Create your custom-made trip to Colombia

Many months in planning with Aventura Colombia’s wonderful adviser Elisabeth, paid off on my very memorable trip to Colombia. A special thank you and shout out to to my local guides (Juan in Bogota, Maria in Villa de Leyva, Oswaldo and Camila in Barichara, German in Medellin, and Sergio and Manuel in Cartagena) who made each city personally come alive. Some of the infinite highlights: Bogota’s La Candelaria district cobblestones, colorful and lovely historical Colonial-era buildings. Villa... read more

Many months in planning with Aventura Colombia’s wonderful adviser Elisabeth, paid off on my very memorable trip to Colombia. A special thank you and shout out to to my local guides (Juan in Bogota, Maria in Villa de Leyva, Oswaldo and Camila in Barichara, German in Medellin, and Sergio and Manuel in Cartagena) who made each city personally come alive. Some of the infinite highlights: Bogota’s La Candelaria district cobblestones, colorful and lovely historical Colonial-era buildings. Villa de Leyva’s magnificent square which is truly UNESCO World Heritage worthy, and the bike ride which was such an interesting way to see the countryside. The almost movie-set look of Barichara, and the challenging but beautiful hike to Villanueva showcasing the magnificent vista out the Rio Suarez valley. Spectacular, and cosmopolitan Medellin nestled in a giant “U” against the two mountain ranges, with its marvelous transportation system replete with cable cars and happy vibe. And finally Cartagena, which is truly a jewel of the Caribbean, enhanced by a stay at most perfect hotel in the middle of the cobblestoned Colonial-era mansion-filled walled city. I can't speak highly enough about Elisabeth and the entire Aventura Colombia's follow up, which made me feel that they really cared about me as a customer and a person. Hasta luego Colombia--I'd return in a heartbeat!

We visited Colombia in August and traveled through Jardin, Salamina and Cartagena. Our travel specialist Lisa Calabrese, did an outstanding job in arranging everything including transfers between the towns, tours and our choice of hotels. We were looked after every step of the way right from the booking. Initially I wasn't sure which places I wanted to visit but Lisa helped me through and after week or two we finalised an itinerary. Lisa always answered my query promptly.
We even got to meet her in Medellin. I will certainly book more tours through her.

My cousin and I booked our trip through kimkim and I could not have been more pleased! Lisa, was our specialist, created our itinerary, took care of us, and tackled any concerns that we had. We had expert tour guides with us on several excursions that made all the difference. I felt completely safe and was able to have a stress-free experience in Colombia. Our trip was truly memorable!

Tayrona National Park was amazing we were able to see lots of monkeys and other wild life. Our... read more

My cousin and I booked our trip through kimkim and I could not have been more pleased! Lisa, was our specialist, created our itinerary, took care of us, and tackled any concerns that we had. We had expert tour guides with us on several excursions that made all the difference. I felt completely safe and was able to have a stress-free experience in Colombia. Our trip was truly memorable!

Tayrona National Park was amazing we were able to see lots of monkeys and other wild life. Our guide, Jaruen, was really stealthy at finding all kinds of creatures. He came equipped with a laser pointer so we were able to easily spot, what would have been camouflaged animals and birds, with ease. I think other people on the hiking trail were jealous. Our guide also held our table at the restaurant once we made it to the beach-which was really helpful because the line for lunch became soooo long! My cousin and I were able to just walk right in. At this point, YES, the other hikers were definitely jealous! Bug spray is a must.

In Santa Marta, I highly recommend Lulo Cafe Bar for a FABULOUS cocktail and great service! Lots of great restaurants on the same street as well. Also some fun street entertainment on the street and at the square-it’s the teenage boys dancing that steals the show! It was also waaaay nicer as far as restaurants go than at the lackluster beach so stick to the square! Bug spray is a must if you are eating outside.

Our day trip to Minca for waterfalls and a coffee bean farm tour had a great guide named, Fidel. He was very knowledgeable about birds and wildlife in this area. My cousin and I swear that we thought we were following Mowgli into the Jungle! He really knew his stuff and LIVED this lifestyle. He took us to several waterfalls and was able to identify all kinds of amazing humming birds. The best part was that he took us to an authentic roadside “barbeque”. They had a huge, open brick oven with slabs of meat roasting in it. My guess is whatever animal was in there was alive not too long before we ate it. I have no idea what I ate exactly, but it was good! Great views of the mountain side too! Bug spray is, again, a must.

Our hotel in Cartagena was very nice and smack in between the old town and Getsimani so it was easy to mix it up within the city walls as far as exploring goes. Carlos, the guy who seemed to run the show at breakfast, was extremely personable! He showed us all the different native fruits as well as how they made coffee- taught me some Spanish as well! Carlos went above and beyond because he really didn't have to do any of those things for us- the breakfast was excellent as it was!

Our Cartagena city tour guide, Sergio, was also very friendly and informative. He had lots of insight into the history, and architecture of the city, as well as some current events and also what I felt was "insider" information! We found the BEST local artist-and both my cousin and I had been looking the whole trip- thanks to Sergio! The artist’s name is Fini. I really am impressed by her artwork and I’m currently in the process of getting it framed! Can’t wait to put it up!

We went to Casa del Farol at the Rosario Islands for a day of snorkeling and relaxation. The snorkeling was really surprisingly good considering that the weather was overcast. There was a lot of colorful coral, and seriously amazing fish! Lunch, as most every meal of our trip, was excellent. My only complaint is that the day was too short!

Overall, this was an amazing, exciting, bucket-list type of trip! Thank you, Lisa and kimkim!