Cartagena to Bogota holiday in Colombia

Environment

On this tour we try to use public transport to get around, where practical. In using this widely-available form of transport, we are able to reduce our environmental impact, by not adding an extra vehicle on the road where a local pooled service already exists. This helps to reduce the overall carbon emissions of this tour. Travelling on public transport also means that we can interact authentically with local people as we travel around the country.

We visit the Coffee Region and take a hike through the Cocora Valley. Here travellers can watch the mist gather in the valley among wax palms and see a wealth of flora native to the area. The Cocora Valley sits in the Los Nevados National park. Visiting this national park, as with anywhere else, we encourage travellers to leave nothing but footprints behind. We remind visitors to not take any rocks or plants away with them, or buy souvenirs made of endangered materials.

The accommodation we have selected for this itinerary are locally-owned so that we are able to support local business who employ staff from the community. We also try to select hotels that align with our environmental values, for example the hotels in Salento and Medellin have clear eco policies that they adhere to in order to cut down on waste, conserve water and energy and not use toxic cleaning products. The hotel in Medellin also has a restaurant that offers organic and locally sourced food.

Community

One of the principle aims of our responsible travel policy is to support local economies. We strive to create itineraries that offer opportunities for travellers to engage with their hosts. The benefit of this is twofold, more funds from this tour are spent in the local economy and therefore have a direct and positive impact on local communities and businesses and our travellers gain a genuine insight into a region and its people.

Groups are lead by Spanish speaking (likely hispanic) tour leader who can act as a translator and bring their knowledge of Colombian culture and Colombian people into the itinerary. Tour leaders will make every effort to further travellers knowledge and understanding of the local community during this tour. We feel that this fosters respect for locals among travellers and vice-versa when tourist engage with a local community they welcomed more warmly with more to gain from the experience and interactions.

Our stay at a local hacienda in the coffee region brings travellers into contact with local producers offering interesting cultural insights to rural farm life and coffee growing practices whilst putting money straight into the local economy.

Additionally, the optional excursions that we can help to arrange while on this tour, such as a trip to the Totumo Volcano or a city tour of Cartagena, help to support jobs and the local economy because they are run by local operators. We also recommend that our travellers eat and drink at locally-owned restaurants or bars to ensure that local businesses benefit as much as possible from our tours travelling through the region and that travellers have the opportunity taste regional dishes and perhaps learn something new in the process.