Frommers Travel Includes Cartagena as Top Pick for 2009

Frommer's Recognized What We Already Know About Cartagena and Colombia!

"After years of strife and violence owing to the drug cartel wars, Colombia has begun to emerge as a safe and vibrant travel destination (Crime rates in major cities are now no higher than what you'd find in an average large American city like Philadelphia or Milwaukee).

Cartagena has a highly developed tourist infrastructure, and it's just a short hop from the U.S. -- only a 2.5 hour flight from Miami.

Cartagena sits on the Caribbean coast and is a wonderfully picturesque, walled-in fishing village of pastel-painted buildings, fine cathedrals, and plenty of Spanish colonial architecture and 17th-century forts that allow you to steep yourself in history. The white-sand beaches are sublime, the restaurants are excellent, and lodging comes in all styles and prices."

Source: Frommer

Check out the story at:

http://www.frommers.com/destinations/article.cfm?destid=2844&articleid=5685&t=Frommer%27s%20Top%20Destinations%20for%202009

Calendar for 2009 featuring Alejandro in Colombia

Alejandro, our Colombian friend who is also the spokes-model for Vamos Colombia Tours is now featured in a 12 month calendar for 2009.

If you would like to have a calendar, featuring Alejandro in a different location in Santander, Colombia each month, let us know. (While supplies last).

If you would like to be able to meet Alejandro in person, sign up for one of our tours that includes a stop in Bogota, and chances are good that you will!

Gay Travelers at Expo Learn About Colombia and Want to Visit

Vamos Colombia Tour was a hit with gay travelers at the annual HX Gay Travel expo held at the Nikko Hotel in San Francisco on October 28.

The VCT booth was full of information, books and of course Colombian experts happy to discuss the beautiful country. Many gay travelers looking for something new were happy to learn that Colombia is open to gay travelers and has a thriving gay scene.

Vamos Colombia Sends Gay Traveler to Madonna Concert

Congratulations to our drawing winner, Guy S., who won two tickets to Madonna's concert in Oakland, California on Nov 1. Many entered the drawing at the HX Gay Travel Expo on Oct 28, and he was the lucky winner, as you can see in this photo. In fact, you might say that he is one lucky Guy!

Guy had a great time at the concert and looks forward to visiting Colombia with Vamos Colombia Tours!

Free Drawing for Madonna concert ticket

A big thank you to everyone who participated in the free drawing for the Madonna tickets at the Gay Travel Expo today. We will be announcing the winner shortly. 

Thank you again and I am looking forward to seeing you in Colombia on our personalized tours.

Walter Rey

Vamos Colombia Tours

Vamos Colombia Introduces You to Our Friend Alejandro

Vamos Colombia Tours is pleased to introduce you to our Colombian friends who are helping us to promote Colombia. We want you to know that they are in fact real people who live in Bogota or other Colombian cities. Our guests will have the chance to meet them on the trips.  

Like us, they believe in Colombia as a wonderful travel destination, so they support our project of inviting you to discover Colombia!

Our friend Alejandro (or Alex) is our latest model. Originally from the town of Sincelejo near the Caribbean Coast, he now attends college in Bogota. Here he is with recent guest of Vamos Colombia in the town of Zipaquira, just outside Bogota, famous for its salt mines (as we are about to enter, with the local English speaking guide, in the second picture):

Alejandro also is featured in our "Discover Gay Colombia" promotional material:

COLOMBIA CYCLIST WINS WORLD CHAMPIOSHIP

Congratulaions to the new Colombian champion winer.

For more information se the following link.

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/fabio-duarte-wins-u23-mens-road-race-18757

Vamos Colombia Investigates Santander Department

Your loyal Vamos Colombia operators are in the process of exploring yet another important site in Colombia's ever increasing repitroire of travel. Of course, we would not take our guests to a place that we ourselves are not comfortable visting. Therefore, we carefully investigate each location before adding to the list of tours. That way, our guests know that when they travel on a Vamos Colombia tour, they will experience the extremely high level of comfort, attention to detail, and safety that they have come to expect, and they will have an unforgettable experience.

The next location is the department of SANTANDER, famous for its outdoor adventure sports and history and traditional colonial towns.

Colombian BMX Cycler Jimenez places 4th at Olympics

Colombian Andres Jiménez (back left in photo) placed 4th at 2008 Beijing Olympics in BMX cycling. This is the first time this sport has been offered at the Olympics. Jiminez is 22 and from Bogota.
The Golden Medal went to Latvian Maris Strombergs, with Americans Mike Day and Donny Robinson in second and third place.

Colombian Olympic Diver One of World's Best

Colombia's Juan Guillermo Uran, competing in the men's 10m platform dive, placed 11th in the world at the 2008 Olympics. He also competed in the men's syncronized diving (see article below). Congratulations to Uran for such a strong finish - between the two American divers who placed 10th and 12th.

Colombian Athletes Compete and Earn Medals

Colombian atheletes are competing well at the Beijing Olympics.

Weighlifter Diego Fernando Salazar (above) received the Silver medal in Men's Weightlifting (62 Kg),

Also, Jackeline Renteria (below) received the Bronze in Women's Wrestling Freestyle (55 Kg).

Congratulations to these impressive world-class atheletes!

Colombia can be just as proud of its 63 athletes in total who are competing in the games, including synchronized divers Victor Ortega and Juan Guillermo Uran (above) who finished 6th.

Colombia has many sporting activities that even the casual visitor can take part in - bicycling through the closed city streets of Bogota on Sundays, hiking in the national parks, or the many aquatic sports on the Caribbean Coast and islands. Come join us and find out for yourself!

Vamos Colombia Welcomes Tour Sep 2008

Vamos Colombia is pleased to announce that the September, 2008, tour will soon begin. Friends and family can join the experience as the tour gets underway. Check in frequently for our updates!

Also, check out our main website at

www.vamoscolombiatour.com