Welcome to Colombia and Cartagena! Officially named Cartagena de Indias, and once known as Calamari, this romantic city of Colombia is home to more than one million inhabitants. The city is located on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean coast region. Cartagena offers residents and visitors a wide variety of activities and amenities, combined with the picturesque beauty of its cultural and architectural past. Enjoy colonial churches and pre-Colombian art in contrast with the futuristic high-rise buildings of a busy metropolis. There are no planned activities on your arrival day, so check into our hotel and enjoy the city. Your trip expert leader will hold a general briefing in the evening, normally between 7pm and 8pm (a note will be posted in the arrival hotel with details).

Travel in the morning to Santa Marta for around 5 hours by the coastal shore of the Caribbean Sea. You’ll pass by important cities like Barranquilla, among the biggest in Colombia, and also see large sea ports located in the delta of Magdalena River, the largest in the country. Take the afternoon at leisure to enjoy the sunset by the beach at Taganga village.

Today after breakfast, enjoy the first exploration of the Caribbean Sea by joining a half day snorkeling activity near Taganga bay, where you will see lots of tropical small fish and beautiful colorful coral formations in shallow waters. Spot at king lionfish, barracuda, moray, eels, even turtles sometimes.

One of the fantastic things over here is the temperature of the water is always pleasant no wetsuit needs it.

In the afternoon explore the local town and enjoy some time at Playa Grande, the closest beach.

Today we will travel for one hour in the direction to the mountains of Santa Marta range to Minca village, where we will start our adventure at 700mt altitude, biking down through the cloud forest for about 2-3 hrs, surrounded by an incredible nature. On the way, we will make multiple stops to visit a local coffee farm and a hummingbird’s sanctuary, jump into the fresh waters of a little river and watch a chocolate making demonstration.

We will stop for our lunch break in Minca village, enjoying the amazing panoramic views, before hopping on our bike again to reach Minca town Return to Taganga.

Early In the morning, we will head north along the Carribean coast. We will arrive at one of the most beautiful national park of the Caribbean, the divers’ paradise of Tayrona Park. Here, the white sandy beaches of the coral reefs contrast with the tropical forests of the Santa Marta mountain range, a paradise and home for more than 350 species of birds and 100 types of mammals living among flower gardens situated along the different trails in the park.

Our hike will start at Calabazo entry, one of the gates into the national park; we will hike for around 3.5 to 4 hours across the park from the tropical forest to end by the beach, on the way we will pass by Pueblito

At this pre-Hispanic archeological site, we can find more than 200 terraces, which are the remains of a small village belonging to the Tayrona culture, which dates back to between 800 ac to 1500 Ac. We will admire the volcanic rocks of Santa Marta Range, carved by the people of this ancient culture to build their temples, and the trails that connect with the Lost City. There will also be some local Kogui people who consider the close descendents from the Tayrona.

The trail is also a challenging path with a lot of ups and downs in the head of the tropical forest. Good shoes are recommended to walk on rocky trails.

Lunch will be provided by the beach at Cabo San Juan guia the first Camp site in the park.

We will continue walking for one more hour by the beach exploring beautiful bays with turquoise color waters before arriving at Arrecifes, our campsite for the night.

We will spend a magical night sleeping in a hammock.

After breakfast, we will have the morning at leisure to enjoy some free time exploring the different bays such as la piscine well known for good snorkeling or simply enjoying the beach. Just after midday, we will take our backpacks to hike for one hour by the sea short to the parking site of Zahino entry to take our transportation back to Santa Marta city.

International departures, end of services. Take with you memories and photos and leave a piece of your heart, as you will want to return to Colombia soon to experience more of this enchanted land. We wish you a “buen viaje”!