Colombia, Rivers, Highlands and the Caribbean
Nine nights in Colombia, privately guided, from Bogotá to the river of Caño Cristales, Medellín and the Antioquia hills, ending inside the walls of Cartagena.
- Nine nights
- Five stays
- Colombia
- Private journey, cities, rivers, mountains, Caribbean coast
A private journey through Colombia, with your own guides and drivers throughout and internal flights between each region. It begins in the capital, flies into the forests of La Macarena for Caño Cristales, spends three nights in and above Medellín and closes with two nights in Cartagena.
- Length
- Nine nights
- Pace
- Five stays
- Style
- Private journey, cities, rivers, mountains, Caribbean coast
- Route
- Bogotá to La Macarena and Caño Cristales to Medellín to The Antioquia highlands to Cartagena
- BogotáTwo nights
- La Macarena and Caño CristalesTwo nights
- MedellínOne night
- The Antioquia highlandsTwo nights
- CartagenaTwo nights
01
Days 1 to 3 · two nights
Bogotá
Met at the airport and driven to the hotel, with dinner on the first evening. The next day begins at the Paloquemao market, tasting fruit and local dishes, then goes up Monserrate by funicular or cable car for the view over the city, through La Candelaria, the old quarter, to the Gold Museum, and ends with a coffee tasting.
Where you stay
Four Seasons Hotel Casa Medina Bogotá
Casa Medina is a 1946 building designed by the Colombian artist and architect Santiago Medina Mejía, now a listed monument, in Zona G. Inside are beamed ceilings and hand-carved wooden furniture, and some rooms have fireplaces.
02
Days 3 to 5 · two nights
La Macarena and Caño Cristales
A flight to La Macarena, then a wooden boat upriver and a walk to see the water plants that colour the river, watching for monkeys and waterfalls on the way. The next day goes down the Guayabero River by boat and through the Sierra de La Macarena National Park by four-wheel-drive, then on foot to Caño Cristales for a picnic and time to walk and take photographs. On the last morning, a walk to a mountain viewpoint before the flight to Medellín.
Where you stay
La Manigua Lodge
La Manigua Lodge is on the banks of the Guayabero River, about 30 minutes by boat upstream from La Macarena, with the Sierra de La Macarena National Park all around. The rooms are set in the forest, and there is a restaurant and bar.
03
Days 5 to 6 · one night
Medellín
Arrival in Medellín in the afternoon, and a long tasting dinner in the evening.
Where you stay
El Cielo Hotel
El Cielo is a hotel of 28 suites in El Poblado, Medellín, near the Museo de Arte Moderno and the Provenza neighbourhood. It has three restaurants, among them the tasting-menu restaurant of the chef Juan Manuel Barrientos, a spa and a rooftop pool.
04
Days 6 to 8 · two nights
The Antioquia highlands
A morning in Medellín: Parque San Antonio and its Botero sculptures, the Museum of Antioquia, and Comuna 13, to hear how the district was rebuilt, with coffee with someone who lives there. Then a drive into the hills to the lodge. The next morning is your choice: Guatapé and the rock of El Peñol, a pre-Hispanic trail on foot to El Peñol, the story of Medellín's flower festival, or a farm visit to make cheese. The afternoon is free, and dinner that evening is a special meal.
Where you stay
Cannúa Lodge
Cannúa is a mountainside lodge near Marinilla, looking over the San Nicolás valley, with 10 rooms and eight separate cabins, some built from bricks made of the estate's own earth. The restaurant cooks modern Colombian food, much of it from the lodge's permaculture garden, and there is a spa, yoga and a library.
05
Days 8 to 10 · two nights
Cartagena
A flight to Cartagena, a tasting of aged rums and chocolate, and a free evening. The next day is a walk through the walled city, with the Castillo San Felipe de Barajas and the church of San Pedro Claver, then the streets, market stalls and street food of Getsemaní, a private sail at sunset and dinner at Club de Pesca. On the last morning, a transfer to the airport.
Where you stay
Casa Pestagua
Casa Pestagua is an 18th-century house on Calle Santo Domingo inside the walled city, restored in 2022, with 16 rooms and suites. It has a pool, gardens with palms, colonial and contemporary art, and the restaurant AniMare.
Ways to make it yours
- A day on the beach at Barú Island, about 45 minutes by boat from Cartagena
This is a sample. The hotels, the pace and the order are where we start, not where we finish: every journey is designed around the people taking it.
Made around you
Most travel is bought. This is designed.
Before anything is booked, we talk: who is travelling, how you like to spend a morning, and the hotel preferences below the obvious, from the kind of bath you like to the time you wake and how much daylight you need in a room. You see options where options matter and clean recommendations where they don't.
The same person remains your point of contact from the first reply to the trip after next. No handovers. No team.
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