You’ve seen the videos of Cartagena’s colored walls and Medellín’s eternal spring weather, and at some point, that curiosity turned into a real itch to go. Then you opened a flight search, added a hotel, tried to figure out what activities were worth paying for, and watched the total climb way past your budget. That’s when your plans to travel to Colombia got the ‘someday’ treatment.
Expedia makes that ‘someday’ a lot more convincing by pulling flights, hotels, packages, and activities into its free app, with built-in tools that help you bundle, save, and track prices without breaking a sweat. In this guide, Tripiefly hands you everything you need to plan a week under the Colombian sun, from daily costs to the cities you won’t want to skip. Keep reading and get ready to book your dream vacation.
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Travel to Colombia: tips on how to plan
By now, you know well that dreaming about a trip and actually booking one are two very different things, and the planning phase is where you either commit or talk yourself out of it.
But once you know the entry rules, the right season to visit, and what to carry, you can travel to Colombia without second-guessing every decision that got you browsing in the first place.
Expedia (Android | iOS) is a platform that helps you find flights and hotels that can easily fit your budget, so while you’re sorting out the logistics, your deals are already waiting in the app.
Do Americans need a visa to visit Colombia?
Americans don’t need a visa to enter Colombia, which is one of the reasons the country has become such a popular destination for US travelers looking for an easy international trip.
You’re allowed to stay for up to 90 days as a tourist, and that window is more than enough to cover everything from a quick city break to a full month of exploration across multiple regions.
At the port of entry, an immigration officer will stamp your passport and assign your allowed stay, so just make sure your passport is valid for at least six months beyond your travel dates.
Best time of year to visit Colombia
If you want to travel to Colombia during dry season, December through March is your best window, with sunny skies and low humidity across most of the country’s popular destinations.
The Caribbean coast, including Cartagena and Santa Marta, stays warm and dry from November through April, making it ideal for beach days and outdoor exploration.
June through August brings another dry stretch that works well for visiting the coffee region and Medellín, where the weather stays mild and comfortable throughout the day.
Documents every American traveler should carry
A printed or digital copy of your hotel booking goes a long way at immigration, since officers do ask for proof of where you’ll be staying during your time in the country.
Proof of onward travel is something immigration requests regularly, so keeping a return ticket or a confirmed next destination accessible helps you travel to Colombia without any holdups.
Travel insurance documentation and a small amount of Colombian pesos for your first day are two things you’ll be glad you sorted before leaving the airport on arrival as well.
Step-by-step: how to plan a trip to Colombia using the app
Expedia (Android | iOS) is a trip planner that never closes, letting you search and compare on your own schedule without feeling rushed into a decision you’re not ready to make.
Pulling your flights and hotel into one booking is where you can afford to travel to Colombia for a price that might truly line up with what you budgeted before you started searching.
One Key membership, price drop protection, and bundle savings all come built into the app, and every one of those tools is working in your favor before you’ve even picked a hotel.
Step 1: download the app and create your account
Search for ‘Expedia’ on the App Store or Google Play, hit download, and then open the app. The whole process takes less time than deciding where to eat on your first night in Bogotá.
Signing up is free, and the moment you create your account, you’re automatically enrolled in One Key, which unlocks member prices and discounts across all offerings inside the app.
Your saved searches and bookings all live inside your account, so nothing slips through the cracks between the moment you start browsing and the moment you’re ready to go.
Step 2: search for flights + hotel bundles
Tap ‘Packages’ on the menu, select ‘Stay + Flight’, enter your departure and destination, set your travel dates, and hit search to see bundled options with the full price shown upfront.
The results page shows your options side by side, and switching between them updates the total, which makes it easier to travel to Colombia without losing track of what you’re spending.
Sort hotels by guest rating, neighborhood, or price, and use the flight panel on the right to pick your preferred departure time and airline before locking in the combination that fits your budget.
Step 3: review, save, and book your package
Tap into your chosen package to see the full breakdown, including your hotel details, room type, check-in dates, and round-trip flight information, which are all laid out on one screen.
Save the package to your ‘Trips’ folder so you can come back to it, share it, or compare it against other options without losing your place or starting the search all over again.
The booking summary shows your package subtotal, your savings, and the OnekeyCash you’ll earn, so you know what you’re getting before you travel to Colombia and long before you land.
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How much a full week in Colombia costs per person from the U.S.
A week in most South American countries is genuinely affordable for US travelers, but the final number depends heavily on which cities you visit and how you prefer to get around.
Knowing what to budget for food, accommodation, and transport before you travel to Colombia keeps you from running out of money halfway through the trip and scrambling to adjust.
The cities you pick, the way you eat, and how you get around all pull your daily total in very different directions, and that’s what makes planning ahead so important.
Daily budget breakdown for a week abroad
On a budget of around $40.00 a day, you can cover a hostel bed, three meals at local spots, and enough transport to move comfortably between neighborhoods without feeling restricted.
Mid-range travelers spending between $80.00 and $120.00 a day can access private hotel rooms, restaurants, and paid attractions without having to think twice before every purchase.
A full week in Colombia can run anywhere from $280.00 on the low end to $840.00 or more, depending on your accommodation choices, dining habits, and how many activities you add.
Where your money goes the furthest
Medellín consistently delivers the best value for budget travelers, with affordable hostels in El Poblado, cheap metro rides, and a food scene where a full meal rarely exceeds $5.00.
If you want to travel to Colombia and keep daily costs low without giving up on comfort, towns like Salento offer charming stays and meals for a fraction of what you’d pay in Cartagena.
Santa Marta sits on the Caribbean coast and gives you beach access, proximity to Tayrona National Park, and accommodations that run cheaper than the more tourist-heavy areas nearby.
Costs that catch first-time visitors off guard
Airport transfers in Colombian cities are rarely cheap, and taking an unofficial taxi from El Dorado or José María Córdova without agreeing on a price first is how you overpay upon arrival.
Entry fees to natural attractions like Tayrona National Park run around $17.00 per person, and those costs add up across a week if you haven’t factored them into your daily budget.
Travel insurance is one expense visitors skip and regret. Having a policy that covers medical emergencies is worth sorting out before you travel to Colombia, regardless of how short your trip is.
Best cities in Colombia to visit and what each one offers
Colombia doesn’t hand you one city and call it a trip. The country spreads its best locations across a handful of places that each feel completely different from the last.
Deciding where to travel to Colombia first comes down to what you actually want out of the experience, whether that’s beaches, nightlife, history, coffee farms, or all of the above.
Some cities will grab you immediately, and some will grow on you slowly, but the ones covered here tend to leave most visitors already planning a return before they’ve checked out.
Medellín, Bogotá, and Cartagena at a glance
Medellín sits in a valley surrounded by green hills and runs on an energy that’s hard to describe until you’ve walked through El Poblado on a Friday night and felt it yourself.
Bogotá is the kind of capital city that rewards curiosity, with world-class museums, a sprawling street art scene in La Candelaria, and a food culture that punches well above its reputation.
Cartagena works on a completely different frequency, built around a UNESCO-listed walled city, Caribbean beaches, and a pace of life that makes it easy to lose track of time entirely.
Which city fits your travel style
If you want to travel to Colombia and spend your days exploring neighborhoods on foot, eating well, and filling your nights with live music and rooftop bars, Medellín is where you belong.
Bogotá suits travelers who want depth over scenery, with enough museums, galleries, markets, and culinary variety to fill a week without ever feeling like you’ve run out of things to do.
Cartagena is the right call if your ideal trip involves colonial architecture, water taxis to nearby islands, and the kind of slow Caribbean mornings that make you want to extend your stay.
Hidden gems beyond the tourist trail
Salento is a small coffee town in the Eje Cafetero region that draws travelers in with its colorful wooden balconies, wax palm valleys, and some of the freshest coffee you’ll ever drink.
Villa de Leyva sits a few hours from Bogotá and offers one of the largest colonial plazas in South America, and if you want to travel to Colombia beyond the obvious circuit, this is it.
Mompox is a riverside town with baroque churches lining the waterfront and a pace of life so unhurried that even a short visit tends to recalibrate how you think about travel altogether.
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Fly to Colombia without draining your savings
Colombia has been on your radar long enough, and now you have everything you need to stop treating it like a someday destination and start treating it like a next month one.
In this Tripiefly guide, you learned everything from daily costs to the best cities and how Expedia is the app that makes it possible to travel to Colombia without blowing your budget.
Stay exploring Tripiefly for more guides on reaching beautiful destinations without emptying your bank account. Your next adventure could already be waiting for you out there.
