Colombian Gems, a Golden Adventure
Overview
Embark on an exhilarating journey through Colombia's vibrant cities and breathtaking landscapes. From the bustling streets of Bogotá to the lush coffee plantations of Salento and the energetic atmosphere of Medellín, this adventure promises to immerse you in the heart and soul of Colombia, where you’ll be enchanted and inspired at every turn.
Format
Locations
- Bogotá
- Salento
- Medellín
Inclusions
- Round-trip flights to Bogotá (if Flight and Hotel option is chosen)
- Private transfers to and from airports
- Private transfers for all excursions and sightseeing tours as per the itinerary
- 10 nights of accommodation (4 nights in Bogotá, 4 nights in Salento, 2 nights in Medellín). Please note that your early check-in is included, therefore it will be counted as a night at destination
- Daily breakfast
- Lunch, dinner and regional snacks as per the itinerary
- Hotel taxes, fees and service charges (only for customers travelling with a non-Colombian passport)
- Domestic one-way ticket in Economy Class from Bogotá to Pereira, Pereira to Medellín and Medellín to Bogotá
- Service of English-speaking local guide as per program (different guide in each city)
- Entrance fees to landmarks and monuments within the itinerary
- Earn 4,000 extra Aeroplan® points per member on this tour for travel completed by December 31, 2025
- More Moments activities included:
- Bogotá - City tour
- Cocora Valley - La Carbonera Wax Palm Forest tour
- Buenavista - Coffee tour at Hacienda San Alberto
- Medellín - ‘We don’t talk about Pablo’ tour, Botero walking tour, Botanical Gardens and Moravia Urban Recovery tour
- Guatapé - Guatapé and Piedra del Peñol tour
Itinerary
Day 1
Depart Canada
Overnight flight to El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá, Colombia.
Day 2
Welcome to Bogotá
Upon arrival at El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá, you will be required to clear customs and immigration. Once cleared, a local representative will greet you with an Air Canada Vacations sign and escort you to your private transfer to your hotel for an early check-in. Enjoy the rest of the morning at leisure.
For lunch, enjoy a delicious gourmet four-course meal paired with wine or natural juice, served in a private space at the local plaza. Your private transfer will take you to the restaurant and back to your hotel, followed by an afternoon of leisure.
In the evening, take your private transfer to the selected restaurant for dinner, where a set menu awaits. Afterward, you will be transferred back to your hotel. Spend the rest of the evening as you please!
Meal(s): Dîner et souper
Day 3
Bogotá
After breakfast, your private transfer will take you on a *6-hour Bogotá City guided tour! This mesmerizing adventure offers outstanding opportunities to explore the highlights of Colombia's capital in a single day, including Monserrate, La Candelaria, Plaza de Bolívar, and some museums. Lunch will be served at a local restaurant halfway through the tour.
*Duration subject to change due to operational and time constraints on the ground.
Upon completion of the city tour, you will be transferred back to your hotel for dinner. Enjoy the rest of the day at leisure!
More Moments Activities Included
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City Tour
The first stop is at Monserrate Sanctuary by cable car. After, you will walk through Jimenez Avenue to see an impressive collection of Indigenous gold pieces at the Gold Museum.
Next, you will go to the historic neighbourhood of La Candelaria and wander the picturesque, cobbled streets that hold more than 400 years of history. The Botero Museum is next, featuring Colombian contemporary art. Stop at Chorro de Quevedo to appreciate the diverse contrasts that the historical centre offers and learn more about Bogotá's history.
After the walking tour in La Candelaria, you will reach Plaza de Bolívar, the main square of the city. Finally, walk through Jimenez Avenue to see an impressive collection of Indigenous gold pieces at the Gold Museum.
Meal(s): Petit-déjeuner, dîner et souper
Day 4
Bogotá - Pereira - Salento
After an early breakfast and check-out, your private transfer will take you to El Dorado International Airport so you can catch your flight to Pereira’s Matecaña International Airport for your next Colombian adventure.
Upon arrival, a local representative will greet you with an Air Canada Vacations sign and escort you to your private transfer for a scenic *1-hour drive to your hotel in Salento. The rest of the day is free for you to enjoy after you’ve checked in!
*Driving time is approximate and may vary depending on traffic and road conditions.
Lunch and dinner will be served at your hotel. The rest of the day is yours to enjoy at leisure.
Meal(s): Petit-déjeuner, dîner et souper
Day 5
Salento - Cocora Valley - Salento
After an early breakfast, your private driver will take you on a picturesque *45-minute drive to La Carbonera, where an **8-hour guided Wax Palm Forest tour awaits!
*Driving time is approximate and may vary depending on traffic and road conditions.
**Duration may vary depending on weather and operational constraints on the ground.
Halfway through the tour, you will enjoy a delicious picnic-style lunch before continuing with this amazing nature adventure.
You will have dinner at your hotel. The rest of the day will be yours to enjoy at leisure.
More Moments Activities Included
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La Carbonera Wax Palm Forest Tour
La Carbonera is a natural reserve and family farm that has been kept isolated to protect the natural wax palm forests. Located in the Cocora Valley, one of Colombia's must-go places, it's nice tempered weather, impressively tall endemic wax palm trees, dense cloud-forests, and wide biodiversity encopass a very rich ecosystem. You will have the chance to hike around the reserve, but mostly, you will enjoy a contemplative and relaxed visit to this magical and unique place in the company of those who care for it.
Meal(s): Petit-déjeuner, dîner pique-nique et souper
Day 6
Salento
Explore Salento and its surrounding areas at your own pace! Whether you choose to immerse yourself in cultural experiences, embark on outdoor adventures, or simply unwind amidst Salento's natural beauty, a day at leisure in this enchanting town promises to be a memorable escape into tranquility and authenticity. The choice is yours!
You will have dinner at your hotel. The rest of the day is yours to enjoy at your leisure.
Meal(s): Petit-déjeuner et souper
Day 7
Salento - Buenavista - Salento
After an early breakfast, your private transfer will take you on a scenic *1.5-hour drive to Buenavista, home of Colombia's most awarded coffee, and where a **5-hour coffee tour awaits at Hacienda San Alberto! While walking by coffee plants, you will enjoy amazing views and learn about how coffee originates from seed to cup.
*Driving time is approximate and may vary depending on road and traffic conditions.
**Duration may vary depending on weather and operational conditions on the ground.
Lunch will be served at a local restaurant, then you will be transferred back to your hotel.
In the evening, you will have dinner at your hotel. The rest of the day is yours to enjoy at leisure.
More Moments Activities Included
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Coffee Tour at Hacienda San Alberto
Walk and enjoy a tour among the coffee plantations and steep hills of the this coffee region, where you’ll learn about planting, processing, and the fine selection of this famous coffee brand. Walk into coffee plantations to see different experimental and traditional species, planting cycles and techniques, and differences in plant growth and crop production.
After, you will move to see how coffee is processed after harvesting the beans. You will learn about the different methods applied to dry and roast coffee along with the machines involved.
Continue to the lab where experts evaluate coffee batches to see if they are worthy of being labeled as top quality coffee. Finally, you will have a coffee tasting experience where you will be able to apply all the knowledge you’ve picked up and enjoy top-notch coffee.
Meal(s): Petit-déjeuner, dîner et souper
Day 8
Salento - Medellín
After an early breakfast, your private transfer will take you to Matecaña International Airport for your flight to Medellín. Upon arrival, a local representative will greet you with an Air Canada Vacations sign and escort you to your private transfer to your hotel for check-in.
In the afternoon, a delicious lunch awaits at your hotel, followed by the famous ‘We don’t talk about Pablo’ guided tour, which reveals the real story beyond Narcos.
In the evening, your private transfer will take you to the selected restaurant for dinner, where a set menu awaits. Afterward, you will be transferred back to your hotel. The rest of the evening is yours to enjoy at leisure!
More Moments Activities Included
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We Don’t Talk About Pablo Tour
This tour was designed to bring to light the side of the story that was never told by popular TV series Narcos. The narratives and stops that are visited focus on bringing you on a journey through the whole context of the narcotraffic emergence and how many problems are still present today.
It takes place in the eastern centre of Medellín and will allow you to see multiple stops showing different narratives of the original story with the help of the Metrocable, Medellín’s innovative public transport system. Finish the tour by visiting Medellín’s Memory House Museum. Its interactive exhibitions will bring more to the conversation through the actual voices of victims of the drug war in Colombia.
Meal(s): Petit-déjeuner, dîner et souper
Day 9
Medellín
After breakfast, your private transfer will take you on a fascinating *3-hour guided Botero walking tour.
*Duration may vary depending on weather or operational constraints on the ground.
After the walking tour ends, have a delicious lunch at a local restaurant! Then, the last item on your agenda for today is a fascinating *6-hour guided Botanical Gardens and Moravia Urban Recovery tour.
*Duration may vary depending on weather or operational constraints on the ground.
In the evening, you will have dinner at your hotel. The rest of the day is yours to enjoy at leisure.
More Moments Activities Included
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Botero Walking Tour
On this tour, you will get the chance to learn about Medellín and Colombia through the life and work of the Fernando Botero. The tour will start at the Museum of Antioquia, which holds one of the largest collections of Botero’s artwork in the world—more than 100 of his famous paintings!
The next stop will be at the Plaza de Botero, a fascinating open-air exhibition of bronze sculptures, which was originally part of renovation program for the area in 2004.
Next, you will walk at Parque Berrío, the epicentre of local life in Medellín, and nearby, you will see the fresco murals from Pedro Nel Gómez, a Colombian artist, sculptor, and engineer from the mid-20th century.
Finally, you’ll go to San Antonio Park where you will get the chance to see the Paloma de la paz (the Bird of Peace), a sculpture blown up by the FARC in 1995. Botero donated an exact undamaged bronze replica of the bird but insisted that the exploded statue remained at the plaza as a memorial statue with the names of the victims carved on its base.
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Botanical Gardens and Moravia Urban Recovery Tour
Visit one of the must-see attractions in the Botanical Gardens. There you’ll get the chance to visit the award-winning Orchideorama garden, as well as others with more than 1,000 different plant species.
Later, experience the Moravia Urban Recovery tour, which goes into detail about thousands of inhabitants that arrived in Medellín because of internal force displacement in rural regions of Antioquia. This allowed one of Medellín's biggest landfills to transform into one of the city's biggest flower gardens.
Meal(s): Petit-déjeuner, dîner et souper
Day 10
Medellín - Guatapé - Medellín
After an early breakfast, your private transfer will take you on a *2-hour drive east of Medellín, where a hike of Piedra del Peñol and a stroll through colourful Guatapé await!
*Driving time is approximate and may vary depending on traffic and road conditions.
A delicious lunch at one of the local restaurants in Guatapé will be served upon completion of the hike.
In the evening, you will have dinner at a local restaurant in Medellín before being transferred to Medellin’s José María Córdova International Airport so you can catch your flight to Bogotá.
Upon arrival, you will be greeted by a local representative with an Air Canada Vacations sign who will escort you to your private transfer to take you to your hotel for check-in. Spend the rest of the evening as you please.
More Moments Activities Included
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Guatapé and Piedra del Peñol Tour
This tour will take you to one of Colombia’s must-see attractions: the massive Piedra del Peñol or simply La Piedra (The Stone). You’ll be climbing hundreds of stairs, so ensure that you are physically fit for the challenge! The reward? Astonishing views!
Back at the bottom, you’ll get to hear the story about the letters ‘G’ and ‘U’ imprinted on the north side of the rock, which tells the story of the two cities claiming The Stone as their own.
The next part of our tour includes a visit to the colourful town of Guatapé. As you walk down the cobblestone streets of this laid-back village, admire the decorative panels at the base of its houses.
Meal(s): Petit-déjeuner, dîner et souper
Day 11
Bogotá - Canada
After breakfast and check-out, your private transfer service will take you to Bogotá’s El Dorado International Airport for your flight back to Canada.
Meal(s): Petit-déjeuner
Accomodations
Where you'll stay
Location
Hotel
Room details
Type of bed(s): 1 double bed or 2 twin beds
Room occupancy: Maximum 3 people (3 adults, or 2 adults and 1 child)
Unless otherwise specified, guests will stay in a standard room at all hotels during the trip.
Important Information
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Frequency: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays
- July 29, 2024 until December 31, 2025
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Not included:
- Hotel taxes are not included for those travelling with a Colombian passport, and proof of nationality will be required upon check-in
- Gratuities
- Airport taxes (where applicable)
- Meals, unless specified otherwise
- Transfers for any optional activities, and any other transfer services required outside of the itinerary above
- Entrance to other landmarks not mentioned in the itinerary
- Additional activities and excursions
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The More Moments activities/excursions mentioned in the itinerary are all included in the package but may be rescheduled to take place on an earlier or later day, depending on availability and operational day.
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- Flight in Economy Class from: Bogotá to Pereira, Pereira to Medellín and Medellín to Bogotá
- Private transfer service from/to airports
- Private transfer service for all sightseeing activities mentioned in the itinerary
- Private intercity transfers
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Hotel taxes, fees and service charges included*.
*These charges are not included for customers travelling with a Colombian passport.
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- Please be advised that upon arrival at El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá, our local representative will request a picture of your passport (main page and entry stamp). This procedure ensures that you are not charged for the hotel taxes, fees and service charges upon check-in. Hotel taxes, fees and service charges are not included for customers travelling with a Colombian passport.
- Due to your early flight arrival, and to enhance your experience in Colombia, your early check-in is included in your price and will count as a night at your destination.
- Drink inclusions note for lunch and dinner: One soft drink per person is included (refill $). Water is served by the bottle only ($), and alcoholic beverages have an extra charge, unless noted otherwise.