Stories, tips, and inspiration from
the heart of Colombia

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Chía, Colombia: What Is Open, What Is Closed, and the Drive from Bogotá

Chía is thirty-one kilometres from Bogotá and most of what English guides send you there…

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Popayán, Colombia: The White City, Semana Santa and What UNESCO Actually Listed

Popayán has two UNESCO listings and does not have the one most guides give it….

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Cartagena and its bay from the Convento de la Popa, with the walled city and the towers of Bocagrande below

Things to Do in Cartagena: Every Hour of the Day, From People Who Live Here

Things to do in Cartagena, planned around the heat: walls and San Felipe early, museums and food at midday, sunset from the water, Getsemaní, the islands.

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A traveler looking out over the Medellín skyline from the hills above the city

Where to Stay in Medellín: The Neighborhoods, Honestly Compared

Where to stay in Medellín in 2026: El Poblado, Laureles, Envigado, Sabaneta and downtown, compared for safety, noise, hills, metro and airport ride.

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Group photo at the Medellín sign during a Walking tour Medellín, Medellín, Colombia

Is Medellín Safe in 2026? What the Numbers Say, and What Actually Happens to Visitors

Is Medellín safe in 2026? The homicide rate, the risks that actually reach visitors (drugging, phone theft), the safe neighborhoods and the rules that work.

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comuna 13 medellin

Comuna 13, Medellín: What It Is, How to Visit and When to Go

Comuna 13, Medellín: the escalators, the murals and their history, how to get there by metro, which graffiti tour to take, safety and the hour that makes the visit.

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Plaza Botero and the Palace of Culture at dusk on a Walking tour Medellín, Medellín, Colombia

Medellín Weather: What Each Month Is Really Like, and the Best Time to Visit

Medellín weather month by month with IDEAM station data: the two rainy seasons, the driest weeks, what to pack and when to come for the fair or the lights.

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A traveler looking out over the Medellín skyline from the hills above the city

Medellín Airport (MDE) to the City: Every Way In, With 2026 Prices

How to get from Medellín airport (MDE) to El Poblado in 2026: the flat taxi fare, the 24-hour bus, the apps, private transfers, the tunnel and the fog.

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Visitors in front of a large street-art mural in Comuna 13, Medellín

Things to Do in Medellín: What Is Worth Your Time in 2026, and What Is Not

Things to do in Medellín in 2026, with real prices: Comuna 13, the Metrocable to Arví, Plaza Botero, Casa de la Memoria, Guatapé, the fair and what to skip.

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Aerial view of El Peñol and the reservoir on a Guatape Tour in Guatapé, Colombia

Guatapé and El Peñol Rock from Medellín: How to Do the Day Right

How to do Guatapé and the Peñol rock in one day from Medellín: 740 steps, the 35,000-peso ticket, bus vs private tour, the boat, the zócalos and what to skip.

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Plaza Mayor of Villa de Leyva with the Andes behind

Colombia Itinerary: How Many Days You Need, and What to Do With 7, 10 or 14

How many days do you need in Colombia? A local operator’s 7, 10 and 14-day itineraries: Bogotá, Medellín, coffee region, Cartagena, Tayrona, with the flights.

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An Arajet aircraft in flight

Arajet Review: Is It Safe, Fares and Baggage

Arajet is the odd one out in our airline reviews: a Dominican carrier, not a…

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A LATAM aircraft parked at an airport gate

LATAM Colombia Review: Is It Safe, Fares and Baggage

I have flown LATAM more times than I can count — into Bogotá, around Colombia,…

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A server attending guests in a restaurant

How Much to Tip in Colombia (and When You Don’t)

Short answer: in Colombia the tip is voluntary, and in restaurants it is normally 10%….

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Travelers listening to their guide on the Plaza Mayor of Santa Fe de Antioquia, with the cathedral tower behind

Santa Fe de Antioquia: The Old Capital an Hour From Medellín, the Bridge You Walk and the Heat

Santa Fe de Antioquia by the team that runs the day from Medellín: the old capital and its seven churches, the heat by IDEAM’s numbers, the tunnel and the toll, the bridge you walk since the 2024 ban, the museum, the tamarind, what the August 2026 earthquake did, and the risk stated plainly.

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The tejo lanes and clay targets at La Embajada, the hall where we run our private tejo night in Bogotá

Bogotá Nightlife: Where the Night Happens, the 3 a.m. Rule and How You Get Home

Bogotá nightlife by the team that puts guests back at the door at two in the morning: the strip from La Candelaria to Usaquén, the 3 a.m. decree and the nineteen zones that run to five, what is in the glass, the risk by the city’s own numbers, and how you get home when TransMilenio has stopped.

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A guide leads visitors in straw hats between coffee bushes in fruit on one of our coffee-farm walks

Jardín, Antioquia: The Coffee Town, the Day From Medellín and What the Brochures Leave Out

Jardín by the team that runs the day trip from Medellín: the road and when it closes, the coffee farm, the plaza and the basilica after the August 2026 earthquake, the two cables and the one that runs, the birds at half past four, and the risk in the countryside stated plainly.

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Colorful portrait mural on a street wall during a Graffiti Tour in Cartagena, Colombia

Cartagena Nightlife: Where the Night Happens, What Time It Ends and the Bill to Watch For

Cartagena nightlife by the team whose boats leave from the authorized marina: sunset on the walls, the Plaza de la Trinidad from seven, the Arsenal and the Media Luna, what the chiva decree actually says, why nobody can give you one closing hour, and the bill that goes wrong more often than any robbery.

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A player about to throw at a tejo court in Medellín while the group watches with beers

Medellín Nightlife: Where the Night Actually Happens, What Time It Ends and How You Get Home

Medellin nightlife by the team that collects guests from hotels in every one of the valley’s night districts: El Poblado, Laureles, Envigado and the quiet middle compared, why nobody can give you a single closing hour right now, what you are drinking, and the risk stated plainly.

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A pedestrian street in Usaquén strung with lights at dusk, Bogotá

Where to Stay in Bogotá: The Neighborhoods, the Trade-offs and What We Would Book

Where to stay in Bogotá, by the team that collects guests from hotels the length of the strip: the neighborhoods one by one with what is wrong with each, what a bed at 2,640 meters does to the first night, how to check a property is legally registered, and what we would book depending on who you are.

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Visitors at the Medellín sign in Plaza Botero on a Walking tour Medellín, Medellín, Colombia

Medellín, Colombia: What the City Is, the Metro, Where to Stay and How Long to Give It

Medellín as we explain it to our own travelers before they land: where the city actually is and how the valley shapes it, the metro line by line and what a foreigner really pays to ride to Parque Arví, the airport on its own plateau, pico y placa, where to sleep, what is worth your time, the calendar around the Feria de las Flores, and how many days the city deserves.

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Visitors on the ramps of the Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas, with the upper fort above and the towers of Bocagrande behind

Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas, Cartagena: What It Is, How It Was Built, the 2026 Ticket and How to Visit It

The Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas, the fort on the hill of San Lázaro, as we explain it before you visit: what it is by UNESCO and the operator, how it was built from the bonete of 1657 to Arévalo’s 63 cannons, the siege of 1741, the fort battery by battery, the 2026 ticket and hours, the visit hour by hour, the rules, and the hour to go.

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Couple posing with local women in traditional dresses in the main square during a San Basilio de Palenque tour.

San Basilio de Palenque, Cartagena: What It Is, How It Became Free, What the Visit Is Like, and Whether It Is Worth It

San Basilio de Palenque, the free town an hour and a half from Cartagena, as we explain it before you book: what it is by UNESCO and the Ministry of Culture, how it became free by the documents, the Palenquero language, how the town lives, Kid Pambelé, the visit hour by hour, how to be a good guest, the drum festival, and whether it is worth a day of a short trip.

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The El Totumo mud volcano from below, a cone of grey clay with a wooden staircase up its side

El Totumo Mud Volcano, Cartagena: What It Is, What the Day Is Like, and Whether It Is Worth It

El Totumo, the mud volcano an hour from Cartagena, as we explain it before you book: what it is by the Servicio Geológico Colombiano, the eruptions of 1999 and 2000 and the 2022 slide, where it is, the visit step by step, what it costs and who the tips go to, what to wear, whether it is safe, the beach afternoon at Manzanillo del Mar, and whether it is worth a day of a short trip.

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The Walled City of Cartagena from above, with the cathedral tower and Bocagrande behind

Bocagrande, Cartagena: What the Beach Peninsula Is, What the Beach Is Like in 2026, and Whether to Stay There

Bocagrande, Cartagena, as we explain it to travelers who book a tower with a sea view: what the peninsula is and how it got its name, what the beach is like after the coastal works of 2025 and 2026, Castillogrande and El Laguito, the works on the bay side until 2027, the fixed airport fare, safety by the city’s record, and whether to sleep here or inside the walls.

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The Walled City of Cartagena from above, with the cathedral tower and Bocagrande behind

Cartagena, Colombia: What the City Is, Where to Stay, What to Do and How We Plan It

Cartagena, Colombia, as we explain it to our own travelers before they land: what the city is and how to read it, where to stay by neighborhood, what to do in the order the heat dictates, the calendar, the day trips to the islands, El Totumo and Palenque, how to get in and around, the weather by IDEAM’s numbers, safety with the police’s figures, Cartagena or Santa Marta, and how many days.

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