Family-Friendly Colombia Taster: Bogotá & Cartagena - 7 Days

Highlights

• Eat your way through Bogotá on a fruit tour
• Travel deep underground into salt mines at Zipaquirá and Nemocón
• Ride a bicycle through atmospheric Cartagena
• Go fishing with the locals in La Boquilla

Brief Itinerary

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1: Arrive in Bogotá, Sightseeing

Welcome to Bogotá! Your personal driver will meet you at the airport and transfer you to your hotel. Take some time to rest before you start exploring Colombia's capital city.

Depending on your time of arrival, you might like to jump straight in and start exploring the city. If your kids are older and you're feeling energetic, climb to the top of Cerro Monserrate for an overview of the city's scale and skyline. Alternatively, spend some relaxing time in Simón Bolívar Park, checking out its lakes and gardens. For your first meal in Bogotá, head to the Paloquemao Market, where you'll find local specialties like empanadas, ajiaco (chicken and potato soup), and crispy cheese buñuelos.

Day 2: Fruits of Colombia Tour, Explore Bogotá

Get the day off to a fresh, tasty start on a fruit-focused walking tour, which is sure to please hungry kids with a sweet tooth. Colombia's fruits come in a variety of colors, sizes, and flavors. A private guide will walk you through some of the food stalls at the Plaza de Mercado de Paloquemao while sharing the history of the market and introducing you to local vendors. Taste 15 different fruits, three shots of fresh juice, and other Colombian snacks throughout the tour.

Later, explore more of the capital and its history and culture on a walking tour. Start in the main square, Plaza de Bolívar, and learn about its neoclassical Catedral Primada (Bogotá's largest cathedral) and other significant monuments. Next, visit the Gold Museum, with its impressive collection of pre-Columbian gold pieces from Indigenous communities. Finish at Museo de Botero, one of Latin America's most important art collections, with over 200 works donated to the city by Colombian painter Fernando Botero. This tour is ideal for families with older kids who can comfortably be on their feet for a while.

If you have younger kids (and if you didn't climb Cerro Monserrate the day before), you might prefer to head up to the summit of this mountain via cable car. Ride the cable car to the 10,341-foot (3,152 m) plateau. Here, you can visit Monserrate Sanctuary, a whitewashed Catholic church completed in 1657. But the real star is the panoramic view of the city below.

Day 3: Salt Mines Day Trip

Lace up your hiking shoes for a full day outside the city exploring salt mines, lagoons, and villages. Start with a hike to crater-shaped Laguna de Guatavita, where your guide will reveal the area's rich history and the rituals of the Muisca people, who offered gold and precious stones to the gods into the lagoon. Take a lunch break in Sesquile village, then visit Zipaquirá to see its Salt Cathedral: a Roman Catholic church built within the tunnels of an underground salt mine.

After lunch, go 24 feet (80 m) underground to see another salt mine at Nemocón, half an hour from Zipaquirá. Learn about the preserved tunnels where eight million tons of salt were extracted between 1816 and 1968. If your kids are younger, you may prefer to skip the hiking portion of today and stick with the underground mine tour.

Day 4: Transfer to Cartagena, City Sightseeing

This morning, transfer by air from Bogotá to Cartagena, a lively city on Colombia's Caribbean coast. Your driver will meet you at the airport and take you to your hotel. Depending on the time of your arrival, you'll have a few options for activities. You can relax and enjoy the hotel's amenities or get right into the mix with a neighborhood walk, either by yourself or with a guide. Wander the narrow streets of the historic Old Town, snapping photos of the lively plazas, colorful houses with bougainvillea-draped balconies, and the brightly decked-out palenquera women who sell fruit.

If you're interested in culture and architecture, check out the colonial neighborhoods of San Diego and Santo Domingo, stopping at key sites like the Plaza de los Coches, Plaza de la Aduana, Parque Bolívar, and Plaza de Santa Teresa. Other sightseeing options include taking a walk along the Old Town's original fortress walls (dating from 1586), constructed to protect Cartagena from sea attacks. These ramparts also afford panoramic views of the city and make great sunset-viewing spots. Kids will enjoy the chance to run around and play pirates amid the historic setting.

Day 5: Cartagena Bike Tour, Chocolate Workshop

Explore Cartagena further today on a bike tour. Start in Getsemaní at Holy Trinity Square, with its lively restaurants, street musicians, and colorful murals. Visit the home of Florentino Ariza, the main character in "Love in the Time of Cholera" by Gabriel García Márquez. Then, cycle across the Roman Bridge toward the Manga neighborhood. Here, visit Villa Roman, a Moorish-inspired house that was built in 1929. Walk through Manga's cemetery, the oldest in Cartagena, and continue to the waterfront for a relaxing end to the tour. Older kids can cycle independently, while younger ones can ride with a parent.

Later on, enjoy a hands-on chocolate workshop that's sure to delight both kids and adults. Discover the world of local chocolate through its colors, flavors, and textures. Design molds with cocoa butter-based paints to make handmade chocolate, and decorate it with your favorite toppings. Finish with a delicious chocolate drink, take fun photos, and receive a mini amateur chocolatier certificate. 

Day 6: La Boquilla Fishing Trip, Drum or Coconut Workshop

Every morning of the year, the people of La Boquilla get up to go fishing using traditional techniques. Located just north of Cartagena, the village is home to many families of African origin, and the vast lagoons here still provide a main source of income. Head out in canoes with your guide today and spend a couple of hours fishing, an experience that is both relaxing for parents and exciting for kids. Learn how to use the fishing line, throw the net, and position the traps in order to catch shrimp and crawfish. You can even keep your catch, heading to a local's house afterward to cook and sit down to lunch together. 

Later, you can choose between a musical or a craft workshop, depending on your family's interests. Drums are a rich aspect of La Boquilla's culture. You'll participate in an hour-long workshop led by energetic young villagers, during which you'll be given a drum and can join right in—no experience necessary. All that's required is that you open yourself up to the rhythms of traditional music like cumbia, mapalé, and champeta. It's through music like this that residents preserve the cultural traditions of their African heritage. Music-loving kids will enjoy drumming along and learning some new beats.

Alternatively, get crafty with a workshop that utilizes local coconuts to make beautiful things. Local women generate income by teaching visitors how to make crafts out of common coconuts. During this workshop, you'll hear the ladies' stories as you make your own coconut souvenir, which could be a bracelet, key chain, earrings, necklace, or something else. Kids who enjoy arts and crafts will especially love making their own souvenirs to take back home.

Day 7: Depart Cartagena

All good things must come to an end, and today it's time to say goodbye to Colombia. Depending on your time of departure, enjoy a leisurely breakfast at your hotel and maybe go for a morning walk around the neighborhood. Then, meet your driver to go to the airport to catch a flight home or on to your next destination. Adiós!

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