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Colombia

The comeback star of the Americas. Trade Caribbean beaches for Andean coffee farms, salsa-soaked cities and Amazon jungle in one gloriously varied trip.

  • Currency $ Colombian Peso (COP)
  • Language Spanish
  • Best time December – March, July – August
  • Visa Visa-free (up to 90 days)
Why visit

Why Colombia

The comeback star of the Americas. Trade Caribbean beaches for Andean coffee farms, salsa-soaked cities and Amazon jungle in one gloriously varied trip.

  • Cartagena's walled Old Town
  • Coffee Triangle & Cocora wax palms
  • Tayrona's Caribbean beaches
  • Caño Cristales 'liquid rainbow' (Jul–Nov)
Read more

Colombia is South America's great reinvention story, and in 2026 it's one of the continent's most rewarding places to bring a family. Few countries pack Caribbean coast, high Andes, Amazon rainforest and coffee country into a single, easy-to-connect itinerary.

This is a destination built for community-led travel: stay on family coffee fincas, learn to dance in Cali, and explore neighbourhoods reborn through local pride. Warm, generous and endlessly musical, Colombians make first-timers feel like returning friends.

With short domestic flights, walkable colonial cities and a growing base of remote-work-friendly cafes, Colombia suits soft adventurers and bleisure travellers alike. Come for the biodiversity, stay for the people, leave already planning your return.

A pillar, not a footnote

Eat your way through Colombia

The single reason many travellers come back — the food culture worth reshaping a trip around, and the dishes to seek out region by region.

Colombia

Arepas at every hour, a mountain of a Paisa platter, and some of the best coffee on earth.

Wherever you are in Colombia, the day turns on two things: an arepa — a corn cake griddled, split, stuffed or simply buttered in a hundred regional forms — and a tinto, the small black coffee poured from a flask on every corner in the country that grows some of the world's finest beans. There's no single national cuisine here so much as a set of regions that cook differently.

In Medellín and the coffee hills that means the bandeja paisa, a groaning platter of beans, rice, fried plantain, chicharrón, chorizo, egg and arepa built for a farmer's day. In Bogotá it's ajiaco, a chicken soup thick with three kinds of potato, corn and capers, warm against the cold Andean air. The Caribbean coast fries fish and cooks rice in coconut; Tolima slow-roasts a whole spiced pig as lechona. Chase it with anise aguardiente and fresh lulo juice.

Dishes to seek out
  • Bandeja paisa (loaded Antioquian platter)
  • Arepas (corn cakes)
  • Ajiaco (Bogotá chicken-potato soup)
  • Sancocho (hearty stew)
  • Lechona (stuffed roast pig)
  • Empanadas
  • Aguardiente (anise cane spirit)
Things to do

Nature, culture & hidden gems

Editorial content coming soon

We're hand-picking the standout places, hidden gems and can't-miss activities in Colombia. Meanwhile, the cities above are a great starting point.

Plan your trip

Curated Colombia itineraries

Browse all Colombia trips →
When to go

Weather & timing in Colombia RIGHT NOW 11° cloudy

Best Jul–Sep · Shoulder Dec–Feb

  1. Jan 6° / -4°
  2. Feb 8° / -2°
  3. Mar 12° / 2°
  4. Apr 18° / 8°
  5. May 24° / 14°
  6. Jun 28° / 18°
  7. Jul 30° / 20°
  8. Aug 28° / 18°
  9. Sep 24° / 14°
  10. Oct 18° / 8°
  11. Nov 12° / 2°
  12. Dec 8° / -2°

Best time to visit

December – March, July – August

Best for
  • Coffee Region
  • Cartagena
  • Amazon
  • Beaches
At a glance
Sunshine 7 hr/day (est.)
Rain days 8 days/mo (est.)
Wettest December · 60mm
Driest June · 10mm
Part of Andean →
By season
Spring (Mar–May)

What to expect — Daytime highs average about 18°C with overnight lows near 8°C, and it stays largely dry.

What's best — A quieter, less in-demand window than the shoulder months.

Summer (Jun–Aug)

What to expect — Daytime highs average about 29°C with overnight lows near 19°C, and it stays largely dry.

What's best — Jul and Aug are among the best time to visit — good weather with manageable crowds.

Autumn (Sep–Nov)

What to expect — Daytime highs average about 18°C with overnight lows near 8°C.

What's best — Sep is among the best time to visit — good weather with manageable crowds.

Winter (Dec–Feb)

What to expect — Daytime highs average about 7°C with overnight lows near -3°C.

What's best — Dec, Jan and Feb are comfortable, with thinner crowds.

A little context

A little history

To read what you're looking at — the empires and eras that shaped Colombia's food, art and streets.

Gold-rich Muisca and other chiefdoms fed the El Dorado legend that drew the Spanish
Cartagena became a fortified hub of the Spanish Main and the slave trade, shaping the Caribbean coast
independence under Simón Bolívar in 1819
decades of armed conflict with FARC guerrillas ended in a 2016 peace deal, opening the country to travellers
Before you book

Know before you go

The practical back-matter — safety, drones and the essentials, in one place.

Safety

Moderate — check FCDO advice FCDO advice →

Official UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office guidance is the definitive source — check it close to your travel dates.

Drone rules (sub-250g)

  • Colombia
    Recreational flying is legal under Aerocivil (RAC 100). Sub-250g drones generally don't need registration, but must stay below about 120m, in daylight and sight, clear of people and at least 5km from airports. Sources disagree on the exact weight threshold, so carry your paperwork. ⚠ National parks (Tayrona, Sierra Nevada) and historic centres like Cartagena's walled city are off-limits, along with airports and government sites. As of late 2025 drones may effectively only be brought in by air via Bogotá's El Dorado, where you must declare them. Rules checked: Jul 2026

National parks, protected sites and religious/heritage venues often have their own rules and permits — always check the specific site before you fly.

The essentials

Plug & voltage Type A/B · 110V
Daily budget Budget-friendly
Region South America