Colombia (South America) expert

Colombia (South America)

My family of 6 and I traveled to several areas of Colombia.  Here are some of the places we went that I would recommend to anyone (and which are where most tourists go when they visit Colombia along with a few off- the-beaten path).

Bogota - the capital (remember it is cooler here and can be rainy so be prepared!).  Great museums including the Gold museum, beautiful buildings downtown on the square, Montserrate is worth riding the funicular or gondola up for views of the whole city and to see the church and monastery at the top.  Otherwise, get out of the city to see the underground salt cathedral in Zipaquira (the town is also worth wandering around and visiting).  We were able to get a very decent priced private driver with a van (that had 4 rows of leather seats) who took us for 12 hours.  I am able to set up all these things for you if you wanted a similar experience.  On the way home, we stopped at the famous Andre Carne de Res restaurant for amazing food (well known for their steak!) and drinks.  

Eje Cafetero (Coffee Triangle) - We flew into Armenia (can also fly into Pereira) and got a ride to our stay in Filandia.  Salento is also a popular town to stay.  Personally, I loved Filandia and would go back in a heartbeat!  Loved that we could walk to the central square, grab a jeep taxi, and they had great restaurants (very reasonably priced).  The hot springs (with warm/hot waterfall) at Santa Rosa de Cabal is a must along with the incredible Cocora Valley with the world's tallest palm trees!  

Cartagena - Castillo de San Felipe, the old town area with the clock tower, churches and cathedrals, amazing stores surrounded by fortress walls.  The artsy neighborhood of Getsemani.  Nearby isla Baru has decent beaches, but may be better to even get further away for better such as the Rosario Islands.  

Santa Marta/ Minca -  Stayed in Santa Marta in the Rodadero neighborhood which has the best beach area in the city.  The beach closer to downtown often has cargo ships and no/little beach.  The downtown area and market are quite fascinating and many amazing murals were painted on the buildings.  We took a day trip to Minca - had a fantastic cacao farm tour then got out of there due to the bugs being so bad.  Cute, but it is still quite hot and I haven't been bit so much in years!

Tayrona National Park - Didn't actually make it into the park however the el Zaino entrance is the easiest and the one we intended to use.  We had a great hotel (with the most amazing food and coconut lemonade!) close by.  There is another community called Mendihuaca beach right beside where the Mendihuaca river flows into the ocean that was amazing for swimming with the kids.  Otherwise, the ocean waves were quite rough (great for surfing though!).  If I went again, I would stay at one of the lovely places here right on the beach.  

Rincon del Mar - Great beachfront town.  I loved the chill vibe of this little place, where we could walk around in our barefeet everywhere (except the sand got a little hot!).  We simply enjoyed the sand and water (it was calm here and swimmable unlike many other beaches in Colombia).  We planned on going out to the San Bernadino Islands (also supposed to be beautiful much like the Rosario Islands and have bioluminescense) but ran out of time.  

Medellin / Guatape - Must's are Comuna 13 for trinkets, coffee, jewelry, and all the amazing graffitti.  There is an elevator to get up the steep neighborhood and some fun slides.  Parque Explora was great for an afternoon with the kids, as well as checking out the beautiful buildings and popular sculptures downtown.  Took a day trip to El penon de guatape to climb the huge limestone rock overlooking Guatape lake.  Walked through the colorful town of Guatape, and took a boat ride on the lake where we saw one of Pablo Escobar's former estates.  I only wish I would've stayed in the town of Guatape longer!