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Gay Colombia Travel Guide: Bogotá, Medellín & Cartagena

Gay Colombia Travel Guide: Bogotá, Medellín & Cartagena

Our Gay Travel Guide for Colombia

Our trip to Colombia was our first trip ever to South America, together. Daan already visited Ecuador about ten years ago, and we have traveled to Central America already, Costa Rica to be precise. For our Gay Colombia Travel Guide, we started our Colombia adventure with some days off in the Caribbean sun. Therefore, we flew from Dresden via Amsterdam with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines to Cartagena. For the first week we didn’t plan anything super wild but to relax and adjust to the time difference in the so-called ‘Pearl of the Caribbean’ swimming in the Caribbean Sea under palm trees and exploring the historical center of Cartagena.

Gay Travel Guide Colombia
The national flag of Colombia | Gay Colombia Travel Guide

The next stop on the gay travel bucket list was Bogotá, the Colombian capital city. And yes, we were super excited to spend Halloween in Bogotá. After a couple of days at around 2,600 meters altitude, we jumped on a plane off to Medellín, the so-called “City of Eternal Spring”. The plan was to end our Colombia trip with a glamping experience. And then, off to our next South American adventure in Peru! This Colombia guide should give you an orientation of what you can explore during the first 13-day trip. We will add new blog articles to our Gay Travel Guide Colombia with additional information in the following months. But now, enjoy Colombia through a Couple of Men‘s eyes.

Flying with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines © Coupleofmen.com

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Gay Bogotá Travel Guide

Right in the middle of our Colombia adventure, we spend a couple of days in Bogotá. Starting with a city tour through the historical center of Colombia’s capital city, we learned as much as possible about the local LGBTQ+ community and the most recent developments in Colombian society. And, of course, we went to visit the biggest gay bar, a dance club, and a nightclub complex in all of South America, called Theatron. Another must-do on our Colombia gay travel bucket list was to learn how to dance Salsa together and where to enjoy some of the best typical Colombian dishes.

Gay Medellin Travel Guide 

The second stop on our Colombian itinerary was Medellín, the ‘City of Eternal Spring’. We had some time to explore the city and surrounding neighborhoods with its 2.5 Million inhabitants by foot and got some pretty spectacular views of the Aburrá Valley from the popular Comuna 13, once the most dangerous part of the city. We will also learn about typical Colombian cuisine by joining a cookingOut experience with local gay chef Esteban. But the city center has, even more, to offer, for example, the sculptures by Fernando Botero also shown at the Museo de Antioquia. But what would a trip to Colombia be like without a visit to a real Colombian coffee plantation? We spend at least one day around the fields of Karl’s favorite beverage together with the Cima family. Finally, it was time to leave the city to go glamping at an adults-only glamping site in Guatapé. This colorful little town in Antioquia is located about 2 hours east of Medellín and particularly known for the El Peñón de Guatapé (also known as El Peñol) surrounded by an artificial lake system.

Gay Cartagena Travel Guide

Although we traveled first to the Caribbean before exploring the rest of Colombia, we would suggest ending your trip in the sun. The Colombian port city of Cartagena was found in the 16th century. The walled old town of the city with almost 1 Million inhabitants is known for its large squares, cobblestone streets, and colorful colonial buildings. Thanks to the tropical climate and Caribbean flair, the city is a popular beach destination with wide sandy beaches. We were planning to explore the islands close to Cartagena by boat, but didn’t manage to fit into our schedule. Instead, we went to the famous mud volcano del Totumo and joined a private canoe tour through the Colombian mangroves.

Gay Colombia Travel - OutInColombia Gay Selfie with SAM

Out in Colombia Travel

OutInColombia is a socially responsible LGBT travel and tourism agency. Sam and his team believe travel can open hearts, minds and heal our planet. They create life-changing and memorable tourism experiences promoting cross-cultural exchanges, improving the quality of life of Colombians, and preserving Colombia’s biodiversity.

Book Your Trip to Colombia >

Gay-friendly Hotels in Colombia

During our trip, we stayed in several gay-friendly hotels and accommodations. Organized by our LGBTQ+ tour operator, we had no problems at any time. The staff and management at the following LGBTQ+ and gay-friendly hotels were always polite, courteous, and friendly to us traveling as an openly gay couple. But let us begin with our first destination: Bogotá. We stayed at the Hotel Estelar Parque de la 93 with spacious rooms, a rich breakfast buffet, and a rooftop pool. Next on our list was Medellín, where we chose the Hotel Estelar Milla de Oro, with a great view over Medellín and two whirlpools on the rooftop. After the days in the city, we got some fresh air doing some glamping in Guatapé staying at Bosko. Finally, we visited Cartagena on the Caribbean Coast, staying first at the Melia Cartagena Karmairi before spending some days in the city at Bastion Luxury Hotel.

More places to stay: Hotels in Bogotá | Hotels in Medellín | Hotels in Cartagena

How gay-friendly is Colombia?

Generally speaking, Colombia is considered to be among the most LGBTQ+ and gay-friendly countries of South America, including equal marriage since 2016. Especially the bigger cities such as Bogotá, Medellín, and Cartagena are places in Colombia that can be considered safe and secure for lesbian, gay, and queer travelers in general with lively and growing LGBTQ+ communities that are more and more socially accepted. Nevertheless, LGBTQ+ travelers should exercise caution leaving touristic areas.

Spartacus Gay Travel Guide: Rank 15 for Colombia (in 2020)
Wikipedia LGBTQ+ Colombia: LGBT rights in Colombia
Highlights Pride Events: Pride LGBTI Bogotá 2020

Plan your Colombia Trip with Couple of Men:

Gay Travel Guide Colombia: Please consider our tips as suggestions with no guarantee that it still will be like that when you are traveling there. Though we did our research, and all our opinions written in this article are honest, authentic, and true. We would like to thank OutInColombia for the invitation, support, and the possibility to experience the gay-friendly side of Colombia in a special way. For any clarifications about your plans for traveling to Colombia, follow us and email us or drop us a line on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. See you around the world and the next time in Cartagena, Medellín, Bogotá, and Colombia!

 ❤ 

Karl & Daan.