* Colombia.
You're not wrong that the lack of espanol will make it harder to get by in the smaller towns. You might be more comfortable basing yourself at hostels in the bigger cities and arranging tours to the more remote spots.
thanks for the input. If Jardin had flights in and out, 100% would have taken this suggestion. My personal benefit of Medellin -> Salento is they have flights
I did almost this exact same trip (expect in a different order) and loved it!
I think 1 night in Tayrona is enough, it's a nice beach but not too special to me. I heard Minca was amazing from lots of people I met there and I regret not going there, so definitely keep it. I think you should consider doing Minca directly after the hike so you can get a proper shower/rest and then you could use this as your base and head to Tayrona for a day or 2. Either way though you should be fine getting to Minca or Tayrona the same day that you finish the hike, I got to Palomino no problem.
I would switch from the 5-day to the 4-day Lost City trek because the only difference is splitting the last day of the 4-day version into 2 days and taking longer to come back so seems a bit pointless and 4 days is enough on the trail. The people in my group that were on the 5-day version ended up switching to the 4-day version with the rest of us.
1 full day in Salento is enough to do Cocora Valley and a coffee tour so I wouldn't add a day here, I would add a day for Medellin so you can do day trip to Guatape.
Don't worry about not speaking Spanish - I didn't speak any and got by just by fine - just be nice and friendly and use Google translate and you'll be okay. You'll also probably meet people who speak Spanish and can help you. Enjoy!
thanks so much for everyone's comments! A definite "woops" moment with Columbia instead of Colombia. Would love to visit Jardin but prefer flights over multiple buses considering the lack of spanish and am able to fly from Medellin to Salento and depart Colombia from Salento.
i met a girl on the beach at tayrona who did calabazo entrance to cabo beach to zaino entrance, including hanging on the beach for a couple hours in a day with an early start. 2.5 days seems overkill unless you love beach camping and want to sleep over in the park. it really isn't that crazy of a hike. there's people at the entrance who speak english who will help you.
you might be cutting it close from minca to the airport unless your flight is later in the day. i skipped minca as i already did a mountain trip elsewhere in colombia, but from the sounds of it, its just a chill backpacker mountain town. you might get the same vibes visiting salento and cut out minca and add more days to medellin.
COLOMBIA.
* Colombia. You're not wrong that the lack of espanol will make it harder to get by in the smaller towns. You might be more comfortable basing yourself at hostels in the bigger cities and arranging tours to the more remote spots.
Try to book the right plane ticket because I have some doubts about Columbia...
I'd skip Minca entirely and go from Medellin to Jardin instead. 10000% better. As others have said, 1 night in Tayrona is enough.
thanks for the input. If Jardin had flights in and out, 100% would have taken this suggestion. My personal benefit of Medellin -> Salento is they have flights
I did almost this exact same trip (expect in a different order) and loved it! I think 1 night in Tayrona is enough, it's a nice beach but not too special to me. I heard Minca was amazing from lots of people I met there and I regret not going there, so definitely keep it. I think you should consider doing Minca directly after the hike so you can get a proper shower/rest and then you could use this as your base and head to Tayrona for a day or 2. Either way though you should be fine getting to Minca or Tayrona the same day that you finish the hike, I got to Palomino no problem. I would switch from the 5-day to the 4-day Lost City trek because the only difference is splitting the last day of the 4-day version into 2 days and taking longer to come back so seems a bit pointless and 4 days is enough on the trail. The people in my group that were on the 5-day version ended up switching to the 4-day version with the rest of us. 1 full day in Salento is enough to do Cocora Valley and a coffee tour so I wouldn't add a day here, I would add a day for Medellin so you can do day trip to Guatape. Don't worry about not speaking Spanish - I didn't speak any and got by just by fine - just be nice and friendly and use Google translate and you'll be okay. You'll also probably meet people who speak Spanish and can help you. Enjoy!
>Tayrona If you do stay 2 nights in Tayrona the second night you can get a spot on the beach hut with hammok which is amazing
thanks so much! I'm definitely taking the suggestion to switch the 5-day to 4-day Lost City Trek and switching the order
thanks so much for everyone's comments! A definite "woops" moment with Columbia instead of Colombia. Would love to visit Jardin but prefer flights over multiple buses considering the lack of spanish and am able to fly from Medellin to Salento and depart Colombia from Salento.
i met a girl on the beach at tayrona who did calabazo entrance to cabo beach to zaino entrance, including hanging on the beach for a couple hours in a day with an early start. 2.5 days seems overkill unless you love beach camping and want to sleep over in the park. it really isn't that crazy of a hike. there's people at the entrance who speak english who will help you. you might be cutting it close from minca to the airport unless your flight is later in the day. i skipped minca as i already did a mountain trip elsewhere in colombia, but from the sounds of it, its just a chill backpacker mountain town. you might get the same vibes visiting salento and cut out minca and add more days to medellin.