If you’ve only got a week to visit Colombia, THIS is how to do it right.

The truth about our trip to Colombia is that it was sort of a miracle vacation that happened by accident. I had been dying to visit the white sandy beaches of Greece but was worried that the cost was just too high considering I only had a week‘s time available for this vacation. Flying from Los Angeles, a trip to Greece would be at least 14 hours each way, shortening our time for exploring and relaxation considerably. Dave and I searched all the deal sites and weighed all possible options to try to find a fun, exotic location a bit closer to home with just as much history, a beach, and a much shorter travel time. And when we saw the UNBELIEVABLY LOW prices for flights to Colombia we knew it was an opportunity we couldn’t pass up! So, while this adventure began as compromise, it totally became the trip of a lifetime. I present to you, our voyage to Colombia. 🇨🇴

We started with a flight from Los Angeles to the capitol city of Bogota. Our flight time came in at around seven hours, which isn’t too bad considering we were heading to another continent! It was the first time for either of us to visit South America. Not to mention, Avianca was one of my most enjoyable airline experiences to date. With a fully stocked media center and Colombian coffee only a button away, the flight was quick and painless.

We spent a few days in Bogota, and from there we flew to Medellin for one whirlwind day of sightseeing, then ended our trip with a few days stay in the coastal Caribbean city of Cartagena. While this wasn’t exactly a strategy when booking our trip, I do like that we started in the mountains and worked our way to the coast. From 8,000 feet of elevation in Bogota, to the Spanish colony and port city of Cartagena, Colombia has everything you’ll need in a vacation, at a fraction of the cost it would be to travel to similar European vacation destinations. Let’s break down our trip in chronological order, starting with the capitol city.

✈️ Bogota

Pronounced bo-go-ta, the capitol city of Colombia was a beautiful place to start our journey. We decided to stay at Biohotel, an organic and eco-friendly hotel in the Usaquen district. The eco-hotel featured a lovely restaurant that used fresh ingredients from their organic, vertical agriculture vegetable garden, and served free breakfast in the mornings. My favorite feature though was the small rooftop pool and spa with views of the mountains and the neighborhood. We were just about a 10 minute walk from cool shops, restaurants, and the Usaquen Flea Market at Parque De Usaquen. It’s important to note that neither of us speak Spanish very proficiently (mine is embarrassingly bad) and the city of Bogota was probably the city with the least amount of English spoken. Bring a translation book to help you communicate with the locals! But fear not, the people are super friendly and patient, and getting around wasn’t difficult at all, despite having to resort to miming our pickup and drop-off requests to our taxi driver. 😂

One of the must-see things in Bogota would be Monserrate Sanctuary atop Mount Monserrate.

This mountain provides an incredible viewpoint of downtown Bogota. Monserrate has an an elevation of 10,000 feet above sea level. Ambitious folks can hike up to the viewpoint in 2-3 hours but we chose the ultra steep cable car for our ascent. This is a must-see tourist destination while in Bogota. It is home to beautiful gardens, a food market, and the city’s first Cathedral.

Not far from the base of Monserrate is the Gold Museum (Museo del Oro).

Lonely Planet described it best: Bogotá's most famous museum and one of the most fascinating in South America, the Gold Museum contains more than 55,000 pieces of gold and other materials from all of Colombia's major pre-Hispanic cultures. The collection is laid out in logical, thematic rooms over three floors; descriptions are in Spanish and English.

Another must see thing on your walking tour of Bogota would be Bolivar Square.

It is the main square and center of Bogota. The architecture is absolutely beautiful. One tip that’s relevant for your whole trip - bring a light jacket! We were a little anxious (and disappointed) when we checked the weather app while packing the night before our flight and discovered that rain was being forecast for every single day! Turns out, that’s always the forecast there, and a daily sprinkle for 20-30 minutes is common, but overall, our weather was marvelous! Just keep a rain jacket with you because with the high humidity, you never know when it might rain a little bit.

In front of the Military Museum in Bogota, only a short walk from The Gold Museum.

For all my friends interested in a timeless instagram photo in an historic neighborhood, you must visit La Candelaria.

Home to several universities and museums (including Museo Del Oro) this neighborhood, with its Spanish colonial architecture, will take you back in time. Narrow cobblestone streets, street art, and brightly painted decor make for a great backdrop while exploring this old town neighborhood.

In front of Santuario Nuestra Senora del Carmen. Photo shot with our Canon 60d 10-18mm lens. “With Spanish colonial architecture dominating the historical centre, this peculiar Gothic-style church, adorned with Byzantine and Arabic art, is a rare g… — In front of *Santuario Nuestra Senora del Carmen*. Photo shot with our Canon 60d 10-18mm lens.
“With Spanish colonial architecture dominating the historical centre, this peculiar Gothic-style church, adorned with Byzantine and Arabic art, is a rare gem. The church was built between 1926 and 1938 under the watchful eye of Italian architect Giovanni Buscaglione – on the same spot where the original temple dedicated to the Virgin of Carmen stood in the late 19th century.“ - Lonely Planet

This street corn didn’t end up sitting very well in my stomach, and I ended up at the local Usaquen pharmacy desperately trying to communicate with the pharmacist in my very broken Spanish that I needed Pepto! 😂 But what is life without a little … — This street corn didn’t end up sitting very well in my stomach, and I ended up at the local Usaquen pharmacy desperately trying to communicate with the pharmacist in my very broken Spanish that I needed Pepto! 😂 But what is life without a little risk and sense of adventure from time to time?!

✈️ MEDELLIN

The greatest tragedy of our trip, aside from the ridiculous sunburn Dave received while snorkeling in Cartegena, would be that we only got to spend one night in Medellin. With our time constraints, we decided we’d rather spend an extra day in Cartegena than in the city, so we cut our time shorter in Medellin. At an elevation of 4900 feet, not nearly as high in the sky as Bogota, Medellin boasts a very moderate climate. While Medellin doesn’t appear to be that far from Bogota on a map, it is a 10+ hour long drive, given the mountains and valleys that seperate the cities, so we decided to fly from Bogota to Medellin. It was a quick, one-hour-long flight, and at only $23+ for one way, it was very affordable!

Because we only had one full day for sightseeing in Medellin, we wanted to make sure we got to explore as much as possible during our short visit. Through the recommendation of a friend, we hired a private driver to give us a tour of Medellin and the surrounding areas. This was an invaluable way to see much more than we would have if we were navigating + negotiating trying to see all the sights on our own. At the recommendation of our guide, we visited a neighboring city called Guatapé, famous for it’s connection to Pablo Escobar. There, a great tourist attraction that will get your heart rate up is Piedra del Peñol. Yes, this is a giant rock. With a 650 step climb to the top on a well designed staircase, you’ll enjoy amazing 360 degree views of the surrounding landscape. An added bonus was the mango beer served at the summit.

Dave enjoying a mango beer with salt on the rim as we catch our breath after making our way to the top of the rock!

This small and colorful town is known as El Peñol, or the sunken city. El Peñol was originally located below this town, in a valley that was flooded to build a resevoir. The whole city was rebuilt higher up and on certain occasions you can still s… — This small and colorful town is known as ***El Peñol***, or *the sunken city*. El Peñol was originally located below this town, in a valley that was flooded to build a resevoir. The whole city was rebuilt higher up and on certain occasions you can still see the peak of the church sitting in the middle of the reservoir.

✈️ Cartagena

As much as we loved the mountain air of Bogota, and the hip energy of Medellin, we were eager to enjoy some coastal living in the Caribbean port city of Cartagena. And boy, were we treated with a royal welcome! While our Bogota hotel was a chic and modern eco-friendly spot, our Medellin hotel was just one step above a youth hostel. 😂 A short flight to Cartagena proved we would be ending our vacation in style. We decided to stay, for our final leg of the trip, in one of the nicer hotels on the coast, at the Intercontinental Cartagena. In partnership with Intercontinental, they were very kind enough to treat us with an upgrade to a ‘Presidential’ suite, which as you can see, came equipped with ‘suite sweets’.

The Intercontinental was located among a strip of new and modern hotels a bit away from the ‘Old City,’ on a peninsula called Bocagrande. We had debated staying within the ‘Walled City’ to be closer to the action, but it turned out that a taxi ride from Bocagrande to the city center only cost about (US)$2, so we were so glad we opted for the more luxe choice! Our skyrise hotel came with beach front views and a beautiful infinity pool along with a private lounge on the twenty first floor that was a awesome place for a drink during sunset. Cartagena was the perfect mix of modern coastal city life combined with old colonial architecture, vibrant colors, and cobblestone streets.

the Walled City.

One of the most picturesque places to grab some ceviche for lunch is within the walled city, which was constructed in the late 1500s as a means for protecting the city against pirating and other invaders as Cartagena was considered one of the most important ports of the Americas.

While in the walled city, we ate dinner at a quaint and charming seafood restaurant called La Mulata. Nestled along a romantic, narrow street, if we were paying touristy prices it was hard to tell. Just like most everywhere we ventured in Colombia, the food and drink was very affordable. La Mulata was recommended to us by one of my Snapchat followers (thank you!), and after doing some research, we found it has been consistently ranked as one of the best restaurants in the area, but there is so much love and flavor in this city that I think no matter which direction you look, you’ll easily find a memorable and delicious spot to eat.

After we felt familiar with the walled city, we decided to venture out to a neighboring district known as Getsemaní. Walking distance from the walled city, Getsemani has a very hip, young, energetic vibe. Once a poor area, Getsemani has revived itself with colorful murals, beautiful art, great street food, and plenty of people dancing and socializing in the open-aired squares.

Hotel Gente de Mar, Islas del Rosario.

One of my requirements for our trip to Colombia was for us to find a white sandy beach to lounge on, accompanied by fruity cocktails. While we didn’t find any white sandy beaches on the coast of Cartagena, there is a beautiful oasis known as The Rosario Islands just an hour boat ride off the coast of Cartagena. Our only regret is not leaving ourselves more time to explore the islands! Through Intercontinental, we were able to set up a private boat ride to the islands, along with access to a private beach + lounge area with watersports, cocktails, and a delicious seafood lunch. To say the seafood was fresh is a vast understatement. After spending the day at the beach, we took the boat back to the hotel, where we enjoyed some appetizers by the pool. It was at this time that Dave learned that his sunblock didn’t perform as well as he had hoped. He got extremely sunburnt. 😂 Luckily there was a mall near our hotel and we were able to find some aloe, which was readily soaked up by his parched, lobster-colored skin.

Swipe for Dave's sunburn! > > >

As we boarded our flight from Cartagena back to LAX, I reminisced on the action-packed week of travel. To be honest, a month earlier we had never considered Colombia a vacation destination! To think we found such a beautiful and historic place to visit, on such a reasonable budget, inspires us to keep looking in unexpected places for our next destination. We’ve all been to places that are nice and fun, but after we leave, we don’t feel the need to ever return there again. I can’t say that about Colombia. While there were so many amazing highlights to our trip, I feel there is still so much we didn’t get to see. I look forward to reuniting with Colombia again soon! Until then, I’d say our first South American vacation was a great success. And our memories will hold us over until then. ❤️

From Mountain Peaks to the Caribbean Sea, Exploring the Magic of Colombia