Things to see and do in Colombia?

January 2, 2008 5:23 PM

We have two and a half weeks. What should we see and do in Colombia?

A friend of mine and I are currently backpacking in Venezuela, but we´ll soon be in Colombia for about two and a half weeks. We have a guidebook, but I wanted to see if the hive mind had any suggestions for places to visit or off-beat things to do (aside from getting kidnapped by the FARC). Our current rough itinerary is taking us through Parque Nacional Tayrona, Cartagena, Mompos, Medellin, Santa Fe de Antioquia, Zona Cafetera, and Bogota. Our budget is modest, we´re semi-fluent in Spanish, and we´re open to any and all ideas.

posted by Dalton to Travel & Transportation around Columbia, Colombia (2 answers total)

I spent a couple of weeks in Colombia last year and loved it. I was with a Colombian friend, and I'm fluent in Spanish, so that certainly made things easier. I spent time in Medellin (definitely check out the Museo de Antioquia) and took a day trip to Santa Fe de Antioqui as well. The best part of the trip, however, was a week spent in El Choco on the pacific coast. I stayed at a small bed and breakfast (link here). You have to fly to the closest port, either from Medellin or Bogota, so that drives the cost up at bit, but it is definitely worth it. Beautiful beaches, amazing rain forests, oh my gosh, I loved everything about it. The place where I stayed books the travel (flight plus boat ride) for you.

As for the FARC...read up on the areas where you will be traveling- and be especially careful if you rent a car and leave major metropolitan areas.

My emai's in the profile if you have any more questions.
posted by emd3737 at 6:07 PM on January 2, 2008

Cartagena is a blast, but try to stay in the old(ish) part of town rather than the boring modern high-rises on the coast. For something offbeat try dunking in a mud volcano.* It's been ten years, but I believe the one I tried was about two hours in bus west (along the coast) from Cartagena. So much fun!

* I don't think it was the one mentioned in the Wikipedia article. It was much smaller and right on the coast.
posted by AwkwardPause at 7:25 PM on January 2, 2008