Colombia holiday

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£4625

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19 Days excluding flights

More info:Price includes all activities/equipment, tour leaders, local guides and drivers, meals, transport (excluding international flights), accommodation and entrance fees as outlined in the itinerary. Optional Single Supplement: £565

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“Making a welcome return as a travel destination, Colombia is a huge country of diverse landscapes and experiences. Over three memorable weeks, this small group Colombia holiday shows what we’ve all been missing.”

Highlights

Description of Colombia holiday

Colombia is one of the world’s most vibrant countries, emerging from a dark period in its history to reclaim its spot as a renowned destination in South America. Travelling from the capital, Bogota, to the colonial city of Cartagena in the north, this small group Colombia holiday has been carefully crafted to showcase scenery, landmarks and cultural activities that will captivate even the most experienced of travellers.

Drive through picturesque countryside to see ancient monuments such as The Observatory, used by the Indians to track the seasons, and the spectacular Salt Cathedral of Zipaquira, an underground Roman Catholic church built in an old salt mine. Explore the surreal rock formations of the Tatacoa Desert and the hugely significant monoliths of the San Agustin archaeological park. Tour the must-see areas around Bogota including La Candalaria, the city’s oldest suburb, Monseratte with its hilltop lookouts, and the fascinating Gold Museum.

Give your muscles and skin a treat by soaking them in the Popayan thermal pools, or even a bubbling mud volcano! And embark on horse trekking expeditions from a working hacienda in the stunning Manziales region.

You’ll explore Armenia and the Cocora Valley, heart of Colombia’s coffee industry, and the lively city of Medellin with its renowned culinary scene. Afterwards, an internal flight takes you to Santa Marta on the Caribbean coast, for a few days wandering on idyllic white sand beaches, and trekking through the jungle of Tayrona National Park.

This is the quintessential Colombia holiday for adventurous travellers looking for natural beauty and unique cultural experiences.

Travel Team

If you'd like to chat about this holiday or need help finding one we're very happy to help. The Travel Team.

01273 823 700 Calling from outside the UK? rosy@responsibletravel.com

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Date

Price per adult

Basis

Status

31 Oct 2021

£4625

excluding flights

Available

Click here to enquire about or book the 31 Oct 2021 departure

Pricing:

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Holiday type

Small group holidays

Small group travel is not large group travel scaled down. It is modelled on independent travel – but with the advantage of a group leader to take care of the itinerary, accommodation and tickets, and dealing with the language. It’s easy to tick off the big sights independently – but finding those one-off experiences, local festivals, travelling markets and secret viewpoints is almost impossible for someone without the insider knowledge gained from years in the field. If you’re heading off on a gap year your, perhaps – but for those with a two-week holiday, a small group tour will save valuable planning time.

The leaders are not guides – they’re not there to shepherd you around. Instead, they’ll let you know which local restaurant serves great value food – without running the risk of travellers’ tummy. They’ll allow you to avoid hour-long queues at train stations and attractions.

We like to think of small group travel as the Goldilocks option. It is independent travel without the fuss, worry and bunk beds – and organised travel without the coaches. And it’s cheaper than a tailor made tour. It’s sits somewhere in the middle – and we think it’s just about right.

What are the main benefits?

Big experiences
Have big, life-enriching experiences that would be impossible to organise without lots of time and insider knowledge.

Simplicity
Make the most of your holiday time by letting someone else do the hard work and boring logistics!

Peace of mind
Small group tours take care of the security aspects – and provide a safety net should anything unexpected happen.

Who is it ideal for?

Travellers who are short of time
If you don’t have three months to spend exploring, small groups trips let you cover more ground in less time. Your days are not spent queuing for tickets or finding hotels – so you can squeeze more into your holiday.

Solo travellers who’d like company
Likeminded travel companions plus peace of mind for those travelling alone. Single supplements are usually available – providing privacy if you want it.

Less confident travellers
Stray from the tourist trail without worrying about getting lost, and meet local people without dealing with the language barrier.

Mythbuster

“I won’t get any privacy!”
Couples and friends have private rooms, and you can choose to eat alone or not. Single supplements give solo travellers their own room.

“There won’t be any free time”
Free mornings or afternoons let you explore on your own, or just relax.

“The accommodation will be basic”
Trips are as high or low end as you like. Though off the beaten track destinations won’t have luxury hotels, this is all part of the adventure.

“I won’t like the other travellers!”
Tour operators try to create groups with a similar demographic – age, families, activity levels... Chances are, you’ll even make new friends.

“Will we be following an umbrella?”
No.

Meet a group leader

As well as taking care of all the day-to-day practicalities, your group leader is the one who will turn your trip into an adventure. Leaders are extraordinary characters – the kind of person who has spent 14 Christmas days on the slopes of Mount Everest, runs marathons wearing tiger suits to raise funds for their conservation and thinks nothing of leading an overland trip in Sudan or Afghanistan. Fearless and inspiring, group leaders are as important as the destination itself.

Meet a local guide

No matter how experienced your group leader, they can never make up for the knowledge gained from a lifetime in the destination. That’s why many of our trips work with local guides around the world – who invite you into their homeland with pleasure. As well as doing crazy things like climbing Kilimanjaro 100 times, they also donate their time to local projects supported by travellers – such as rebuilding Sri Lankan villages following the 2004 tsunami.

Responsible tourism

As the pioneers of responsible tourism, we screen every trip so you can travel knowing your holiday will help support conservation and local people.

In South America we use local ground handlers - this means that all the operational costs go directly into the local economy and helps to improve employment opportunities in remote regions. By incorporating home-stays, locally owned hotels, restaurants and the services of guides and drivers into our itineraries, we ensure that money you spend on your trip goes directly into the local economy and local communities benefit from tourism.

We have a strict environmental policy to make sure that the environments we visit are not damaged or spoilt in any way. All our guides are trained to uphold this policy and all clients are fully briefed on appropriate/responsible behaviour whilst in wilderness areas. Our 'Leave No Trace' ethic is applied to all trips in all regions, and as tour operators is something we are careful to promote.

We also support emergency relief efforts in the areas we travel to, such as the Pakistan Earthquake Fund set up in 2005 and a variety of other community benefiting NGOs around the world.

We also support several other NGOs around the world such as the Hope Foundation, Tibetan schools trust and Adopt-A-Minefield, which are all carefully selected to improve the standard of living for the communities we visit.

Environment