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🇨🇴 Itinerary · Colombia · 14 days

2-week Colombia itinerary 2026: the ideal route

14 balanced days: Bogotá, Medellín, the Salento coffee region, Cartagena and Tayrona park. The full itinerary, with domestic flights, costed budget and transport.

🔄 Updated June 1, 2026

📅 See the program 🔄 See variants

In brief

Duration

14 days

Stops

6 places

Average budget

€1,900-2,800

Total distance

~2,400 km

Profile

Versatile

Season

Dec-Mar

Bogotá 2d · Salento 3d · Medellín 3d · Cartagena 3d · Tayrona 3d

Itinerary map

The route at a glance

Colombia 2-week itinerary map: Bogotá, Salento, Medellín, Cartagena, Santa Marta, Tayrona park

© OpenStreetMap contributors

Detailed program

5 days, day by day

1

~€55/day

Bogotá · D1 to D2 · Andean capital

  • D1 Arrival at El Dorado (2,640 m), acclimatisation, colonial La Candelaria.
  • D2 Museo del Oro, Botero museum, Monserrate funicular at sunset.
🛌 🛌 La Candelaria · e.g. colonial boutique hotel (2 nights)·🚖 Uber·Colombia guide →
2

~€60/day

Salento and coffee region · D3 to D5 · The coffee triangle

  • D3 Flight Bogotá → Pereira/Armenia (1h), road to Salento.
  • D4 Cocora valley: hike among the giant wax palms (60 m).
  • D5 Coffee finca visit: picking, roasting, tasting.
🛌 🛌 Salento · e.g. finca-hotel in the hills (3 nights)·✈️ Flight + 🚐 transfer
3

~€60/day

Medellín · D6 to D8 · City of eternal spring

  • D6 Road or flight to Medellín. Comuna 13 on a guided tour.
  • D7 Day trip to Guatapé: El Peñol (740 steps), colourful village.
  • D8 Cable car, Botero square, El Poblado dining.
🛌 🛌 El Poblado · e.g. design hotel in Provenza (3 nights)·✈️ Domestic flight
4

~€70/day

Cartagena · D9 to D11 · Colonial Caribbean

  • D9 Flight Medellín → Cartagena (1h15), walled old town, ramparts.
  • D10 San Felipe castle, Getsemaní and its murals, Café del Mar at sunset.
  • D11 Day trip to the Rosario islands: snorkelling, beach, fish lunch.
🛌 🛌 Walled centre · e.g. colonial casa (3 nights)·✈️ Domestic flight
5

~€55/day

Santa Marta and Tayrona · D12 to D14 · Wild coast

  • D12 Bus Cartagena → Santa Marta (4h), gateway to Tayrona park.
  • D13 Tayrona park: hike to Cabo San Juan, jungle beaches, swimming.
  • D14 Morning beach at Palomino or Taganga, return flight from Santa Marta via Bogotá.
🛌 🛌 Santa Marta then eco-lodge near Tayrona (2 nights)·🚌 Bus + 🥾 hike

How much

Budget for this itinerary (per person, flight included)

Backpacker

€1,900

per person

  • ✈️ Return flight: €800
  • 🏨 Hostel/finca: €20/night
  • 🍽️ Set lunch: €9/day
  • ✈️ 3 domestic flights: €160
  • 🎫 Activities: €180
Recommended

Comfort

€2,350

per person

  • ✈️ Return flight: €850
  • 🏨 Boutique hotel/lodge: €60/night
  • 🍽️ Mixed dining: €25/day
  • ✈️ Domestic flights + transfers: €220
  • 🎫 Guides + excursions: €250

Premium

€4,200

per person

  • ✈️ Business class: €1,800
  • 🏨 5★ and high-end eco-lodges: €190/night
  • 🍽️ Renowned tables: €55/day
  • 🚖 Private transfers throughout
  • 🎫 Private tours + private island: €450

Shorter, longer

Other possible durations

1 week

1 week

Bogotá, Medellín and Cartagena. The essential format.

You're here

2 weeks

2 weeks

Andes, coffee region and the Caribbean coast of Tayrona.

1 month

1 month

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

How to get around

Itinerary logistics

Over 14 days, the itinerary combines 3 domestic flights (Bogotá, coffee region, Medellín, Cartagena), 1 coastal bus and Ubers. The flights avoid the endless mountain roads. Budget ~€160 to €220 for domestic transport.

✈️

Flight Bogotá → coffee region

€45 · Pereira or Armenia · 1h

✈️

Flight Medellín → Cartagena

€50 · 1h15 · book early

🚐

Coffee region transfers

Willys jeep to Salento and the Cocora valley

🚌

Bus Cartagena → Santa Marta

~€12 · 4h · Caribbean coast

🥾

Tayrona park hike

entry ~€18 · 1h30 walk to Cabo San Juan

Adapt by season

Adapt to the regional rain

This itinerary blends the Andes and the Caribbean coast, two climates. December to March is the perfect window: dry coffee region, passable Tayrona, calm Caribbean sea. In April-May and October-November (rainy seasons), the coffee region and the Tayrona hikes turn muddy, but the coast stays hot. If you travel in the wet season, extend Cartagena and shorten Salento.

Author tips

What I would redo (and change)

✅ Would redo

  • • In February 2025, in the Cocora valley, I set off at 7am to beat the clouds that rise around 11am: the 60 m wax palms stood out against a blue sky, alone on the trail. An hour later, the mist had swallowed everything.
  • • Place the coffee region right after Bogotá: you come down in altitude gently.
  • • The hike to Cabo San Juan in Tayrona: the jungle beach is worth the walk.
  • • The coffee finca visit in Salento: from cherry to cup, you understand it all.
  • • Keep Tayrona for the end: the wild coast closes the trip beautifully.

⚠️ Would change

  • • Fly Medellín → Santa Marta rather than the bus from Cartagena if time is tight.
  • • Add 1 night in Palomino for river tubing if you like slow travel.
  • • Skip Guatapé if the coffee region has already filled your nature quota.

FAQ

Itinerary FAQ

Is two weeks enough for Colombia? +
Yes for a balanced itinerary: Andes (Bogotá), coffee region (Salento), city (Medellín) and Caribbean (Cartagena, Tayrona). With a month, you add the Amazon, the Tatacoa desert or salsa-loving Cali.
Is Tayrona park worth the detour? +
Yes: white-sand beaches fringed by jungle, a 1h30 hike to Cabo San Juan, swimming in protected coves. The park closes some periods for ecological rest, so check the dates before you go.
How do you link the coffee region to Medellín? +
By a short flight via Pereira, or by bus (~6h of mountain road). Over 14 days, the flight is more comfortable and frees up half a day.
What budget for 2 weeks in Colombia? +
Budget €1,900 backpacking and €2,350 in comfort per person, flight from Europe included. Colombia stays affordable apart from domestic flights.
What is the best time? +
December to March, the dry season, ideal everywhere: dry coffee region, passable Tayrona, flat Caribbean. Avoid April-May and October-November, the rainy seasons.
Is the Caribbean coast safe? +
Yes in the tourist zones (Cartagena, Santa Marta, Tayrona, Palomino), with the usual precautions. Avoid isolated beaches at night and favour organised transfers to the park.

Marie Laurent ✓

·

Southeast Asia specialist · itinerary personally tested.

Last updated: June 1, 2026.

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