Out of all the countries we have visited during our trip, Colombia was one of our favorites. From the bustling culinary capitals of Bogota and Medellin, to Salento and Filandia in the coffee region, to the all day and night salsa party that is Cali and the off the beaten path, relaxing small towns of Jardin and Buenavista, Colombia absolutely has it all. Regardless of whether you have a week or month to visit Colombia, we’ve crafted the perfect Colombia itinerary to help you plan an incredible trip!
Although the country is feared to be “not safe” by many people in the United States due to it’s complicated history of drugs and violence, Colombia has made a complete 180. During the 2+ months we spent there, we never felt unsafe and strongly believe that the country will become one of the top travel destination in the next couple years due to its investments in public infrastructure, affordability and diverse amounts of activities available to food and outdoor lovers alike. You’re going to love it!
1 Week Colombia Itinerary
This One Week Colombia Itinerary is written with the US traveler in mind. The goal is to do and see as much as possible, as efficiently as possible. We get it, we’ve been there.
Our 1 Week Colombia Itinerary focuses on the culinary and cultural capitals of Bogota and Medellin with some time spent in Colombian coffee country:
- Day 1: Arrive in Bogota
- Bogota Bike Tour or Graffiti Tour, dinner at Salvo Patria
- Day 2: Bogota
- Hike Monserrate, take another tour, Botero museum
- Day 3: Flight to Medellin
- Communa 13 Tour
- Day 4: Medellin
- RealCity Walking Tour, Soccer Game
- Day 5: Guatape Day Trip from Medellin
- Day 6: Flight to Salento
- Coffee Farm tour hike
- Day 7: Salento
- Cocora Valley Hike
- Day 8: Fly back home
Click here to open up our more detailed Travel Guides to Bogota, Medellin and Salento!
2 Week Colombia Itinerary
This itinerary is for people who have a little more time but not all the time in the world. Maybe you work for a progressive company, or maybe your country values vacation time a little higher than the US. Either way, lucky you!
In addition to the main culinary and cultural attractions in the 1 Week Itinerary, our Two Week Colombia Itinerary allows you to get off the beaten track a little more and pick up some dancing skills!
- Day 1: Arrive in Bogota
- Day 2: Bogota
- Day 3: Fly to Medellin
- Day 4: Medellin
- Day 5: Guatape Day Trip
- Day 6: Bus to Jerico
- Day 7: Bus to Jardin
- Day 8: Jardin
- Day 9: Bus to Medellin
- Day 10: Fly to Salento
- Day 11: Salento
- Day 12: Bus to Cali
- Day 13: Cali
- Day 14: Cali
- Day 15: Bus to Ecuador or fly back home
Jerico and Jardin are two small Colombia towns in coffee county. They are great places to hike and enjoy a slower pace of life. Cali is the place to party, take salsa lessons by day and dance by night. If that’s not your thing, add a couple more days to Bogota, Medellin, or Salento. In additional to the travel guides mentioned above, here you can find links to Travel Guides for Jerico, Jardin, and Cali.
4 Week Colombia Itinerary
This is for the traveler who’s got time to explore. Either you’re taking a yearlong South America trip or you’ve decided you want to do a deeper dive on Colombia. Either way, this Colombia Itinerary balances movement with relaxation and leaves you with an incredible Colombian experience.
- Day 1: Arrive in Bogota
- Day 2: Bogota
- Day 3: Bogota
- Day 4: Bogota
- Day 5: Fly to Medellin
- Day 6: Medellin
- Day 7: Bus to Guatape
- Day 8: Bus to Medellin
- Day 9: Medellin
- Day 10: Medellin
- Day 11: Bus to Jerico
- Day 12: Bus to Jardin
- Day 13: Jardin
- Day 14: Jardin
- Day 15: Bus to Medellin
- Day 16: Fly to Salento
- Day 17: Salento
- Day 18: Salento
- Day 19: Bus to Santa Rosa de Cabal
- Day 20: Santa Rosa de Cabal
- Day 21: Bus to Filandia
- Day 22: Filandia
- Day 23: Bus to Buenavista
- Day 24: Buenavista
- Day 25: Buenavista
- Day 26: Bus to Cali
- Day 27: Cali
- Day 28: Cali
- Day 29: Cali
- Day 30: Bus to Ecuador or fly to Peru
An extra 2 weeks in Colombia gives you more time to enjoy Colombian coffee country including the small towns of Buenavista and Filandia. You even get to sneak in a couple days of hot springs and the best chorizo ever in Santa Rosa de Cabal. Click here to check out our Travel Guides for Buenavista, Filandia and Santa Rosa de Cabal!
More Options
Our itineraries exclude the northern, Caribbean coast of Colombia. We’ve met other traveler who have absolutely loved the jungles and beach of northern Colombia. For us it was too hot, humid, and buggy (think 90F+, 90% humidity year round) and reminded us of the Houston, Texas summer we had just recently left. Our northern Colombia experience started and ended with Cartagena. We wrote a post on Cartagena that goes into more detail as to why it wasn’t for us.
If the jungles and beaches of the Caribbean coast sounds appealing to you and you don’t mind the heat, we recommend factoring in a week to go to Cartagena, Minca, and Tayrona National Park. If you love trekking, you also have the option to do the 5 day, 4 night Lost City Trek! Along Dustry Roads put together a helpful guide to the Lost City Trek if you’re interested.
N&M Travel Guides
You can find the links to all our Colombia travel guides in the drop down menu above.
A good place to start is our Best of Colombia post that goes into our favorite food, coffee, hostels, and experiences Colombia has to offer!
Panaderia Francesco – Bogota Hot and fresh bunuelos – Everywhere Helena Aldentro – Filandia
There you have it, our Colombia Itinerary! From us to you, happy adventuring!
