Taking your family on a vacation to Colombia would have been unthinkable just a decade or so ago. The peace accord struck in 2016, however, together with the advent of some really rather special private villas, has removed the final stumbling blocks to exploring this wonderful country together as a family. At Explorations, we have access to the country’s finest hosted villas, beach houses, country estates and jungle retreats. The private properties in our portfolio are, in many cases, extremely difficult to source, and available only through close personal relationships with their owners. They can be knitted together to make a wonderful itinerary that usually compares very favourably with the cost of staying at luxury hotels.
"We adapt to every family and their particular interests, custom-designing fun experiences that range from treasure hunts and horseback rides to playing the drums with local musicians."
In addition to English-speaking hosts, we can arrange private chefs, daily housekeeping and drivers. We can even put a helicopter or private jet on standby to add a different dimension to your explorations. We’ll pre-stock the kitchen according to your tastes, and source entertainers and interesting local characters to join you over dinner if you wish. We adapt to every family and their particular interests, custom-designing fun experiences that range from treasure hunts and horseback rides to playing the drums with local musicians. If you are keen to give back, we can also arrange visits to local schools and conservation projects.
Your family adventure to Colombia might begin with a stay at magical Hacienda La Sierra, a seventeenth-century coffee farm located in the verdant hills outside Medellin. With horses, mountain bikes and Willys jeeps on hand to help you explore, together with a near-perfect year-round climate, it makes for a gentle and utterly charming introduction to Colombia.
In sultry Cartagena, a stay in one of our private colonial mansions in the Old Quarter makes a perfect base for exploring. When not cooling off in your private pool, discover what a vibrant city Cartagena is. Take in street performers and street art. Clamber among the city’s old pirate fort. Wander from chocolate tastings to gelato houses, and join local artisans to learn how to make beautiful local handicrafts.
A lovely escape from Cartagena is the cotton-top tamarin sanctuary at Proyecto Titi – it won’t just be your children who will fall in love with these adorable and critically endangered monkeys. Cap your time in Colombia at a swish private beachfront villa on the Baru Peninsula, where you can spend your days relaxing, kayaking, paddle boarding, scuba diving and exploring the Rosario Islands archipelago from the villa’s speedboat.
Travelling to Colombia with one’s children is both a humbling and fascinating experience. The kinds of first-hand child-centred experiences we create, whether cultural or wilderness-based, are the perfect way to get children to engage with things that cannot be learned on a computer, from a book or sitting in the classroom. The relationships your children strike up with their hosts – the house manager, guide, chef and local communities – are deep and lovely, and often, when asked, will top their list of the ‘Best Ten Things We Did on Holiday’.
