Cartagena is Colombia’s number one tourism attraction, and the country’s most frequently visited city. Possibly the most beautiful city in South America, Cartagena ozzes charm and character and is a very romantic holiday destination. The old town is full of beautiful plazas and churches, and there’s nearby laid back beaches and resorts such as those at the idyllic Rosario Islands.

Colombia’s Caribbean coast has a host of wonderful beaches, most of which remain completely undeveloped. To the West, the San Bernardo Islands and Capurgana are rarely visited but offer lovely empty beaches in addition to fantastic scuba diving. Further East, there’s more undeveloped beaches at the Guarija Peninsula, in addition to visits to indigenous Wayuu villages.

Colombia’s rainforest backed beaches of the Pacific Coast are remote, and while security considerations advise against travel to certain regions, others are safe to visit. The whole coastline is great rainforest tours and also for surfing – the town of Nuqui is the best base for surfers. Bahia Solano is another small resort on the Pacific, and a perfect base for deep sea fishing.

Colombia offers more than just beaches though. The huge range of activities is immense, and one could easily send over a month and still have only seen a small piece of what the country offers.

In addition to Cartagena, Colombia has numerous other wonderful, peaceful, colonial towns. Villa de Leiva is the most beautiful, and ha been the set of many films and Colombian soap operas. In addition to walking around the tranquil and beautiful streets of the small town, the surrounding countryside offers good hiking and horseback riding, and ancient relics and remains of giant fossilised pre-historic animals can also be visited. Other beautiful colonial towns in Colombia include Santa Fe de Antioquia, Popayan and Mompos.

Colombia also offers excellent opportunities for wildlife trips. Leticia is in the Amazon in the far South, where there various jungle lodges and river cruises available. In addition, the birdwatching is some of the best in South America – in fact Colombia has the highest bird count of any country in the world.

Tourism is starting to boom in Colombia as travellers discover that it’s reputation for danger is unfounded. Now is the time to visit before the tourist hordes descend.

Travel Adventures in Medellin, Colombia

According to government figures, about 1 million international tourists visit Colombia every year. Officials are expected to see that double in the coming years as word gets out from travelers returning home, spreading the word about Colombia’s picturesque landscapes, tropical rainforest, snow-capped Andean peaks towering over countless valleys throughout Colombia. In addition, its beautiful Caribbean and Pacific coasts, with plenty of warm beaches are other great destinations. A traveler’s dream come true.

The city of Medellin sits in a narrow valley originally inhabited by the Aburras Indians. It is the second largest city in Colombia and is said to be, “One of the most beautiful cities in South America.” by experienced travelers who have discovered the magic of Colombia.

There is plenty to do and see in this wonderful and vibrant city where the locals, known as Paisas (pie-suhz), have been working to change the image of Medellin’s past. The Paisas are very inviting and have opened up their city to visitors from around the world interested in learning more about Colombian culture, history, music and most importantly the warmth of the Colombian people. » Read more: Discover the Transformation of Medellin, Colombia – South American Tourism

I’ll never forget the look on the face of that Colombian campesino man. My wife just explained to him in Spanish that what I am holding under my arm is indeed a surfboard, despite the fact that we were standing in a Colombian village that was located somewhere in the middle of the Andes Mountains, hundreds of miles away from any ocean. After hearing this news the man made a joke about us getting bad directions. He then flashed a smile that revealed a mouth full of rotten teeth. Soon after that he shook his head, tucked his hands into the front pockets of his hand-woven Inca style poncho, turned, and moved on down the only street in his town. When the man reached the center of town a gust of wind swept down the street and blew the black fedora hat off his head. As I was watching him chase after it through a cloud of dust, I thought to myself; “I gotta’ get to the ocean.”

I was beginning to feel like a fish out of water. Surfers cannot stay away from the ocean for too long, or they start to “dry out”. As I was standing on that dirt street in that dusty little town, I realized that I had not seen the ocean in over a month. More importantly, I had not surfed in it. Halfway through a two month excursion across the country of Colombia, in South America, we were on our way to a small Caribbean beach resort on the northeastern edge of the country for a much needed break from the madness we had experienced so far on that trip. We had spent the holidays traveling from Bogotá to Medellín, and then back to Bogotá again to meet and visit with various different members of my wife’s family. There had been some mishaps along the way involving pick-pockets and miscreants. Up to that point it was not fun, and we will leave it at that.

Traveling on a tight budget in a foreign country is the best way to experience the true culture of that country, but it can be quite taxing on your soul. We could not afford plane tickets to fly all over the country, so we had to take busses and taxis instead. Some of those bus rides took over two days to reach our destination. We traveled through some of the most remote areas of Colombia, changing busses and hailing taxis the whole way. Along the way we saw some of the most beautiful scenery on earth, and experienced some very interesting, intense, and strange things. Black magic and evil curses are practiced in many areas of Colombia, and I cannot say any more on that subject, for fear that you would think of me as crazy. There are things that cannot be explained in this world, and a lot of them happen in Colombia. » Read more: Deep Inside Colombia – Crossing The Andes With A Surfboard