Travel ▻ South America ▻ Colombia8-Day Medellin Multisport with Cartagena
8-Day Medellin Multisport with Cartagena

8-Day Medellin Multisport with Cartagena

8 days

8-Day Medellin Multisport with Cartagena
from $1495 USD

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This unique adventure tour explores the very best of Medellin and the surrounding natural areas. Experience the best of the Antioquia department while biking along varied ecosystems, rafting on isolated rivers, hiking through nature reserves, and exploring world heritage neighborhoods. Your comfort and safety are guaranteed with high-end dual suspension mountain bikes and rafting equipment. Certified adventure guides lead the way, so relax and enjoy the very best of Antioquia! We finish the trip with 2 nights in Cartagena, a leading city of Latin America and a colonial masterpiece!

Note that activities can be weather sensitive so flexibility and a spirit of adventure are musts. Biking in the mountains ringing Medellin - while not strenuous for most - is still physically demanding so being in good shape is important to having a good time. The bike ride to Sante Fe is a reasonably long day trip so having experience biking in the countryside and on gravel paths is a big help. Options for more advanced mountain biking on that path are available, just discuss it with your guide!

Full Itinerary DETAILED ITINERARY >> ITINERARY IN BRIEF >>

Day 1: Arrive Medellin, Colombia, transfer, and overnight

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Arrive Medellin international airport - anytime is OK - where you are met and transferred to your hotel for your first overnight in Medellin.

Meals included: n/a
Mid-Range Accommodations: Art Hotel

Day 2: Discover Medellin on a guided tour, plus Arvi Nature Reserve

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Known for its wonderful year round weather, Medellin is one of the most prosperous, scenic, and upbeat metropolitan cities in South America. It is no wonder they call it "The City of Eternal Spring." The civic architecture connects the main city attractions, with walking pathways and a great metro system. We will start with a tour of the Fernando Botero Plaza, where we learn about Colombia's most renowned artist. We will explore the Antioquia Museum and the Botanical Garden, which is a worthwhile wildlife refuge and nature research center. From the Gardens, we will ride the metro and cable car all the way up to the ARVI Park. ARVI is the city's most important park, home to hundreds of hectares of native forest. The cable car ride offers impressive views of the city and the forest canopy below. In the park, you can hike along incredible scenic trails, visit a lake, and search for local birdlife. We will take the aerial car back to Medellin in the afternoon.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Mid-Range Accommodations: Art Hotel

Day 3: Bike to Guatape, hike up Penol Rock

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We will drive to the lush valleys, towering mountains, and serene lakes west of Medellin. We will set up our bikes and begin the ride with a four-kilometer warm-up ascent. You will pass beautiful farmland and enjoy views of the colonial town of Granada. At the ridge, we will begin a 14-kilometer downhill ride through sections of the endemic cloud forest. As we approach Guatape, you will enjoy the scenic reservoir with fiord-like inlets that create hundreds of recreational areas along the shore. Look out for your first views of the famous Penol Rock, standing tall at 200 meters. Upon arrival in Guatape, we will explore the quaint town center and enjoy its colorful buildings and street decorations. After a typical Antioquia lunch, we will climb the 642 stairs to the top of Penol Rock, with sweeping views of the reservoir. We will return to Medellin in the afternoon.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Mid-Range Accommodations: Art Hotel

Day 4: Rafting the Rio Buey

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The Rio Buey is the best single day rafting trip in the Medellin region. The river is very scenic and mostly isolated, surrounded by cloud forest and remote farmland. We will drive along the Cauca River Valley, a fertile area dotted with small traditional towns, to reach the shores of the Buey River where we will set up our boats. After a safety talk, you will hit the waters of the Buey for a thrilling 5-hour voyage. Expert guides will interpret the surrounding ecosystem along the way. Your run concludes at a magnificent canyon and forest area where local birds and wildlife are abundant. This scenic class III-IV river takes us for 27 kilometers of exhilarating river time. We will return to Medellin in the late afternoon.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Mid-Range Accommodations: Art Hotel

Day 5: Downhill biking through cloud forest to a colonial town (Sante Fe)

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We will drive north from Medellin through a scenic region lined with green pastures and dotted by beautiful haciendas. We will reach a ridge at 2,700 meters (8,500 ft.) and personalize your dual suspension bike to fit your riding style and experience. Begin your descent along a highland paramo ecosystem with endemic flora and fauna, including bright purple flowers and unique birds. The narrow single lane road feels ethereal, twisting and turning with seemingly no end. You will peddle through a lush cloud forest with open views to the Cauca River valley and test yourself on brief, exhilarating ascents. The Cauca is Colombia's second most important river, flowing from the mountains all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. The environment changes into tropical lowlands at the end of the ride, and the landscapes overflow with bananas, mangos, coffee, cacao, and yucca plantations. Advanced riders can opt for more technical single trails, meeting up with the group at a crossroads. Your ride will end in the small village of Cordova, where we will load up our bikes and continue to nearby Santa Fe de Antioquia. Santa Fe is a world heritage site, packed with historic intrigue, plazas, churches, and beautiful colonial architecture. After a short village tour, we will return to Medellin.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Mid-Range Accommodations: Art Hotel

Day 6: Transfer, depart for Cartagena

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After breakfast, we will transfer you to the airport, where you will catch your flight to Cartagena (flights not included). On arrival in Cartagena, you will enter the easy multi-lingual taxi kiosk and take a cheap taxi to your hotel tonight. Be sure to enjoy a wander in the evening as musicians and dancers emerge for dazzling performances in the plazas.

Meals included: Breakfast
Mid-Range Accommodations: Hotel Bantu or similar

Day 7: Free day in beautiful Cartagena

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You will have a free day in beautiful colonial Cartagena.

Meals included: Breakfast
Mid-Range Accommodations: Hotel Bantu or similar

Day 8: Depart Cartagena

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After breakfast, you will depart Cartagena.

Meals included: Breakfast

Pricing

8-Day Medellin Multisport with Cartagena
from $1495 USD
*** Contact Us for other itinerary and lodging options! ***

NOTE: Prices are per person in U.S. dollars based on double/triple occupancy. All quotations are based on the current rates of park fees, VAT, other government taxes, and current exchange rates. Should any of these be increased or a new tax introduced, these increases will be added on even if your trip has already been paid for.

INCLUDES:
  • All accommodations per itinerary
  • All meals per itinerary (B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner)
  • All tours and entrance fees per itinerary (unless listed as excluded)
  • All transportation and transfers per itinerary
EXCLUDES:
  • International and domestic flights
  • Meals not listed
  • Beverages and alcohol
  • Tips for guides, drivers, hotel staff
  • Optional tours
  • Single room supplement
  • Personal expenses (visas, airport taxes, Internet, etc.)
  • Peak season supplements (Easter week / Christmas+New years periods)

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