OVERVIEW
Trip Date: Sat 20 Feb – Sun 28 Feb 2027
LOCK-IN EARLY BIRD OFFER OF £2950 AND SAVE £300 (STANDARD PRICE: £3250)
Say Medellin to most people and they picture one man, one decade, one Netflix show. Fair enough, it earned that reputation. Spend a day in Comuna 13 and you’ll understand why it doesn’t have it anymore.
From there, up into the Andes. Jardin is the kind of town that looks over-designed until you realise nobody designed it, it’s just what happens when everyone paints their house a different colour for a hundred years. You’ll pick coffee cherries at a family farm, drink the good stuff an hour after it’s been roasted, and wonder why you ever put up with instant.
Cartagena finishes things off. Walled city, Caribbean heat, a complete change of pace from the mountains you’ve just left.
Somewhere in the middle of all that, volunteering at The Loros Foundation spends that rehabilitates parrots and macaws in Bolivar’s tropical dry forest. You’ll cut up fruit for birds that used to be trafficked, plant a few trees, and hear how the foundation’s turned former poachers into the people now protecting the forest instead.
ITINERARY AT A GLANCE
- DAY 1: Touch down in Medellin, welcome dinner with your Head Offbeater and fellow Offbeaters
- DAY 2: Comuna 13, once Escobar’s battleground, now a street art icon
- DAY 3: 740 steps up Guatape’s rock, sail past Escobar’s bombed-out mansion
- DAY 4: Pick coffee cherries by hand, roast to cup within the hour
- DAY 5: Swim a waterfall cave, canyon down, free time in Colombia’s prettiest town
- DAY 6: Fly to Cartagena, Champeta under the stars, rooftop dinner over 400 years of history
- DAY 7: Hand-feed rescued macaws, plant trees that outlast the trip
- DAY 8: Your day, Rosario Islands, Old Town, or nowhere at all
- DAY 9: One last coffee, then home, until next time Offbeaters
FULL ITINERARY
Hola Medellin
Welcome to Medellin, the City of Eternal Spring, which is a nicer way of saying it’s basically the same temperature all year round and nobody’s complaining.
A private transfer gets you to the hotel, then it’s straight into a welcome dinner with the rest of the group. Sleep off the flight first if you need to. Nobody’s judging.
Meals Included: Dinner
REVOLUTION OF THE HILLSIDE FAVELA
Metro, then a cable car, then you’re standing in a neighbourhood that used to be one of the most dangerous places on earth. Operation Orion happened here in 2002, a military campaign to clear out guerrilla factions, and the street art on every wall is the neighbourhood’s way of telling that story on its own terms.
Rest of the day is yours. Cigar lounge, or just wander.
Meals included: Breakfast
ASCEND GUATAPE’S MONOLITH AND DISCOVER ITS VIBRANT HEART
740 steps up a 200 metre rock. Your legs will have opinions about this by step 400, and the view at the top is the reason you keep going anyway.
Down in the town, lunch and a wander through streets where every house is a different colour, on purpose, for no reason other than it looks good.
In the afternoon, a boat across the reservoir, past what’s left of Pablo Escobar’s old island mansion, bombed in the 90s and still sitting there as a fairly blunt reminder of how this country used to run.
Meals included: Breakfast | Lunch
EXPLORING COFFEE SECRETS IN THE ANDES
Off road up into the mountains to a family run coffee farm, the kind where the person serving your coffee also grew it.
Pick your own cherries, learn the process bean to cup, then a home cooked lunch and a tasting session to see what all that work was actually for.
Later, a stop to spot the Andean cock of the rock, a bird that looks like it was designed by committee and somehow works. Overnight in Jardin.
Meals included: Breakfast | Lunch
Hidden Waterfall Adventure at El Splendor Cave
A ride out in a chiva, the open sided, brightly painted local buses that look like a party on wheels, followed by a short hike to a waterfall pouring straight through a hole in the rock.
Swim under it, or try canyoning if you want a bit more of a challenge.
Afternoon back in Jardin, free time to explore the town properly.
Meals included: Breakfast | Lunch
Cartagena the walled city and champeta beats
A travel day, from Jardin to Medellin and onward by air to Cartagena, the Caribbean coast waiting at the other end.
In the evening, a Champeta workshop. Afro Colombian dance music sometimes called “Creole therapy,” born out of the tension between Afro Colombian communities and Colombia’s European descended upper classes. It’s more than a dance class.
Dinner after, on a rooftop, with the city laid out below.
Meals included: Breakfast | Dinner
HEALING WINGS: VOLUNTEER WITH RESCUED BIRDS
The Loros Foundation rehabilitates parrots and macaws across 100 hectares of tropical dry forest in Bolivar, most of them rescued from traffickers. You’ll help prepare their food and plant trees toward the foundation’s target of 20,000, and hear how they’re turning former poachers into the people now protecting this forest instead.
Meals included: Breakfast | Lunch
YOUR ALL-IMPORTANT FREE DAY
No plan today unless you want one.
The Rosario Islands for snorkelling and a bit of a party atmosphere, or stay in the old town and get properly lost in its streets and squares. Or find a rooftop, start One Hundred Years of Solitude, and don’t move for a few hours.
In the evening, farewell dinner, and a toast to your adventure and new friends.
Meals included: Breakfast | Dinner
Farewell Colombia
A few hours to yourself after breakfast, last minute shopping if you need it, then the transfer to the airport. Until next time, Offbeaters.
Meals included: Breakfast
ACCOMMODATION
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
International Flights
We will make recommendations on flights based on trip start date. We strongly recommend that before booking any flights in relation to this trip that you first check with us that this trip has been guaranteed; the trip is not guaranteed to run until we reach the minimum number of reservations.
We also recommend that you book flights that are flexible and ideally refundable. For more information please refer to our booking terms and conditions.
Contact us if you wish to have an early discussion on flight options.
Key Information
How it works
- Determine if the trip is right for you in consultation with us. We are also able to set-up a video call to discuss.
- Inform us if you are interested in having a private room throughout the trip and require the cost of the single supplement
- We will make you aware of recommended flights
- Reserve your space by paying deposit of £500 through our booking page. This is not applicable if you are booking within 60 days of the trip departure date, in this case you will be sent a payment link to make full payment.
- The trip is not guaranteed until the minimum numbers have been reached. Do not book international flights until you have been notified by e-mail that the trip status has changed to guaranteed.
- Once the trip has been guaranteed, book your international flights and obtain your mandatory travel insurance (if you don’t already have cover).
- We will request passport information, travel insurance evidence, dietary requirements and other applicable information.
- Full and final payment will be requested by e-mail at least 60 days prior to trip departure date.
- You must make payment by the deadline otherwise you could lose your space on the trip
- At least 30 days ahead of the trip start date, you will be sent an Offbeater’s Guide for Colombia Transformed which will include useful information such as a packing list.
- At least 2 weeks ahead of the trip start date, a WhatsApp group will be set-up with the Offbeaters on the tour and a video call will be arranged for a meet & greet, talk through the excitement to come and answer any last minute questions.
- We will await your arrival in Colombia!
Is an Offbeat Horizons trip for me?
Offbeat Horizons trips are not for everyone. Please check the day by day full itinerary carefully and then decide if this trip is suitable for you. Contact us if you wish to discuss or have concerns about not being able to participate in certain aspects of the trip.
Trip pace
Anyone with a reasonable fitness level, a sense of discovery, thirst for learning and broadening their horizons would be a great fit on this trip. The trip will move at a relatively fast pace; be prepared to be active and engaged everyday. Contact us if you have any questions or concerns.
Travelling offbeat
Travelling offbeat can throw up the occasional bumps in the road. We will endeavour to follow the stated itinerary as closely as possible, however, from time to time we may have to make some changes to our stated itinerary or the services we are able to offer. One of the exciting and often rewarding aspects of travelling offbeat is its unpredictability. This can lead to unexpected highlights and experiences that are the essence of travelling offbeat. This is also what makes it so addictive, the thirst for more of the unexpected really can enhance your experience.
We hope the trip will be a good fit but if you have any concerns over the occasional unpredictable nature of offbeat travel then consider if this type of trip is right for you. Contact us to discuss if you have specific concerns.
Solo travellers and hotel single supplement
The majority of offbeaters will be solo travellers so you will have plenty of people to connect and enjoy new experiences with.
All of our prices are based on twin-share accommodation to support fast friendships inspired by hostel experiences in dorm rooms but making it more comfortable and upmarket for the professional. We will never put more than two people in a room. If you are happy with twin-share accommodation we will pair you with a member of the same sex for the duration of the trip.
We appreciate that a minority of travellers will want full privacy and there will be the option of paying a single supplement for a single room throughout the trip, subject to availability. On this trip the single supplement covers all nights of accommodation as per the itinerary. Please be aware that the single supplement entitles you to a single occupancy room. In many cases this will be the same size as a double room/twin room but on occasion the room may be smaller.
Travel insurance
Travel insurance that covers you for emergency repatriation in mandatory on all of our trips. We strongly recommended that you purchase a travel insurance policy that covers you for all of the activities stated in the itinerary of this trip. For more details on our mandatory requirements for travel insurance please visit the Safety and Security Hub.
General Information
Trip price
All of our trips are priced on a tour only basis, not including international flights. This gives you the flexibility to decide how you get to and depart from this trip and attain best possible flight rates.
Deposit
A special introductory deposit of £200 is required to book your space on this trip. This is non-refundable due to costs we incur from when a trip is booked. You will be provided with a full refund of the deposit if we cancel the trip.
What’s not included
We want to be completely up front about our pricing. There are no hidden charges, no hidden fees and we have described inclusions and exclusions in detail throughout the trip page. If in doubt, contact us to discuss. See below for what we don’t include in the trip price:
International flights: Please ask us for advice on the flights from your location.
Visas and mandatory travel insurance: Visas is country/nationality dependent but travel insurance is always mandatory. We will ask you for evidence of travel insurance ahead of the trip departure date.
Airport transfers: We will provide complimentary transfers for arrival and departure on the suggested flights. This does not cover arrival and departure at different times or dates.
Drinks, snacks and items of a personal nature: This is not provided unless explicitly stated as included in the full itinerary.
Why Offbeat Horizons?
To understand what makes us unique as a tour provider. Visit our Why Offbeat Horizons page to get to know us a little bit better.
Entry Requirements
For some destinations we travel to visas may be required.
UK Passport holders are strongly recommended to check Government Travel Advice for up to date entry requirements.
For non-UK passport holders and non-UK residents we strongly recommend you check with your relevant embassies for visa requirements.
Government Travel Advice
Many governments issue advice which highlights potential hazards their citizens might experience when travelling abroad. We strongly suggest you refer to your country’s travel advisory site before booking and contact us if you have any queries or concerns. Click to follow links to the advice of the British Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) or the US State Department.
Non-UK citizens should consult the travel advice of their respective governments.
Trip Extensions
If you wish to arrive early or extend your trip, we can provide advice on other popular locations and activities.