New video of first time visitors to Colombia: "Shooting Colombia"

Check out this great new video documenting the eye-opening experience of international visitors in Colombia for the first time. In the words of the website for "Shooting Colombia":

About Shooting Colombia

This was a journey into the unknown and, the untold. Armed only with cameras, 12 people from different nationalities, backgrounds and walks of life agreed to take part in an experiment, to experience the true Colombia. Told to leave their pre-conceptions at home they documented the truth exactly as they saw it. Witness the unimaginable places, the characters and the experience of a lifetime as they saw it.

This is their story.

http://www.shootingcolombia.com/

Gold and Coffee: 10 Day Escorted Tour in Bogota and the Coffee Growing Region, Colombia

For more details, including the daily itinerary, check out
http://vamoscolombiatour.blogspot.com/2009/09/gold-and-coffee-10-day-escorted-tour-in.html
and our facebook page for the trip:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/event.php?eid=135715701766

Gold and Coffee: 10 Day Escorted Tour in Bogota and the Coffee Growing Region, Colombia

Vamos Colombia Tour, LLC is offering our latest trip: 10 Days of Colombian Beauty and Flavor in October, 2009 (escorted by Walter Rey)

Escorted 10 Day Tour
Detailed Daily Itinerary
October 22-Nov 1, 2009

Double Occupancy $1979, plus airfair to Bogota
Single Supplement $400

www.VamosColombiaTour.com

Thursday Oct 22 - Bogota
Arrive in Bogota; Welcome dinner.

Friday Oct 23 - Bogota
9 am. On an included city tour we visit the highlights of Bogota, including: La Candelaria neighborhood and Monserrate for a great view of the city.
La Candelaria is the historical colonial center of Bogota, and contains many political, recreational and historical sites. We will visit the Donacion Botero Museum, the Biblioteca Luis Angel Arango, La casa de Marques, and the Plaza de Bolivar. We will then explore the one-of-a-kind Gold museum where there is a rich display of our pre-Colombian indigenous gold artifacts in many forms. There are some very good restaurants and coffee shops to enjoy as we stroll around, including a delicious French-Colombian bakery.
3 pm. Back to hotel, relax. Dinner is on your own. For special dinner, we recommend the following high-end restaurants (reservations required): Leo Cocina y Cava (gourmet Colombian, very upscale) , Donostia (Spanish-Colombian, with emphasis on fresh ingredients), or Itanos (Italian-Colombian). We can assist you with transportation arrangements.
10 pm. Optional evening at the bars. We will help you with arrangements.

Saturday Oct 24- Bogota Environs
9 am. Tour through the picturesque countryside of green rolling hills and small towns. An all day tour of the Sabana of Bogota. This includes the traditional towns of Calera with the great Mercado , Sopo with it great and only Alpina creamery where we can taste the sweets of the milk products with a Swiss twist. Guatavita where the legends tell us about the Indigenous Cacique who bathed in the lake wearing gold on all his body. Zipaquira has the well known cathedral carved out of the underground salt mines. We will end up at Chia for a 6:30 pm. For dinner at Andres Carne de Res which defies description. Dinner here is a uniquely Colombian fiesta, including full dinner, live music and entertainment. Dancing always ensues, so bring your shoes!


Sunday Oct 25 - Bogota
Free day. Sunday in Bogota offers many options which you can explore during this free day, including the treasure-filled Sunday market in Usaquen (known for crafts and antiques); bicycling through the major city streets closed to car traffic; strolling though the botanic gardens; or brunch buffet filled with Colombian delicacies in an aristocratic setting (Club Colombia followed by shopping in the upscale northern boutiques and designer stores).
Additional optional half day trip: 11 am we drive to the lovely town of Subachoque, to visit an orphanage that takes in and cares for children with HIV while trying to place them with families followed by lunch at a lovely hacienda restaurant in the farming community outside of Bogota. Will be returning around 4pm.
We suggest a lighter fare dinner at Crepes and Waffles.

Monday Oct 26 Coffee Region (Armenia city, Quindio department)
We will be flying to Armenia, principle city of the Zona Cafetera, or Coffee Region. We will stay at an old hacienda on a coffee plantation or farm, which has been restored with period antiques and modern amenities. We visit Recuca, a working coffee farm where the visitor can experience the history and production of coffee, including harvesting the beans right off the plant, and then sitting for a tasting of the local product.

Tuesday Oct 27 Coffee Region
We visit one of the highlights of the region, the picturesque town of Salento, with its beautifully painted main square and attractive streets containing crafts, shops and cafes. From there it is a short drive to the Cocora Valley, home of Colombia’s national tree, the Wax Palm, rising from the green hills into the fog above, making for an incomparable sight.

Wednesday Oct 28 – Coffee Region
Free Day. As an option, spend time relaxing at the Santa Rosa de Cabal natural hot springs for a warm bath in a beautiful natural setting. A dip in the pool at the hacienda is an inviting alternative.


Thursday Oct 29 Coffee Region
Free day. Some options include a ride down the river on a balsa raft, a visit to the natural gardens with a butterfly encounter, or visiting other quaint and traditional towns, for example Manizales, famed for its beauty.

Friday Oct 30 – Fly to Bogota
Relax in the morning at the hacienda, and return to Bogota in afternoon.

Saturday Oct 31 - Bogota
Free Day We can provide additional suggestions for shopping or other activities.
Evening Halloween party at Teatron

Sunday Nov 1 Bogota; tour ends
Return to USA

Colombia Tourism on the rise, according to Dinero Magazine (Spanish), as Reported in Colombia Passport website (English)

The article from Passport Colombia website (which is mostly an English translation of the original article in Spanish from Dinero magazine) says:

More tourism for Colombia

Posted by Albeiro Rodas on 8/21/09

Tourism to Colombia grew 10 percent during the first semester of the year, while in the world it fall 8 percent, according to Cotelco, the Colombian Association of Hotels. The statement was done by Jaime Alberto Cabal, president of the hotels’ association and published by Dinero Magazine. More than 60 thousand foreign visitors have entered the Colombian territory during the first six months of 2009, much more than last year at the same period.

According with Cabal, the Administrative Department of Security of Colombia (DAS), the entity that coordinates the entries of foreign visitors, reported the increase in the number of foreign visitors to the country.

The 36 percent of foreign tourists came from United States and Venezuela, according to DAS. Foreigners enter Colombia by airports, sea ports and roads.

In contrast, the global financial crisis reduced the number of visitors around the world. It is sure that the position of Colombia – four hours by plane from Miami and ports in the Caribbean and Pacific Ocean – made Colombia a cheaper destiny for American and Latin American travelers.

According with Jaime Alberto Cabal, Colombia has increased the construction of hotels and the international image of the country on the press is most better. He said that in 2009, the hotel sector will receive 700 million of dollars in investment, much more than what it got in 2007 (550 million dollars).

The construction of new sites for tourism like thematic parks, new centers and beautifying of the cities, played an important factor in the attraction of foreign visitors.

Alberto López Valderrama, president of Corferias, reported to Dinero that the hotel sector grew in Bogotá 14.8%, Antioquia 9,1%, Bolívar 8,5%, and Valle 8,3%, among other regions.

It was exposed also the problem of the pirate hotels (tax evaders) that evade annually about 300 thousand million of pesos.

The most visited Colombian regions during the first semester of 2009 were San Andrés Islands, 70,2%; Norte de Santander, 60,4%, the Coffee Axes, 45% and Bogotá, 59,9%.

Venezuelans were very attracted by Colombia during the last six months not only by the tourist plans, but also the possibility of business and investment in the country.

By other part, 183 tourist cruises visited the historical city of Cartagena de Indias like the Dawn Princesa with 2,100 passengers.

(photos by Vamos Colombia tour)

www.vamoscolombiatour.com

Colombia A Top Environmentally Clean Country

A new study places Colombia as the world's ninth cleanest and environmentally friendly country. The country index was made by Columbia University's Center for International Earth Science Information Network and Yale University's Center for Environmental Law and Policy.

The several hundred page report can be found at http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/es/epi/papers/2008EPI_mainreport_july08.pdf Colombia is detailed on page 189.

Forbes magazine commented that the country's coffee and flower industries are being managed wisely and that the countryside remains undeveloped in contrast to the rapidly declining rainforest in Brazil. Forbes article is on line at http://www.forbes.com/2009/04/15/worlds-cleanest-countries-business-energy-clean-countries.html

Colombia places second cleanest of all the countries in the Americas on the Environmental Performance Index, following Costa Rica. The United States is in position 39 and Canada is at 12.

For just the ranking, check out http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/es/epi/papers/2008EPI_rankingsandscores_23Jan08.pdf

Colombia is certainly a prime destination for "green" or environmental travel and tourism. It offers many delights for the environmentally minded, including the Coffee Region, Tayrona Park and the pristine San Andres and Providencia islands in the Caribbean, all of which are very safe and very easy to access. Vamos Colombia Tour will be happy to create a travel package featuring these beautiful and unspoiled areas.

www.vamoscolombiatour.com