been even if you’ve already been there .

Yes, like sheep and because of some stupid reason, like the Disney Bruno film in this case, or Game of Thrones in the case of Croatia, or now White Lotus for Sicily. God forbid people go places for original reasons. It’s a shame, because places like Colombia, Portugal, Croatia, and Iceland were absolutely wonderful decades ago. But mass tourism is unsustainable and completely ruins places. It’s a pity. But oh well, so many other places to explore that people like OP would never even know.

I’m OP. Who do you even think you are to assume I haven’t been anywhere because I haven’t been to a country you went to before me. I’ve been all over Europe, lived in Japan, trekked through India, done all the Caribbean countries, and spent time in most of the US states. I really hate people like you who love to travel shame. The world is massive, you can’t shit on people for not yet making it somewhere you have and then still wanting to go there even though you seem to think it should be closed to tourism once you’ve seen it. Truly, get a life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh boy, here we go. Colombia is the new Portugal.

Please stfu. People are allowed to go to places they’ve never been even if you’ve already been there .

Yes, like sheep and because of some stupid reason, like the Disney Bruno film in this case, or Game of Thrones in the case of Croatia, or now White Lotus for Sicily. God forbid people go places for original reasons. It’s a shame, because places like Colombia, Portugal, Croatia, and Iceland were absolutely wonderful decades ago. But mass tourism is unsustainable and completely ruins places. It’s a pity. But oh well, so many other places to explore that people like OP would never even know.

I’m OP. Who do you even think you are to assume I haven’t been anywhere because I haven’t been to a country you went to before me. I’ve been all over Europe, lived in Japan, trekked through India, done all the Caribbean countries, and spent time in most of the US states. I really hate people like you who love to travel shame. The world is massive, you can’t shit on people for not yet making it somewhere you have and then still wanting to go there even though you seem to think it should be closed to tourism once you’ve seen it. Truly, get a life.

Really? Then why don’t you tell us what attracted you to Cartagena, one of the most overtouristed cities in all of South America, as opposed to the countless more original choices you could have made? And by the way, one doesn’t “do” countries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh boy, here we go. Colombia is the new Portugal.

Please stfu. People are allowed to go to places they’ve never been even if you’ve already been there .

Yes, like sheep and because of some stupid reason, like the Disney Bruno film in this case, or Game of Thrones in the case of Croatia, or now White Lotus for Sicily. God forbid people go places for original reasons. It’s a shame, because places like Colombia, Portugal, Croatia, and Iceland were absolutely wonderful decades ago. But mass tourism is unsustainable and completely ruins places. It’s a pity. But oh well, so many other places to explore that people like OP would never even know.

I’m OP. Who do you even think you are to assume I haven’t been anywhere because I haven’t been to a country you went to before me. I’ve been all over Europe, lived in Japan, trekked through India, done all the Caribbean countries, and spent time in most of the US states. I really hate people like you who love to travel shame. The world is massive, you can’t shit on people for not yet making it somewhere you have and then still wanting to go there even though you seem to think it should be closed to tourism once you’ve seen it. Truly, get a life.

Really? Then why don’t you tell us what attracted you to Cartagena, one of the most overtouristed cities in all of South America, as opposed to the countless more original choices you could have made? And by the way, one doesn’t “do” countries.

Nobody owes you any explanation. Don’t hang out in a travel forum if you think the only acceptable time to travel was 30 years ago or the only acceptable place to travel is a country nobody has discovered yet. You do this on so many threads and I recognize it’s you because you always whine and moan about Portugal only being worth it 20-30 years ago. We get it. You’re old and have been to every single place on this planet and everyone else is beneath you. You win!

[Anonymous]

LOL at “original choices” for cities to visit

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh boy, here we go. Colombia is the new Portugal.

Please stfu. People are allowed to go to places they’ve never been even if you’ve already been there .

Yes, like sheep and because of some stupid reason, like the Disney Bruno film in this case, or Game of Thrones in the case of Croatia, or now White Lotus for Sicily. God forbid people go places for original reasons. It’s a shame, because places like Colombia, Portugal, Croatia, and Iceland were absolutely wonderful decades ago. But mass tourism is unsustainable and completely ruins places. It’s a pity. But oh well, so many other places to explore that people like OP would never even know.

I’m OP. Who do you even think you are to assume I haven’t been anywhere because I haven’t been to a country you went to before me. I’ve been all over Europe, lived in Japan, trekked through India, done all the Caribbean countries, and spent time in most of the US states. I really hate people like you who love to travel shame. The world is massive, you can’t shit on people for not yet making it somewhere you have and then still wanting to go there even though you seem to think it should be closed to tourism once you’ve seen it. Truly, get a life.

Really? Then why don’t you tell us what attracted you to Cartagena, one of the most overtouristed cities in all of South America, as opposed to the countless more original choices you could have made? And by the way, one doesn’t “do” countries.

Nobody owes you any explanation. Don’t hang out in a travel forum if you think the only acceptable time to travel was 30 years ago or the only acceptable place to travel is a country nobody has discovered yet. You do this on so many threads and I recognize it’s you because you always whine and moan about Portugal only being worth it 20-30 years ago. We get it. You’re old and have been to every single place on this planet and everyone else is beneath you. You win!

Yes, it is unfortunate to see what has happened in Iceland and Portugal, and it’s a shame to see the same thing happening in Colombia. Mass tourism destroys places and is harmful in so many ways. It’s not just me saying this, there have been countless articles written about the trend. So yes, I do groan when I see another clueless sheep head to Cartagena. It’s a big world and we don’t all need to go the exact same places.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh boy, here we go. Colombia is the new Portugal.

Please stfu. People are allowed to go to places they’ve never been even if you’ve already been there .

Yes, like sheep and because of some stupid reason, like the Disney Bruno film in this case, or Game of Thrones in the case of Croatia, or now White Lotus for Sicily. God forbid people go places for original reasons. It’s a shame, because places like Colombia, Portugal, Croatia, and Iceland were absolutely wonderful decades ago. But mass tourism is unsustainable and completely ruins places. It’s a pity. But oh well, so many other places to explore that people like OP would never even know.

I’m OP. Who do you even think you are to assume I haven’t been anywhere because I haven’t been to a country you went to before me. I’ve been all over Europe, lived in Japan, trekked through India, done all the Caribbean countries, and spent time in most of the US states. I really hate people like you who love to travel shame. The world is massive, you can’t shit on people for not yet making it somewhere you have and then still wanting to go there even though you seem to think it should be closed to tourism once you’ve seen it. Truly, get a life.

Really? Then why don’t you tell us what attracted you to Cartagena, one of the most overtouristed cities in all of South America, as opposed to the countless more original choices you could have made? And by the way, one doesn’t “do” countries.

Nobody owes you any explanation. Don’t hang out in a travel forum if you think the only acceptable time to travel was 30 years ago or the only acceptable place to travel is a country nobody has discovered yet. You do this on so many threads and I recognize it’s you because you always whine and moan about Portugal only being worth it 20-30 years ago. We get it. You’re old and have been to every single place on this planet and everyone else is beneath you. You win!

Yes, it is unfortunate to see what has happened in Iceland and Portugal, and it’s a shame to see the same thing happening in Colombia. Mass tourism destroys places and is harmful in so many ways. It’s not just me saying this, there have been countless articles written about the trend. So yes, I do groan when I see another clueless sheep head to Cartagena. It’s a big world and we don’t all need to go the exact same places.

So…are you saying that you had visited those places too? hahaha.