2024 TASTE OF COLOMBIA – SOLD OUT

 
Trip Operator:

Immerse yourself in one of the world’s most diverse countries with two oceans, a range of climates, energetic cities and astonishing wildlife.

This magical tour is the perfect solution to experiencing the best of Colombia’s highlights. It’s all here for you: epic history, vibrant culture, bustling cityscapes, sparkling coastline, and world-class culinary experiences to enjoy. There’s traditional cuisine blended to ethnic and indigenous recipes and we also ensure you’re exposed to three of Colombia’s basic and renowned food groups: rum, chocolate, and coffee. What could be better?

Experience authentic Colombian hospitality from the moment you are picked up at the airport until the time you are dropped off for your flight back home, against a backdrop of amazing architecture and abundant nature. Here you can be your authentic self and meet with local LGBT+ community members who will show you what it’s like live here. Perhaps you’ll be inspired to make a difference during your visit or bring some flavor of your trip back home. Visit Bogota, Colombia’s capital, surrounded by exquisite views, infused stunning art and culture to drink in at every turn. There’s beautiful Cartagena, whose walled city holds UNESCO World Heritage status and also boasts a beach destination. We even include a day to relax and unwind at a stunning beach resort. And last but certainly not least, marvelous Medellin, the City of Eternal Spring, whose urban development from rough to modernized and sustainable, emerging as one of South America’s safest cities, is inspirational.

This is a true Colombian adventure not to be missed!

Luxury Level: ***** Five Star       
Activity Level: Moderate to High       
Guest Count: 18 – 26

Highlights

  • Historic Bogotá City Tour
  • Coffee Baptism with Rum
  • Cartagena’s Historic Walled City Tour
  • Relaxing Beach Day at Luxury Resort
  • Rum & Chocolate Tasting Experience
  • Medellín Graffiti Tour
  • Market Tour and Cooking Demonstration
  • Guatape Day Excursion
BOG Hotel

Enjoy your stay at this stylish, chic, and discreet hideaway in the safe, residential La Cabrera neighborhood of north Bogotá. This hotel is situated near Zona Rosa allowing you easy access to the nightlife and dining you’ve come here to experience. Shades of gold and green greet you as you enter, recalling the wealth of Colombia’s natural resources, especially the gold reserves and emeralds that lured conquerors, prospectors and merchants to these rich lands. Enjoy a heated rooftop pool with panoramic views, a spa, a fully equipped fitness center, a steam room and hammam on the lower level. The main lobby level features a bar and a well regarded restaurant. Concierge service and 24-hour security and on-site parking round up the additional features you’d expect. All rooms feature flatscreen TVs with cable, minibars & Nespresso machines, en suite baths with amenities, docking stations, iron/board, and temperature controls/air-conditioning. Enjoy free WiFi as a guest. This hotel is 100% smoke-free.

Dates of stay: March 1-4, 2024 – 3 Nights

Room Type: Business Suite

Additional pre-nights available upon request.

Sofitel Legend Santa Clara Cartagena

The Sofitel Legend Santa Clara Cartagena is a historic luxury hotel where tradition and modernity meet. Its walls, which once served as a shield, harmonize with colonial balconies and republican buildings, evoking the splendor of bygone eras.

The hotel’s spaces are reinvented and innovative, creating a tropical palace where walls and ceilings retain the historic charm of this 17th-century Colombian building. Combining colonial and republican architecture with modern comfort, the hotel pays attention to every luxurious detail, making every stay an unforgettable experience. Guests can also enjoy exquisite international gastronomic proposals fused with local flavors in the hotel’s colonial-style restaurants, surrounded by a magical tropical atmosphere.

The Superior Rooms feature 366 sq. ft. of space, a King-size bed or two twin beds. Relax on your balcony or terrace and enjoy stunning views of the hotel’s pool or garden, while indulging in the softness of the luxurious Sofitel MyBed™ linens. You’ll also find a refreshing shower, an LCD TV, a Bose® SoundDock® sound system, complimentary Wi-Fi, a pillow menu, and a Nespresso® coffee machine.

Dates of stay: March 4-7, 2024 – 3 Nights

Room Type: Superior

Hotel Park 10

Hotel Park 10 Medellin, is located in the vibrant El Poblado district, the most visited and exciting neighborhood in the city whether you want to party, drink good coffee, or explore the city’s culture. The hotel features a gym and wellness area as well as free Wi Fi throughout the property.

The comfortable 484 sq. ft. Luxury Premium rooms have coffee and tea making facilities, TV with satellite channels, and wi-fi. They are fitted with sofa beds, two double or king size beds.

The hotel features a buffet breakfast daily at the café. Restaurant Lussac serves a selection of American cuisine. Guests can also try grills and snacks at the onsite bar.

Dates of stay: March 7-10, 2024 – 3 Nights

Room Type: Luxury Premium

Additional post-nights available upon request.

LGBT Night Out Bogata

Details Coming Soon!

LGBT Night Out Medellin

Details Coming Soon!

Inclusions

  • Brand g and local host(s) throughout your trip.
  • Airport arrival and departure transfers.
  • Personal listening devices for all tours.
  • Welcome reception and dinner on arrival in Bogotá.
  • Internal flights to Cartagena and Medellín.
  • Three nights accommodation at the BOG Hotel in Bogotá.
  • Three nights accommodation at the Sofitel Legend Santa Clara
  • Hotel in Cartagena.
  • Three nights accommodation at the Hotel Park 10 in Medellín.
  • Entrances to all sites on the tours and tour guide fees.
  • All Breakfasts, most lunches and dinners.
Welcome to Bogotá! Your driver will greet you at the airport and whisk you away to our host hotel, the BOG.

Later this evening, we enjoy a welcome dinner at a local restaurant, where you’ll have the opportunity to get to know your local hosts and fellow guests. (D)

Accommodation: BOG Hotel

After an included breakfast at the hotel we enjoy a tour of the most historic parts of Bogotá. You’ll soon see why Colombia’s largest city is one of Latin America’s premier capitals of art and culture.

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

Today, you have the opportunity for a leisurely included breakfast, and some time to explore independently. Late morning we’ll head to the historic Usaquen neighborhood, where we enjoy an included lunch. After, we have our Coffee Baptism at a “Temple of Coffee” owned by Colombia’s most awarded coffee plantation. Here, you’ll have the opportunity to appreciate the many nuances of coffee in much the same manner as wine-tasting. In fact, the brothers who now run the plantation are the 3rd generation of this family-owned business were inspired to develop these experiences as they toured and tasted their way through the vineyards of France. (B, L)

Accommodation: BOG Hotel

This morning following breakfast, we leave Bogota behind as we head to the airport and board our flight bound for Cartagena. Grab your own light lunch at the airport today. Upon arrival to Cartagena, we’ll go directly from the airport to our luxury 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

Today, we take you on a tour to discover Cartagena’s colonial past. We’ll walk through the winding streets of this exquisite, historic city, surrounded by a 16th-century wall the Spaniards built to defend the city against enemy attacks. You’ll have an opportunity to walk atop this historic wall and experience the heart of Cartagena in the lively streets of its Old Town.

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

Today, following breakfast at the hotel, get set for an outstanding day of fun, sun, surf and sand. We’ll drive to the pier, where we meet our captain and board our boat bound for a luxury beach club, located on Tierra Bomba island. Treat yourself to one of the biggest beach club pools in Cartagena, or take a day to enjoy a wellness spa experience. This beach club is perfect for a day of pampering and indulgence. Enjoy a few cocktails as well as a delicious lunch before reboarding our boat back to Cartagena, where you’ll have some time to return to the hotel to freshen up and rest.

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

Accommodation: Sofitel Legend Santa Clara Cartagena Luxury Hotel

Today we fly from Cartagena to Medellin. Upon arrival, we’ll head straight to our hotel, where we will drop our bags, grab lunch and then head right out for our Graffiti Tour in the infamous Comuna 13 neighborhood.

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

This morning after breakfast we set of for Guatape. A popular weekend destination for Colombians, Guatapé is known as Colombia’s most colorful town, full of just-as-colorful handcrafts and charming residents.

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

Today, learn how to cook like a Paisa (the people from Medellin, Colombia and Antioquía). You’ll head out with a gay, authentic Paisa chef to visit one of the city’s picturesque and bustling local markets. There you will interact with the vendors selling exotic fruits, crisp vegetables and fresh meats, choosing the ingredients that you will cook with. As you zig-zag through the crowded maze of this principal market where families and smalls stores shop for quality produce, you’ll get to taste a wide variety of foods from various regions throughout Colombia.

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

Today we bid farewell to Colombia. Enjoy one last sumptuous breakfast at the hotel before your driver picks you up to take you to the airport with plenty of time to board your flight. (B)

Reservations for 2024 Taste of Colombia ranges from $5,999 Double Occupancy to $7,599 Singe Occupancy accomodations. Please contact us directly at alan@conciergetravel.cc or +17132530041 for real-time availability of spaces.

Travel the Globe We can’t say enough great things about Concierge Travel. We’ve traveled the globe with you every year (sometimes 2x a year) for the past 10 years. Your attention to detail from the 1st phone call to gather trip info all the way to debarkation is superb. The Boyz of Concierge Travel are always friendly and accommodating in every situation. We look forward to booking our next trip with you.

Mike Annis and John Hall

Mike Annis and John Hall
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