Destination: Colombia | Duration: 14 days | Customized Vacation Package: Please Call for Pricing
This amazing journey through the heartland of Colombia offers an unprecedented opportunity to experience some of South Americas most impressive cities, famous historical sites, traditional coffee farms, and charming colonial towns. You will get off-the-beaten-path, literally, while staying at a real working coffee plantation and as you venture out into the countryside as you explore world-famous Villa de Leyva. You will meet some of the warmest and gracious people on the planet as you learn about their culture, traditions, and way of living. And you will conclude your journey of a lifetime with an essential visit to colonial Cartagena, one of the worlds most recognized walled-cities!
Day 1: Welcome to Medellin, Colombia and the Quinta Ladera Boutique Hotel!
Quinta Ladera is a boutique hotel with 10 comfortable bedrooms, natural light, fresh air and vegetation. The rooms and common areas are adorned with the works of a distinguished group of local artists and artisans from different Colombia regions. Located 3.5 km from the Enrique Olaya Herrera local airport, 21 km from the José María Córdova International Airport and 1 km from Parque Lleras.
Night in Medellin at Quinta Ladera Boutique Hotel
Day 2: Private Guided Medellin City and Communa 13 Transformation Tour
For this fascination and educational tour, we start in downtown Medellin with a visit to Plaza Botero, enjoy the architecture and an exhibition with more than twenty pieces by Botero. Continue the Metrocable tour to the viewpoint at La Aurora station and enjoy the view over the city. As you tour the neighborhood, go down the escalators and walk-through alleys with graffiti that tell the story and reflect the transformation and new identity of Communa 13, which at one point was the most dangerous neighborhood in the world.
Night in Medellin at Quinta Ladera Boutique Hotel
Day 3: Private Guided Tour to Penoñ and Guatape with Boat Tour on the Lake
Our tour includes pick-up from your accommodation in Medellín and private transport to the town of Guatapé via the villages of Las Palmas, Fizebad and Llano Grande. Your guide will take you on a walking tour of Guatapé including the Malecón alongside the Embalse de Guatapé reservoir, Memory Lane, and the Home of the Horseman. You will visit the famous rock known as El Peñón and have the opportunity to admire the majestic beauty of the area with dozens of picturesque islands dotting the spectacular lake in the distance.
Night in Medellin at Quinta Ladera Boutique Hotel
Day 4: Flight to Pereira and Private Transfer to Hacienda Guayabal
Traditional Hacienda Guyabal boasts a dramatic setting surrounded by mountains and valleys coffered in coffee crops and gradua (bamboo) that completely envelop the Hacienda. While it is a true working coffee farm, it is also one of the pioneers in coffee farm tourism. The hacienda has been family owned and run for more than 50 years and this is particlarly evident in the peacefullness, tranquility, and warm hospitality exhibited in every corner of the hacienda.
Night at Hacienda Guayabal
Day 5: Private Coffee Tour at Hacienda Guayabal
The coffee tour enables you to embark on an unprecedented experience where you will have the opportunity to personally witness the amazing process and then taste the delicious outcome.
- Private Guided Hacienda Guayabal Coffee Tour
- Afternoon at Leisure
- Night at Hacienda Guayabal – Tupial Suite
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Day 6: Private Guided Tour of Filandia, Salento and the Cocora Valley
Your Private Tour starts with a transfer to Salento where you will be met by your guide. Salento is well known amongst the people of the coffee zone for having some of the best coffee. Next your Private Guide will take you to the entrance of the valley for your guided walk in Cocora. There you can do a full 6 hour trek in Cocora or choose to spend more time looking around the shops of Camino Real in Salento.
Night in Salento at Hotel Terasu – King Mountain View Room
Day 7: Welcome to Villa de Leyva and La Casa Terra
Casa Terra is an antique house renovated to a hotel infrastructure preserving the colonial style and rustic design, located in the historic center of Villa de Leyva, it has seven rooms. The place is located a few minutes from the Plaza Mayor, and the Maestro Acuña House Museum. Located 179 km from El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá, 24.1 km from Ráquira and 5.7 km from the Fossil Museum.
Night in Villa de Leyva at Casa Terra
Day 8: Private Guided Walking Tour of Villa de Leyva
Villa de Leyva boasts beautiful well preserved colonial buildings, excellent restaurants, and pleasant peaceful people enjoying the leisurely atmosphere. You will explore the fascinating attractions of Vereda Monquirá and the Saquenzipa Valley. Be it sites of geographical interest, paleontology, pre-columbian culture, religious architecture, wine, or simply the folly of a curvy house built out of terracotta. Few places in Colombia can match Villa de Leyva’s desert surroundings when it comes to variety.
Night in Villa de Leyva at Casa Terra
Day 9: Private Guided Tour of Ráquira, the Monasterio La Candalaria and the Famous Salt Cathedral
The Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá is arguably one of Colombia’s most famous attractions with over 13 million visitors since its inauguration in 1995. The current salt cathedral is a replacement of the original salt cathedral which was closed as the mines became unstable.
Night in Bogota at the Sofitel Bogota Victoria Regia Hotel
Day 10: Private Full Day Guided Bogota City Tour and Montserrate
Early in the morning, enjoy an experience full of color, where traders from across the country bring the most exotic and traditional ingredients of Colombian cuisine. Farmers take close care of their stalls, selling their products, eager to show you fruits and herbs that only grow in a tropical weather. Continue by exploring the capital’s old city, getting to know its historical center and museums. Set off for the symbolic district of La Candelaria, an area well-known for the conservation of its colonial and republican architecture.
Night in Bogota at the Sofitel Bogota Victoria Regia Hotel – Luxury Room
Day 11: Private Walking Tour of Cartagena’s Walled City
Take a magical tour through the Walled City stepping back in time, and enjoying the sights from an open horse-drawn carriage. Be amazed by the sound of the horses’ hooves on the colonial streets, the refreshing breeze, the nighttime colors of Cartagena, the architecture, and the generally beautiful and atmospheric scenery. Feel as if you were part of a film, passing through the different plazas and the elegant colonial houses filled with tumbling bougainvillea flowers in their balconies.
Night in Cartagena at the Sofitel Legend Santa Clara Cartagena
Day 12: Private Guided Tour to UNESCO World Heritage Site San Basilio de Palenque
Today you will truly get off the beaten path with your visit to San Basilio de Palenque which is recognized by UNESCO as a Cultural Heritage site. Its name comes from the Palenques, a community of fugitive and escaped slaves from the colonial period of the XVII century. Surviving in San Basilio with its practices, customs, and traditions intact, this community conserves great African influences in its daily routine, for example, in their palanquera tongue, which blends elements of Spanish with the Bantu dialects of Africa.
Night in Cartagena at the Sofitel Legend Santa Clara Cartagena
Day 13: Day at Leisure to Explore Cartagena on Own
There is so much to do in Cartagena so today is the perfect opportunity to circle back to some of your favorite places that you discovered during the private guided tour. There is a great variety of old-world cafes, restaurants, and pubs to grab a bite to eat and down a cold drink. And if gold and emeralds are of interest, visit the Emerald Museum to learn all about why Colombian Emeralds are the best quality emeralds in the world. You may even find the perfect ring, necklace, or bracelet for yourself or loved one!
Night in Cartagena at the Sofitel Legend Santa Clara Cartagena
Day 14: Private Transfer to Cartagena International Airport for Flight Home
All great things must come to an end but you will leave Colombia with many incredible memories of the spectacular landscapes, genuinely kind and friendly people, and your experiences discovering some of the most fascinating architectural and cultural sites in all of South America!
