Away From the Office: Full-time office worker, part-time traveler
I visited Belize in January 2014 as part of a Guatemala, Belize and Mexico comfort tour with Intrepid Travel. The 9-day tour started in Antigua, Guatemala and ended in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.
In this edition of In Photos, I’m going to focus on beautiful Belize, where the highlight was by far a snorkel tour with Ragamuffin Tours, off the coast of Caye Caulker. Enjoy! Continue reading “In Photos: Caye Caulker, Belize”
If you’ve been following my 10-day Colombia adventure, you’ll know that I spent a couple of days relaxing in Villa de Levya, a colonial town of about 9,600 people. It’s considered one of the best colonial villages in Colombia and was declared a National Monument in 1954 in order to preserve its architecture. Continue reading “Colonial Colombia: Villa de Levya”
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I joined Intrepid Travel for a 9-day tour of Colombia. After joining the group in Cartagena and spending a couple of days exploring the colonial city, we packed up our gear and headed to “Santa Marta.” I put Santa Marta in quotation marks since we were about 45 minutes outside the city and about 5 km from Tayrona National Park. We stayed two nights at Posada Villa Margarita, a basic hotel with lovely views and even lovelier hosts. Continue reading “Two days in Tayrona National Park, Colombia”
As I mentioned in previous posts, I went on 9-day tour through Colombia with Intrepid Travel. If you want some travel inspiration, check out some of my favorite photos from Colombia.
The itinerary
This tour is actually the second part of a 15-day Colombia tour called Complete Colombia. The first part of the tour starts in Bogota and ends in Cartagena. My portion of the tour started in Cartagena and ended in Bogota. Some of my fellow travelers joined the full 15-day tour and had great things to say about it. If you can swing the time off, I highly recommend it. Continue reading “Review: Colonial Colombia with Intrepid Travel”
In a previous post, I talked about the beginning of my Colombia trip and how it wasn’t exactly the start I was looking for.
My trip started in Cartagena, Colombia and I didn’t get to see as much of the city as I would’ve liked due to my luggage issues. I only had a couple of partial days to explore but I tried to make the most of them by seeing as much as possible. Indigenous people founded the city known today as Cartagena as early as 4000BC and it was officially founded in 1533. Cartagena’s colonial walled city and fortress were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1984.
I arrived in Cartagena on Friday, February 21st and a wall of hot, humid air greeted me as I stepped off the plane. Since I didn’t have any checked luggage, I quickly made my way to the taxi stand, paid around $7 USD for a cab and checked in at my hotel, Villa Colonial, which is just outside the walled portion of Cartagena, in Getsemani. The hotel is a bargain at around $35 for night and the staff were some of the nicest hotel staff I’ve encountered in all of my travels.
My first order of business was to buy some new clothing since I arrived wearing a thick sweater and winter running tights, not ideal in 90-degree weather. Also: I didn’t follow my own advice and pack a change of clothes. I wandered around the cobblestone streets and managed to buy a couple of outfits and some replacement toiletries using my broken Spanish. I almost left my passport in my hotel room but in hindsight, I’m glad I brought it with me. In order to use my credit card, I had to provide my passport. Compared to the rest of Colombia, Cartagena is expensive and I spent much more than I would’ve liked on replacement clothing. Thankfully, I purchased travel insurance before I left and it covered most of the cost.
I spent the next couple of days wandering the streets, people-watching and trying delicious Colombian cuisine. Don’t try to rush through an itinerary in Cartagena – part of the beauty of this destination is wandering the streets and getting lost. At every turn, there’s another colonial building, a street vendor selling snacks or a plaza with a set of comfortable chairs. Plus, the heat is pretty intense and chances are, you won’t feel up to rushing to tourist attractions.
Everyone in Cartagena that I encountered was warm, friendly and very patient when dealing with my abysmal Spanish skills. If you’re from the U.S., you’ve probably heard over the years that Colombia is a dangerous, scary place to visit. I took the normal precautions that I would anywhere in the world and I didn’t feel threatened or unsafe at any point.
I recommend visiting Cartagena in combination with some other cities in Colombia but if you’re short on time, it’s a location that can keep you occupied for a few days. It’s also a very short (2.5 hours) flight from Miami, making it one of the most accessible South American destinations.
Here are some more photos from Cartagena:
As I mentioned in my previous post, I was fortunate enough to visit several areas of Colombia at the end of February, including: Bogota, Cartagena, Tayrona National Park and Villa de Levya. Winters in Seattle can be grey and dreary and the weather in almost every part of Colombia (except Bogota) was warm and sunny. I still need to finish the full recap of my trip but in the meantime, here are some of my favorite travel photos from Colombia. I hope the photos inspire you to take a trip to this part of the world. Continue reading “In Photos: Colorful Colombia”
Intrepid Travel was offering 25% off all of their tours as part of a Black Friday sale in November, so I decided to book the 9-day Colonial Colombia tour on a whim. Colombia has been on my destination wish list for a few years and I finally took the plunge based on the fact that winters in Seattle area dreary, flying time is relatively short and the country is fairly inexpensive to visit. Continue reading “Colonial Colombia: The start of my trip”
Group tours can be a fun and stress-free way to explore the world. Your itinerary is already planned and you’ll share your day-to-day travel experiences with your tour mates. Before you book a group tour, pay close attention to the tips below.
Choose your tour company carefully
There’s a tour company for almost every budget, age and travel style. Want a luxury tour to an exotic destination? Check out Abercrombie & Kent. Are you 20 and want to socialize with people your age from around the world while seeing as much of Europe as possible? Contiki Tours is probably the best way to go. Before you start researching tour companies, create a budget, decide where you want to go and how many days you can travel. Also consider the travel style you’re looking for. Do you want to rush through each destination in order to see as much as possible or do you want to travel at a leisurely pace? Do you want a lot of activities included in advance or do you want as much free time as possible while you’re on tour?
Once you have an idea of the type of tour you’re looking for, visit a site like tourradar.com, where you can sort tours by duration, budget and tour style. You can also see reviews for most of the major tour operators.
Click here for a review of G Adventures vs. Intrepid Travel >
Pay attention to the itinerary
One potential downside of group tours: you need to stick to the itinerary. If you have your heart set on exploring Paris for 5 days but your potential tour only allocates two days to Paris, you should look for a different trip or understand that you’ll need to be flexible and plan a return visit to Paris at a later date. You’ll also want to pay close attention to how much time is spent on the road vs. exploring each town.
You may have to share a room or pay a single supplement
If you’re traveling solo, tours are a great way to meet like-minded travelers. Some companies, like Intrepid and G Adventures, will pair you with a roommate of the same gender at no extra charge. Other companies may require you to pay a single supplement if you’re not traveling with a companion.
Tour companies may charge more for extras
While it’s convenient to book your airfare, airport transfers and extra accommodation through the tour company, they may charge a premium for this service. On a recent trip to Colombia, Intrepid charged twice the price of Expedia for my pre-trip accommodation.
Confirm if the trip is guaranteed
Before you book your flight, confirm if the trip is guaranteed to depart. Some tour companies offer guaranteed departures but others require a minimum number of people to book before the trip is confirmed. If you decide to proceed with an unconfirmed trip, make sure you buy trip insurance in case your trip is cancelled at a later date.
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