Colombia

>>1173518
Tayrona's not really a day trip, especially from Cartagena. I'd recommend spending a night or two camping in the park.

>>1173518

Been down there a few times on semi-business trips. I have had great experiences in Colombia.

>Museums, graffiti tour
I like the Botero exhibit a lot, if you do not like paintings and sculptures of really fat men, women, horses, etc., maybe not for you! But seriously, his stuff is worth seeing.

>Day trip to the Salt Cathedral
Do this, pretty cool. If you have time to get into the town there and poke around, it is very pretty.

>Day trip to La Chorrera waterfall
>Day trip to Cocora Valley and the Los Nevados National Park - is this viable?
>Day trip to San Agustin - is this viable?

Didn't do those, so no opinion.

I did enjoy hanging out in Simon Bolivar Park and Tunal Park for people watching and just being in the country not doing much.

>Cartagena
>Touring the Old City, museums and the castle included

The old city is beautiful. Not sure it needs a tour so much as just time to poke around. It will likely be very hot and very humid, so plan a afternoon siesta nd be more active in the morning/evening.

>Day trip to Santa Maria & the Tayrona National Park
Definitely.
Never heard of the mud volcano, so no opinion.

>>1173547
Second

>>1173547
>>1173588
Thanks for your feedback! I'll look into the Simon Bolivar Park and Tunal Park. Any thoughts on Medellin?

>Day trip to Cocora Valley and the Los Nevados National Park - is this viable?
>Day trip to San Agustin - is this viable?

I think these would take a few days each but I'm not sure. From Bogotá to San Agustín is like 10 hours. From Bogotá to Manizales is 7 hours. Los Nevados alone must be a few days with all the trekking. Also, being a National Park, you need to request a permission to enter.

File: medellin lights search.jpg (169KB, 983x566px) Image search: [Google]

169KB, 983x566px

>>1173727
>>1173588 here,

>Any thoughts on Medellin?

Did not get there, but have Friends there, it sounds like a pretty good place. But can;t speak first hand.

But a town that does Christmas lights like pic related can't be all bad.

>>1173518

>Day trip to La Chorrera waterfall

Yes. This can be arranged through local operators.

>Day trip to Cocora Valley and the Los Nevados National Park - is this viable?

No. You would need to get to Armenia, Manizales, or Pereira either with a domestic flight or a 7+ hour bus ride and then get transportation to Salento (for Cocora) or arrange a tour into the park.

>Day trip to San Agustin - is this viable?

No. This is a multi-day trip all things considered even with domestic flights.

>>1173518

Follow up to the above:

Medellin: Don't rule it out if you're there for two weeks. It's a much more vibrant city than Bogota and the climate near perfect. Lots of places outside of the city to explore on day trips as well including putting you much closer to Cocora and Nevados.

Jungles: Just addressing the budget portion of your post but flights to Leticia can be found for under $100 round trip and then multi-day tours into the Amazon can easily be arranged upon arrival for about the same price and includes just about everything.

Ruins: If you're in Cartagena and in Colombia for two weeks then visiting Tayrona National Park should be on your list. The beaches are a great place to spend a few days or from Santa Marta you can hike for a few days into the jungle to see Ciudad Perdida. Otherwise it's a flight or overnight bus to either Popayan or Neiva then a couple days getting to and from San Agustin and Tierradentro.

If you're pressed for time, overnight buses are found between pretty much any destination in Colombia and no need to arrange a head of time really. Look into budget airlines in the country as well. Bogota gets you to nearly all corners of the country within an hour and some carriers are reasonably inexpensive.

>>1174004
>>1173518

Don't want to be the dissenter, but I liked Bogota a lot more than Medellin. Weather isn't as nice, as a general rule, but I found the people to be more approachable and friendly.

Also, as the other Anon suggested, look into the budget airlines. If you have a short trip they'll doubtlessly save you a lot of time. VivaColombia is dirt cheap - I think I flew from Bogota to Medellin for $15 and then from Medellin to Cartagena for $30. Cartagena to Santa Marta I had to take a shared cab, and then I flew back to Bogota for $50-ish. Booked all of the flights last minute.

If you're going form one major city to the next, I'd definitely recommend flying. It can save you a lot of time and even money over bus, as was the case with Bogota to Medellin and Medellin to Cartagena.

Don't waste much time in Santa Marta. A lot of Colombians love it but I found most tourists didn't. Pretty crowded and boring little place. You can spend a night there and take a day trip to Minca, which has some nice coffee farms, hiking paths, and waterfalls around.

Do make sure that you take a motorcycle taxi down before 8pm-ish, as there's no other transportation back to town (there are, however, a number of hostels on the mountain).

Got stuck up there and was forced to hook up with a 30-year old Lithuanian woman in an Israeli hostel. Interesting night.

>>1174004
> It's a much more vibrant city than Bogota

I don't know what you mean by "vibrant" but Bogotá for obvious reasons has much more cultural activity and a much bigger economy.

>>1173988
>>1174004
>>1174118
Thanks a lot for the tips guys - I'll have a good think about my itinerary.