Colombia with kids

Itinerary, highlights and tips

Colombia with children? In this blog, you can read about our itinerary, highlights, and tips for a wonderful trip through Colombia.

Just before Christmas 2022, we went to Colombia with our daughter, who was almost 1 at the time. Friends of ours were getting married there (she is Colombian), and this was, of course, a perfect excuse to pull the backpacks out of the closet again. This time with quite a bit more luggage, including a stroller, a Deryan tent, some diapers, and a bag of white powder. Milk powder. Besides the wedding, we made a fantastic round trip.

This blog is written by Manon.

Colombia with children - itinerary, highlights, and tips

♥ Our itinerary
♥ Transportation and budget
♥ Extra tips

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Colombia with children - Itinerary

Bogota (arrival)

There’s not much to do, but the large malls are well-equipped for children, with indoor playgrounds; perfect for a rainy day.

Minca – HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Our favorite stay of the entire trip. We stayed here for 3 nights but would have loved to stay for another week. We had our own cabin at EcoLodge Sol de Minca. Self-sufficient and therefore quite back to nature, but that enhances the experience. Even from the toilet, we could see monkeys jumping and toucans flying. Minca is very mountainous, so the cute village is the only place you can walk to. Minca is known for a large famous hammock, but that was a bit too far for us. Apparently, you can find these hammocks everywhere; we enjoyed a fresh smoothie in the hammock at Cascada Marinca. We got there with the kids in a carrier on two motorcycles, which is perfectly doable since they drive carefully.

Santa Marta

We actually came here just for the wedding. We spent the whole day on a boat, and occasionally we could dive into the water to swim to a beach.

Tayrona park

People advise against this place in Colombia with children because it involves a long hike. This is unjustified. We stood in line as one of the first in the morning and then walked the beautiful route through the jungle (with monkeys around you) to the famous Cabo San Juan in 2 hours. There, we ate, swam, and enjoyed the beautiful beach, then walked back for another 2 hours. Don’t forget mosquito repellent. Manon was stung by another nasty insect, so a vacuum pump is also a good idea. By the way, our amazing host drove us there and picked us up; we stayed at Eco Lodge Chayrama, which is also highly recommended! Monkeys around your cabin, squirrels at breakfast, etc.

Medellin

Just taking a moment to relax, do laundry, and celebrate New Year’s; we booked 6 nights in a spacious apartment with a rooftop pool (Sites Hotel). With the metro and cable cars (yes, in Colombia!), you can easily get around the city. We visited the botanical garden, had an oil ball in the slums, and did the Communa 13 tour. We were especially hesitant about the last one, even with a child. But it’s super safe and can easily be done with a stroller thanks to all the escalators (the government has invested a lot in this, and it shows!). A very impressive and beautiful (free) tour, where you should definitely give a tip to the English-speaking guide at the end; that’s basically the price.

Salento

From Medellín, we took an 8-hour bus ride during the day through beautiful landscapes to Pereira. We initially hesitated about such a long bus ride in Colombia with a child, but we’re glad we did it. The bus makes a few stops for breaks, and our daughter slept, played, and watched videos. From Pereira, we took a van to Salento, and you guessed it: we obviously visited the beautiful Cocora Valley there. The palm trees were ten times more stunning than in the photos, and we managed to take a nice walk with our child in the baby carrier. You can ride to and from the village in so-called ‘Willys,’ large pickups where everyone can sit in the back. Just ask around the village where they are, and they’ll point you in the right direction.

Cartagena

Everyone here is very enthusiastic about it. We thought it was beautiful, but a bit overhyped. The beach in Bocagrande is lovely, and it’s definitely recommended to sit here with kids. You can easily get a taxi to the beautiful neighborhoods like Getsemaní, and you can relax by the pool or on the beach both during the day and in the evening. Our baby monitor even worked from the sixth floor to the bar of our hotel, where we enjoyed playing games outside.

Isla Grande

In Cartagena, we booked a boat to this beautiful island. After about an hour of sailing, we were dropped off at our own hostel. The island has stunning beaches and a completely different vibe from the rest of Colombia. In the small center, we truly felt like we were in a third-world village. There’s one pizzeria that turns out to be okay, but we opted for a hot dog that someone was selling from their house.

Worst choice ever. The next day, we both got a severe food poisoning and were nearly knocked out. Not really ideal with a little child who, of course, also wants attention (and hadn’t eaten the hot dog, so she was fit). On this island, really only eat at your own hostel. We were urgently transported by a small boat through the mangroves back to the mainland. In the hospital, we received good care, and the next day, we could return to the island with renewed hope. Here, Rachel celebrated her first birthday. What a location for such a party! Our accommodation here was called Secreto Hostel. Beautiful cabins, a refreshing pool, friendly people, and a private beach. Just a lovely atmosphere.

Bogota

We flew back to Bogotá, took a COVID test there, and then flew back to the Netherlands on a night flight. Fortunately, Rachel slept through the entire flight; we would definitely pay more for a night flight for such a long journey in the future.

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Colombia with children - transportation and budget

Would we have done things differently in hindsight? Yes, we would definitely have avoided that hotdog. But overall, we look back on a beautiful trip. In some places, we would have liked to stay longer, and in others, perhaps shorter, but we booked most of the hostels a few days in advance, making it harder to plan. We traveled around the country by plane, bus, taxi (Uber!), boat, and motorbike.

Our travel itinerary might not be the most logical, but we had a wedding halfway through, wanted to celebrate New Year’s in a big city, and wanted to end with a week at the beach. By following a more logical route, you could definitely save on travel time. We traveled during the high season (Colombians also have their holidays around Christmas), which significantly increased the costs of locations. In total, we spent about €4,000 on this trip, including all flights, in just under a month.

Colombia with children - extra tips

♥ Use Uber.
♥ Don’t just focus on the ‘scary’ stories; use common sense.
♥ Don’t skip Sla Tayrona and Minca.
♥ On our Instagram account (@travellikeabosch), you can find our chronological story of Colombia under ‘highlights.

About Manon

Hi! We are Jan Hendrik and Manon Bosch, married and have two children: Rachel (2) and Kaleb (0). Before we had children, we visited quite a few countries, including South Africa, Morocco, Peru, Bolivia, Mexico, Cuba, Thailand, and Malaysia. Colombia was our first long-distance trip with a child, where we discovered that traveling with children is perfectly doable. That’s why we are going on a six-month world trip at the beginning of 2024!

Follow Manon on Instagram @travellikeabosch