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🇨🇴 Itinerary · Colombia · 30 days

1-month Colombia itinerary 2026: the grand tour

30 days end to end: Bogotá, Tatacoa, the coffee region, Medellín, Cartagena, Tayrona, Cali and the Amazon. The grand tour of Colombia, with flights, budget and transport.

🔄 Updated June 1, 2026

📅 See the program 🔄 See variants

In brief

Duration

30 days

Stops

8 places

Average budget

€3,000-4,500

Total distance

~4,500 km

Profile

Grand journey

Season

Dec-Mar

Bogotá 3d · Tatacoa 2d · Salento 4d · Medellín 4d · Cartagena 4d · Tayrona 4d · Cali 3d · Amazon 4d

Itinerary map

The route at a glance

Colombia 1-month itinerary map: Bogotá, Tatacoa desert, Salento, Medellín, Cartagena, Tayrona, Cali, Leticia

© OpenStreetMap contributors

Detailed program

8 days, day by day

1

~€55/day

Bogotá · D1 to D3 · Andean capital

  • D1 Arrival at El Dorado (2,640 m), acclimatisation, colonial La Candelaria.
  • D2 Museo del Oro, Botero museum, Monserrate funicular.
  • D3 Day trip to Zipaquirá: salt cathedral in a mine, back in the evening.
🛌 🛌 La Candelaria · e.g. colonial boutique hotel (3 nights)·🚖 Uber·Colombia guide →
2

~€50/day

Tatacoa desert · D4 to D5 · Starry sky

  • D4 Road to Tatacoa via Neiva (Bogotá → Neiva flight possible), red and grey desert.
  • D5 Stargazing at the observatory, clay labyrinths, swim in a natural pool.
🛌 🛌 Tatacoa · e.g. observation cabin in the heart of the desert (2 nights)·✈️ Flight + 🚐 transfer
3

~€60/day

Salento and coffee region · D6 to D9 · The coffee triangle

  • D6 Flight to Pereira/Armenia, road to Salento.
  • D7 Cocora valley: hike among the 60 m wax palms.
  • D8 Coffee finca visit: picking, roasting, tasting.
  • D9 Salento village, a game of tejo, Santa Rosa hot springs.
🛌 🛌 Salento · e.g. finca-hotel in the hills (4 nights)·✈️ Flight + 🚐 Willys jeep
4

~€60/day

Medellín · D10 to D13 · City of eternal spring

  • D10 Road or flight to Medellín, Comuna 13 on a guided tour.
  • D11 Day trip to Guatapé: El Peñol (740 steps), colourful village.
  • D12 Cable car, Arví park, Botero square.
  • D13 El Poblado dining, free day.
🛌 🛌 El Poblado · e.g. design hotel in Provenza (4 nights)·✈️ Domestic flight
5

~€70/day

Cartagena · D14 to D17 · Colonial Caribbean

  • D14 Flight Medellín → Cartagena, walled old town.
  • D15 San Felipe castle, Getsemaní, Café del Mar at sunset.
  • D16 Rosario islands: snorkelling, beach, fish lunch.
  • D17 Free day, Totumo volcanic mud optional.
🛌 🛌 Walled centre · e.g. colonial casa (4 nights)·✈️ Domestic flight
6

~€55/day

Santa Marta and Tayrona · D18 to D21 · Wild coast

  • D18 Bus Cartagena → Santa Marta (4h).
  • D19 Tayrona park: hike to Cabo San Juan, jungle beaches.
  • D20 Minca in the Sierra Nevada: coffee, waterfalls, panoramic hammocks.
  • D21 Palomino beach, river tubing.
🛌 🛌 Santa Marta, Minca then Palomino (4 nights)·🚌 Bus + 🥾 hike
7

~€50/day

Cali · D22 to D24 · Salsa capital

  • D22 Flight Santa Marta → Cali via Bogotá, San Antonio district.
  • D23 Salsa class, night out at a Juanchito salsoteca.
  • D24 Day trip to the El Paraíso hacienda or San Cipriano.
🛌 🛌 San Antonio · e.g. charming hotel (3 nights)·✈️ Domestic flight
8

~€70/day

Amazon · D25 to D30 · Leticia and the forest

  • D25 Flight Cali → Leticia via Bogotá, gateway to the Colombian Amazon.
  • D26-D27 Forest lodge: jungle walk, pink river dolphin watching, local community.
  • D28 Monkey Island, triple border Colombia-Brazil-Peru.
  • D29 Sunrise on the Amazon, back to Leticia.
  • D30 Return flight Leticia → Bogotá then international flight to Europe.
🛌 🛌 Leticia then Amazon lodge (5 nights)·✈️ Flight + 🛶 canoe

How much

Budget for this itinerary (per person, flight included)

Backpacker

€3,000

per person

  • ✈️ Return flight: €800
  • 🏨 Hostel/finca: €22/night
  • 🍽️ Set lunch: €9/day
  • ✈️ 6 domestic flights: €450
  • 🎫 Activities + lodges: €400
Recommended

Comfort

€3,700

per person

  • ✈️ Return flight: €850
  • 🏨 Boutique hotel/lodge: €60/night
  • 🍽️ Mixed dining: €25/day
  • ✈️ Domestic flights + transfers: €600
  • 🎫 Guides + Amazon: €550

Premium

€6,500

per person

  • ✈️ Business class: €1,800
  • 🏨 5★ and high-end eco-lodges: €200/night
  • 🍽️ Renowned tables: €55/day
  • 🚖 Private transfers throughout
  • 🎫 Private tours + high-end Amazon lodge: €900

Shorter, longer

Other possible durations

1 week

1 week

Bogotá, Medellín and Cartagena. The essential format.

2 weeks

2 weeks

Andes, coffee region and the Caribbean coast of Tayrona.

You're here

1 month

1 month

The grand tour, from the Andes to the Amazon and the Tatacoa desert.

How to get around

Itinerary logistics

Over 30 days and ~4,500 km, this grand tour rests on 6 domestic flights (Bogotá, Neiva, coffee region, Medellín, Cartagena, Cali, Leticia), coastal buses and canoes in the Amazon. Budget ~€450 to €600 for domestic transport.

✈️

Domestic flights

6 segments · Avianca, Latam, Wingo · book early

🚐

Coffee region Willys jeep

iconic transfers to Salento and Cocora

🚌

Caribbean coast bus

Cartagena → Santa Marta · ~€12 · 4h

🥾

Tayrona and Minca hikes

jungle and Sierra Nevada trails

🛶

Canoe in the Amazon

included in the Leticia lodge stay

Adapt by season

One dry season for the whole route

Over 30 days mixing Andes, Caribbean and Amazon, aiming for the main dry season (December to March) makes everything easier: dry coffee region and Tayrona, the Tatacoa desert ideal for stargazing, flat Caribbean. The Amazon (Leticia) stays humid year-round, with a lower season from June to September. Avoid April-May and October-November, the two rain peaks over the Andes and the coast.

Author tips

What I would redo (and change)

✅ Would redo

  • • In January 2025, in the Tatacoa desert, I slept in an observation cabin: at 9pm, with no moon and no light pollution, the Milky Way crossed the whole sky. The local astronomer pointed Saturn through the telescope. A night that justifies the Neiva detour on its own.
  • • Lining up Tatacoa after Bogotá: you swap altitude for desert before climbing back to the coffee region.
  • • Keep the Amazon for the end: Leticia, reachable only by air, closes the trip with another world.
  • • Minca in the Sierra Nevada: high-altitude coffee and hammocks facing the Caribbean.
  • • The night in a lodge on the Amazon rather than a day trip: pink dolphins at daybreak.

⚠️ Would change

  • • Skip Cali (3 days) if salsa does not draw you: add them to the Amazon or Tayrona.
  • • Fly Santa Marta → Cali via Bogotá rather than long Andean roads.
  • • Book the Amazon and the Leticia flights well ahead: few frequencies.

FAQ

Itinerary FAQ

Is a month necessary for this grand tour? +
Yes: with ~4,500 km, the Andes, the Caribbean, the Tatacoa desert and the Amazon, under 3 weeks would force you to sacrifice a region. A month links it all without rushing, domestic flights helping.
How do you reach the Colombian Amazon? +
Leticia, on the Amazon, is only reachable by air from Bogotá (2h). From there you reach the lodges by canoe. It is the triple border Colombia-Brazil-Peru, to explore with a local guide.
Do you need an air pass for Colombia? +
No formal pass as in Brazil, but book the 6 domestic flights early on Avianca, Latam or Wingo: prices rise fast. Budget €40 to €90 per segment.
Do you need a visa and vaccines? +
No visa for most Western travellers up to 90 days. Passport valid for 6 months after return. Yellow fever vaccine required or strongly recommended for the Amazon (Leticia) and some jungle zones.
What is the best time? +
December to March, the main dry season: dry coffee region and Tayrona, Tatacoa ideal for stars, flat Caribbean. Avoid April-May and October-November, the rainy seasons.
Is the Tatacoa desert worth the detour? +
Yes for fans of astronomy and landscapes: red and grey clay labyrinths, an observatory for the Milky Way, natural pools. An original stop between Bogotá and the coffee region.

Marie Laurent ✓

·

Southeast Asia specialist · itinerary personally tested.

Last updated: June 1, 2026.

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