Colombia Cultural Walking Adventure

DAYS 1-2 – MEDELLIN
After meeting in Medellín, you’ll join your local guide for a walk in this lively city that captures the revived spirit of Colombia. Some of the best views are from the innovative cable car system used for public transportation. In the nearby countryside, the town of Guatapé is coated in vivid tiles and paint, an eye-popping burst of civic pride. One of the best ways to see it is from the top of La Piedra de Peñon, a natural tower of granite that overlooks the town. 

DAYS 4-5 – SANTA MARTA
Coffee and Colombia are practically synonymous. You’ll visit one of the best and oldest coffee plantations – a 500-acre family-owned farm for a look at the traditional process and a tasting of their brews. From your coastal Caribbean home in Santa Marta, a 40-minute boat ride on the turquoise sea takes you to Tayrona National Park. From a gold sand beach fringed in palm trees, you’ll go for a peaceful and fascinating jungle walk and picnic. With its incredible biodiversity, the park gives you a chance to spot some of the hundreds of species of birds like blue-headed parrots as well as animals such as cotton-top tamarin monkeys and “Jesus Christ lizards” that can run on top of the water.

DAYS 5-7 – CARTAGENA
The perfect Caribbean city, Cartagena is wonderfully walkable. With your guide, you’ll explore the cobbled streets with balconies draped in bougainvillea. Dominating this UNESCO World Heritage site is San Felipe Castle. Almost 500 years old, it still offers the best views from its fortress walls.

You’ll pay a memorable visit to an afro-descendant fisher village nearby to learn how to play the Afro-Colombian wild drums. To cap the week, you’ll have a chance to cook with a local chef and learn how to make some traditional Colombian dishes – and then enjoy the results in a lively farewell meal.

Travel + Leisure has awarded Classic Journeys the #1 World’s Best Tour Operator multiple times and says, "Classic Journeys provides unbeatable access to experiences around the globe." Here’s what that access means for you.

• Experience the world on foot and at eye level. Each day, join your guide on the most cinematic footpaths in the region.
• Exceptional full-time local guides who become your well-connected friend. Our amazing guides are with you throughout each day of the tour, share their lifelong connections as well as engaging anecdotes about the history and culture of the region.
• Small groups that provide you unrivaled access. An average of fewer than 10 guests per departure means we can offer you special access to sites like Stonehenge so you experience the stone circle when it’s closed to the general public, a guided visit to Zion Narrows that other companies cannot arrange because of larger group sizes, and vineyard walks with a count and countess in Tuscany.
• Award-winning hotels are waiting for you at the end of every day. Luxuriate in the finest and most distinctive accommodations in the region you’re exploring, including rainforest lodges, 16th century villas, and award-winning properties that show up on World’s Best and Gold lists.
• Eat like (and with) the locals. Food is a foolproof way into the hearts, homes and history of the places you visit with us. From gourmet picnics to coveted local restaurants, our meals offer you opportunities to explore native food traditions and fine dining.
• Handcrafted itineraries with all activities included. With our long-term friendships, we know our walking tour regions more personally than anyone else. So you get thoughtfully curated itineraries that combine explorations of the villages, organic farms, archeological sites and the people who know them best.
• Sustainable travel that supports the places you’re visiting. We put our local currency into the pockets of the people who live where we travel. It’s your guarantee that you’ll have authentic, up-close experiences on your trip. Best of all, our person-to-person approach helps sustain their ways of life.