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Had a lovely time with my family. Kids loved it. Mother-in-law loved it. Lovely house with all of the amenities we needed and the privacy of our own place.
We found it on www.casasofiacartagena.com but it has other websites as well that are more current.
A beautiful Caribbean island a short plane ride from San Andres. Very undeveloped and with some beautiful, empty palm fringed sandy beaches - picture postcard stuff. There's only a handful of small little hotels on the island - it's all low key tourism in Providencia.
Top tip - take a boat trip around the island and visit the beautiful Crab Caye, a great place for snorkelling or admiring the amazing shades of light blue.
I cannot recommend the Caribbean city of Cartagena, on the north coast of Colombia, enough. I went for two weeks with my girlfriend and we never wanted to leave. Within the fortified old city are charming cobbled streets lined with immaculate Spanish colonial architecture, statues of fallen heroes and smiling people talking in the squares. Overhead will be baroque church steeples and domes, punctuated with colour spilling out from window flower boxes. There are superb restaurants offering fine seafood and other local specialities, a thriving, but not intimidating, nightlife and the full spectrum of accomodation, all enclosed within the walls. And the sun will be shining, but not so that you have to stay indoors, and advantage of the gentle Caribbean breeze.
Outside the old city are the white sands, green waters and palm trees the area is worshipped for. Take a boat trip to the offshore islands and see the island you'll both buy when you win the lotto! It is remarkably safe, and don't assume you will be queuing the entire time either - this is no Disneyland - you can have sweet little restaurant all to yourselves, or a park with a fountain, or a stroll atop the city wall, so romance is hard to avoid. However, if you feel like a film and a pizza, just grab a cab over to the new city and send an email home while you're at it. Definitely a winner - the most romantic place in the world.
A campsite/hostel for nature lovers. Perfect place to start nature walks all over the Tayrona park and its surroundings.
2 km from the main entrance you find a sign Castilletes on your right-hand side. After 200 metres you get to the beach where the campsite is located. On request they supply good information on the park and its surroundings through email.
See their website: www.campingtayrona.com
We found this apartment service online and we can highly recommend it. Located in an old charming building, the apartments are thoroughly renovated to an excellent standard.
The location is also superb, with easy access to the important business districts as well as sights and Zona Rosa, Bogota's main shopping and nightlife area.
Like most parts of Latin America, you can buy tatty souvenirs in Bogotá. If you are looking for high quality, authentic and tasteful gifts, Galeria Cano is the solution. The handicrafts have information about their makers. The styles are often subtle. The prices are expensive by Colombian standards, but cheap by Western ones. And the staff at the airport shop are great.
Shops in Centro Comercial Urbino and at International Airport in Bogotá and at Plaza Bolivar in Cartagena.
www.galeriacano.com.co/index.htm
Want to get close to real neighbourhoods in a Latin American city but not too close? This huge cable car project was built by the authorities in Medellin to link the normal (mainly overland) metro system with some hillside communities. The ride is free if you have a metro ticket, completely safe and with fantastic views. Connect to Metro Cable at Acevedo on line A.
www.metrodemedellin.org.co/portal/contenidos.asp?sec=2&subsec=24&pagina=1
As a 'regular' at the much grander Hotel de la Opera, I was intrigued to stay several nights in this cheaper option in Candelaria historic district. The attempt to create a boutique hotel in a lovely old building has its quirks and is somewhat ramshackle, but it will suit anyone who does not expect 5-star comforts. Don't expect English to be spoken.
Dirección CALLE 9 NO. 6 45
Teléfonos 3421108
Email hotelcasadelabotica@hotmail.com
Get to Bogota, take a bus to Tunja (Boyaca) then switch (last bus to Villa de Leyva leaves at 19:00 so be careful otherwise you will get stuck there) take a small bus from there. There's also a direct bus so you don't have to switch but there are only 2 or 3 a day so you must get informed first. Fo any other info or pictures of my trips there please email me at danielbernate@gmail.com. I will gladly help you in anyway, guide you or get you there.
It's a large protected natural park, kilometers of great white pristine beaches right by the rainforest, exuberant and incredible wildlife, nice people, nice food (don't miss the chocolate filled bread), ancient ruins, excellent weather, beautiful women. It's a great place to visit, but please, don't be a tourist, and take care of the place.
You can sleep in hammocks, camp or sleep in a small hotel or in some government administrated ecological houses - this place is awesome you can stay there for ever and never get tired.
Please be aware of powerful underwater currents and the powerful waves because there are no hospitals or lifeguards nearby. As this is a protected wild area you must consider there are wild animals and insects so get all the medicines you need for allergies or any other stuff. You must consult the Colombian government website for the shots you must get to enter certain areas (yellow fever, malaria and any other required) otherwise you might not be allowed to enter and of course you might get deadly sick and..........yes....die.
From Bogota fly or take a bus to Santa Marta, then ask a local where to find transportation to the park, don't be fooled, don't pa more than $7 dollars, the bus will drop you at the entrance and from there you walk through the rain forest, you must pay an entrance fee and negotiate the price of the accomodation but is around 2 - 7 per night per person in a camping site or hammocks. for more info or photos of my trips to this place email me at danielbernate@gmail.com I will gladly give you info, guide you or whatever you need.
This is the official Colombian tourism website. It does have an English version. I specially recommend our national natural parks. In fact, The Guardian has chosen the beaches at Tayrona Park as the world's second best. You'll also find useful tips for your Colombia trip.
Lots to choose from but don't miss arepas, like a potato cake but made from cornmeal. Hot, soft, salty & filling, the perfect snack.
All over
Lush fields of coffee and banana plants, bamboo groves and heliconias - fantastically shaped tropical flowers - to be admired from slow moving rafts, horseback or from one of the Jeep Willys that provide the main form of transport in the region.
The coffee growing region of Colombia has become an important touristic region with many of the coffee farms or fincas opening their doors to guests. Because of its popularity with Colombian, and increasingly international tourists, there are better developed facilities than in many other parts of the country, with day trips to many of the sites and attractions easily organised through agencies or the farms themselves. Highly recommended.
A coffee farm with nice traditional rooms (but with bathrooms, 2 pools, a bar and restaurant, and a number of activities on site including presentations on coffee growing and processing (including picking your own coffee berries, preparing and roasting them), horse riding through the coffee groves and the largest canopy in Colombia - 7 zip line rides over the trees.
Very friendly staff who are happy to organise outings to the National Coffee Park, a trip down the La Vieja river on a bamboo raft, or up to the mountains to go walking.
www.fincahotelelbosque.com/
Near to Quimbaya, in Quindío province, 27km from Armenia.
Cafe del Mar is, like its namesake in Ibiza, a cocktail/lounge bar, spread across the top of the 17th century defensive wall surrounding Cartagena. A wonderful place to have a drink and watch the sun set into the Caribbean - and a good place to get out of the city heat and find a breeze.
Centro Historico, Baluarte Santo Domingo;
tel: (+57 5) 6646513;
www.cafedelmarcolombia.com
A village in the mountains...
Villa de Leyva
It holds a cultural secret...
windowtoablueplanet.blogspot.com/2005/10/pulling-crowds.html
These islands are an hour away from Cartagena. There is an open water aquarium, where you'll enjoy a dolphin show, sharks, giant turtles, and all kinds of tropical reef fauna. The islands are coral formations which have grown in size over hundreds of years, so just about anywhere you will find good Snorkling and Scuba Diving. Also, the Rosario's still waters make it attractive for water sking, canoing, swimming and wind surfing.
The place to be out and about at night. If you want to be seen with the right people, make sure you are seen there. Great places to eat, drink, dance, and most importantly, people watch.
Calle 92 with Kr 15
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