I can’t believe that six weeks have passed since I quit my job and took off to travel the world. During those six weeks, I’ve explored Colombia, trying to see as much of the country as I could. I have had an incredible time and now as I get ready to move on to my next destination, I though I’d take a little bit of time to reflect on the past few weeks.
How I Spent Six Weeks in Colombia
Let’s start this recap with an actual recap of what the last six weeks were like. In total, I spent 40 nights in Colombia (so just shy of six weeks). Over that time, I visited quite a few destinations, but despite that, I still didn’t quite manage to get to every place I wanted. Colombia is a massive country, there so much to see, and it takes forever to travel from place to place. So despite six weeks in the country, I already have a pretty substantial list of places I still want to visit (and a few places that I’d like to return).
Enough rambling. Here’s how I spent six weeks in Colombia. Note that I haven’t quite gotten articles posted for each location, but they are coming.
Cartagena (2 nights)
My trip started in hot and humid Cartagena. It started as a welcome relief from the cold Wisconsin winter (and the snow storms that I drove through to get to the airport), but it didn’t take long for the heat to catch up and me to start sweating. Still, I got out an saw what I could, touring Castillo San Felipe, walking on the city’s historic walls, and wandering the Getsemaní neighborhood.
I didn’t have a lot of time in Cartagena, but that’s ok. Aside from a day trip to the nearby Rosario islands, I saw everything that I wanted to see with my limited time. Is Cartagena my favorite city in Colombia? No, but I’m not a huge fan of any of the major cities in Colombia and just two nights after arriving, I packed up my things and moved onto my next destination.
Tayrona National Park (3 nights)
After six hours on a bus, I arrived in Santa Marta where I transferred to a smaller bus for the popular Tayrona National Park. Ask any Colombian about the best parts of their country and Tayrona National Park is sure to make an appearance. Despite its long coast line, not every beach in Colombia can be swam in. Tayrona National Park combines natural beauty with the ability to swim in the blue ocean water. After sweating through the jungle as you hike to the beaches, that ocean water is a welcome relief.
Many backpackers will spend the night in Tayrona National Park, but I chose to stay at a small hotel just outside the park. On my first day, I traveled into the park. On the second day, I did something that I don’t normally do while traveling. I spent my day doing nothing. Sure I worked on the blog, read, and chatted with some other travelers by the hotel pool, but these “chill” days are an adjustment. As someone who is used to cramming in so much to limited vacation time, I knew I had to slow down if I wanted to avoid travel burn out and here seemed like a great place to start.
Learn more about Tayrona National Park.
Minca (3 nights)
I returned to Santa Marta for about 30 minutes before jumping on another bus to Minca. This small town was once described as sleepy. While I don’t think it can be described as sleepy, it’s still a small town that makes a great base for a few days. I visited waterfalls, toured a chocolate farm, and even took a birdwatching tour. Anyone who knows me knows that I’m not an animal lover, but this trip is all about experiencing new things so why not try birdwatching in one of the best locations in the world to do so.
Minca was nice, but I didn’t love it and I found myself glad that I had made a decision in Tayrona National Park to cut my time in Minca by one night.
Santa Marta (2 nights)
Back in Santa Marta, I actually spent the night instead of just passing through. I didn’t do much in Santa Marta as my whole goal for my two days here was to prep for my Lost City Trek. I took some time to relax, made sure I was caught up on the blog, paid my trekking fee, and got my things organized.
I did get a glimpse of Santa Marta when I took just a little bit of time to walk around the historic center when I headed over to pay my trekking fee. That short little walk was enough for me and I’m glad I didn’t schedule more time in the city. I’ve already said I’m not a huge fan of the big cities in Colombia and Santa Marta definitely falls to the bottom of my list (though I will admit that it makes a great hub for exploring this region).
Lost City Trek (3 nights)
For four days (and three nights), I hiked through the Colombian jungle to reach the Lost City. It was a tough trek and I wrote a lengthy post detailing the experience. To sum it up, it was one of the hardest physical things I’ve ever done, but I’m so proud of myself for getting out there and doing it.
I’m also thankful for the year I spent in the gym leading up to this trip. I can say with certainty that those boring hours on the treadmill and stair master definitely helped (even if I was always toward the back of my ridiculously athletic hiking group).
Learn more about the Lost City Trek.
Santa Marta (1 night)
The Lost City Trek made me (and the rest of my group) appreciate the small things. After the Lost City Trek, I returned to Santa Marta for one night. It was enough time for a lukewarm shower with shampoo and conditioner. I also was able to send out my disgustingly dirty hiking clothes to the laundry. The air conditioning in my hostel room felt heavenly and I didn’t have to sleep in a mosquito net.
Palomino (3 nights)
After a strenuous trek through the jungle, I thought I’d treat myself to a few days in a beach town. Just two hours away from Santa Marta is Palomino. It should have been a great time, but the weather had other plans.
There was a downpour on the bus ride to Palomino, but that was nothing compared to what I would wake up to on my first full day in town. The rain didn’t stop and the main street was flooded. From what I saw later, Palomino saw four inches of rain (which is more than they normally received in a month). I spent the whole day inside, thankful that my hotel had a generator that kept the power and WiFi running all day. The next morning had rain, but it dried up a bit in the afternoon.
The rain would become a trend of my trip to Colombia. I purposely chose to travel in January and February because that’s traditionally dry season. I think it rained almost everyday in some capacity. It rarely derailed my plans completely but it did have an impact on my trip.
Given all of the rain, I don’t have much to say about Palomino because I didn’t get a chance to experience much of it. The good news is that I got a lot of writing for the blog done (that Lost City Trek post took a long time to write), but I wish I could have spent at least a little time on the beach.
Medellin (1 night)
My original plan after Palomino was to return to Santa Marta and catch a night bus to Medellin. On a whim, while sitting in my hostel in Santa Marta before the Lost City Trek, I looked at flights. The flight from Santa Marta to Medellin, including baggage, was the same price as the bus. 15+ hours on a bus or a one hour flight, when both cost the same? It wasn’t that hard of a decision to make.
I changed my plans and hopped on a flight to Medellin where I spent just one night in the city before moving on (though I would return to Medellin).
Guatapé (3 nights)
Guatapé is usually visited as a day trip from Medellin, but I chose to spend a few nights here. Of course I visited the iconic La Piedra del Peñol, a massive free standing rock that offers fantastic views of the surrounding area, but I also spent plenty of time wandering the colorful town of Guatapé and even ventured out to some nearby hikes in the area.
It was a nice stay, but after three nights, I was ready to move on.
Jardin (5 nights)
A two hour bus back to Medellin, an Uber across the city, and another four hour bus and I finally arrived in Jardin. I loved this town and I feel confident in saying that it’s my favorite town in Colombia. It’s colorful, though not as colorful as Guatapé, Salento, or Filandia and it’s got some great walking and hiking around the nearby mountains.
I had five days here and it was so nice to slow down, though I did got out hiking every day. I hiked to waterfalls, up to cafes, and around the surrounding area. The one place I didn’t hike was to Cueva del Esplendor, but I paid for the tour and saved the 6+ hours of hiking (and I have no regrets).
Other towns may have been more colorful, but Jardin felt lived in with both travelers and locals filling the cafes lining the main square. Plus, Jardin had some of the best food I ate in Colombia which is always a plus. Jardin was the perfect balance between active sightseeing and relaxation.
Medellin (3 nights)
I passed through Medellin a few times, so at some point I had to stop and actually explore the city.
Medellin doesn’t have the best reputation and the locals are aware of it. On a walking tour my guide said “and now we’ll talk about why all of your families got so worried when you said you were going to Medellin” (we all laughed, but there was a lot of truth to that statement).
I took several walking tours in Medellin which is something I don’t normally do. However, I took a “More Than Escobar” tour on my first day. While there are plenty of tours in Medellin that will focus completely on Pablo Escobar, this tour is different and tries to provide more context to the Colombian drug trade.
They tell the whole story from the relationship between the coca leaves and the local indigenous people, to the development by cocaine (which didn’t happen in Colombia), to the start of the cocaine drug trade (which also didn’t start in Colombia), to the effects of the cocaine drug trade on the city of Medellin. We talked science and economics and history and it was an absolutely fascinating tour.
I got back to my hotel after that tour and immediately signed up for the company’s free walking tour for the next day and it was just as good. And the day after, I visited Comuna 13 on a tour (though I was the least impressed with this tour).
Beyond the tours, I rode the cable car, visited a museum, and ate some great food in El Poblado. Despite me not being the biggest fan of large cities, I think Medellin is the Colombian city I’m most intrigued to return to. There’s so much to learn about this city and I just barely scratched the surface.
Salento (5 nights)
From Medellin, I headed to Salento. This colorful city is part of Colombian’s coffee region and makes its way onto so many Colombian itineraries. The biggest draw is the Cocora Valley Trek, a 12 kilometer hike through the mountains where you’ll see the iconic wax palm trees. Like with most of my trip, there was a decent amount of rain which made for a particularly muddy trail. At least the views were good. Nearby Salento is the smaller town of Filandia. It’s colorful and is nice to wander, but a few hours was all I needed before I felt like I had seen it all.
I spent five nights in Salento, which was debatably too much. That’s the one problem with planning things far in advance. You lose a little bit of flexibility and while I wish I could have spent one extra day in Medellin and one fewer day in Salento, it all worked out in the end.
Neiva (1 night)
From Salento, my next destination was the Tatacoa Desert. To get there, I needed to go through Neiva and catch another bus to the desert. Those buses stop running in the early evening and knowing that Colombian buses often take longer than what is estimated, I didn’t want the stress and decided to just spend the night in Neiva and head to the desert the next day.
However, I didn’t completely avoid stress. My bus driver unloaded my bag at the wrong stop, so I kept going onto Neiva but my bag stayed in Aipe. That was a fun adventure, but I did get my bag back in the end.
Villavieja (2 nights)
The Tatacoa Desert is hot. It’s a dry heat, but it’s still very hot compared to what I had been used to and I started sweating almost immediately. I didn’t do much that first day since I arrived in the early afternoon. The next morning, I headed out from my hotel to the scenery I had traveled so far to see. It was incredible. The Gray Desert was great, but the Red Desert was truly jaw dropping.
It was a bit of a hassle getting to and from Villavieja and the Tatacoa Desert, but it was absolutely a highlight of my time in Colombia and I’m so glad I made it out there.
Bogota (3 nights)
One more six hour bus ride and I was back in Bogota, my final stop of this six weeks in Colombia. I had been to Bogota before, so I didn’t have many plans apart from getting caught up on some travel planning, taxes, and the blog. That said, I did manage a little sightseeing.
I climbed all the way up to Monseratte (last time I took the funicular). It was a workout, but I made it. I also took a tour at the Paloquemado Market. It’s a bit off the main tourist path, but with the help of a guide, we tried 25+ Colombian fruits, many of which I had never seen before. It was a highlight of my trip and I wish I would have done it earlier.
Before I knew it, I was at the airport, waiting for my flight to my next destination.
My Top 5 Experiences in Colombia
If you’re subscribed to my newsletter, this section may seem vaguely familiar. For those who aren’t subscribed, or who want to catch up, here’s my favorites of my trip Colombia. Note that narrowing it down to five has proved incredibly difficult, but if I listed all of my favorites, we’d be here forever. So here’s five of my favorites, listed in no particular order (because I can’t decide).
Jardin, Colombia – My favorite town in Colombia. The hikes, the food, the vibes. It’s all just great.
Lost City Trek – Without a doubt the hardest physical thing I’ve done, but so, so worth it.
Tayrona National Park – I’m not a beach person, but even I can admit that the beaches here are amazing.
Walking Tours in Medellin – My walking tours made my visit so much better. I learned so much about the city.
Tatacoa Desert – Without a doubt this has the most unique landscapes out of anywhere I’ve visited in Colombia.
Top 3 Worst Experiences
It’s easy to talk about the fun things, but traveling, especially when traveling long term, means that things will inevitably go wrong. So instead of only focusing on the good things, here’s three of the worst things that happened and my thoughts about it.
The Time I Dropped My Phone in a River
I was one week into my trip and visiting the Marinka Waterfalls outside of Minca. I had a little time so I thought I’d sit by the waterfall and enjoy the view. Well, as I went to sit down, my phone slid out of my pocket and into the river. Without thinking, I jumped in after it and was able to retrieve my phone without any lasting damage. I did have to walk the one mile back to town with soaking wet shoes and socks, but at least my phone survived.
Whatever I Ate in Medellin That Did Not Agree With Me
It’s inevitable that when you travel for a long time, you’ll end up eating something that doesn’t agree with you. For me, that something was in Medellin. I’m still not sure what exactly I ate, but the best I can figure is it was somehow tied to the crepe restaurant I went to after my walking tour with some new friends. I have no idea if anyone else had any issues, but either the crepe or the soursop juice did not agree with me. Needless to say, it was not a fun evening.
The Time My Bus Driver Unloaded My Bag When it Wasn’t My Stop
I had a very long travel day from Salento to Neiva where I’d spend the night before heading to the Tatacoa Desert. I got up early and took a bus from Salento to Armenia where I then connected to a bigger bus to Neiva. It was a long journey and became stressful after our stop in Aipe. My phone rang with a number I didn’t recognize. They then texted me and said that my main backpack, which contained all of my clothes and toiletries, was at the bus stop in Aipe. I was still on the bus heading to Neiva. Cue panic.
Things ended up working out just fine. While they were trying to arrange their transportation to Villavieja (where I’d be heading the next day), another bus pulled up. It was the same company and they were heading to Neiva, so my bag was able to hitch a ride. After paying 10,000 COP (which is very cheap, but also annoying because it wasn’t my fault), I was reunited with my bag 20 minutes later, but not without a lot of stress and panic.
So What Now?
Now I move on. My plan has been to spend five months in South America, so it’s time to move on. I’m sad to leave Colombia because I’ve really come to love it. I didn’t love it during my first visit (though clearly I didn’t hate it since I planned another six weeks in the country), but now I can easily say that Colombia is one of my favorite countries and I know that I will be back one day.
In the meantime, my bigger trip through South America continues on. I’ll be heading further south before working my way back north. Here’s to another great few months in South America.