About us
The Colombia Guide covers a country that has changed faster than almost any destination in Latin America over the past two decades. We have spent time in Cartagena's walled city and in Getsemaní, in Medellín's cable-car comunas and its Laureles café strip, on Bogotá's streets from La Candelaria to Zona Rosa, and among the wax palms of the Valle del Cocora. Every page on this site draws on first-hand visits - checking prices, walking routes, and reporting conditions as we found them.
Who writes this site
Cartagena and Caribbean coast writer. Our Cartagena contributor has stayed inside the walled city (where boutique hotels on Calle del Cuartel command a significant premium over comparable rooms a few blocks outside) and in Getsemaní (where the neighbourhood's street-art corridors and local restaurants offer substantially lower prices for the same proximity to the walls). They have taken the ferry to Islas del Rosario, navigated the shared taxi system from Cartagena's Rafael Núñez Airport, and tracked the price difference between tourist-facing restaurants on Plaza Santo Domingo and the neighbourhood fondas a few streets east. Their coverage of the Caribbean coast extends to Barranquilla's Carnaval context and the palomino beach area in the Sierra Nevada foothills.
Medellín and Antioquia researcher. Our Medellín contributor has ridden the Metrocable lines - Line K up to Acevedo and beyond to Parque Arví, Line L to the gondola viewpoint above the city - and spent time in the comunas that the cable transformed. They have tracked the Laureles and El Poblado café and restaurant scene (with its distinct character: Laureles leans local, El Poblado leans international), researched the Guatapé day trip logistics from the Terminal del Norte, and followed Medellín's ongoing urban story through the lens of the projects that emerged from the city's worst years. Their safety context is grounded in the 2025 situation - specific to neighbourhood, time of day, and transport type - rather than generalised from outdated narratives.
Bogotá and Coffee Region editor. Our Bogotá contributor knows the difference between La Candelaria at 10am (accessible, full of museum visitors) and La Candelaria after dark (a different calculation), and has spent time in both Zona Rosa and the less-touristed Chapinero Alto neighbourhood. They cover the Usaquén Sunday market in detail - the antiques section versus the food section, and how it compares on a regular weekday - and the TransMilenio system's practical realities for getting between zones. In the Coffee Region, they have stayed in Salento, walked the Valle del Cocora trail to the high-altitude wax palms (Colombia's national tree, some over 60 metres), and covered the Jeep Willys shared transport system that connects the towns of the Eje Cafetero.
Our editorial standards
We visit in person. Every destination covered on this site has been physically reached by a member of our team. We do not aggregate content from other travel blogs or rewrite press releases.
We verify against official sources. Tourism information and destination data are checked against ProColombia, seasonal climate patterns against IDEAM (Instituto de Hidrología, Meteorología y Estudios Ambientales), and visa and entry requirements against the Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores. Where official information and on-the-ground conditions diverge, we note both.
We update when conditions change. Colombia's safety situation, visa-free access rules, and transport logistics evolve continuously. We mark articles with an updated date when we revise them, and we prioritise rechecking pages where conditions are most likely to have shifted since our last visit.
How we keep the lights on
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Get in touch
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