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Capurganá, Colombia
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Cartagena, Colombia
Looks like it would be a boat and two buses from Carpugana to Cartagena potentially costing around £35 in total. No shuttle options. Apparently the route through Necocli is banned due to Venezuelan immigrants
https://www.alongdustyroads.com/posts/how-to-get-from-capurgana-to-cartagena
Free tour is a good shout, especially to learn about culture. Potentially do a food tour as well if it's economical. Parque Centenario is good to spot wild sloths. Getsamani is the main backpacker spot with good street art so would be nice to wander round with the camera. Same with the old town. There's a huge Spanish fort if we are interested in ruins. Salsa is big here so if we are here on Friday or Saturday then it might be nice to go out.
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Rosario Islands, Colombia
Ferrys go from Cartagena for about £14 maybe less.
Diving and snorkeling are popular here but diving is approx $160+ and snorkeling is close to $100. There's kayaking through mangroves, cycling round the main island and island hopping by boat. Unsure if we want to actually stay here or just go for a day tour from Cartagena.
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Palomino, Colombia
Looks like there is a local bus between the two places that takes approx 2hrs for about £5 or less.
1 night in costeno beach
Can't swim
Can do river tubing
Chilling
Yeah seems like a chill out kinda vibe with bakeries, international and local food options. There's also some wildlife tours to find huge flocks of flamingos. The beach is kinda swimmable but it might be a wear goggles and battle the waves kinda situation. Tubing obvs. There's a rescue doggy picnic that could be fun and morally superior. Costeño beach seems like a place to surf/do yoga so unsure if we actually want to go here.
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Riohacha, Colombia
6hr bus from Cartagena for £16 on bookaway. This might also be the public option (like from Peñas blancas to Cañas).
np tour seems like the main thing. Town isn't that recommended as it's got a Venezuelan trafficking problem but kite surfing is popular as well.
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Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia
La ponderosa reserve
Let's see how lost and found goes before making any calls on this.
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Calabazo, Colombia
Bus costs around 8,000 COP.
https://www.facebook.com/cabosanjuantayrona/
https://www.5losttogether.com/3-day-guide-to-visiting-tayrona-national-park/
https://www.thedreamer.com/blog/a-guide-to-tayrona-park#:~:text=To%20get%20to%20Playa%20Brava,more%20than%20500%20years%20ago.
https://borderlessbliss.com/tayrona-national-park/
More than a full day would be unnecessary. Probably get close to the park the night before.
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Minca, Colombia
Pretty straightforward to get from Palomino to Minca. Two buses at around 20k COP.
Seems like a quiet place for lots of hikes and natural pools. The town itself might have some nice bakeries and bars too. Looks like things are far away from the town center so if we can find a good hostel that helps with transportation then winner winner chicken dinner.
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San Gil, Colombia
Go through Tunja to get to San Gil through two buses. Should be cheapish. First bus is $2-3 but the second might be $12-14 so may look into cheaper options. First bus leaves once a day but the other is hourly.
adventure capital of columbia. If we want to visit a cute colonial town Barichara is a good option. There's an expansive park in the town that's not expensive to enter. Bungie jumping might have to happen. Juan Curti waterfall is one of the better ones to visit in Columbia. Paragliding/White water rafting could happen if we haven't done it recently. Also playing Tejo could be fun if we can find it somewhere. There's also adventure park/water parks like Chicamoa national park or Panaver water park for a day trip.
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Villa de Leyva, Colombia
3 hour journey with bus tickets costing £7.
Big huge ass town square to see complete with church. Walk around streets and potentially do a wine tasting session. Potentially biking in Igaque national park.
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Bogotá, Colombia
places to stay: la candelaria, chapinero, parque 93
Take plane for about £20ish
Walking tour is likely as well as visiting Paloquemao food market and Bolivar square or other key districts and mentioned above. There are some botanical gardens to visit for cheap. Climbing Monserrate is a good idea as well or take a day trip to see the salt cathedral. There are some key art galleries and museums we could visit if we feel up for that stuff.
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Medellín, Colombia
Easy to get back from Guatape to here.
places to stay: el poblado
dancing and parties!
Okay so lots of city based things like walking tours. Especially with it's history with Narcotics. Football tour. Naturally dancing would happen a lot. The birthplace of Botero (famous sculptor) so might be nice to art hunt for a bit. Goal is to vibe and live life comfortably.
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Medellín, Colombia
Easy to get back from Guatape to here.
places to stay: el poblado
dancing and parties!
Okay so lots of city based things like walking tours. Especially with it's history with Narcotics. Football tour. Naturally dancing would happen a lot. The birthplace of Botero (famous sculptor) so might be nice to art hunt for a bit. Goal is to vibe and live life comfortably.
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Guatapé, Colombia
This will be a long one. Mainly because the bus from Barrancabermeja to Medellin takes 9 hours to do. We would have to go through Medellin to get here. We might be able to get a private taxi for $60-75 but unsure if that's even possible.
Seems like day tours cover the main activities of climbing the Mountain and exploring the town. We can choose to come here and DIY it but also perfectly valid to go for a cheap day tour instead. Cheap lake activities might be a good reason to stay for longer.
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Jardín, Colombia
4 hour bus from Medellin costing £8/9.
Pretty town to walk around through. Some interesting waterfalls Cueva del Esplendor but likely required to do as part of a tour as a long ass walk away and only road good for jeeps. Potentially go to a trout farm to have local trout. Same with a coffee Farm as it's a big thing in the area if we want to. There's a Mirador we can take a cheap cable car up to as well as a smaller waterfall, swimming spot and mine tour we can do from the town.
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Salento, Colombia
Long route with two changes but more comfortable and idiot proof than a quicker/cheaper route that is on a bumpy road. Expect to pay about £16 to do it.
https://www.bringusthathorizon.co.uk/post/how-to-get-from-jardin-to-salento#google_vignette
Potentially hike the valle de cocora but it's about 6 hours in a loop. Also horseback riding might be nice but probably not a 2.5 hour long trek this time. Stroll through Calle Real and walk up to the Mirador at the end. Go on a coffee Farm (Finca) Tour instead of Jardín. Try trout as well. The waterfalls Santa Rita la Cascada is an easy waterfall to walk to from a nearby Finca.
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Tatacoa Desert, Colombia
This looks like it could be a real arse to get to simply because the collectivos from Neiva to the desert village Villavieja stop at 5pm and the bus we would take gets in at Nieva at 6:30pm. May require a night here or forking out over £20 to get there (in retrospect that's not actually so bad but 100,000 COP looks like a lot ...)
https://whatamysays.com/salento-to-the-tatacoa-desert/
Red desert and grey desert to visit. Some pools by the grey desert and a stargazing tour at the local observatory could be fun to do. We can go by ourselves but likely will need a driver for the day or something like that (can cost about £10).
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Popayán, Colombia
Seems like there is a direct bus but it leaves at 5:30 in the morning. Not sure if we could get to Nieva from the desert town in time for this bus.
However if we want to do Cali it is likely we would need to fly over the mountains to do it. It does put us in a better position to get to Popoyan but going by bus is not the best idea. flights likely will cost more than £50 per person.
Honestly nothing here to write home about. Seems like a pretty colonial town that is all white buildings but that's about it.
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Ipiales, Colombia
There's a bus between Popoyan and Ipiales but might change into two buses and could cost £11 each. Seems blurry but probably a more local affair.
Not much to write home about here either except Las Lajas Sanctuary which is apparently the most beautiful cathedral in all of South America.