Bogotá’s altitude and cooler air are often noticeable immediately, so the arrival day is deliberately kept simple. A short walk near the hotel and an early dinner are enough. Rain showers can arrive quickly even during drier periods, so a light outer layer is useful to keep at hand.

Around Plaza de Bolívar stand some of Colombia’s most important political and religious institutions. Museo del Oro takes the story further back through an exceptional collection from pre-Columbian cultures, placing gold objects in their contexts of ritual, power and craftsmanship.

If weather and visibility are good, the route continues towards Monserrate for views over the vast highland city. The pace is adapted to the altitude.

A morning at Paloquemao market can be followed by more modern neighbourhoods, parks, design, art or a food-focused visit according to interests. Travellers who prefer to leave the city can instead choose an excursion north. The purpose is to give Bogotá more time than a first or last night around an international flight.

If the flight leaves later, there may be time for a market, a more modern district or lunch before the airport transfer. The transfer leaves with plenty of time because traffic in Bogotá can change quickly.

The transfer goes to the airport for the flight to The Coffee Region. After landing, a transfer continues to the accommodation.

From the airport in Pereira, Armenia or Manizales, the transfer crosses an increasingly green and hilly agricultural landscape. Coffee plants mix with bananas and other crops, and farms are scattered across the slopes.

At a carefully selected farm, the guide walks through the plantation and explains how altitude, shade, variety and weather affect the cherries. During harvest the work is especially visible, but the process can be understood year-round through sorting, washing, drying and roasting.

The tasting at the end becomes much more meaningful once the earlier stages are understood. Farms are selected for the quality of their coffee and the professionalism of the visit, not for the size of their souvenir shops.

Wax palms rise high above the green slopes and can be seen from far away. The length of the walk is chosen according to weather, trail conditions and individual fitness, from a shorter walk to a longer loop into the mountain forest. Afterwards, there is time in Salento among colourful façades, cafés and crafts. A few hours here create a clear contrast with the coffee farm and the walk in Cocora Valley.

The onward journey uses a regional airport or continues by road, depending on which route best fits the itinerary. Mountain roads mean travel times vary, so departure is planned with plenty of time.

The transfer goes to the airport for the flight to Cartagena. After landing, a transfer continues to the accommodation.

The hotel is reached by a short transfer from the airport. Heat and humidity are very noticeable after Colombia’s highlands, so the first hours have no fixed activities.

That history includes both colonial power and the people who were enslaved and brought through the port. Getsemaní then provides a more contemporary perspective with residential streets, murals and everyday local life. The guided walk includes regular pauses and ideally a longer lunch, since the heat makes an uninterrupted long walk unnecessarily demanding.

A carefully selected boat trip can head towards the Rosario Islands or another coastal setting for swimming and snorkelling, but sea conditions and boat operators and standards are vetted carefully. Travellers who prefer to stay in Cartagena can have an equally good day with museums, food, shopping and time at the hotel. An open day also makes it possible to move the boat trip if wind or sea conditions are poor.

The morning can begin slowly inside the walls and continue with lunch in Getsemaní, or with a boat trip if the sea appeals more than another city walk.

For travellers who want a proper swim, an excursion among the islands can be arranged, but a day by the hotel pool and a late dinner is just as reasonable. There is no need to fill Cartagena’s hottest hours with sightseeing.

The transfer then takes you to the airport or onward along the Caribbean coast. A late departure leaves plenty of time for a final lunch or shaded walk.

A transfer takes you from Cartagena de Indias to the airport for the flight home towards Scandinavia. The final schedule determines how much of the day remains available locally.

Arrival in Scandinavia after the overnight flight.