Colombia Trip Planner: Bogotá, Medellín, Cartagena, and Beyond

Five days fits Medellín and the coffee region, ten covers Bogotá, Medellín and Cartagena, and fourteen adds the Caribbean coast or more of the coffee region. Plan domestic flights between the cities. Budget about COP 160,000-280,000 a day as a backpacker, COP 450,000-850,000 mid-range, or COP 1,600,000+ for luxury.

Most Western passport holders (US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and EU citizens) do not need a visa for tourism. You get a 90-day entry permit (Permiso de Ingreso y Permanencia, PIP) stamped on arrival, extendable once at a Migración Colombia office for up to 180 days per calendar year. Your passport must be valid at least six months and have a blank page, and officers can ask for proof of onward travel and sufficient funds. Confirm your nationality's current rule on the official Colombia Travel site before you fly.

The main tourist cities and routes are far safer than Colombia's reputation suggests, and millions visit each year without incident. Petty theft (phone snatching, pickpocketing) is the realistic risk, not violent crime. Follow the local 'no dar papaya' rule: keep your phone away on the street, use ride-hailing apps instead of street taxis, avoid walking alone with valuables at night, and skip unfamiliar rural areas without a guide. Solo and women travelers do this trip routinely. Check your government's current travel advisory for region-specific notes before going.

December to March is the main dry season, with the most reliable weather across the Andes and the Caribbean coast, which makes it peak season and the priciest stretch. July and August are a shorter second dry window, good for the highlands and Medellín's flower festival. April-May and September-November bring more rain (afternoon showers more than all-day washouts) but lower prices and thinner crowds. Because Colombia sits on the equator, temperature depends on altitude, not season: Bogotá is cool year-round, Cartagena is hot year-round.

Ten to fourteen days is the sweet spot. Ten days covers the classic Bogotá-Medellín-Cartagena loop with two-to-three days in each plus the short domestic flights between them. Add the coffee region (Salento, Cocora Valley) or the Caribbean coast (Santa Marta, Tayrona) and you're at fourteen. A five-day trip works for just Medellín plus the coffee axis. Trying to add the Amazon, the Pacific coast, or the desert of La Guajira to a first trip turns most days into transit.

Fly between the main cities. Colombia is large and mountainous, so Bogotá-Medellín-Cartagena hops are 60-90 minutes by air versus 9-17 hours by road. Domestic carriers are cheap when booked a couple of weeks ahead. Within cities, Medellín has an excellent Metro and Metrocable cable cars, Bogotá runs the TransMilenio bus rapid transit, and ride-hailing apps work everywhere. For shorter regional legs (Salento to nearby towns, Santa Marta to Tayrona) shared shuttles and colectivos are the norm. Skip a rental car unless you specifically want a coffee-region road trip.

The currency is the Colombian peso (COP), with prices often in the thousands, so a coffee can read '4,000'. Cards are widely accepted in cities, hotels, and mid-range restaurants, but carry cash for street food, small shops, taxis, rural areas, and the coast. Withdraw from bank ATMs (Bancolombia, Davivienda, BBVA) attached to branches rather than standalone machines, take larger amounts to limit per-withdrawal fees, and tell your bank you're traveling. Nequi and Daviplata are the local phone-payment apps, but a foreign card plus cash covers you.

Possibly. Bogotá sits at about 2,600m, high enough that some visitors feel mild altitude effects: headaches, shortness of breath on stairs, or broken sleep the first night. Take the first day easy, hydrate well, go light on alcohol, and save the Monserrate climb (3,150m) for day two. Most people adjust within a day or so. If you fly straight to higher Andean spots the same applies; ascend gradually where you can.

Eat regionally. Bogotá: ajiaco (chicken-and-three-potato soup) and changua breakfast. Antioquia (Medellín): bandeja paisa, the loaded platter of beans, rice, chicharrón, egg, and arepa. Caribbean coast (Cartagena, Santa Marta): fresh ceviche, coconut rice, fried whole fish, and arepa de huevo. Cali and the southwest: lulada and champús drinks, plus pandebono. Everywhere: arepas, freshly squeezed tropical-fruit juices (try lulo, guanábana, maracuyá), and specialty coffee in the coffee region. Order the menú del día at lunch for the best local value.