Colombia Tours in Spring

A beautiful country with so much to see. Catalina was an excellent guide who was always on call to help us explore this country and her local recommendations were always excellent . The local guides were also excellent at bringing their areas to life. There are a few tweaks I would make to the itinerary. In Bogotá the itinerary should flex depending upon the weather. On our trip we should have gone to Monserrate on Sunday when the sky was clear and the market on Monday in the rain. In the coffee region I agree that the botanical gardens would have been more interesting than the basket weaving and mug painting. Finally in Medellin I think there should be more opportunities to explore with a guide on the understanding some areas maybe challenging ( part of exploring is to see the real country)

Amazing intro to Columbia! I have been raving about Columbia to all of my family and friends and telling them about how beautiful, sophisticated, cosmopolitan and safe it is for tourists now. I was blown away by the modern architecture and the historically preserved architecture as well as the beauty of the mountains, lakes and beaches. There is a cultural richness and pride that you can see and feel in every area - and it shines through in the public art, local music and dance, the food and in the spirit of the people. Come to Columbia!

Really enjoyed our holiday. Lots of variety of experiences, places, food and weather. Some accomodation was outstanding and some less so. New experiences included: Colombian cooking; making rammed earth bricks; basket weaving; trip in a local 'party bus'; sampling coffee smells, aromas and tastes; playing Tejos. Very much: enjoyed the tour of the coffee plantation; riding the metro and cable car at rush hour in Medellin; the visit to the memorial park and communas 13 in Medellin; the underground salt cathedral; markets in Bogota and its local museum. The trip leader was very helpful, extremely well organised, knowledgable and with a great sense of humour. The local guides were also very good. The coaches were very comfortable and the drivers and trip leader very helpful with luggage. There were three 'strenous' activities that other others interested in this tour might wish to be informed about: Camino Real; the massive rock; and the walk in the national park. These led to our group being split into two with one sub group missing all or most of these activities. We understand the need to fly within Colombia but found the 'dog leg' journey to Armenia via Bogota very time consuming.

Would definitely recommend this trip which showed us the contrasts of the country from the cities of Bogota and Medellín to the beautiful areas of Villa de Leyva and the Chicamocha National Park. I learnt so much about the history, geography and culture of Columbia. And having Andres Cristiano as our tour leader was a bonus.

This was an amazing trip. The title "Contrasts of Colombia" sums it up - everywhere we went was so different. The highlights for me were: Bogota - the colourful streets of La Candelaria Zipaquira Salt Cathedral Impromptu salsa dancing in Plaza Mayor in Villa de Leyva Cable car across the canyon at Chicamocha National Park Seeing the condors at Cocora Valley The drive from Armenia to Medellin (it was a long drive, but the scenery was stunning) The "commuter" run on the metro and cable car in Medellin Cartagena - a perfect end to a fantastic trip Andreas was an excellent tour leader. Nothing was too much trouble for him. He was so passionate about his country, giving us lots of information about the culture, people and history. The local guides and drivers was also very good, as was the food and accommodation. A great group of like minded "Explorers" made this a very memorable trip - it is certainly up there with the best!

This was an excellent trip which covered all parts of Colombia. Our guide Andres Cristiano was fantastic, his knowledge, enthusiasm and passion for his Country was second to none. After doing over 50 trips with Explore, I would place him in the top 3 tour leaders. The standard of accommodation was better than expected, as was the food. I would highly recommend this trip.