Discover Colombia in 2 weeks
Unfortunately for most of the people in the world, the amount of holidays we can take at our jobs is quite limited. In countries such as the USA, the legal number of holidays a year is only 10.
This means that most of us will have a very short time frame to travel abroad and discover new countries and destinations.
When time is so short to travel to a new country, it is essential to have a very well-planned itinerary and to book in advance. It is the only effective way to get the best of any destination.
I have heard many bad stories of people who decided to improvise when traveling to a foreign country for their 2-weeks holidays. They just bought flight tickets in and out of the country and arrived at their destination, and only then start planning what to do, what to visit, where to go, etc.
I am not saying that doing this kind of improvisation means you will have a bad time at your destination. However, most of the people who travel this way, usually regret not having done some prior research, having planned a day-to-day itinerary and having booked the desired tours.
If you travel this way, you might be lucky and still manage to do all you wanted to do and have a great time. But most likely, you will end up spending too much time in one place and not finding availability to travel around or to do the tours you had wished to do. And believe me, this is a horrible feeling. A feeling of wasting time and money.
I know many of those who travel in this improvised way, do it because planning their trip in advance, from their home countries, is not easy. They usually start reading information about their destination online and get easily overwhelmed with information and contradicting reviews.
This case is particularly true for those how are planning to visit Colombia vacations spots. There is a lot of information online about what to do and what to visit in this big country. You will find out that there are thousands of amazing places to visit and fabulous tours to take, but you are only going to spend 2 weeks in Colombia.
Prioritizing on what destinations to visit and what things to do is the hardest task when planning your holidays, but it is essential if you want to avoid leaving the country with the feeling of “I could have visited all these amazing places if had planned my itinerary on beforehand”.
Based on years of experience organizing trips to Colombia vacations spots for foreign travelers, we have come up with the following “2 weeks in Colombia” travel itineraries, designed for 2 different type of travelers. These itineraries will certainly help you when deciding how to prioritize and how to organize your trip to Colombia:
1. The Highlights – 2 Weeks in Colombia:
This 13-days itinerary is the ideal one for those who want to visit the most iconic and touristic places of Colombia. It is a perfectly designed itinerary that will take you to the highlights of the country in a logic and smooth way.
You will start the trip in Bogotá, the capital city. You will discover the main attractions of this cosmopolitan city such as The Candelaria Neighbourhood (the colonial centre where the city was founded), the Gold Museum (where you will learn about the importance of this metal in pre-colonial times), the Botero Museum (displaying some of the most important creations of the most renowned Colombian artist), and other great architectural sites like the Plaza de Bolivar, the Chorro de Quevedo and the Eje Ambiental.
After having discovered Bogota, you will go to the colonial village of Villa de Leyva, one of the most beautiful and best-preserved colonial villages of Colombia. On your way there, you will make a stop at the famous Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá, a huge cathedral located underground in a former salt mine.
After having enjoyed Villa de Leyva and having visited its main attractions, it will be time to go to the Coffee Zone of Colombia. In this fantastic region, where the best coffee of the word comes from, you will have the opportunity to visit the famous Cocora Valley (where you get to see the tallest palm trees in the world) and to the colorful towns of Salento and Filandia. You will also take a Coffee Tour in which you will learn everything there is to know about the process of making this drink and its importance to the Colombian economy.
Next in the itinerary is the gorgeous Caribbean coast. You will first visit the Tayrona National Park and have some time to enjoy its pristine beaches. Then you will pay a visit to Cartagena to discover its charming streets, museums, and cafes.
Finally, you will go to the Rosario Islands where you will have a private beach with crystal clear waters just for you (Discover the best 5 beaches of Colombia). You can also do snorkeling, diving, kayaking through mangroves or just let yourself be pampered in the amazing spa of the hotel. The best way to finish your travel.
2. Off the Beaten Track – 2 Weeks in Colombia:
This 14-days Colombia itinerary is ideal for those travelers in search of adventure, nature, remoteness, and authenticity. Even though it does not cover the typical highlights of most travelers, this itinerary is perfectly designed to give you a taste of those gorgeous and remote areas of Colombia that were previously dangerous to visit but they are totally safe now.
This itinerary starts and ends in Bogotá, giving you some time to visit the most important attractions of this city before heading to the remote nature destinations (Discover the best attractions in Colombia for Nature Lovers). During this time, you could visit some highlights as the Candelaria Neighbourhood, the Museo Botero or the Gold Museum.
The real adventure begins when you leave Bogotá to discover the breath-taking Cerros de Mavecure: 3 amazing rocky hills popping up in the middle of the jungle. You will take an all-in package of 4 days/3 nights so that you have enough time to discover the best of the easternmost part of Colombia.
This package begins with a boat trip to a very important geographical spot in Colombia, La Estrella Fluvial del Sur. This is the place where three main rivers merge into one before continuing its way to nearby Venezuela. After taking a swim and spotting the occasional dolphin, you will set the course for the main goal of this trip: Los Cerros de Mavecure.
Right after arriving you will climb the first hill, El Cerro Pajarito. A challenging but absolutely rewarding walk as the views over the jungle are unbelievably beautiful.
The day after, you will cross the river to explore the other two hills of the Cerros de Mavecure. After a morning of climbing, walking, and taking pictures it will be time to relax. You will go by boat to a little beach to cool down and give your mildly challenged muscles a break.
The water of the river has a unique color that ranges from dark brown to reddish-orange and even bright yellow. After this worthwhile swim, you will be given a final look at the Cerros de Mavecure before heading back to Inirida.
The morning after, you will visit some places of interest in the surroundings of Inirida before flying back to Bogotá for your next adventure: Casanare.
Casanare is a region in the east of Colombia that is famous for its plains, abundant wildlife, amazing bird watching spots, and cowboy lifestyle of the people (Discover the most special regions of Colombia). There, you will take a 4 days/3 nights package that offers the most interesting activities in order for you to discover the most unique and pristine flora and fauna.
This adventure starts with a flight Bogotá-Yopal, from where you will take a Jeep to the heart of the plains. On the way there, you will have more than enough chances to spot amazing birds and other wildlife. Your basic but typical accommodation is located in the middle of nowhere so you will be spending two days in pure nature.
Near to the hotel is a beautiful lake with typical endemic palm trees of the region where all the animals gather in the evening and from where you can shoot perfect sunset pictures. Besides the many birds you will also be able to spot deer, caymans, capybaras, wild pigs, water and land turtles, and if lucky, otters and anacondas.
Additionally, you will discover the beauty of the Hato Matapalme reserve. A guide will take you for a walk or, if wanted, on a horseback riding tour through the plains. Between May and October, you can reach by a horse a nesting area of thousands of herons, and if you are lucky you might spot a puma or giant anteater on the way! After lunch it will be time to set course to Yopal, to take a flight back to Bogota as a stopover for your next adventure: the Amazon jungle.
A trip to the Amazon jungle is an unforgettable experience. Here you will discover plants, animals, traditions, and people that are unique to this area.
You will spend 2 nights in a lodge on the Peruvian side of the Amazon River. Here you will make some walks through the jungle and a couple of river expeditions to discover the amazing flora and fauna of this area, including the unique pink dolphins, grey dolphins, piranhas, local caimans, a variety of monkeys and birds, and the famous Victoria Regia which is the largest aquatic plant in the world.
You will not only walk during the daytime but also have a walk after the sun has set to be able to see different kind of nocturnal animals like frogs, bats, tarantulas and if you are lucky, the jaguar. One night you will go on a boat trip to look for caimans.
On day 14th, you will fly back to Bogotá to finish this amazing trip with plenty of unforgettable nature memories of the best Colombia vacation spots.
Here you can find more information about this sample itinerary.
At Lulo Colombia Travel, we know how hard it can be to organize a trip, especially if you are only going to spend 2 weeks in Colombia discovering the best vacation spots. This is why we have developed these sample itineraries.
We are sure these “2 weeks in Colombia” itineraries will serve you as a starting point in the planning of your trip. Through Lulo Colombia Travel you can adapt, modify and personalize these itineraries. You can also book them with us so that you don’t worry about any logistics and just enjoy your time in Colombia. We will make sure everything happens as planned and allow you to enjoy your travel to Columbia South America without any worry.
