Colombian Explorer: Medellín Nights & Tayrona National Park — Self-Launched

Land at Rafael Núñez Airport and take an official taxi or an Uber/inDrive into Getsemaní or the historic centre (£2-4, 15 mins). Check into a hostel or budget guesthouse inside or just outside the walls. Spend the evening easing in: walk through the Puerta del Reloj, grab a street-side arepa de huevo or a plate of ceviche, and soak up Plaza de la Trinidad in Getsemaní, which is livelier and cheaper than the old town's plazas. If you want company, most hostels in Getsemaní run a nightly WhatsApp group for dinner and drinks.

🚌Airport taxi ~£3

🛏Hostel or guesthouse in Getsemaní / Centro Histórico (£16-20 dorm or budget double)

• →Puerta del Reloj and Plaza de la Trinidad evening wander
• →Street food dinner in Getsemaní

Join one of the free tip-based walking tours that leave from Plaza de la Trinidad or Parque Fernández de Madrid most mornings (Real City Tours and several independents — pay a tip of £5-8). You'll cover Plaza de San Diego, the murals of Getsemaní, the Heredia Theatre and the walls with Caribbean views. In the afternoon, buy a ticket to Castillo San Felipe de Barajas (£5) and explore the tunnels, then climb the ramparts near Café del Mar for sunset. Skip the paid Rosario Islands tour if you're on a budget; the city beaches at Bocagrande are free but crowded.

🚌Walking; occasional taxi £2-3

🛏Same hostel/guesthouse, Cartagena

• →Free (tip-based) walking tour of old town and Getsemaní
• →Castillo San Felipe de Barajas entry ~£5
• →Sunset on the city walls

Take a local taxi or the public 'buseta' to Cartagena's Terminal de Transportes (£2-3), then a bus or shared minivan to Santa Marta's terminal (£7-9, about 3 hours, Marsol or Unitransco). From Santa Marta station, a Minca-bound minibus costs about £1 and takes 45 minutes up into the mountains. Minca is a one-street town of coffee farms and waterfalls — check in, drink a locally grown coffee on a terrace, and book tomorrow's waterfall guide (or just plan to walk yourself). Evening: cheap set lunches (menu del día) and a craft beer at one of the hostels.

🚌Buseta/taxi + intercity bus + minivan to Minca ~£12

🛏Minca hostel or finca guesthouse (£12-16)

• →Travel day
• →Coffee tasting in Minca
• →Sunset over Santa Marta from the hills

Walk out of Minca on the marked road toward the Marinka waterfalls (Las Cascadas Marinka) — about 3.6 km, 1 to 1.5 hours of uphill jungle walking, and you can do it entirely unguided with Maps.me downloaded offline. Pay the small community entrance fee (~£1). Swim in the pool beneath the two cascades, then return to town for lunch. In the afternoon, take a moto-taxi (~£2) or walk to Pozo Azul for a second swimming hole, or book a birdwatching walk (Minca is one of Colombia's best spots for hummingbirds and toucans, ~£10-15 with a local guide arranged at your hostel).

🚌Walking; optional moto-taxi £2

🛏Same Minca hostel/finca

• →Unguided Marinka Waterfalls hike (3.6 km)
• →Swim at Pozo Azul
• →Optional birdwatching walk ~£12

Head back down to Santa Marta and pick up the coastal bus or a shared taxi heading east to Palomino (~£3-4, 2 hours). Palomino is a single dusty road between the Sierra Nevada and the sea — hostels and hammocks sit in the palms. Check in, grab lunch at one of the beach shacks, then book river tubing on the Palomino River for the afternoon (~£10 via any hostel; guides walk you upstream and you float back to the beach). In the evening, join a beach bonfire. Many Palomino hostels light one most nights, so ask around — and bring a torch, it's genuinely dark.

🚌Minivan to Santa Marta + coastal bus/shared taxi ~£7

🛏Palomino beach hostel, hammock or cabaña (£10-16)

• →Palomino river tubing ~£10
• →Beach bonfire
• →Hammock time

Get up early and take a local bus or shared taxi from Palomino to the main El Zaino entrance of Tayrona National Park (~£5). Buy your entry online in advance via the Parques Nacionales Naturales site or the 'Tayrona' portal (about £10-13 for foreigners) — entry is capped daily and sells out in high season. From El Zaino, walk the trail to Cañaveral and Arrecifes (~2 hours through dense jungle — expect howler monkeys, iguanas and giant ceiba trees) and continue to La Piscina or Cabo San Juan if you have energy. Swimming is only safe at designated spots (Arrecifes has strong currents — check the signage). Local certified guides at the entrance cost ~£15-20 per group if you want one. Return to Palomino late afternoon for a seafood dinner on the beach.

🚌Local bus/shared taxi to El Zaino and back ~£8

🛏Same Palomino hostel

• →Tayrona National Park hike (Arrecifes, La Piscina)
• →Optional local guide ~£8 per person shared
• →Beach sunset

Coastal bus or shared taxi back west to Santa Marta (~£4, 1.5 hours). Base yourself in the Centro Histórico near Parque de los Novios. Do your own orientation loop: Parque Bolívar, the Camellón Rodrigo de Bastidas along the water, the marina and the cathedral — all free and easy to walk. Afternoon options: the free Gold Museum (Museo del Oro Tairona) under the Casa de la Aduana, or a taxi to El Rodadero's beach (£3). In the evening, Parque de los Novios is the nightlife hub — bars and salsa clubs, with plenty of backpacker spots along Calle 19.

🚌Coastal bus/shared taxi ~£4; taxis £2-3

🛏Santa Marta hostel or budget hotel in Centro Histórico (£14-20)

• →Self-guided historic centre walk
• →Free Museo del Oro Tairona
• →Night out around Parque de los Novios

Head to Santa Marta's Simón Bolívar airport (taxi ~£3) for a direct flight to Medellín's José María Córdova airport (Avianca, LATAM, JetSmart and Wingo all fly this route; book ahead for fares around £30-50). From the airport take the airport bus or a shared taxi to El Poblado (£4-5) — or better value, stay in Laureles, which is more local and cheaper. Spend the afternoon riding the Metrocable (a £1 integrated ticket covers the metro and cable cars) to Santo Domingo for panoramic views, then eat dinner at a fonda or a cheap bandeja paisa spot.

🚌Domestic flight ~£40 + airport bus/taxi ~£5 + metro ~£1

🛏Laureles or El Poblado hostel/hotel (£15-22)

• →Metrocable ride and city views
• →Local dinner in Laureles

Take the metro to San Javier and the cable car to Las Independencias, then walk into Comuna 13 with one of the community-run graffiti and history tours (book via GetYourGuide, Airbnb Experiences or simply hire a local guide at the top for ~£10-15 — these directly support residents and the hip-hop and dance schools at the escaleras eléctricas). Afterwards, ride back to the centre for the free Museo de Antioquia's Botero plaza sculptures, or pay entry (~£5) for the museum itself. Alternative: Parque Explora and the Planetarium (£6-8), or a day trip to Guatapé's colourful zócalo and El Peñol rock (~£15 by bus from Terminal Norte plus £5 entry). Finish with a night out in Provenza or Laureles.

🚌Metro and cable car ~£2; optional Guatapé bus ~£10

🛏Same Medellín hostel/hotel

• →Comuna 13 graffiti and history tour ~£12
• →Museo de Antioquia ~£5
• →Optional Guatapé day trip

Morning free for a last coffee crawl — Medellín's café scene around Laureles and Provenza rivals Bogotá's — or a wander through Plaza Botero if you missed it. Then take the airport bus or a taxi back to José María Córdova for your international flight out (allow 60-90 minutes from El Poblado given traffic).

🚌Airport bus/taxi ~£5

🛏N/A — departure day

• →Coffee crawl
• →Plaza Botero