YPT Tours to Colombia

Join YPT for our specialist Colombia tours that takes us through Bogotá, the beautiful Parque Tayrona reserve, historic Santa Marta, the colonial town of Cartagena, and finally the former cocaine capital of Medellín, with us checking out a whole host of FARC related stuff, indigenous peoples, and stunning nature. 

In October 2016, the Colombian Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, more commonly known as the FARC, signed a historic peace agreement partially ending the longest running civil war in South America, and one of the oldest ones in the world. So now is the best time to visit the country as it enjoys a newfound peace.

You can also extend our Colombia tours by visiting Cali and learning about its infamous cartel, relaxing with a cup of the best coffee in the coffee axis, hiking through the beautiful Cocora valley, or visiting the less explored pacific coast. Whether you are looking for adventure or relaxation, our Colombia tours have a lot to offer!

Group Tours to Colombia

We currently run a yearly Colombia tour in May. Following our Cuba May Day tour, you can join us during these 9 days to check for yourself how Colombia is slowly walking away from its past and hitting the challenges of reform head on.

Colombia Civil War & Narcos Tour – May 5th-13th, 2025 – $1295

Independent Tours to Colombia

In case our dates do not fit yours, you would like to travel alone, or you would like bespoke Colombia tours, Young Pioneer Tours can arrange that for you. We have been working for many years in Colombia. As such, we can arrange independent and bespoke Colombia tours, no matter what you’re looking for: budget tours, political and historical tours, Amazon jungle exploration or Caribbean relaxation! Prices depend on the number of people and what level of accommodation you require.

Example of a Colombia Itinerary (9 days, 8 nights)

Day 1 – Bogotá

• Arrival in Bogotá at your own leisure (YPT can also arrange pre-tour accommodation if you want to arrive a day early and not miss anything today)
• Check-in to our hotel in the trendy but edgy central Candelaria district.
• Ceviche, or raw fish cooked in lime juice is a very South American, and Colombian thing, so we head to a restaurant to try this delicacy. For non-fish lovers there will be other options.
• Beer and explosives go together like peas and carrots, so we finish our first night in Bogotá by playing the local traditional sport of Tejo, which is literally throwing iron balls at explosives while drinking beer. Great stuff!

Day 2 – Bogotá

• Breakfast in the hotel.
• Walking tour of La Candelaria. This is where Símon Bolívar – El Libertador, the original Latin American revolutionary – was almost caught, and where various figures of Colombian history met their fate.
• Head to the Military Museum where we even learn about the not commonly known role of Colombia in the Korean War!
• Bogotá is famous in Colombia and beyond for its fabulous street food, so we take a staggered street food lunch trying almost everything they have on offer, including Mick Jagger’s favourite “oblea”.
• Stop by the Congress and Supreme Court, which was seized by the M19 Marxist guerrillas, allegedly on the orders of Pablo Escobar.
• We visit the Colón Theatre, which played an important part in the peace process between the government and FARC and get a detailed explanation from our local guide about what achievements and failures have followed the peace process.
• Colombia’s capital has now shaken off its image of danger, and is a vibrant place for a night out, so we head to one of the many bars for dinner and drinks.
• Overnight in Bogotá. 

Day 3 – Sierra Nevada National Park

• We get up early for the 90-minute 9am flight to Santa Marta
• On arrival, we transfer directly to the Tayrona national park, part of the Sierra Nevada range, which is home to many of the indigenous tribes of Colombia as well as its most diverse biosphere.
• Lunch in Sierra Nevada.
• Hiking time! We head out for a hike around the national park, where we can spend some time on a deserted beach, as well as see how the indigenous Wiwa people live.
• Following a full day of hiking and relaxing on the beach, we head to our eco-resort, surrounded by fresh fruit trees, and a swimming pool for us to relax in.
• For dinner our hosts will cook us a traditional Colombian meal to your liking, with the rest of the night spent enjoying our serene surroundings
• Overnight at our eco-resort. 

Day 4 – Santa Marta, Cartagena

• We take a relaxed start to the day with breakfast at the resort and time to enjoy the pool before we leave for the next part of the trip.
• We take the scenic drive from Tayrona to Santa Marta city, which takes about an hour, with us stopping for some great views of the bay.
• We visit the gold museum, to learn about how gold has been mined from indigenous times to present.
• For lunch, we head to one of our favourite restaurants in Colombia, Radio Burger, for an extensive meal!
• Our last stop before leaving Santa Marta is the Quinta de San Pedro, which was where Simón Bolívar, the liberator of the Americas, died and was originally buried. We also visit the surrounding gardens for a quick look at the huge (but friendly) cat-sized lizards that live there!
• We board our air-conditioned luxury bus for the 4-hour drive from Santa Marta to Cartagena. The journey itself is a fascinating look into contemporary Colombian life, with us passing through the numerous barrios, before hitting the rich parts of the city.
• On arrival in Cartagena we transfer to our hotel situated near the old city
• Cartagena is street food heaven, particularly if you like meat, so we head for street food dinner and drinks in the city.
• Overnight in Cartagena. 

Day 5 – Cartagena

• Cartagena is an old colonial city, so we spend the day touring around this historical city enjoying the Pirates of the Caribbean vibe.
• We check out the old town and the city walls, as well as its 500-year-old coral stone forts from the Spanish era.

Afternoon

• Climb La Popa Hill for a great view of the area and visit the 17th century Santa Cruz monastery.
• Check out the Spanish Inquisition Palace, where people were tortured and executed for crimes against Catholicism.
• Head out for local food and drinks in the Cartagena old town.
• Watch the sun setting across the Caribbean sea from the city walls.
• Overnight in Cartagena.

Day 6 – Guatapé

• Take a 10am flight to Medellín, Colombia’s second largest city.
• Medellín was the notorious crime-ridden home of drug lord Pablo Escobar, but since the mid-1990s things have calmed down a lot.

Afternoon

• Head to Finca la Manuela, reachable only by boat. Pablo had many houses, but this is the only one which is largely untouched since the time when he was alive.
• We’ll head to Piedra de Peñol, a striking monolithic rock sticking 220 meters out of the ground. Time permitting, we’ll climb to the top for the spectacular sunset view.
• Optional helicopter ride to view the Piedra and surrounding landscape.
• Overnight in our rustic accommodation in the Colombian countryside.

Day 7 – Medellín

• Head to Hacienda Nápoles, the biggest of Pablo Escobar’s residences. Now a theme park, we’ll see the animals descended from those which Pablo kept in his private zoo. We’ll be able to ride the water slides, while exploring to find the traces left of Pablo’s time there.
• Head back to Medellín.
• Dinner and drinks in the trendy Poblado area.

Day 8 – Medellín

• You can’t go to Medellín without learning about its most infamous resident, so we do the full Pablo Escobar tour. Our local guide was Pablo Escobar’s driver – now gone straight, he’s very open to questions about what it was like working for the world’s most infamous drug lord!
• We then go to explore the many luxurious buildings used to launder his money, as well as check out his bombed-out safe in the Monaco building, which was where the first car bomb in Colombia was detonated.
• After visiting Pablo’s prison or the “Cathedral”, we get spectacular Medellín views and get ready to visit the cemetery where siblings and cousins of the mafia boss finally rest even near Griselda Blanco or “black widow”, who was once Pablo’s mentor.

Afternoon

• After lunch, we finish off the Pablo tour by visiting the spot where he died. Now a quiet residential neighbourhood, the rooftop location is easily recognised in the photos published of his lifeless body. It’s still uncertain whether he was shot by the police, or whether he killed himself to avoid capture.
• We’ll jump on the metro system and transfer to Medellín’s famous cable car public transport, for a bird’s eye view of local neighbourhood life.
• Head to the famous Museo de Antioquia including the world-famous sculptures by Fernando Botero in the park outside the museum.
• Go for dinner and drinks in Medellin.
• Overnight in Medellin.

Day 9 – Bogota 

• We get up early for our morning flight to Bogotá, where the tour ends, with YPT being able to arrange ongoing transport or accommodation for those that need it.
• Alternatively join us for a tour extension to Cali, and find out about Escobar’s deadly rivals the Cali Cartel!

Bespoke Tours 

We do not list all of our bespoke Colombia tours, but we can offer some examples, such as the following:

Cali City Tour

A visit to the home of the infamous Cali Cartel. The Cartel went about their business in a much more discreet (albeit equally ruthless) way compared to Pablo Escobar, and so it was much later that the drug lords were crushed and it became safe to visit the city. As a result, it’s much less visited by foreigners, but is a fascinating place to visit and compare with the more touristy parts of Colombia. You can also visit many of the filming locations used by the “Narcos” Netflix series!

Coffee Axis Tour

If nature is what you like, stay in one of the most beautiful regions in Colombia, especially the colourful town of Salento or the less frequented Filandia. This privileged region of stunning nature is home to the best coffee in the world. On our tour, you’ll visit a family run finca to learn everything about it. You’ll also visit the palm forest in the Valley of Cocora and refresh in one of the many waterfalls in the area. Located between Medellín and Cali, it’s the perfect place to relax before continuing to learn about the turbulent past of Colombia.

Amazon Exploration Tour

A border triangle in the middle of the Amazon rainforest along its mighty river where Colombia meets Peru and Brasil? This sounds like a place for YPT to go. A two-hour flight from Bogotá brings us right into the heart of the jungle, where we will stay in a comfortable lodge, venturing out by boat and foot, during both day and night, to explore the stunning wildlife and vegetation of the Amazon. The intensity and pureness of it will leave you in awe while you try to grasp how indigenous and modern life melt together. 

San Andrés and Providencia Tour

Take a flight to this paradise in the Caribbean Sea. The islands are located about 775 km northwest of mainland Colombia and have been claimed by many nations over time. Sunbath, relax, snorkel and learn about the past of these little Caribbean pearls – the only region in Colombia where English is the official language. Quite different from our other Colombia tours!

Pacific Coast Tour

Extend your Medellin or Cali trip to the notorious Chocó region and visit the places where the Narcos used to go on vacation. We fly with a smaller propellor-driven plane to the coastal town of Bahía Solano, looking down on jungle that extends north and south and still serves as a hiding place for rebels, paramilitaries, Narcos and other groups.

From Bahía we make our way on a tuktuk to the even smaller town of “El Valle”, where we stay at a beautiful guesthouse right at the wild beach, surrounded by lush jungle and its mesmerising sound. Boat trips along the coast, a thrilling jungle-hike by night (ever seen scorpions, poisonous dart frogs and fungus, all glowing in the dark?), and even whale-spotting during the right season are part of the programme.

Filming in Colombia

Through our media arm Pioneer Media we can make arrangements for productions, journalists, or others to film within Colombia from big budget to guerrilla productions. We can also arrange meetings in country, as well as correct visas for journalist wishing to do projects within Colombia.

Frequently asked questions about travel to Colombia

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