Colombia is a beautiful country with hard-working and kind people. We didn’t have any issue with anyone our entire time in the country. People were so interested to hear about California (our home state). The Colombian jungle is refreshing and the waters along the coast are warm.

• Colombia is being flooded with tourists who finally understand that the country is no longer overrun by drug cartels. Guides, employees and staff members are trying to learn English fast to keep up with the rush of tourism.
• Most of the water along the coast is beautiful but wild. There were only a handful of times the water was tame enough to swim in.
• There are LOTS of police. You cannot drive down the street for more than 10 miles without seeing a police officer or multiple. There are plenty of traffic stops but most of the time, they wave the taxi driver through. In Cartagena, the police walk the streets and ride motorcycles through parks. They are everywhere. We only had a few interactions with them but they seemed to be primarily young men. You cannot walk more than 3 blocks in Cartagena without seeing an officer standing around.
• There are lots of dining options in Cartagena. There were so many restaurants but most of them are typically empty. People tended to flock to the same eateries and those places tended to stay busy all day and night. Cartagena isn’t very big so the amount of restaurants was almost too much for the size of the city.
• Cartagena can be seen in 2-3 days. We stayed 6 days and that was admittedly, too long. I don’t regret how long we spent there because we REALLY know Cartagena now but it wasn’t completely necessary. Cartagena isn’t cheap so between your hotel and food costs, it adds up fast. Luckily, this was our honeymoon and we budgeted to spend a bit more than we have previously spent on accommodations/dining out.

Colombia was a great choice for our honeymoon. We were able to achieve relaxation, adventure, nature, and city wandering in one trip. It was our first time to South America and I can confidently say it will not be our last.