13 Day Intrepid Colombia Passage – Medellín to Cartagena

This is an example of a fully customizable 10-day package tour.

Full list of Medellín day tours, Full list of Santa Marta day tours,  Full list of Cartagena day tours

These 13 amazing days on our Colombia Passage tour will fill you with an abundance of enjoyment and experiences to be shared for the rest of your life.
You’ll experience the true Medellín where you will climb to the top of a giant rock with unbelievable views, unlike anything else in the world. Learn how to grow and brew the perfect coffee, visit heritage-listed pueblos (small towns) and enjoy a chocolate tour with monkeys.
In Cartagena, you’ll discover the coastal Caribbean life in the crystal clear waters of the Rosario Islands as well as exploring local markets, relaxing in a canoe ride through mangroves, and learn the Afro-Colombian drums.
In Santa Marta, you’ll visit the Lost City of Taironaka, and have the opportunity to go paddleboarding down the river into the Caribbean Sea. Explore Minca, a cocoa plantation, and hidden waterfalls before enjoying the tropical waters and sandy beaches of Cabo San Juan in Tayrona Park.

Welcome to Colombia!

Arrive at any time, your driver will be waiting to collect you from the airport and take you to your hotel.

You'll start your day with a cable car ride over the hundreds of houses in Comuna 13. Many of these houses and settlements belong to many displaced people from rural areas. Due to a complicated internal conflict between the FARC, Colombian Military, Paramilitaries, and Drug Traffickers, over 7 million people have been displaced in Colombia.

Next, you get to venture inside Comuna 13, something that would certainly have been unimaginable 15 years ago due to the violence and lack of security. Not only is this location the most significant street art district in Medellin, yet it is additionally where the very first open-air electrical escalators in the world were mounted. You’ll get to ride these escalators and get the chance to learn the meanings behind much of the graffiti.

Following this unbelievable tour of the graffiti, you’ll be off to enjoy a fruit tasting of some of the most amazing tropical fruits at Plaza la America. This place has almost every fruit you can imagine and so many we guarantee you’ve never seen before!

Following this, you’ll continue your journey and visit a location full of surprises. Where not only will you find the Medellin Civic Center, administrative buildings like the Medellín City Hall, the Park of Lights, along with some of the most important heritage buildings in Medellin's history. 

Carrying on to your nest stop of Parque San Antonio, you’ll find 4 of Botero's sculptures, the most important ones are The Hurt Bird and the Peace Bird, one of the sculptures was destroyed after a terrorist attack in 1995, and the other one, an exact replica of the first one brought to Medellin in 2000.

Next, it’s off for a stop at Botero Plaza, an iconic place additionally referred to as Sculptures Park. This urban space displays 23 sculptures of the renowned son of Medellin and Master Sculptor Fernando Botero.

After wandering through and marveling at this al fresco gallery, you’ll move onto the Cultural Palace, a beautiful neo-Gothic style building, and a visit to the very first church built in Medellin during the colonial period; the Candelaria in 1776, along with the 2nd oldest church la Iglesia de la Veracruz, built-in 1803.

Starting your tour at 8 am you begin your adventure with a beautiful scenic drive to an Old Peñol Replica Town in Guatape.  This town square was constructed to look exactly like the sunken village of Old Peñol at the bottom of the manmade Peñol-Guatapé reservoir. Here your guide will explain how, why, and when, and show you photos of exactly how this town once looked.

You then venture to Guatape Rock also known as Piedra del Peñol, where you can climb the 740 steps to reach the top and have an amazing 360° view of the surrounding area including the 500 km shore-perimeter dam.

Next, you'll travel the short distance to Guatape town (The City of Zocalos) where you’ll walk the streets of this beautiful town and learn what is the Zocalo tradition and why it started. You’ll also get to visit the Plaza (main square), Remembrance Street, boardwalk (Malecón) the church, and maybe enjoy a tuk-tuk ride.

To complete your day you'll check-in to your hotel and enjoy the night in this wonderful lake side setting.

Collected from your hotel around 7am, you’ll relax in your private transport for a drive of around 1.5 hours to a Cocoa Finca close to the town of San Rafael. Once here you’ll be greeted with a wonderful breakfast of fresh fruit, eggs, Aprea (flat cornbread), and of course one of the freshest hot chocolates you’ll ever have in your life!

Next, it’s off to explore this chocolate farm with an easy hike of around 1.5 hours through the cocoa plantation of a variety of different cocoa trees. Taking a path through areas of bamboo, bananas, cocoa, giant Yarumo trees, you’ll encounter a natural spring that feeds much of this area. 

Following this exceptional experience in this natural wonderland, you’ll be starting to feel a bit peakish and will make your way back to the main house for a traditional lunch called a Fiambre (Wrapped in banana leaves and consisting of rice, sausage, fried pork, ground meat, boiled or fried egg, platano, and arepa)
Next, it’s time to make some real chocolate yourself. Using a traditional artisan method, you’ll toast the cocoa beans are on top of an open fire until well cooked and you begin to hear a cracking noise. Once they’re ready you’ll put them into a grinder, and you guessed it… you’ll grind the cocoa beans to create wonderfully thick chocolate that is 100% Cocoa. Following this, you’ll add your choice of mixes, nuts, sweets, and create your very own delicious chocolate bar.

To complete your tour, you’ll be transported back in your private vehicle to your Medellín hotel with some of the most wonderful memories of this Colombian adventure.

Day 5: Flight Medellin - Santa Marta

Enjoy a short flight to Santa Marta arriving around mid-afternoon. 

Your transport will be waiting to collect you and take you directly to your hotel.

Depending on the hotel-style you choose, you will be staying in the Historic Sector of Santa Marta or next to Tayrona National Park.

Travel to the small town of Minca where you'll breathe in the fresh mountain air and enjoy a tour of this wonderful little mountain pueblo, including its wonderful cafes and artisan shops.

Following this, you'll receive a coffee tour, where you'll learn everything about the production of Colombian liquid gold, from the seed to the cup.

Next, you are off on a mountain adventure you'll explore some hidden waterfalls, with the opportunity for a refreshing swim (don't forget your swimming trunks)! Of course, throughout your journey, you need to keep an eye out for any exotic birds that happen to be hanging out close by!

Enjoy a Free Day exploring by yourselves or perhaps you’d like to take a guided tour to Cabo San Juan in Tayrona National Park. 

Day 8: The Lost City of Taironaka

Collected from your Santa Marta hotel at around 8am you’ll start your adventure into the jungle of the Sierra Nevada with a relaxing drive of approximately 1.5 hours to the entrance of the beautiful Rio Don Diego. Once here, you’ll jump out of the car and into a boat for a short 15 min ride up the river to Tayronaka.

On arrival to Taironaka, you’ll immediately see the wonderful nature surrounding this archelogy site and begin to understand the significance of this location to not only the ancestral history of the Kogui indigenous. But that of all of Colombia, if not the history of the entire Americas.

You’ll walk over these ancient ruins and visit the museum filled with ageless artifacts for approximately an hour with your guide freely answering all your questions about the past and present location.

Next, it’s a short walk to the Kogui community that calls this land their home, and to meet some of the direct descendants of the Tayrona people who built these structures and lived in this region for thousands of years.

Meeting these kindhearted people is an experience in itself, but while here you’ll also receive an “aseguranza” that will safeguard you for all your future travels. Ensuring a Kogui spirit will help and guide you into the future.

To finish off your time here you’ll enjoy a wonderful typical lunch before setting off back down the river. But this time on/in your choice of a Kayak, a paddleboard, or a large inner tube.

Arriving at the mouth of the river where it opens into the Caribbean Sea you’ll be in time to enjoy some relaxing beach time as well as a beautiful sunset before setting off back to your hotel to reflect on yet another day in the Caribbean paradise of Colombia.

Relax in a morning drive along the coast to your waiting hotel in Cartagena.

Once here you’ll check into your hotel and enjoy some Free Time in this wonderful setting.

Cartagena City Tour

With our bilingual guide explaining the history behind every important site you visit. You'll discover panoramic views of the city from Cerro de La Popa; a convent built in 1606, and the highest peak overlooking Cartagena. Explore inside the historic Castle San Felipe, learning the paths and methods of defending this heritage-listed structure from pirates and invaders around the world. 

You’ll step back in time on a journey through the layers of history uncovering some surprising, surreal, and sometimes scary stories as you explore every aspect of the city's charming colonial streets and take in all the main landmarks of Cartagena's famous walled city. All the time learning of the true history of this city's historic struggle between the Spanish colonialists and pirates from many different nations.

Your tour will include the Clock Tower monument, the original entrance of the fortified city, and your starting point for the tour through the historic center of Cartagena de Indias. Your tour will also include unmissable locations such as Bolivar Park, the Plaza Saint Pedro Claver, the Plaza de Los Jagüeyes, San Diego, and of course the colorful streets of Gertsemani.

This truly is the most complete journey of the main areas of Cartagena, and the perfect tour to enjoy not just the history, but to also get acquainted with the most important Cartagena landmarks.

Enjoy a wonderful ocean cruise on a speedboat to the Rosario Islands; arriving at a beautiful picturesque beach for a typical Caribbean lunch, crystal clear waters, water-sports, white sands, and palm trees. 

You'll be assigned your personal beach space which will be exclusive for yourself and members of your group. 

You'll receive full beach service, a fantastic typical lunch; use of deckchairs and umbrellas; a cocktail on arrival, and English-speaking hosts. 

You will have the full day to relax and enjoy your space along with kayaking, and the ability to hire gear for snorkeling or paddleboarding.

Day 11: Mangroves and Traditional Drums

Enjoy a wonderful trip in the middle of beautiful mangroves in an original wooden canoe managed by a fisherman from a local village.

After your mangroves adventure, there is nothing better than to connect with the Afro-Colombian locals; to feel their culture, to listen, and to learn the rhythms of the folk music of this region, such as Cumbia, El Bullerengue, Mapalé, and La Champeta.

Discover the true rhythm of the Afro-Colombian Caribbean with a drum workshop taken by people from the drum school.

Day 12: Getsemaní and Bazurto Markets

Enjoy a walking tour of this colorful neighborhood, with your bilingual guide. You'll get to explore the streets filled with graffiti, Centenario Park, and the Holy Trinity Square. not to mention discovering where all the hip cafes, bars, and restaurants in this neighborhood are hidden away. 

Next, it's onto the typical Colombian markets of Bazurto full of amazing tropical fruits, and everything you could want to buy.

You’ll begin your guided tour with an introduction to the daily life of these hard-working Colombians. Many of them have been up hours before the break of dawn to ensure their stalls are ready for the influx of locals and tourists alike.

Following this, you’ll be learning about the different fruits, along with sampling this wonderfully colorful and exotic flavored produce. You’ll learn the different seasons, names, and the sweet and sour flavors of each.

Next, you’ll carry on maneuvering your way through the stalls into the meat section of the market, where you’ll find all manner of freshly cut meat from a wide variety of animals, as well as a huge variety of fish as well.

After this introduction to the wide diversity of Colombian, fruits, vegetables, meats, and fish, you’ll be starting to feel a little bit hungry. So, you’ll be guided through even more stalls and people to discover a wonderfully authentic restaurant called Celia’s. Here you’ll learn how the locals cook their meals and enjoy a delicious fresh lunch.

Sunset Catamaran Cruise

One of the most romantic moments of the day is to enjoy a sunset, and Cartagena has one of the most beautiful in the world!

You can enjoy it from the imposing bay of the city aboard a catamaran for 2 wonderful hours from 5-7pm.

nb. excludes Wharf Tax of $9,000 COP (approx $2.50)

Day 13: Today it is Farewell to Cartagena and to Colombia - or extend your stay!

Hablamos pronto, safe travels home, and visit again soon!

We’ll have transport waiting to take you to the airport at your desired time.

What's included?

• 12x Accommodation - 3-5 star hotels 

• 11x breakfast, 5x lunch

• Private transfers in an air-conditioned car

• All airport transfers

• Private excursions

• English-speaking guide on all excursions

• All entrance fees

• 24-hour support group

• International and domestic flights
• Travel Insurance

Please note:

Tayrona Park will be closed during the month of February, 1st-15th of June, 19th of Oct - 2nd of November.  During this time an alternative tour can be provided to a Flamingo Sanctuary. 

BnB Colombia Tours