Having just returned from a month-long trip to Colombia, it’s time for us to give you a brief overview of our 2019 travel itinerary before telling you all about it. You’ll find out everything in detail later in our posts dedicated to each destination we visited.
This trip was once again magical; every year Colombia has its share of surprises in store for us, and we’re lucky to have been able to discover new facets of this beautiful country! Let’s take a look back at our trip to Colombia 2019!
Disclaimer: we apologize in advance for any grammatical or syntactic errors, as our native language is not English (we're a Colombian-French couple), so we hope you'll forgive us and still enjoy the information we share with you! Please note that all the information on our blog is based on our own experience, and is checked and updated regularly.
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Review of our 2019 travel itinerary
TRAVEL IN COLOMBIA
In retrospect, what did we think of our 2019 travel itinerary? What if we had to do it all over again? As we do every year, we tell you unfiltered about our choices and decisions, which will serve us well in the future as we try to travel ever more responsibly.
Travel within travel
Once again, Colombia has shown us its diversity. If we thought our previous trip couldn’t represent Colombia’s diversity any better, we’d been a little hasty! The mountains with a thousand waterfalls of Santander, the desert landscapes of Norte Santander, the atmosphere of Mompox on the banks of the Tranquil River, the cowboys and unique culture of Casanare, the strong history and hidden treasures of Guaviare at the gateway to Amazonia… Each region regaled us with landscapes, gastronomy, traditions, know-how… confirming if it were necessary that every cm2 of Colombia deserves to be visited!
While last year we had stayed in the north and visited almost exclusively coastal regions, apart from Medellín, this year we traced a great vertical line from north to south, from Santa Marta to San Jose del Guaviare.
Once again, we ran out of time, especially on the first part of our trip, when we really would have liked to have stayed longer in Santander.
Organization
This year’s trip was organized a little differently than in previous years, since we organized parts of it with local travel agencies. This is the first time we’ve done this, we won’t be doing it on every trip, but we confess that it has its advantages.
We don’t want to succumb to the siren song of invitations of all kinds; our independence is the most important thing of all.
That said, we know that there are as many different readers as there are different travelers, and we think it’s a good idea to try out services that might be of interest to some of you. In any case, our idea will always be to tell you about initiatives and services that seem (to us) to be relevant, virtuous, original, useful, and so on.
For the first part of our trip, we decided to try a road trip by car! We rented a car and drove from Bogota to Santa Marta, which was great.
For the second part of the trip, we had a destination we absolutely wanted to discover this year: the Guaviare. It’s a destination we were keen to highlight this deserving and much-needed destination. When we had the opoportunity to add the discovery of Casanare to the itinerary, it was hard to refuse, given that it was another little-known region we wanted to visit.
By car from Bogota to Santa Marta
Travel itinerary 2019 in Colombia
| Days | Activities | Nights |
|---|---|---|
| J1 | GUADALUPE (Read article) Morning: Bogota – Guadalupe route Afternoon: Farniente in Guadalupe | Gadalupe El portal de Don Luis |
| J2 | GUADALUPE (Read article) Morning: Las Gachas Afternoon: Guadalupe – Barichara route | Barichara Casa Oniri |
| J3 | BARICHARA (Read article) Day: Visit Barichara, paper workshops, viewpoints Salto del Mico | Barichara Casa Oniri |
| J4 | JUAN CURI (Read article) Morning: Barichara – Cascade Juan Curi (walk and swim) Afternoon: San Gil – Giron (Chicamocha canyon route) | Giron Chill out Hotel |
| J5 | GIRON (Read article) Morning: Visit to Giron and tobacco-making workshop Afternoon: Travel from Giron to Playa de Belen | Playa de Belen Finca Casa Real |
| J6 | PLAYA DE BELEN Morning: Walk in Los Estoraques Natural Park Afternoon: Drive from Playa de Belen to Mompox | Mompox Bioma Boutique Hotel |
| J7 | MOMPOX (Read article) Morning: Guided tour of Mompox and filigree workshop Afternoon: Farniente | Mompox Bioma Hotel |
| J8 | MOMPOX (Read article) Morning: Relaxation Afternoon: Boat trip to Cienaga de Pijiño (wildlife observation) | Mompox BiomaHotel |
| J9 | ARACATACA Morning: Mompox – Aracataca & visit to Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s birthplace Afternoon: Travel from Aracataca to Santa Marta | Bogota, Chia Night at home |
Words and images
We’d been dreaming of driving the roads of Colombia for a long time. We had planned to do a road trip during our 2015 trip, but Sam had lost his wallet with all his papers, including his driver’s license… so we hadn’t been able to carry out the project.
But this time it was the right time. So we thought up the 2019 trip itinerary so that we could discover both the must-sees, but also lesser-known places so that we could tell you about them here.
For the must-sees, there was of course Barichara and Mompox, two destinations that often come back as favorites for those lucky enough to discover them. Two very different villages, in two very different regions.
In between, less-frequented places like Guadalupe and Las Gachas, the Cascade Juan Curi, the historic center of Giron, and above all the lost village of La Playa de Belen and the bizarre rock formations of Los Estoraques park.
Guadalupe, Las Gachas, Barichara
The fact remains that we loved this first part of our trip, both for the regions we discovered, the experience of driving in Colombia, and for the many encounters we made!
Cascade Juan Curi, Giron, La Playa de Belen and Los Estoraques
Each destination will be the subject of a dedicated post in which we tell you about the things to do there. It’s hard to pick out a favorite from this first part of the trip, as each stop was an opportunity for great discoveries!
Mompox
For this 2019 travel itinerary we drove in Colombia for the first time!
We wanted to try it out so that we could talk to you about it, see how it went and give you as much advice as possible – and now we have! Read our post on car rental in Colombia.
Casanare and Guaviare
2019 Colombia travel itinerary
| Days | Activities | Nights |
|---|---|---|
| J1 | CASANARE – TRINIDAD Morning: Bogota – Yopal – Trinidad route Afternoon: Hato Berlin (wildlife observation) | Trinidad Finca El Diamante |
| J2 | CASANARE – TRINIDAD Morning: Casa Museo El Llanerazo Afternoon: Hato Gaviotas (horseback riding and wildlife observation) | Trinidad Finca El Diamante |
| J3 | CASANARE – TRINIDAD Morning: Meeting with llaneros musicians Afternoon: Hato Los deseos (Horseback riding and wildlife observation) Return to Yopal | Yopal Villa Lisseth |
| J4 | VILLAVICENCIO Day trip: Yopal – Villavicencio | Villavicencio Angélica’s uncle’s house |
| J5 | SAN JOSE DEL GUAVIARE Morning: Journey Villavicencio – San Jose del Guaviare Afternoon: Playa Guio and Laguna Negra (wildlife observation and swimming) | San Jose del Guaviare Playa Guio |
| J6 | SAN JOSE DEL GUAVIARE Day: Cerro Azul, site of rock paintings dating back thousands of years | San Jose del Guaviare Playa Guio |
| J7 | SAN JOSE DEL GUAVIARE Day: Laguna Damas de Nare (encounter with the “Toninas”, the pink Amazonian dolphins) | San Jose del Guaviare Playa Guio |
| J8 | SAN JOSE DEL GUAVIARE Morning: Trankilandia (coloured river) Afternoon: Tuneles (rock formations) | San Jose del Guaviare Casa Miriku |
| J9 | BOGOTA Morning: Return journey San Jose del Guaviare – Bogota | Bogota, Chia Night at home |
This second part of the trip has been prepared to explore new tourist destinations in Colombia. Casanare and Guaviare are two regions where tourism has been developing for barely 2 years. Both are now waking up with a clear hope: to see tourism transform their territory into a sustainable, responsible and positive dynamic.
Safari in Casanare
Casanare used to be an isolated territory, living somewhat self-sufficiently due to the absence of roads and hit by paramilitary violence for too many years. Today, beautiful people like Heiler, our guide, want to show the world the beauty of the landscape, the wildlife and the llanera culture!
A region totally apart from anything else Colombia has to offer. If your heart takes you to Yopal, you can join us on a “Llanero Safari” at the Casanare, where you can enjoy the abundance of nature and encounters that the Casanare has to offer visitors!
Favorite things to do
Live the Casanare Experience
Guaviare
Guaviare has long been an uninviting region, the epicenter of armed conflict and illicit crops. A sort of Colombian Wild West where lost souls came to seek their fortune.
While not everything is settled, far from it, tourism has a major role to play in Colombia’s peace process, and Guaviare is a prime example of what tourism can bring to the country and its people. In Guaviare, initiatives are multiplying to offer former coca growers viable alternatives.
But there’s more to Guaviare than its tragic history, because if tourism has a future here, it’s mainly because of its incredible diversity in such a small area: rock paintings, colorful rivers, pink dolphins, wildlife and a variety of landscapes… Guaviare awaits you at the gateway to the Amazon!
Favorite things to do
How to visit the Guaviare
All in all, this second part of the trip was incredibly rich in discoveries and powerful stories, as these territories have so much to tell us. We discovered some wonderful community tourism initiatives, which we’ll be telling you about very soon.
We loved Guaviare, which was one of the destinations we absolutely had to tell you about on our travel blog, but Casanare was another great discovery!
Favourites, encounters and initiatives
2019 Colombia travel itinerary
Our favorite part of the trip
It’s hard to pick out a favorite from this trip, so many feelings were stirred up during this month! If the emotions generated by our encounters were to guide us, it would be impossible to choose because we met so many beautiful people..
Our favorite country was Colombia and its diversity! It never ceases to amaze us..
- Santander really enchanted us,
- Playa de Belen deserves to be discovered,
- Mompox remains Mompox,
- The Casanare was a real surprise,
- Guaviare moved us to tears..
We’ll say it again and again, but in Colombia, adventure is just around the corner, meeting the people. The most beautiful memories are made in the course of a conversation to find one’s way!
Beautiful people
- Rafael, the loving owner of Portal de Don Luis in Guadalupe and his love of cheese and panela
- Orlando, the ant-hunting paisa in Barichara (there’s always a paisa somewhere in Colombia),
- Hercelia, one of the strongest women in Barichara’s vegetable paper workshop
- Bernarda, the immovable pillar around whom Barichara’s old folks live and die
- Doris, who fell in love with the filigree craft in Mompox
- Lucho, and the 2 hours of laughter at his place making Queso de Capa in Mompox
- Luis Alfredo, the passionate guide in Mompox
- Heiler, a guide with Casanare in his heart
- Seudiel, the incredible llanerazo that has to be seen to be believed
- Marcel, and his gamble to go from Paris theater classes to the muddy tracks of the Guaviare
- Marcos, his heart and appetite for learning beyond measure
- Javier, and his tears of hope for a peaceful Guaviare.
Great initiatives
- Integration workshop in Barichara: a workshop bringing together women in difficulty to make vegetable paper.
- Old people’s weaving workshop in Barichara: a house donated to the association to give the village’s elderly a livelihood through weaving
- Playa Guio and Econare in Guaviare: community tourism initiatives in San Jose del Guaviare to give former coca growers an alternative.
- Casa museo El Llanerazo in Casanare: a sort of house of memory before memory fades, to tell, show and keep alive the heritage of llanera childhood
