2024 TASTE OF COLOMBIA – SOLD OUT

You’ll begin your tour this morning when your local, bilingual tour guide meets you at your hotel. Dominating the city center, el Cerro de Monserrate is a mountain rising 10,341 feet above sea level. You’ll be taking a cable car/trolley up the steep mountainside to enjoy the most spectacular views of Bogotá from the summit. Along with outstanding views is an historic village featuring a 17th century shrine.

Other features of this tour include a walk through the city center to explore La Candelaria, Colombia’s oldest neighborhood. This historic neighborhood is also home to a university district, full of cobblestoned streets and centuries-old houses.

Stop by the Plaza de Bolivar, an historic colonial square where Colombia’s government is located: there you will find the Congress, the Cathedral, the Palace of Justice, the Palacio Liévano (Mayor’s Office) and the House of the 20th of July.

Today’s tour includes lunch at a local restaurant. It will also include a visit to the spectacular Museo del Oro (Gold Museum), featuring the world´s biggest collection of pre-Columbian gold and other metals, as well as the Museo Botero, which features 123 works authored by the master Fernando Botero, among which are paintings, drawings and sculptures.

We return to the hotel with some time to relax and refresh prior to dinner together this evening.

Following dinner, get ready for a wild night out on the town with local gay guides who have the inside scoop on all the hot spots in town. This is an optional activity at an additional cost. (B, D)

Accommodation: BOG Hotel

Accommodation: BOG Hotel

Later tonight, learn about this beautiful city by the sea by exploring its culinary secrets. On this culinary experience, you will enjoy a 10-course tasting experience within the experimental laboratory of an award-winning restaurant.

The lab was born as a 4-year research initiative focused on giving visibility to the gastronomic culture and biodiversity of the Colombian Caribbean through exploration trips. The chefs set out to teach people that the food of this region is much more than fried fish, coconut rice and fried plantain. The cuisine of the Colombian Caribbean is the product of a crossbreeding of cultures that arrived in the Caribbean hundreds of years ago: Spanish and European, African, Syrian, Lebanese, but also indigenous people who inhabited the territory long before, and that together made their contributions to what today is known as the Colombian Caribbean cuisine.(B, D)

Accommodation: Sofitel Legend Santa Clara Cartagena Luxury Hotel

Our guide will also introduce us to sites of incredible history and local culture, like the massive 16th-century Castle of San Felipe de Barajas, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Colombia’s Seven Wonders. There’s the Palace of the Inquisition and opportunities to stroll through picturesque plazas, past colorful houses with flowered balconies, artisan shops and cafés. We’ll also visit the Convento de la Popa that sits on the highest point of Cartagena.

Later today you rill have the opportunity to go to the city’s top-rated bar to team up with the best mixologists for a special rum tasting experience.

The most treasured booty for any good pirate during those seafaring times wasn’t a treasure chest of gold, but a fine bottle of rum. Today, this caramel-colored liquor continues to keep the locals happy, as rum is the national liquor of Colombia. The rum taster will talk you through the ingredients, distillery process, and a brief history of the glorious spirit. Then you’ll enjoy 4 special rums, some accompanied by specifically paired chocolates — the “food of the gods” — to sample.

After, we enjoy dinner together before returning to the hotel. (B, D)

Accommodation: Sofitel Legend Santa Clara Cartagena Luxury Hotel

Later this evening we gather for dinner at a local restaurant. (B, L, D)

Accommodation: Sofitel Legend Santa Clara Cartagena Luxury Hotel

When Medellín was the most dangerous city in the world, this barrio was its most dangerous neighborhood. Now enjoy this guided discovery of the street art that gave the area a bright & colorful new glow to the city’s new and positive transformation. Local guides from urban collective Casa Kolacho have an amazing story of transformation to tell. After visiting their neighborhood, they hope you’ll be inspired to create a better world, full of art and music. This Graffiti Tour is conducted in Spanish by its members. A bilingual tour guide will provide the English translation as well as the historical and cultural context. Your visit helps support the many community programs of Casa Kolacho.

After, we’ll return to the hotel, where you’ll have some time to refresh before our dinner together this evening. (B/L/D)

Accommodation: Hotel Park 10

Your first stop will be the Peñol Boulder, one of the most spectacular destinations in the surrounding area of Medellín. The 200-meter-high monolith can be climbed with a staircase of 740 steps. Enjoy breathtaking views over the stunning surroundings full of green mountains and blue lakes. The village of Guatapé is famous for its church and its beautiful, colorful paintings that decorate the houses of the village. Get an overall perspective of this immense series of lakes and islands that were engineered.

From there we will take you to an upscale glamping site, where you will enjoy a delicious lunch alongside the lakes. After lunch, you’ll cruise on a motorboat for an hour to see the beautiful islands and the impressive country homes that line their coasts.

Back on land, explore the pretty, cobblestoned streets and alleyways of Guatapé. Learn a bit of its history, reconstruction, its zocalo friezes, or visit some of the shops along the way.

After, we return to the hotel, where you are on your own for dinner and a night of relaxation or independent exploration. (B, L)

Accommodation: Hotel Park 10

From there, you’ll head to a local kitchen where the chef will show you first-hand how to cook a traditional Colombian dish from the region. You and the chef will work alongside each other to prepare the meal, and when it is ready, you’ll enjoy the fruits of your labor. But first you’ll learn how to pour a cocktail concoction using a local liquor that is uniquely created for this experience! Of course, you’ll get to enjoy a few of those drinks too!

This evening, gather for our farewell dinner at a local restaurant.

Tonight, you’ll have the option of a night out to explore Medellin’s gay scene with local gay guides who have the inside scoop on all the hot spots. You’ll have VIP access to the best parties and events without having to wait in line. Throughout the night our hosts will shower you with free drinks to keep the party going. You’ll visit 3 to 5 of the best spots for both visitors and locals. This optional guided experience is available at an additional cost.  (B,L,D)

Accommodation: Hotel Park 10