Colombia: Cartagena & Medellín Vacations

Thanks so much for planning a great trip for us!  Here is some feedback:
- The Bogota city tour was great but very long. There was some wasted time sitting around and then we had less time to enjoy the city markets and square. It would have been nice to know the duration and start time of each tour ahead of time
- Deena was great, we really enjoyed playing Tejo and I would recommend including this as part of your tour

- Medellin: Liliana was a great guide with a lot of information and insight, we really enjoyed spending the day with her!  She was very kind and understanding with our kids.  Unfortunately our tour was supposed to include Plaza Botero but we did not go there.  In addition, we didn't like how she changed the departure time to Rio Claro Nature reserve unnecessarily, as we had to wake up much earlier and then spent 2 hours waiting around for lunch and rafting.

- The Hotel Marquee Medellin was luxurious but it would have been nice to have known more about its location in the "pink district" and close proximity to nightlife.  The music was incredibly loud until 4am.  Although this was mentioned to us in previous messages, it was not clear how disturbing this would be.  I would not recommend this hotel to visitors unless they are interested in the nightlife and especially not if they are traveling with kids or have early morning tours booked.

- The walking tour and street food tour in Cartagena was very disappointing and poorly done. It only lasted about 1.5 hrs and included only tasting fruit.  We did not get to enjoy any other local cuisine and did not even go to the Getsemani district. It did not match the description given to us at all and we were very disappointed, as this was our only day to see the city.

- we really appreciate that you were in communication with us the entire trip. The transportation vehicles and drivers were amazing.

Hotel Reviews

Sofitel Baru Calablanca

Cartagena

Beautiful, a lot of amenities, very clean. Wish there were more umbrellas available. Did not like how water activities were only available from 11am-1pm and only 1 per person.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

W Bogota

Bogotá

Clean, modern, great location!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Marquee Medellín

Medellín, Antioquia

Great hotel but not a great location. Be aware of the very loud noise on weekends as music is played until 4am.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Nature Experience: Río Claro Nature Reserve

Colombia

Ziplining was pretty short experience. Would recommend to try to time it closer to lunch so there isn't much waiting around. Rafting experience was really nice but little long. Not worth the 3 hour drive

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Good vehicle

Walking Tour & Street Food

Cartagena

Did not match description given to us, very short and missed several aspects

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Driver was great, guide was OK and didn't really seem excited or interested

Transport

Wendy was simply FABULOUS! She helped me prepare a trip to Colombia to my parents as a gift and was thoughtful in every aspect of the trip. She has a great knowledge of her country and activities that can be done, which means she has excellent suggestions on what to do. Besides, she truly understood the challenge and prepared a tailored itinerary, even considering that my parents speak Portuguese! All of the chosen hotels were very good and she was even able to arrange special treats for them. I can't reinforce how much I recommend Wendy and her team! Muchas gracias, querida!!!

Our family very much enjoyed our trip to Colombia, which included Cartagena, Las Islas del Rosario, and Barranquilla, and working with Cristina and KimKim made it seamless. If there was any concern, they were available quickly to help. I enjoyed the personal contact with Cristina throughout the planning to develop a trip that met our unique requests. It took a big load off the time it would have otherwise taken us to plan such a trip. We will have our memories for a long time. Gracias a todos!

Hotel Review

Hotel San Pedro de Majagua

Isla Grande

Unfortunately, the hotel did not have running water when we arrived and it was only fixed in the early evening. This left a bad first impression. It is a lovely hotel and the management staff provided some comped appetizers, but it was an unfortunate incident.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

The staff were very kind and attentive.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Initially it was not clean because of the water issue. The water never seems to come on full force across the island due to the way the water system works on the island.

Activity Reviews

Visit the National Aviary of Colombia

Colombia

Delightful aviary. More than I expected.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We enjoyed very much the consistency in tour guide and driver - Gustavo and Julio were terrific!

Transport

As before the driver is 5 stars, though the van was a bit outdated. Julio made it work though!

Barranquilla Express Tour

Colombia

This was a tailored tour and we appreciate very much it being able to happen - Gracias!

Quality of Experience

We had a nice mix of personal visits, and sightseeing.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

I think we tried to do much much in one day. We were rushed at the end and we left Barranquilla in rush hour and the traffic was bad.

Transport

The van was nicer than the one in Cartagena - more modern and all seatbelts worked. However, the driver was rushed at the end and I could tell he was upset as he was late to his next job.

Cartagena City Tour

Cartagena

Lovely city, tour guide explained everything well for a multi-generational family.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Gustavo and Julio took wonderful care of us. Muchas Gracias!

Transport

The driver was excellent! The van itself could use an upgrade, for example, not all the seatbelts worked.