Colombia Trip Report June 2024

[Plannerwithaplan]

This trip had everything: city, countryside, forest, and beach! I can see why Imagineers decided to have a movie (Encanto) from there as well as the Tropical Americas land coming to Animal Kingdom. So much color and life to Colombia! It truly is a beautiful country and we had a great time seeing all the sights. And it was our first ABD! I have never done a trip report before so I tried to make it brief so I would be compelled to complete it. I have many more wonderful photos but didn't want to show any magical spoilers (of which there were many for us first-timers) nor any photos with identifiable people so I hope these photos give you a glimpse into this incredible country but I know they don't really do it justice. Feel free to ask any questions you would like that I did not include.

Day 1/Pre-night: We flew into Bogota and arrived in the middle of the night but set our alarm to wake us up in time for breakfast at the hotel and to start to acclimate to the time difference. Breakfast ended at 10:30am and I scheduled a tour of the Salt Cathedral through Hansa tours to start at 11. The Salt Cathedral was IMMENSE and really cool to see. Photos of the place really don't give a great idea of the sheer magnitude of everything. Our guide was top-notch. We were back at the hotel by 5 and ate at a pizzeria near our hotel. The hotel in Bogota is in a great location with so many good restaurant choices around so there was no way to go wrong there.

 

[Plannerwithaplan]

Day 2, Bogota, Welcome dinner: We went to ride the gondola/funicular to the top of Monserrate to get a great view of the city and check out the little church there, then we were planning to travel to the Candelaria section of Bogota to visit a few museums in the city center. Unfortunately, one member of our family got altitude sickness in the line to the gondola. First aid came to help, took vitals, and said all was well, just routine altitude sickness since we live at sea level and Bogota is so high up. So two of us went up the mountain and two went back to the hotel and we decided to skip the other activities of the day in order to rest and recuperate. We ordered room service and watched TV, then checked in with our two ABD guides in the lobby. That night was our welcome dinner, and what a dinner it was! Amazing food at a restaurant owned by a celebrity chef.

 

[Plannerwithaplan]

Day 3, Bogota, food and history: We got to taste a wide variety of fruit today at the market. Also, check out the macro mural called "La Mariposa" (the butterfly) that you can see from the freeway. It's made from houses on the hillside painted in order to make a large mural of a butterfly. We made arepas and played loteria, walked around the city center to see the beautiful old architecture before a lunch of empanadas (bread stuffed with meat) and ajiaco (potato and corn soup), and toured the museum with more pre-Columbian goldwork than anywhere else on Earth, the Gold Museum. We even saw a mummy! Dinner was on our own and we visited the 4 story Andres Carne de Res near our hotel for some yummy beef (although their menu is as big as Cheesecake Factory's so there are lots of options). It is a lively restaurant with a capacity of over 1000! The bottom floor is themed as Hell, which is its name, followed by the Earth, the next floor, then Purgatory, then Heaven.

 

[Plannerwithaplan]

Day 4: Coffee Region: After a short flight, we landed in the Coffee Region which was so fertile and lush - I immediately thought of Hawaii. After a delicious lunch and coffee tasting, we walked around the coffee farm and learned about how baskets were woven out of bamboo and how coffee is grown there and harvested by hand. Afterwards, we got to enjoy an adults only dinner at our hotel, which was both beautiful and colorful.

 

[Plannerwithaplan]

Day 5: Cocora Valley, Salento: Waking up and opening the windows of the hotel to the beautiful view was so nice. We boarded the bus to Cocora Valley to see the wax palms, one of the tallest trees in the world. The landscape was gorgeous, all green rolling hills plus some tall tall trees. We had a small hike there that had lots of photo opportunities, then traveled by bus to a lunch place that was not only delicious (the coconut lemonade was a particularly favorite although I also really liked the pasta I had), but it had a playground for kids which was fun for the little ones on our ABD. Then we traveled to a quaint small town called Salento where we learned to play tejo (like Cornhole but with gunpowder) and did some souvenir shopping. Back at our hotel we had a yummy al fresco meal with some incredible desserts.

 

[Plannerwithaplan]

Day 6: Food in Cartagena
We flew to Cartagena, where the weather was very warm and humid so we skipped the rum tasting to look around our gorgeous hotel (one of the top 100 in the world) and go for a dip in the pool. Afterwards, we joined the others for a food tour of the city, tasting lots of candy and other yummies along the way, as well as admiring the colorful architecture of the city.

 

[Plannerwithaplan]

Day 7: Forest Trek

Donning our required long sleeves and pants, we trekked through a tropical dry forest with a biologist looking for wildlife. We heard frogs and birds and saw insects and monkeys before a delicious lunch served with true hospitality. Once back at the hotel, we opted out of the city and fortress tour and did some more swimming before venturing out a bit more on our own to see the cool buildings of the old walled city and take in a Copa America game at the Hard Rock Cafe - Colombia won!

 

[Plannerwithaplan]

Final Day: Rosario Islands

We traveled to the Rosario Islands where we boarded a boat among the mangroves to do some snorkeling, followed up with a great lunch on a beach. That night, we went to a beautiful restaurant with live music and said farewell to our travel companions. Colombia was a wonderful trip!

 

[sayhello]

Thanks for the report! It does look like quite the beautiful country. Glad you enjoyed your first ABD! Just be careful, they *are* addictive!

Sayhello

 

[Plannerwithaplan]

We already started planning the next one but now have to figure out how to pay for it - lol.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Thanks for the report. Sounds like a great trip!

 

[Plannerwithaplan]

Thanks for the report. Sounds like a great trip!

We enjoyed it tremendously. Hope it inspires others to visit this incredible country!

 

[MeDisney]

Day 3, Bogota, food and history: We got to taste a wide variety of fruit today at the market. Also, check out the macro mural called "La Mariposa" (the butterfly) that you can see from the freeway. It's made from houses on the hillside painted in order to make a large mural of a butterfly. We made arepas and played loteria, walked around the city center to see the beautiful old architecture before a lunch of empanadas (bread stuffed with meat) and ajiaco (potato and corn soup), and toured the museum with more pre-Columbian goldwork than anywhere else on Earth, the Gold Museum. We even saw a mummy! Dinner was on our own and we visited the 4 story Andres Carne de Res near our hotel for some yummy beef (although their menu is as big as Cheesecake Factory's so there are lots of options). It is a lively restaurant with a capacity of over 1000! The bottom floor is themed as Hell, which is its name, followed by the Earth, the next floor, then Purgatory, then Heaven.
View attachment 877232
View attachment 877233View attachment 877234View attachment 877236View attachment 877235View attachment 877239View attachment 877240View attachment 877242View attachment 877243View attachment 877244

Thank you for your trip report and pictures! It looks like a fun trip. May I ask what Market in Bogota did you visit?

 

[Mathmagicland]

Also, check out the macro mural called "La Mariposa" (the butterfly) that you can see from the freeway. It's made from houses on the hillside painted in order to make a large mural of a butterfly.

Thanks for including the picture! I’ve not seen anything like this before, pretty special.

 

[Eastridge]

Thanks for the report and the pictures, especially since this is a new trip!

Besides the altitude sickness, is there any advice you would give to someone going on this trip?

Who were your guides? I heard Summer Rose was the US guide for some trips.

 

[Plannerwithaplan]

Thank you for your trip report and pictures! It looks like a fun trip. May I ask what Market in Bogota did you visit?

We visited Doce de Octubre market. We were supposed to visit Paloquemao. I don't know why it was changed.

 

[Plannerwithaplan]

Thanks for including the picture! I’ve not seen anything like this before, pretty special.

Me either! I had never heard of a "macromural" before.

 

[Plannerwithaplan]

Thanks for the report and the pictures, especially since this is a new trip!

Besides the altitude sickness, is there any advice you would give to someone going on this trip?

Who were your guides? I heard Summer Rose was the US guide for some trips.

Yes! We had Summer Rose for our Disney/US guide and Daniel for our local Colombian guide. Plus one extra step on guide in each city. All guides were incredible.

No specific advice other than make sure to pack lighter pants and long sleeve shirts for the forest trek as all I had brought were warmer things and we were sweating up a storm. Otherwise, just know that Bogota is always a bit brisk and in the 60s and Cartagena is always hot and humid in the 90s so check the weather but plan on two different wardrobes.

 

[MeDisney]

Day 2, Bogota, Welcome dinner: We went to ride the gondola/funicular to the top of Monserrate to get a great view of the city and check out the little church there, then visit a few museums in the city center. Unfortunately, one member of our family got altitude sickness in the line to the gondola. First aid came to help, took vitals, and said all was well, just routine altitude sickness since we live at sea level and Bogota is so high up. So two of us went up the mountain and two went back to the hotel and we decided to skip the other activities of the day in order to rest and recuperate. We ordered room service and watched TV, then checked in with our two ABD guides in the lobby. That night was our welcome dinner, and what a dinner it was! Amazing food at a restaurant owned by a celebrity chef.View attachment 877214View attachment 877207View attachment 877208View attachment 877209View attachment 877210View attachment 877211View attachment 877212

Do you recommend visiting Montserrate or the Salt Cathedral if you could only pick one?

 

[Plannerwithaplan]

Do you recommend visiting Montserrate or the Salt Cathedral if you could only pick one?

I would do Salt Cathedral but that is a multi hour excursion as it is like one hour to get there and one to get back and a few hours to spend there. Montserrate is simply a nice view along with a cute church and you could do the whole thing in like one hour, especially if you buy the "fastpass" ticket that gets you to the front of the funicular/gondola ride. So it also depends on how much time you have.