Colombia Vacations

If you are looking to party in a festival, then Colombia is the place for you. Most events take place during the holy season between December to March, and then again between July to August. Between late December and mid-January touristy areas get crowded, and again between mid-June and mid-July when people take vacations. You can avoid the festival rush by planning to attend of the smaller festivals in outlying areas rather than the big ones in Bogota or Cartagena. Whenever you go, you can expect temperatures in the mid-range, averaging between 20⁰C and 30⁰C all year round. Also all year round, however, you can expect rain.

The source of the legend of El Dorado, this is a perfectly round lake with beautiful nature and trails for hiking.

This gothic wonder full of natural light can be easily missed, but it's very high spires will lead you in the right direction.

This small modern art museum showcases mostly local artists in rotating exhibits that will intrigue any art lover.

This town is a perfect location for backpackers on their way to the El Cocuy National Park, offering a peek into the U'wa locals' lives.

This location in Bogotá offers what it calls the very best in authentic Colombian creole cuisine.

You will find here 12 reasons for going to Colombia and, once you are there, a million reasons for wanting to stay.

1. Colombia 90% Nature:Where green becomes life.
2. Cultural life in the cities:No matter where you are, you will vibrate with energy.
3. Fairs, feasts and festivals:To enjoy forever
4. Land of adventure:Let your heart, learn to beat.
5. Coffee:Let the aroma and taste of the best coffee in the world surround you.
6. The Colombian Amazon Region:In a land where the earth breathes.
7. Diving:Go to the depths of the our colorful seas.
8. The two coasts:The place where the sand is caressed by two oceans.
9. Gastronomy:Fall in love with the spirit in every heart.
10. Rumba: Let your feet dance without stopping.
11. Colombia, a country to fall in love with, a country to fall in love in: The country where people discover that they heart belongs to someone else.
12. The most festive people in the world, the Colombians

Bogotá is the capital and largest city in the country and is full of fun activities, a vibrant nightlife and a global dining scene. Visit the Banco de la Republica Art Museum and MamBo-The Modern Art Museum of Bogotá. Take an ecological tour to see Simon Bolivar Park and Jose Celestino Mutis Botanical Garden. Kick back in trendy neighborhoods like La Candelaria, upscale Parque 93 and Zona Rosa, which is a gay-friendly enclave of the city that also sports hip clubs and restaurants. Colombia travel should also include modern Medellín; the seaside scape of beautiful Cartagena and blossoming Cali.

The capital of the country is a cosmopolitan city where modern buildings and avenues contrast with the colonial churches and stately houses in its traditional historic center. Bogota's numerous and well-know museums, Museo del Oro, Museo Botero, Museo Nacional, and its libraries, theaters, and art galleries are ideal scenarios for enjoying excellent cultural events. Street by street, the city can be passionately enjoyed thanks to its inviting public spaces and big recreational parks. On Sundays, the main streets are closed to give way to bicycles, and every night the entire city moves to the sound of all types of musical genres and trends. Each day offers something to do, a restaurant experience, or a place to visit. The latest in technology, fashion, and entertainment, and excellent national and foreign brand name products can be purchased in its shopping centers and malls.

This is one of the most beautiful cities in America, declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco. Visitors to Cartagena de Indias go back in time when they stroll the narrow streets, framed by seigneurial colonial houses, cloisters, and churches and when they visit the ramparts, forts, and castles that revive past struggles in which pirates and buccaneers ambushed the treasures of the Spanish Empire. The passion for the Caribbean is felt during its fresh and romantic nights while savoring exquisite dishes and listening to festive tunes on the beaches. At the nearby Islas del Rosario, the tropical sun is brighter and the sea is warmer.

The industrial and trade centre of the western part of the country is Medellín, a vigorous city with an excellent infrastructure. Its pleasant spring-like weather is ideal for enjoying public spaces such as the Plaza Fernando Botero, which resembles an open air art gallery. This metropolis has a passion for beauty, fashion, flowers, and design. In addition to its active cultural life, it offers visitors the Museo de Antioquia, the Colección Botero, modern recreational centers, and shopping malls where the latest fashion collections and great variety of articles may be obtained at good prices. Nights are of tangos and warmth of "aguardiente".

In the fertile mountain soils of the central mountain range, farmers in the image of Juan Valdez produce the mildest coffee in the world. From the midst of the coffee plantations emerge the traditional coffee "haciendas", with their colorful architecture and infinity of flowers, where the tourism will find welcoming accommodations from which to depart visit picturesque villages, spectacular natural environments, such as the Parque Natural de Los Nevados, and interesting places like the Parque de la Cultura Cafetera and the Parque de la Cultura Agropecuaria. This is the ideal location for becoming passionate about coffee and Colombia.

Located in the northwestern Colombian Andes Mountains, Santander is one of the departments in Colombia with more passion for historical wealth. Bucaramanga, the capital, is the center of a metropolitan area surrounded by eight cores of regional development. A few kilometers from Bucaramanga, in the jurisdiction of Rionegro, at the site called Galápagos, we find the largest volcano in Santander. San Gil, located on the banks of the Fonce River, is a national monument where the Gallineral Park offers an opportunity for adventurous entertainment in canoeing and other sports. A spectacular landscape can be admired from the Chicamocha Canyon, which comprises the mountainous zone where the Fonce and Suárez Rivers meet. Additionally, it possesses the largest water sports and adventure facility in the country. Last, there is Barichara, a village of cobble-stone streets and wooden balcones, a National Monument since 1975.

In the warm, fertile valley of the Cauca River in western Colombia, there is this inviting city with wide tree-lined avenues, where modern and old colonial buildings are harmoniously combined. Cali is an industrial development pole thanks to its strategic location on the route to the Pacific Ocean, as well as an urban center, famous for the beauty of its women and its night life enjoyed to the rhythm of salsa. Here, people happily share their passion for music and dancing. Not far from Cali, visitors will find El Paraíso an Cañasgordas, handsome colonial houses that were a source of inspiration for famous Colombian novelists.

Located on one of the loveliest bays of the Caribbean Sea, this city aside from its historic attractions such as the Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino, where Libertator Simón Bolívar passed away, is the point of departure for visiting interesting places that awaken a passion for adventure and ecological tourism. Among those interesting places, the Parque Tayrona stands out with its pretty coves, archeological sites, the majestic Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, and the tourist complexes in its surrounding.

In the midst of the warm and clear waters of the Caribbean, 700 kilometers away from the continent, there rises an archipelago that evokes a remote past of buccaneer and pirate adventures and now offers the visitor scenes of amazing beauty. San Andrés is a magical island that awakens a passion in all who visit it. Its tourist services are excellent, as well as its active shopping places and extensive beaches of white sand, bordered by palm trees and a balmy sea where many water sports are practiced. Providencia, on the contrary, is a remote island where mountains and beaches offer perfect places for resting and its coral reef is ideal for scuba diving.

In the heart of the Amazon jungle, the largest ecological reserve in the world, on the shores of the Amazon River, we find the Colombian port of Leticia, the starting point for getting to know the exuberant tropical rainforest with its infinite variety of species of fauna and flora. Visiting the Parque Natural Amacayacu, with its streams and lakes, where the Victoria Regia, the world's largest water lily grows; touring Indian settlements and observing pink dolphins, jaguars, and anacondas are truly passionate experiences.

Colombia is a country of rich history and beautiful, rugged landscapes, food, and dancing. The people are hospitable and welcoming, and the government has made it easy for tourists with "Tourist Information Points" or "PITS" (the Spanish Acronym) around the country to help you find what you need, when you need it.

From adventure tourism, to nature, history, culture, and four-star hotels, a getaway to Colombia can provide it all, and Orbitz can help you find the deals.

Ride the cable car up the mountain to get a bird's eye view of the city, and then enjoy the open-air markets and restaurants at the top.

This historic old city enclosed by walls that stand today is a great spot for a walking tour of the historic landmarks of the colonial era.

The gold museum in Bogota holds a historical collection of pre-Hispanic metallurgy, and is known as one of the most important collections in the world.

The national museum is the oldest in Colombia and holds an amazing number of pieces of modern art, as well as archaeological artefacts inside the walls of this former prison.

Known for its South American exhibits, this friendly zoo also adds interesting stories about the various species.

This museum, located in a restored colonial mansion, is a must-see for art lovers and fans of Fernando Botero.

This ecological park, with its safe and controlled environment, lets you explore the world of the Amazon rainforest no matter your age or abilities.

An agricultural theme park designed to make city folk aware of animals and the country around them, this park is a jewel if the Quindio region.

Take the cable car up this well-known peak in Bogota to visit the church at the top and visit the statue of the Fallen Christ and the black Madonna.

The largest lake in Colombia, you can enjoy the beautiful landscape and the highest altitude beach in the world.