Colombia Tours for Solo Travelers

What people love about touring Colombia solo

• Traveled in August

  5

  This was an amazing and memorable experience! Can't wait to come back to Colombia

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  Journeys: Explore Colombia National Geographic Journeys
• JamesTraveled in February

  4

  Day 1 I had purchased a transfer from BOG to the Hotel Regina for February 14. The instructions that I received stated that someone “with a sign” would meet me upon arrival. The flight from IAH arrive early but I waited until 11 PM, 20 minutes past the scheduled time of arrival and 40 minutes total. I had been up 15 hours, I was very tired-the very reason I had purchased the transfer. Simply, there is no excuse. As I write this, I have heard nothing from G Adventures, now 4 days after I reported it. When a passenger reports that the transfer did not arrive, there should be NO wait; my card should have been immediately credited. The investigation is G Adventure’s issue with its vendor-not with me, the passenger. Did I want to find a taxi, negotiate a price, walk through the parking garage, and wait some more after 10 hours of flying? Since I had arrived late the night before the tour started, I had some time to explore the city. There was no information available all day at the front desk through 6 PM on Saturday. This fact stifled my plans to visit places outside La Candelaria because I did not want to miss the previously-announced “orientation meeting.” As I was about to go out to dinner at 620 PM, Jairo, the group’s “CEO” was at the desk composing a note that announced a meeting 10 minutes later at 630. There can be no reason why information could have been provided earlier in the day by phone, email, or carrier pigeon! Day 2 The scheduling for Bogotá was somewhat perplexing. Many of the tour’s participants arrived late in the day of February 15, making sight-seeing logistically difficult. Also, many endured long flights and sustained the effects of a 9000+ foot altitude. The ONLY scheduled event for Bogotá was a visit to a market, precluding seeing anything else in the city. Really, why go to Bogotá at all. As a physician, I know that altitude sickness shows no favoritism to youth or the fit. To me, Bogotá was a wasted experience. We arrived in the afternoon at Hostal de mi Monaco. This is a nice, comfortable place with a very friendly staff. I would have preferred, however, either staying at a similar place that was closer to at least a grocery store or at a place that sold drinks and food. Our group spend several valuable hours shopping in a grocery store, basically, to buy alcohol. I think the intention was to have a “rustic finca experience.” There was nothing rustic about the hostal other than the owners’ self-imposed limitations. For example, it was impossible to even go for a walk in the area: the adjacent highway has no sidewalks and it would have been suicidal to walk there (as I was advised by staff). Day 3 The other issue about the hostal was is distance for the coffee farms that we visited. The presentation at the farm was excellent and varied. After being there for 4-5 hours, we were to visit a “coffee town.” I never heard the entire explanation, but we drove for 90 minutes to arrive at, not a town, but a coffee shop. Yes, a pretty coffee shop with a great view (where BTW the cheapest cup of coffee was 6000 pesos-in Colombia!), but it was nearly an hour and a half bus ride back to the hostal-NOT including a liquor run. Maybe there are reasonable explanations. I saw dozens of places to stay and dozens of cafeterias; why the long distances and time consuming bus rides? By the time we arrived back at Mi Monaco, we had less than 2 hours to enjoy the scenery, take a swim or walk, prepare, repack, etc. Day 4 There was a failure of communication about the hike in the Cocora valley. Several times, Jairo stated that the hike would be short and “no problem.” When I got there I was astounded to learn that there was a 300 meter elevation rise from the beginning to the end of the hike. That’s about 1000 feet! At that altitude and ambient temperature, passengers should have been WARNED ahead of time. This was not an easy hike! I had a knee and hip replacement making long climbs difficult, and I with 2 others, turned back about half way through. As a practical matter, the beautiful vistas are no better at 2500 meters that they are at 2200 meters. There’s nothing wrong with the hike itself, but read the description: first, there’s no mention of it being a grueling, 1000 ft rise on uneven terrain. The brochure mentions taking a horse-an option that no one even mentioned to us. After the hike, after 230 PM, we went to a restaurant for lunch. At 4 PM, we were finished. Jairo had told us about playing tejo in Salento after we arrived at the hotel. We waited over an hour sitting in the grass at the restaurant apparently waiting for transportation to the hotel. No one had said anything about the charming little town, and once I saw it, I immediately wanted to explore it, but there was not enough time for tejo and the town, and there was no opportunity for the next day as the bus was to leave at 7 AM. The planning (and the transport) could be better. Day 5 Other than to save money, I cannot understand why an 8-9 hour bus ride would be inserted into a 9-day tour. It was represented to us as “long but interesting with plenty of stops for coffee. ”There was NO MENTION of the multiple, multiple construction delays. This is irresponsible and nonsensical. The bus ride was a simple pain in the ass. The road from Pereira to Medellín is being repaired and reconstructed in multiple areas. There’s nothing scenic about construction-even in beautiful Colombia. Aside for the ride being an abject waste of time, it is dangerous. Sitting for long periods of time promotes venous stasis, deep vein thrombosis, and pulmonary embolism. The risk is heighted in the elderly, in pregnancy, in cancer patients and other conditions. There are nonstop flights to Medellín from both Pereira and Manizales. These morning flights would allow an entire extra day SOMEWHERE other than enduring a nauseating bus ride. If for some arcane reason, it is not possible for 12 pax to fly to Medellín, why not break it up? There are several very beautiful towns in Antioquia (e.g., Jardin) that are as interesting as the ones on the itinerary. Everyone was very tired after the 9 ½ hour trip. We arrived at about 5:30 and Jairo asked that we meet at 7:30. Continually, he set times and places without ever asking the group. As it turned out, that was not a good time as many wanted to walk a bit, maybe get something to eat, and get to bed early. Previously, Jairo had asked the group which excursions they wanted to book. Astoundingly, he gave no options. Those that didn’t want the graffiti tour, the 2.5 hour bus ride each way to GXXXXX, or a day on an island near Cartagena were on their own. This was in spite of the fact that several other options were given in the written materials. I asked about the Pablo Escobar tour that I had read about, and he refused to even talk about it saying that G Adventures “didn’t support it.” I went on such a tour, and I found it balanced and informative. That first night in Medellin, two people screaming somewhere in the hotel awakened me at 1040 PM. This went on for 15 minutes or so. I got dressed, and first, went downstairs. No one was at the front desk, and the noise seemed to be coming from above. I remembered there is a hot tub on the fifth floor. I arrived there at the same time as an angry German tourist. There in the hot tub were Jairo and a passenger, apparently drunk, and definitely screaming there lungs out. I had had trouble sleeping and I was not happy to be awakened by such a selfish act. I asked them to stop, and it was quiet the rest of the night. I’m sorry, but I do not think this behavior is acceptable by anyone anywhere in any country, much less the leader of a tour. The next morning at breakfast, the two ladies from New York/Poland told me the screaming had also awakened them. Day 6 I did not join the group on the graffiti tour as I was more interested in Pablo Escobar on my own. I met the group in Botero Park and Jairo was kind enough to meet me at the taxi that I took. That night he planned a meeting for the group at 7:00 pm at a restaurant but it was after 6 before he disclosed the name: Gato. I went, and it was fine but for the very loud music. Even though we were seated upstairs the very loud bass made it impossible to talk to the person next to me. I declined offers to spend the night drinking. Day 7 I had come to Colombia partially, to revisit a town in Antioquia, Andes, that I had stayed with a family on several occasions years before. So, I did not join the group, but instead, went to Andes by taxi. I had informed TourRadar previously of my intentions and I had told Jairo. At no time did he even offer to assist me and give advice. Certainly, every tour leader that I have had in the past would have at least shown some interest. Jairo arranged dinner, without any input from the group that I know of, at a bistro nearby. With all respect, I did not come to Medellin to eat in a bistro-one that, in fact, is not highly rated. I enjoyed cena at an interesting gastro complex of restaurants. I would think this would have been a great experience for a group-50 restaurants and bars serving almost all types of food and drink. But again, no choice! Day 8 We had a 1035 AM flight to Cartagena. It appeared that many of the group were hungover evidenced by the photos on Whats App. I don’t care what people do with their time, but advice and information should be offered to those who pursue earlier , less toxic evenings. Jairo led a short walking tour of the city. It was the first time that he showed that he knew something about a place we visited. I didn’t expect him to be a guide, but he said almost nothing about the prior places we visited, and the commentary was very specific rather than an overview. For example, he commented that a certain bridge was being built that was the longest, but he was unable to comment on the history of Medellin. As we were walking, I saw a red, “hop-on, hop-off” bus, common in many cities. When I asked him if it was a good way to see the city, he replied, “I don’t know anything about it.” (period). Jairo asked that we meet at the bar at the end of the city at 530 for a drink, but he didn’t go with the group. I really wanted to have the famous Cartagenan ceviche, so I did not join the group at the restaurant that Jairo chose. Day 9 I stayed in Colombia 3 more days and I did not see Jairo again. OVERALL COMMENTS I realize I have probably traveled more than most of the others in the group, but Steve, Mary, and a few others seemed to have traveled extensively. I admit that I usually travel alone, but nevertheless, I have been on about a dozen tours over the years, and I was on a G tour to China in 2017. I know that Jairo is inexperienced but I feel he should have been much better. 1- Timeliness: I waited nearly the whole day around the hotel to make sure I received notice of the first group meeting. At 620 PM, I happened to go to the front desk as Jairo was writing a note to announce a 730 pm meeting. I could have spent the day differently had I known we would meet so late in the day. Why couldn’t he have made a phone call? Also, he never ate breakfast with the group. Because it’s quiet and there’s no noise and alcohol, this is a great time for the CEO to be present for questions and concerns. Most of Jairo’s posts for names of restaurants came very close to the appointed time of meeting. 2- Choices- NEVER on any tour has the leader made all the choices without asking the group. This is just plain wrong. Many of us are experienced and, frankly, have better ideas about places to see/eat than he did. Also, it’s just the right thing to do; it’s our vacation-not his! The same with the optional tours-there was NO assistance provided for any excursion other than the ones HE selected. Perhaps, his choices were the best ones, but there were many other options. I had been to Colombia 5 times previously and I did not want to do the same things when other options were available. 3- Knowledge: I don’t expect the tour leader to be a tour guide, but I do expect at least a rudimentary knowledge of the history, demographics, and important things to see in one’s home country? To tell a passenger who ask about a city tour bus, “ I don’t know anything about it” is unconscionable. He SHOULD have known and if not, he could have found out. He did tell us about a free walking tour the next day at 11 AM, but it doesn’t run on Sundays. He should have known that. Jairo is a good person, but I don’t think his heart is in his job. If I were a young man with a new job, I’d bust my butt to be knowledgeable and accommodating to EVERYONE-not just those in his age group. I also think that a tour leader should be very careful with alcohol. There’s certainly no excuse for the hot tub incident. I’m certainly no teetotaler, but as an emergency physician I have seen the ill effects of over consumption. I don’t know (or care) how much he drank, but people on vacation often drink too much. As the leader, he MUST guard the safety of the group. Over drinking leads to illness, and particularly, accidents. I certainly question a leader’s drinking to excess and I question whether a person responsible for 12 others should drink at all. I don’t recall that ANY of the leaders in my previous tours drank ANYTHING save a beer or an occasional glass of wine. This is not a moral or ethical issue; it’s one of safety. I loved the country, and for the most part, the places visited were very good. The guides that we had were very good, particularly Christian at the coffee finca. Based on Jairo’s lack of knowledge and experience, perhaps more qualified guides should have been used. The hotels were much better a; although, there was no hot water at night. Who needs a shower every day anyway? Except for one short instance (a non air-conditioned bus from the Cartagena airport), the buses were good and comfortable and the drivers were courteous and competent. I don’t intend to be pejorative, and I would use G again-but only after knowing the experience level and passenger ratings of the guide-to-be. Thank you for the opportunity to provide input.

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  Colombia Express
• Traveled in August

  5

  I was pleasantly surprised on how many activities had been planned and how well coordinated everything was. Our guide Carolina was great, knowledgeable, friendly, accommodating, and she handled every situation in a professional and competent manner. I was somewhat puzzled at some of the itinerary choices. The first day meeting in Bogota was at 2 pm, when she talked about the things to do in the city (also sent us an email of points of interest) and we afterward had a tour of the neighborhood also pointing out places of interest to visit; however, after that we only had time for dinner and then the following day we left around 11 for the next town. There was absolutely no time to do any of the wonderful things she suggested. My husband and I had gotten there the day before and we got to do a few things on our own. It would have made more sense to meet at 10 or 11 in the morning to leave us more time to explore, or spend and extra day in Bogota. Also the following day we did not get to Salento until the afternoon after flying there, and, again, upon arrival we met and had the town tour to point out wonderful places to eat, listen to music, shop, etc, but did not have any time to do any of those things. I had a lot of fun playing the game of tejo with the group, but was very frustrated that the itinerary did not leave time for anything else in the town except for a 15 minute quick shopping stop. The town was so pretty and there was so much to see it was sad to leave so soon. I think if we had left Bogota early in the morning we would have had more time in Salento. The hike to Cocora valley was the highlight of the trip. It was beautiful and the guide Luis was great. Also the stay in the hacienda and tour of coffee plantation was excellent. Another puzzling part of the itinerary was to put us through a very long bus ride to Medellin that ended being 14 hours long. I get that the circumstances were out of control of the guide and the company (there was an accident ahead with two trucks), but it was already known that there was road construction which already slowed the trip considerably. Adding to that the fact that the trucks were recklessly driving up and down steep hills in construction areas led me to believe that the accident was just waiting to happen, and also put us at risk. Carolina did an excellent job on keeping us calm, but it was also very hard on her and us to had to go through this. It would had made a lot more sense to just fly to the Medellin and avoid wasting an entire day.We loved Medellin, the trip to Santa Helena to the flower farm, and Cartagena. Apart from some of the drawbacks me and my husband had a wonderful trip full of memorable experiences. The hotels were all good. I highly recommend this trip!

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  Cafe Colombia