Colombia

We started our South American travels in Colombia, a country filled with noise and colour, sprawling cities and astounding natural beauty. Bordered by the Caribbean Sea, Colombia is home to parts of the Amazon rainforest and the Andes Mountain range as well as the ruins of ancient cities and colonial port towns. With a 90-day visa, we had plenty of time to explore the country’s diverse treasures.

Our Colombian adventures include spending a week in colourful Cartagena, a colonial port town on the Caribbean coast steeped in history. Further along the north east coast, we journeying up to Minca in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. This peaceful town nestled in forested peaks was one of our favourite places, with spectacular birds, trekking, waterfalls and cacao and coffee farms. We also spent a month in Medellin, the country’s second-largest city, we also had time to visit the capital city, Bogota, and explore Popayan.

Our four-month South America trip was filled with incredible experiences. We trekked through the Amazon rainforest, rode a bumpy jeep across the largest salt flat in the world, climbed up Machu Picchu mountain and watched the sunset from an eco-retreat in the Colombian mountains. It wasn’t all smooth sailing and there were definitely some things we weren’t prepared for though, including the high prices, freezing altitudes and meat-heavy menus.
19 July, 2018 /
Thinking of travelling in Colombia? From our experience, South America can be an expensive beast to tackle, especially when it comes to activities and getting around. We budgeted £50 for two people per day, but did we manage to stick to that? Here’s a breakdown of how much our seven-week trip to Colombia cost, from food and accommodation prices to activities and transport.
03 May, 2018 /
Meat, fried meat and more meat, including guinea pigs and llamas. That’s been our experience of the South American diet so far. We definitely haven’t been living the vegan dream while travelling through Colombia, Peru and Bolivia this year, so how exactly have we been coping? From renting apartments with kitchens to stuffing our faces with avocados and surviving travel days on Ritz crackers, here’s how we’re managing vegan South America travel.
05 April, 2018 /
Medellin, Colombia, can be a tough city to love. Yes, it has a dark past and there are still plenty of visible problems, including street crime and a community that literally lives on top of a toxic trash pile. However, Medellin is also a city in the throes of a staggering transformation, one filled with some of the friendliest people we've met anywhere in the world. During our month in Medellin, as we took time to learn about the city, it steadily grew on us. So, from cable cars to graffiti tours, here are our top things to do in Medellin Colombia and some tips for making the most of your stay.
23 March, 2018 /
Last week we celebrated five years of travel, can you believe that? I still vividly remember waving goodbye to our families at Heathrow in 2013, clutching our brand-new backpacks and one-way tickets to New Zealand, heading off on what we thought would be a two-year trip around the world. Yet, here we are in Colombia five years later, reflecting on both the amazing and tough aspects of this nomadic lifestyle we’ve managed to carve for ourselves.
07 March, 2018 /
Picture a town nestled amongst forested peaks, with dusty trails leading to icy waterfalls and panoramic viewpoints. Welcome to Minca, our favourite place in Colombia. This tiny oasis in the Sierra Nevada mountain range is a haven for trekkers and nature lovers, full of diverse wildlife such as hummingbirds and toucans. From touring coffee and cacao farms to bathing in waterfalls, here are our top things to do in Minca, how to get there and where to stay.
23 February, 2018 /
There are two bird statues in San Antonio Square in Medellin Colombia. One is discoloured and gnarled, destroyed by a bomb in 1995 that killed 22 people who were enjoying a music concert. The second bird is identical save for the fact that it’s shiny and whole. These Pajaros de Paz, Birds of Peace, are a stark reminder of Medellin's troubled past, but also of its transformation from the most dangerous to the most innovative city in the world.
09 February, 2018 /
This week has been all about the tiny town of Minca, set in the Sierra Nevada mountains in Colombia. Here the forests are dotted with icy waterfalls and the skies filled with the calls of tropical birds. Despite a bout of food poisoning and being covered in itchy bug bites, we’ve hiked, toured cacao farms and hung out in a rustic retreat where a scorpion lived in our open-air bathroom.
04 February, 2018 /
Our first week in Colombia has been stuffed with activity. We’ve wandered around colourful Cartagena, taken a very un-relaxing trip to Playa Blanca, baked in the scorching sunshine and stuffed our faces with the biggest avocados we’ve ever seen. The week has also been a battle to balance work with exploring (as always) and come to terms with the fact that we’re not really ‘backpackers’ anymore. Read on for our Colombia first impressions.
29 January, 2018 /
Cartagena was our first destination in Colombia and we fell for its colourful, historical charm. The port city is set on the Caribbean coast and boasts a tropical climate, 16th century UNESCO Old Town, imposing fort and nearby white-sand beaches. Colonised by the Spanish, Cartagena is Colombia’s largest port and one of its top tourist draws. If you’re visiting the city, find out about its top sights, where to stay and how to get around in our Cartagena guide.
24 January, 2018 /