Yes, Colombians are bike mad! They love road cycling; they love extreme mountain biking; they love urban downhill…. they love bikes, any bikes and most Colombians ride a bike… just any old bike will do and Sundays is cyclovia where the main roads in the the towns and cities close to motorised traffic and are filled with people riding bikes, skates, skate boards and scooters!
We make the most of the cycling culture and epic cycling terrain as we ride through thriving cities and friendly cowboy towns; vast coffee growing regions, tropics, jungle, semi-desert and Andean alpine environments.
Colombia is so diverse that it boasts every growing climate imaginable: hot steamy tropical valleys full of pineapples and papayas, higher up coffee, cacao and banana plantations thrive and in the highlands almost they grow every fruit and vegetable you can imagine!
If ever there was a land of diversity – Colombia is it! With a turbulent history of European colonialism, political struggles and drug wars, Colombia has now moved on and as a cycle touring destination – it is pretty much perfect!
We can’t wait to share with you this land of divine cycling and warm welcomes from everyone we meet!
Start: Colombia, Manizales
Finish: Colombia, Manizales
We biked Colombia with Escape Adventures and experienced another unforgettable adventure. I understand why Escape Adventures has so many repeat customers! It has been 8 years since we biked Laos with Mandy and John for an amazing journey in remote Asia. Colombia met and exceeded our high expectations. So many varied and different landscapes from tropical jungle and alpine tundra. In between this was the coffee and chocolate plantations, buffalo farms, mining and pottery towns and of course amazing people everywhere. It’s easy to see why Colombians have the reputation for being the happiest people on the planet. We were warmly welcomed and met only happy people, no sign of PABLO and his bad men
In September 2019 we enjoyed another amazing Escape Adventures holiday – our third and this time in Colombia – and finished absolutely exhilarated by the experiences and fun that we had had in the packed two and a half weeks! Yet again, John, Mandy and their team have masterminded and executed a fantastic adventure. Every day brought different surprises and showed us another side to the multi faceted country that is Colombia – from breathtaking scenery, to varied towns and villages and great food (and some of eateries that we went to were fabulously eclectic). Bruce and Sarah were both excellent tour leaders – organised, calm, helpful, supportive and everything done with enthusiasm and a great sense of humour. Milton, the local guide, was fantastically knowledgeable about his beloved country, took us to lots of interesting places and gave us heaps of background information on everything we did – as well as being a mine of information on the history and politics of the country. Our driver, Hoover, was outstanding – and that is not easy in Colombian traffic – as well as being an integral member of the support team generally. Yes, the cycling was hard – but I managed better than I have done on previous trips and felt that I learned a lot through the support that Sarah and Bruce gave me. Perhaps the best aspect of the whole trip was the cohesion and camaraderie of our whole group. We always love spending time with our Perth friends, and it was great to catch up again with the kiwis and make new friends amongst the other members of the group. Although they were all amongst the strongest cyclists, they were all supportive of us weaker ones and always generous with their help and encouragement. Lovely, lovely people all of them and we hope to meet up with them again (and with Bruce and Sarah) one day. So many thanks again Escape Adventures for another wonderful holiday. We just hope we can stay fit enough to enjoy another adventure with you in the future!
This is the third cycle tour we have done with Escape Adventures. We keep going back for more! I will have to admit I was nervous about heading to Colombia – but I had nothing to fear. A country of friendly open people who just love cyclists and felt so welcomed by them to their country. Lots of hills but all very doable even for a chick like me. Hills allow great views. Colombia is a little more developed than the other two countries we had done the trips to – but that’s what we like, ‘different’. None of the trips have been the same. I totally recommend this one. Thanks John, Bruce and Sarah you ran a great ‘tight ship’.
I came home from my latest adventure quite convinced I had experienced the “real” Colombia. Our morning cycle tour of Bogota (10 million people) was truly amazing and informative, but it was the tiny villages on mountain ridges that I really loved to explore. I imagine they demonstrate the true character of Colombian society; the people and their lifestyle, food, music, language, industry, dress and accommodation. I became part of each village for just a short while and each night I slept in “the best hotel in town”. I am so lucky I get to follow my guides to such out-of-the-way places. I am safe in John’s care, the locals are super friendly, I am well informed by local guide Alex and I wonder how on earth John and Mandy found their way to these special places! Every day is a new adventure; I love the element of surprise that is fundamental to all Escape Adventure journeys. Yet again you have enriched my life. Don’t change a thing! Especially the 60km downhill ride.
Expect the unexpected and know everything will turn out alright. This was our second tour with Escape Adventures and again we were left in awe with the level of preparatory work that goes into these tours. This was the “maiden tour” of Colombia and there were a few hiccups but we always felt everything was under control. Again we were amazed with the route that John and Mandy have come up with; biking through villages and countryside that few, if any, tourists get to see. Fabulous adventure and we look forward to doing EA again for another tour.
