Colombia is certainly considered an up an coming destination, but a lot of Canadians was a little leery about “safety concerns” (a throwback to the 80s I guess). Last fall Vision Travel’s Senior Manager of Active Travel Pat Rochon decided it was time for him to go!
(Heads up: He suggests three terrific Colombia itineraries at the end of this article.)
Pat travelled in December with Tucan Travel (more about them later) and reports say it’s a fascinating and really surprising destination. He took the 14 day Colombia Highlights tour and can warmly recommend it.
First nice surprise: Bogota is a 6 hour, 20 minute nonstop flight from Toronto. And it’s on the exact same timezone so no jetlag! This itinerary appealed to him as you get to see a lot of the country by ground transportation. Several tours he looked at featured air travel and he prefers to see the country from the ground rather than from an airport security line-up. His group travelled by small luxury coaches and on the overnight coach tour even enjoyed seats which reclined to virtual horizontal position (zzzzzzz).
Tour highlights included Bogota, the stunning capital city (population 7 million) which features a breathtaking mountain backdrop. Then onto Villa de Leyva, an old Spanish colonial town, straight out of the movies – like the set of that old TV show Zorro! We enjoyed our visit to Santa Marta with its pristine beaches, and Tayrona National Park. Then it was on to Cartagena – a memorable town especially with Old Cartagena reminding him of Old Havana with its crumbly, photogenic charm. Be warned though: Pat noticed that Cartagena is now a major tourism town and prices are at least triple what you find elsewhere in the country.
A highlight for many was the optional activity day. Most of the group took the cable car tour of massive Chicamocha Canyon . For him, it was full-on adrenaline in San Gil (“san hill”), the adventure capital of Colombia, where he did 10 (10!) activities in one day: canyon wire crossing, rapelling, ziplining, rock climbing, hiking, caving and more. As he says, it was like The Amazing Race!
Finally, a note about British-headquartered Tucan. They specialize in affordable active holidays. The Tucan guide Andres was a huge help, reports Pat, because in Colombia very few people speak English except in Cartagena. His group of 11 ranged in age from 28 to 68, and agreed it was excellent value: Cdn $1,675 for 2 weeks including all breakfasts (but not airfare from Canada). Tucan helps keep prices down by featuring 2 ½ – 3 star accommodation, all simple but clean. A great holiday choice!
With Pat Rochon, Senior Manager, Active Travel
Ready to go?