Best of Colombia — Self-Launched (15 Days, Bogota to Cartagena)
15 days · Colombia
Intrepid Travel charges £4,180
No-markup version: ~£1,405 per person
Estimate only, not a guaranteed price. Always verify costs independently before booking.
A self-launched version of Intrepid's 15-day 'Best of Colombia' run from Bogota to Cartagena: big-city street food and colonial lanes in Bogota, the wax palms and coffee fincas of the Zona Cafetera, Medellin's metrocable and flower farms, then the Caribbean coast — Cartagena's old town, La Boquilla mangroves, the Kogui community at Taironaka and the jungle-beach hike to Cabo San Juan in Tayrona. You book the same buses, domestic flights, fincas and hostels yourself, use GetYourGuide/direct operators for the walks and coffee tours, and travel at your own pace. All figures are approximate per-person estimates in GBP.
Day-by-day
Arrive Bogota — La Candelaria on foot
Bogota
Land at El Dorado, take the TransMilenio or an airport taxi (~£8-10 split) into La Candelaria and check into a hostel in the colonial centre. Do your own free walking tour of La Candelaria — Bogota Walking Tours and Beyond Colombia both run tip-based walks twice daily from Plaza de Bolivar — covering the Gold Museum area, Botero's Palacio de Justicia murals and the narrow carrera streets. Evening: warm up with ajiaco or a bandeja at a local spot in Candelaria.
🚌Airport bus/taxi to La Candelaria (~£8); walking + TransMilenio (~£1/trip)
🛏Hostel dorm in La Candelaria (~£12/night)
- →Self-joined free walking tour of La Candelaria (tip-based, ~£5)
- →Plaza de Bolivar and Botero murals
- →Ajiaco dinner in Candelaria
Bogota markets and Tejo, then fly to Pereira/Armenia
Bogota → Salento
Morning at Paloquemao or Samper Mendoza food market — go early with a couple of other travellers from your hostel, sample exotic fruit and tamales (~£4). In the afternoon try tejo, the national sport of throwing a metal puck at gunpowder-filled targets; Tejo clubs in Bogota charge ~£5-8 per person including a crate of beer. Evening budget flight Bogota–Pereira or Armenia on Avianca/LATAM/Wingo (~£45-65 booked ahead), then a colectivo or bus up to Salento (~£3) and check into a hostel near Plaza de Bolivar.
🚌TransMilenio (~£1); Bogota–Pereira/Armenia flight ~£55; airport bus to Salento ~£3
🛏Salento hostel dorm (~£12/night)
- →Paloquemao food market wander
- →Tejo game with a local crowd (~£6)
- →Evening flight to the coffee region
Cocora Valley wax palms hike
Cocora Valley / Salento
Take a shared Willys jeep from Salento's main square to Valle de Cocora (~£2-3 each way, 25 min, jeeps leave when full from 7am). Walk the classic loop: valley floor past the wax palms, up to Acaime hummingbird finca (~£2 entry, hot chocolate included) and back down — about 5 hours, steep and slippery in parts, so bring water, snacks and decent shoes. Easier option: jeep up and a shorter valley-floor stroll. Back in Salento for trout with patacon at a local restaurant (~£6).
🚌Shared Willys jeep ~£5 return; walking
🛏Salento hostel dorm (~£12/night)
- →Willys jeep to Cocora Valley (~£5 return)
- →Wax palm loop hike via Acaime (~£2 entry)
- →Trout dinner in Salento
Coffee finca stay and plantation tour
Coffee Estancia (Salento area)
Book a night at a working coffee finca around Salento or Filandia — options like Finca El Ocaso, Hacienda Venecia or smaller family fincas offer dorm/private rooms from ~£18-25 including breakfast. Their own plantation tours run £8-12 and cover picking, pulping, drying and roasting, ending with a cupping. Spend the rest of the day in a hammock, then a farm-set dinner (~£8). Book direct by email or via Booking.com — no guide needed.
🚌Local bus/Willys from Salento to finca (~£2); walking
🛏Coffee finca dorm room with breakfast (~£22/night)
- →Coffee plantation tour and tasting (~£10, booked direct)
- →Finca walk and cupping
- →Farm dinner
Coffee region to Medellin
Coffee Estancia → Medellin
Morning caffeine, then bus back to Armenia or Pereira and onward to Medellin. Overnight buses run from Armenia/Pereira to Medellin Norte (~£16-22, 8-9 hours); day buses take about 7-8 hours (~£14). Alternatively a 45-min domestic flight Pereira–Medellin (~£40) if you want to save a day. Check into a hostel in El Poblado or Laureles — Laureles is cheaper and more local, ~£11-14 a dorm.
🚌Bus to Armenia/Pereira (~£3) + bus to Medellin ~£18 (or flight ~£40)
🛏Medellin hostel dorm, Laureles (~£13/night)
- →Scenic Andes bus ride
- →Evening stroll around Laureles / El Poblado
Metrocable, Santa Elena and flower farms
Medellin / Santa Elena
Ride the Medellin metro and Metrocable up to Santo Domingo and across to Arvi (a single Civica card journey ~£0.60 — the cheapest cable-car sightseeing in the world). From Santa Elena, take a local bus (~£1) up to the silletero flower farms; several families in Barrio El Plan run short tours of their gardens and explain the silleta tradition (~£5-8, just knock or ask locally / your hostel). Evening: salsa bars in Laureles or El Poblado free entry with a drink (~£5).
🚌Metro/Metrocable ~£1, local bus ~£1
🛏Medellin hostel dorm (~£13/night)
- →Metro + Metrocable ride (~£1)
- →Santa Elena flower garden visit (~£6)
- →Salsa bar evening
Medellin museums day
Medellin
Do the city's own museums: Museo de Antioquia on Plaza Botero (~£4, Botero collection plus the plaza sculptures), then Museo de Arte Moderno in Ciudad del Rio (~£3). Optionally add the Comuna 13 graffiti district — go independently on the metro plus cable car and walk the escaleras, or join a community-led tour (~£10-12, better for context and safer). Finish with street food at Placita de Florez market.
🚌Metro (~£1); taxi to Comuna 13 (~£4)
🛏Medellin hostel dorm (~£13/night)
- →Museo de Antioquia (~£4)
- →Museo de Arte Moderno (~£3)
- →Optional Comuna 13 community tour (~£10)
Fly to Cartagena — old town orientation walk
Medellin → Cartagena
Budget flight Medellin–Cartagena (~£45-60 with Avianca/Viva/Wingo booked ahead; ~1h20). Get a taxi or shuttle to Getsemani (~£6-8) and check into a hostel there — Getsemani is the budget traveller's base, dorms ~£12-15. In the afternoon do your own orientation walk: Torre del Reloj, Plaza de la Trinidad, the colourful umbrellas on Calle 35, the walls at Cafe del Mar for sunset. GetYourGuide has a free/tip-based Cartagena walking tour if you want a local voice.
🚌Flight Medellin–Cartagena ~£52; airport taxi ~£7
🛏Getsemani hostel dorm (~£14/night)
- →Getsemani and walled-city self-walk
- →Plaza de la Trinidad people-watching
- →Sunset on the city walls
La Boquilla mangroves and street food
Cartagena / La Boquilla
Take a local bus or taxi north to La Boquilla fishing village (bus ~£0.60, taxi ~£4). Hire a local canoe/boatman for a mangrove channel paddle through Cienaga de la Virgen (~£8-10 per person, negotiate directly at the beach rather than through a hotel) — birds, crabs and the old tunnel of mangroves. Lunch on mojarra frita and coconut rice at a beach shack (~£5). Back in Cartagena, do your own street-food crawl: arepas de huevo, carimanola, ceviche de camaron from the carts in Getsemani (~£6 total).
🚌Local bus ~£0.60 each way; taxi ~£4 alternative
🛏Getsemani hostel dorm (~£14/night)
- →Mangrove canoe with a local boatman (~£9)
- →La Boquilla beach lunch
- →DIY Cartagena street-food crawl (~£6)
Cartagena — castle, La Popa or Rosario islands
Cartagena
Pick your own adventure: Castillo San Felipe de Barajas entry ~£6; La Popa Monastery ~£4 plus taxi up (~£3); Las Bovedas handicraft vaults free to wander. Or take a budget day boat to Islas del Rosario — book at the Muelle de la Bodeguita (~£22-28 including entrance and lunch, cheaper if you skip the aquarium add-on); snorkelling gear ~£4. Evening: salsa in Getsemani, Café Havana or Bazurto Social Club (~£5 cover).
🚌Walking; local taxi ~£3; boat to islands included in day tour
🛏Getsemani hostel dorm (~£14/night)
- →Castillo San Felipe de Barajas (~£6)
- →La Popa Monastery (~£4)
- →Optional Islas del Rosario boat day (~£25)
Bus to Taironaka, Kogui community and Don Diego River
Taironaka (Don Diego River)
Take a bus from Cartagena to Santa Marta (~£9, 4-5 hrs, or the faster and safer Berlinas/Unitransco coach ~£12) and onward/transfer to Taironaka eco-lodge on the Don Diego River (taxi from Santa Marta ~£15-18, or arrange a pickup with the lodge). Taironaka offers shared cabanas/dorm-style rooms with meals ~£28-35 per night half board. Book direct by WhatsApp/email. The lodge arranges a visit with a Kogui community member to talk about their cosmology and the Sierra's sacred geography (~£8-10 contribution), plus the lodge's own reforestation/tree-planting project where you can plant a seedling.
🚌Coach Cartagena–Santa Marta ~£10; taxi/transfer to Taironaka ~£16
🛏Taironaka eco-lodge, shared cabana with meals (~£32/night)
- →Taironaka lodge stay on the Don Diego River
- →Kogui community talk (~£9)
- →Tree-planting in the reforestation plot
Tayrona National Park hike to Cabo San Juan
Tayrona National Park
Early start: get to the Tayrona entrance at Calabazo or El Zaino (taxi/collective from Taironaka/Santa Marta ~£10-15). Park entrance in high season is ~£18-20 for foreigners (~£10 low season) — buy at the gate. Walk the main trail from El Zaino through jungle to Arrecifes, La Piscina and on to Cabo San Juan (~2-2.5 hrs each way, steep in places, muddy after rain). Swim, then either hike back or take the shared boat back to Taganga if running (~£8). Stay overnight at the park's Cabo San Juan hammocks if you want sunrise (~£10-12 in a hammock) or return to Taironaka/Santa Marta.
🚌Collective/taxi to park entrance ~£12; walking; optional boat ~£8
🛏Return to Taironaka eco-lodge (~£32/night) or Cabo San Juan hammock (~£11)
- →Tayrona NP entrance and jungle trail (~£19)
- →La Piscina and Cabo San Juan beaches
- →Optional hammock night in the park (~£11)
Santa Marta orientation
Santa Marta
Transfer back to Santa Marta (~£12-15) and check into a hostel in the Centro Historico (~£11-13 dorm). Wander the cathedral, Parque de los Novios and Plaza de Bolivar at sunset, then eat at the food stalls around Parque de los Novios — cazuela de mariscos or a cheap menu del dia (~£6). Santa Marta is also a good base to add a Lost City (Ciudad Perdida) trek if you have extra days: 4-5 day guided treks run ~£280-350 with Turcol or Expotur.
🚌Taxi/colectivo from Taironaka ~£14; walking
🛏Santa Marta hostel dorm (~£12/night)
- →Centro Historico walk
- →Parque de los Novios food stalls
- →Optional: book a Ciudad Perdida trek
Santa Marta to Cartagena
Santa Marta → Cartagena
Return coach Santa Marta–Cartagena with Berlinas or Unitransco (~£10-12, ~4.5 hrs, more comfortable than the local bus). Check back into Getsemani. Use the afternoon for last shopping in Las Bovedas and a final night out — a cheap seafood dinner in Getsemani (~£8) and drinks on the walls.
🚌Coach Santa Marta–Cartagena ~£11
🛏Getsemani hostel dorm (~£14/night)
- →Coastal coach ride
- →Las Bovedas handicraft shopping
- →Final dinner in Getsemani
Depart Cartagena
Cartagena
Breakfast at the hostel, a last walk through the old town before the heat, then taxi to Rafael Nunez airport (~£7) for your international flight home. If you have a late flight, day-pass a hostel or store bags (~£4) and use the beach at Bocagrande.
🚌Taxi to Cartagena airport ~£7
🛏—
- →Old town morning stroll
- →Airport transfer
Self-launched vs. Intrepid Travel
| This itinerary (self-launched) | Intrepid Travel | |
|---|---|---|
| Price per person | ~£1,405 | £4,180 |
| Duration | 15 days | 15 days |
| Who books it | You and your group, direct | Tour operator, guided group |
| Savings | £2,775 per person (66%) | |
Estimate only, not a guaranteed price. Always verify costs independently before booking.
Want to see more Intrepid Travel-style trips? Check them out here.~£1,405
estimated per person
You never pay Travel Crew for this — you pay hostels, transport, and activity providers directly, the same as if you'd booked it all yourself.
This publishes your dates so other travellers can find and join you — no tour operator needed.
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Frequently asked questions
How much does Best of Colombia — Self-Launched (15 Days, Bogota to Cartagena) cost?+
Doing it yourself with this self-launched itinerary costs an estimated £1,405 per person for 15 days in Colombia. This is an AI-generated estimate based on typical budget-traveller prices — actual costs will vary by season and how you book.
Is this cheaper than booking with Intrepid Travel?+
Yes — Intrepid Travel charges around £4,180 per person for a similar tour. Doing the same route independently, using the same standard of accommodation and activities, costs an estimated £1,405 — a saving of roughly £2,775 (66%) per person.
How long is the Colombia trip?+
This itinerary runs 15 days, covering 15 day-by-day stops through Colombia.
How do I join this trip?+
You can join an existing open departure using this itinerary if one is scheduled, or launch your own departure with your own dates and invite other travellers to join you — no tour operator required.
Isn't it easier to just use a tour operator?+
Well, yes, a tour operator will book all the individual parts of your travel for you and provide a guide. That's obvious, but doing this has the potential to save the group thousands, which can in turn improve your itinerary substantially or save you huge amounts of money. Also, when you launch a departure, Travel Crew has tools in place to help you book the individual sections of the trip or make it easier for you to do this as a group. Really, you do not need a middle man. If you are more comfortable paying more and using a middle man, then you should certainly do this.
Is it safer to book through a tour operator?+
Arguably, there isn't much difference. A self-launched trip runs on the same principle as a group travel crew: collective responsibility, everyone looking out for each other, the same way it would if a group of friends organised the trip themselves — because that's exactly what's happening. You should always take out travel insurance before you go, self-launched or not; that doesn't change either way. Every open departure is published publicly with real dates and a real trip organiser, so it's never an anonymous arrangement, and our support team is reachable any time you need help, including in an emergency while you're away. Longer-term, we're building direct relationships with ground DMCs in popular destinations, offered as an optional paid add-on for extra on-the-ground support. Ultimately, though, the group is responsible for its own conduct and safety on a self-launched trip, same as on any trip you plan yourself.
What kind of trip is this?+
This is a adventure, culture, hiking trip through Colombia, self-launched rather than run by a tour operator — you organise it with a group you find or bring yourself.
Would you like to name the operator, name the trip, or have any suggestions about how to improve this itinerary?
Drop your comment below — if you've done a similar route, tell us what worked, what you'd add, or what you'd skip.
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