Casual Hotels
Accommodations may vary based on departure date. Any difference from what is listed below can be found by clicking on your desired date on the View Scheduled Dates or Private Dates tabs.
Sazagua Boutique Hotel
Pereira (2 nights)
Located in the temperate Andes foothills, Sazagua's colonial wooden guesthouses feature intriguing art and eclectic furniture and are surrounded by beautiful tropical gardens. (pool, spa)
Cayena Beach Villa
Magdalena (3 nights)
This lovely villa is situated on a pristine stretch of coastline with palm trees, jungle and the Sierra Nevada mountain range providing a lush backdrop. (pool)
Anandá Hotel Boutique Cartagena
Cartagena (1 night)
In the heart of the colonial walled city, this lovingly restored hotel exudes historical charm. (pool)
This Trip Is Rated Levels 2-4
Every Backroads trip is designed to appeal to a wide variety of interests and fitness levels. We know your pace may vary from one day to the next—and your traveling companion's may differ somewhat from yours. So we present a range of mileage options, and each day you decide exactly what and how much you want to do.
Daily Route Options (drag to see full )
| Daily Route Options |
| 1 |
2 |
100 |
4 |
300 |
6 |
1000 |
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| 2 |
|
|
5 |
1100 |
7 |
1600 |
9 |
2000 |
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| 3 |
Criadero Providencia Walking Route & Horse Demonstration (1.5 Hours) |
| Flight from Pereira to Santa Marta (4 Hours, with Layover in Bogotá) |
| 4 |
|
|
6 |
500 |
9 |
600 |
10 |
1400 |
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| All Day Tayrona National Park Visit |
| 5 |
3 |
600 |
|
|
6 |
700 |
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|
| 6 |
3 |
300 |
4 |
500 |
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| River Tubing (1.5 Hours) |
| 7 |
Guided Cartagena Historical City Walk (2 Hours) |
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Note:
The terrain on this trip features dirt roads through villages and farmland, mountain trails through rain forest and some beach paths.
Learn more about how we determine our activity level and fully support a range of abilities and interests.
Please note that our distance and elevation figures come from Ride with GPS. Other sources (such as Map My Ride and Garmin devices) may give differing elevation figures due to different GPS and mapping technologies. Readings from a Garmin or a smart phone are influenced by other factors such as air pressure.
Meals
All breakfasts, 6 lunches, 6 dinners
Also Included
- Expertise and services of our experienced Trip Leaders
- Snacks and beverages between meals
- Additional guides and experts from the region on many trips
- Van shuttles to support a variety of route options
- Comprehensive Travel Planner with detailed pre-trip information
- Private guided tours at museums, historic sites, wineries and other select attractions as noted in the Travel Planner
- All gratuities at hotels and restaurants
- Special events, including wine tastings and other select attractions as mentioned in the Travel Planner
- On biking and multi-adventure trips, use of fully equipped Backroads titanium bike plus helmet and accessories
- Trailercycles, carriers, and kid-sized helmets for Family Trips
- Equipment and experienced guides for kayaking, rafting, snorkeling, sailing and canoeing as described
- Park and other entry fees
- Fares for trains, ferries and other modes of travel as listed in the Travel Planner
- Select coach transfers
- Baggage transfers and porterage
Get the Straight Talk about This Trip
We want to make sure you're on the right trip and that you have the best experience possible. Every Backroads trip is unique and this one is no exception.
Travel Time
This trip involves an ample amount of travel time which allows us to visit a great variety of Colombia's different geographic zones (including an internal flight which requires a forced layover in Bogotá). The small winding roads to access national parks can make traveling by car a slow—but scenic!—endeavor.
Internal Flight
On this trip we travel by plane to reach the hotels and activities this destination has to offer. We will be flying on a commercial flight with Avianca aboard a twin-jet plane.
Why Travel with Backroads in Colombia
Our Colombian Connection Delivers
Born and raised in Colombia, the Trip Expert behind this unique adventure has led Backroads trips all over Latin America, as well as in Europe. That experience, combined with a passion for the landscapes, culture and food of his homeland, have yielded a memorable hiking journey that takes you from the stunning beaches of Tayrona National Park to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Cartagena—and, of course, along farmers' hillside trails in the Coffee Triangle.
The Best Leaders in Colombia
Backroads has the best-qualified people to lead your trip in Colombia, and our guests back that up, rating our Trip Leaders an average of 9.75 out of 10 for all-around quality of performance. Get the facts (and no fluff) on how we recruit and develop the very best people for your trip.
The Right Local Pairings
Our Trip Leaders combine deep local expertise with a firm grasp of North American expectations around quality of service. By the same token, we pair experienced Backroads leaders with local guides who know how to cater to your needs while cracking open the culture or natural history in ways that are meaningful, memorable and often magical.
We Speak the Language
If we told you many companies' leaders can't actually speak the language where they lead trips, you'd say incroyable... ridicolo... không the tha thú. At Backroads, fluency in the local language is a given. Find out more on the best leader recruitment, training and development in the business. (And by the way, that was "unforgivable" in Vietnamese.)
Experts with Secrets to Share
In choosing the ideal experts to enrich your travel experience, we look for people with a wealth of local knowledge, but also the ability to convey their insights in English. Too often travelers find themselves smiling politely, not quite understanding what they're being told. Our experts share intriguing facts, anecdotes and inside stories that stay with you forever.
Our Cultural Roots Run Deep
Thanks to our extensive connections in Colombia, Backroads takes you off the beaten track and deep into the region's culture in ways that traditional travel can never hope to do. We know the people and their customs, the legacy of art and architecture, the complex history and politics – and if we're not sure, our amazing local experts can fill in the blanks.
We Stand Behind Our Trips
Most companies' trips in Colombia are run by local operators. At Backroads we manage our own trips; we would never subcontract your precious vacation to a third party. So as you enjoy the support of your seasoned Trip Leaders, along with our expert local guides and drivers, you have the confidence of knowing we're with you every step of the way.
Everyone at Their Own Pace
We design and support our Colombia trips to suit mixed abilities and varied interests—so you can set your own pace, then change things up as the day unfolds. And all guests are free to do the same, traveling together or apart, with no one cramping anyone else's style. Which sounds easy in theory, but it's hard to pull off. Here's more on how we do it.
Your Hotels Are Locked In
It may seem obvious to say the great hotels we tell you about are the ones you'll actually stay in. But the fact is many companies haven't even booked the places they promise and are later forced to settle for inferior alternatives. We book our hotels and exact rooms long in advance—often over two years—so you stay where you expect to stay.
We Know Where We're Going
Tom Hale has been keeping Backroads on track, with one eye on the horizon, since 1979. His passion for active travel, and for ensuring the highest-quality travel experience, is evident in every detail we add to make a guest's trip unforgettable—and the fact he's right there in the office, making it happen. To hear Tom describe his vision, watch our video.
A Variety of Routes Each Day
In Colombia you head off each morning after choosing among several expertly designed routes—all with detailed directions, mileage and shuttle options. Unlike trips with one fixed daily route (or worse, one guide that everyone's obliged to follow), you're free to enjoy the best of the region at your pace, stopping wherever you want to explore further.
Choose Your Fellow Travelers
With Backroads you won't end up with kids on what you thought was an adult trip; we have exclusive departures for families, so they're off having their own adventures. As you browse our unrivaled selection of trips and dates, you can count on finding a trip in Colombia that's geared exclusively to your choice of traveling companions.
Quality You Can Measure
Since 1979, Backroads Founder and President Tom Hale has shown that staying #1 means constantly evaluating our performance using the best possible source of information: our guests. As we systematically analyze your feedback on our trip consultants, leaders, hotels, meals and on-trip activities, we never stop working to make a great company even better.
We've Set the Standard
For nearly four decades we've worked to earn and maintain our right to call Backroads the world's #1 active travel company. In pursuing that vision on behalf of our guests, we believe we've set the standard for our industry—captured in the Backroads Quality Guide, which clearly sets out the benchmarks of excellence, choice and support that we live by
