Here is the ideal 3 week Colombia itinerary, crafted with insights from a local, that will help you see many of the highlights of this beautiful, culturally rich, and friendly country.
Whether you are a full time traveler or you have the opportunity for an extended holiday, I highly recommend adding this 3 week Colombia itinerary to your travel plans. Of course, you can customize the destinations and length of time per destination to your preference.
Don’t miss it! More on Colombia:
Don’t miss my other articles on Colombia as you plan your trip.
- Falling in Love with Colombia
- Unforgettable Adventures in Buritaca, Colombia
- 11 Amazing Things to do in Bogotá
- How to Learn Colombian Spanish
At a Glance
3 week Colombia itinerary
While three weeks is not sufficient to see all that Colombia has to offer, it is plenty sufficient to visit some of the highlights in different parts of the beautiful country.
Colombia is one of my favorite countries to visit as it offers so much of what I enjoy about traveling. The people are warm and friendly, the country is geographically diverse, and the food is delicious.
When chatting with my teacher Andrea recently, I asked for her insight on how I could plan the ideal 3 week Colombia itinerary. I intend to spend 3 weeks in Colombia in January. Several months ago, I found a one-way ticket from my home base airport for $150 and I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity.
With the help from my teacher, who is from Colombia and has lived there most of her life, I planned the ideal 3 week itinerary for those who are visiting Colombia whether for the first time or the 5th.
If you are a fast traveler, read until the end for the runner up locations you can add to your itinerary. If you prefer to travel more slowly, you can choose to visit fewer of the listed locations.
Bogotá
About
The capital of Colombia boasts beautiful architecture, famous museums, and is surrounded by a portion of the Andes Mountains. Sitting at roughly 8,600 feet or 2,625 meters, Bogotá is cooler year round than much of the rest of Colombia which may be a refreshing change as you follow along on this 3 week itinerary through Colombia. Despite the cooler weather, you will find the locals to be warm and friendly.
Getting there
Bogotá is a perfect entry point to Colombia. There are many flight options and it is positioned in a way that makes other parts of Colombia much more accessible by plane, bus, or taxi.
Therefore, I suggest you fly in to Bogotá International Airport (BOG). In my experience, I have also found it to be more cost effective to fly directly into the capital city rather than into other popular areas such as Medellín or Cartagena.
Things to do
As I wrote in my 11 Things to do in Bogotá article, there is much to do in this city of 11.6 million residents. Although you could easily enjoy weeks here, for a 3 week itinerary, I would suggest spending 3 days before moving on to other areas to fully enjoy Colombia’s diverse landscapes.
I suggest spending 3 days in Bogotá at the beginning of your trip and 1 day at the end as you will likely depart from Bogotá to return home to fly to your next destination.
Villa de Leyva
About
After enjoying a few days in Bogotá, consider taking a bus to Villa de Levya. This quaint, colonial town of around 17,000 full time residents is a favorite of my Spanish teacher, who is native to Colombia.
With the largest plaza in Colombia, Villa de Leyva maintains much if not most of its historic charm. Said to have been disconnected from main routes through Colombia throughout history, this beautiful town was able to preserve its character and charm which is part of what makes it so appealing to travelers today.
Getting there
Take a bus or a taxi from Bogotá.
Things to do
Villa de Leyva is known for its colonial buildings, expansive plaza, and beautiful surrounding hills that offer many opportunities for outdoor adventures such as hiking and horseback riding. You can also go mountain biking and/or camping.
Another popular activity is visiting the Museo de Palentológico de Villa de Leyva, or the Paleontology Museum. The museum, while small, is filled with many fossils found in the region and offers a unique perspective of the history of the surrounding area.
Lastly, despite the town’s small size and population, it is known to have delicious cuisine. For example, La Galleta is pastry shop recommended by my teacher filled with locally made pastries and can be the perfect treat after a long day of adventures.
I suggest you plan to spend 3 days in Villa de Leyva.
San Gil and/or Barichara
About
Known as the adventure capital of Colombia, San Gil is a smaller city of approximately 50,000 full time residents located near the larger city of Bucaramanga, which has just under 1.4 million residents, in the Santander province.
Barichara is located approximately 30-45 minutes away from San Gil. Barichara is the preferred destination of my teacher.
If you seek adventure, consider visiting San Gil. If you want a beautiful, charming town with cobblestone streets and colonial architecture, visit Barichara.
If you extra adventures and are ambitious with your time, visit both!
Getting there
If you visit San Gil or Barichara from Villa de Leyva, you can opt to take a taxi. If you are coming from Bogotá, you can take either a bus, taxi, or you can fly to Bucharamanaga and take a bus or taxi from there.
In sticking with my suggested 3 week Colombia itinerary, I would suggest taking a bus or taxi from Villa de Leyva directly to San Gil. You can enjoy the beautiful mountain landscape all along the way.
Things to do
Located in the valley of the Río Fonce, San Gil boasts opportunities to spend time on land, in the air, or on the water.
As already mentioned, San Gil is the adventure capital of Colombia. You can go river rafting, kayaking, parasailing, hiking, mountain biking, zip lining, or abseiling. If you love adventure, you should definitely add San Gil to your 3 week Colombia itinerary.
Barichara is a much smaller town with a full time population of around 10,000 residents. Known for its colonial charm, it ranks towards the top of the most charming colonial towns in Colombia. If you are staying in San Gil and want to day trip to Barichara, you can opt take a short bus ride.
Once in Barichara, you can easily explore on foot if you are accustomed to walking hills. The town has beautiful churches and gardens as well as nice views of the surrounding hills from the city. There is also a beautiful walking path that will take you to nearby Guane.
If you plan stay the night, the Parque Principal area is known to have many of the best hotels and hostels. Also in this area you can enjoy one of many highly rated restaurants.
I would suggest spending 4 days in the area in and near San Gil and Barichara. If you spend 4 days, you may consider taking a day trip to Barichara if you are staying in San Gil, or to San Gil if you are staying in Barichara.
Cartagena
About
Cartagena is a politically and historically significant city. Founded in 1533, Cartagena gained independence from Spain in 1821. Known for its colonial architecture, warm climate, fortresses, its old, walled city, its culture, food, and beaches, Cartagena is and has been a popular tourist destination.
Getting there
If you are following this 3 week itinerary exactly, you will fly from Bucharamanaga directly to Cartagena (BGA – CTG).
Things to do
One of my favorite things to do in Cartagena is to wander around the city admiring the architecture and, in Getsemaní, the street art. You can also walk along the top of the incredible walls that were built to protect the city, at least its upper classes, from attacks centuries ago.
The most popular fortress is the Castillo San Felipe de Barajas. A short distance from the city center, the fortress is an impressive sight with beautiful views of the city and the ocean.
If you enjoy gemstones, you can shop or even window shop for emeralds. I love emeralds and greatly enjoyed looking at the gemstones themselves and the creativity in which they were placed in jewelry and other crafts.
When you are ready for a break from exploring, you will find amazing places to go for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. The ceviche was the best I had ever had and we frequented La Cevicheria multiple times during the severals days we spent in Cartagena.
One last must-do experience in Cartagena is to go for a bioluminescence swim. Taking a boat out at night to swim in bioluminescent water was one of the more amazing experiences I have ever had. It was surreal to jump into water at night and watch as it magically turned into a brilliant blue. The more you moved the water, the bluer and lighter it became.
I would suggest 4 days in Cartagena.
Runner Up Locations
As stated in the introduction, a 3 week Colombia itinerary allows you to see some of the highlights. However, there is so much to see and do in Colombia. If you prefer beaches, you can skip some of the mountain towns. If you love small towns, you can spend less time in the cities.
If you want to experience beaches and mountains, cool weather and warm weather, large cities and small towns all in the same country, you can do that too, even in as little as 3 weeks.
Runner up locations are amazing in their own right. These locations include Medellín which may be at the very top of many travelers lists, but fell out of the final list of locations my teacher and I selected. If you visit Medellín, consider taking a day trip to the “most colorful town” of Guatapé.
The northern Caribbean coast is another wonderful location to see and explore in Colombia. I absolutely loved Parque Tayrona and the surrounding coastal areas. You can read more about it in my article about Buritaca and Parque Tayrona.
Known as the salsa capital of Colombia, Calí is another very popular destination for travelers. And lastly, if you would like to prioritize a visit to the Amazon, you can fly into Leticia and launch your Amazon adventure from there.
Conclusion
For more detail on each of these locations as well as information on the history and ecology of Colombia, I suggest the Insight Guides Colombia travel guide. I received this guide as a gift before my first trip to Colombia and continue to use it to learn more about the country and to help me with planning future trips.
Where would you go if you had 3 weeks in Colombia?
I would love to know! Let me know in the comments.
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