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Colombia

Bienvenidos a Colombia: A Renaissance in South America

Program No. 20099RJ
Gain a comprehensive understanding of Colombia as you learn about paintings in Bogotá, cuisine in Manizales, coffee in Armenia and the great writings of Márquez in Cartagena.

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Select your type of room
Price will update based on selection
Prices displayed below are based on per person,doubleoccupancy.
DATES & starting prices
PRICES
Jan 19 - Jan 30, 2024
Starting at
4,349
Filling Fast!
Feb 16 - Feb 27, 2024
Starting at
4,349
Mar 15 - Mar 26, 2024
Starting at
4,349
Oct 4 - Oct 15, 2024
Starting at
4,349
Dec 6 - Dec 17, 2024
Starting at
4,349
DATES & starting prices
PRICES
Jan 19 - Jan 30, 2024
Starting at
5,249
Feb 16 - Feb 27, 2024
Starting at
5,249
Mar 15 - Mar 26, 2024
Starting at
5,249
Filling Fast!
Oct 4 - Oct 15, 2024
Starting at
5,249
Filling Fast!
Dec 6 - Dec 17, 2024
Starting at
5,249

At a Glance

Experience the many faces of Colombia, a country transformed from a place of turmoil to a thriving modern nation. Journey to the bustling capital of Bogotá, known for its glimmering skyscrapers and world-renowned collection at the Gold Museum. Explore the verdant hills and traditional villages of the coffee region, and discover Medellín, now one of South America’s most progressive cities. Stroll the cobblestone streets of Cartagena, the home and inspiration of Nobel Prize winner Gabriel García Márquez.
Activity Level
Keep the Pace
Walking up to two miles at a time, often on dirt paths, cobblestones or other uneven terrain. Elevations up to 9,000 feet.
Small Group
Small Group
Love to learn and explore in a small-group setting? These adventures offer small, personal experiences with groups of 13 to 24 participants.

Best of all, you’ll…

  • Explore the world-famous Gold Museum and learn about the gold on display, its shamanic significance and how the collection was formed.
  • Discover the amazing underground construction and architecture of the Salt Cathedral.
  • Learn about Colombian coffee from production on the plantation to the delicious cup sold in the café.
Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop
You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
Birds of Northern South America, Vol. 2: Field Guide
by Robin Restall, Clemencia Rodner, Roger Williams
This comprehensive field guide, featuring an astounding 6400 paintings and 2308 maps, covers all the birds from Ecuador to Guiana.
Colombia Map
by ITMB
A colorful travel map of Colombia, including an inset of Bogota, at a scale of 1:2,000,000.
A History of the World in 6 Glasses
by Tom Standage
A highly enjoyable chronicle of the prestige, power, politics and pleasures of key beverages through the ages. Standage argues that the drinks that have mattered, since the Stone Age, are, in chronological order: beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea, and cola. Each chapter is a vivid history of politics, prestige, colonialism, commerce and society.
Lonely Planet Colombia
by Lonely Planet, Lonely Planet Publications
A practical guide to Colombia featuring maps and detailed information on excursions, accommodations and sightseeing. With a few color photographs and excellent travel information.
The Conquistadors, A Very Short Introduction
by Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, Matthew Restall
This provocative book by two leading historians explores who the conquistadors were and what made their adventures possible.
News of a Kidnapping
by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
In 1990, fearing extradition to the United States, Pablo Escobar -- head of the Medellin drug cartel --kidnapped ten notable Colombians to use as bargaining chips. With the eye of a poet, Garcia Marquez describes the survivors' perilous ordeal, depicting through this story the keening ache of Colombia after nearly forty years of turmoil.
Liberators, Latin America's Struggle for Independence 1810-1830
by Robert Harvey
Focused on the heroism and derring-do of seven legendary men, Harvey tells the story of Simon Bolivar, General Jose de San Martin and other greats in the fight for independence.
My Colombian War, A Journey Through the Country I Left Behind
by Silvana Paternostro
Now a journalist living in New York, Paternostro travels back to her homeland in a search for the roots of Colombia's bloody civil war.
Looking For History, Dispatches From Latin America
by Alma Guillermoprieto
A beautifully written, incisive collection of essays on contemporary Argentina, Colombia, Cuba, Peru and Mexico.
Miracle in the Land of Coffee
by Julian Rodriguez (Director)
Set in the 30’s, in the picturesque Colombian countryside, in a time of violence between neighboring towns over local resources. Felipe, a young man of the Franciscan order, has to choose between his faith and calling, or surrender his heart to the woman he loves.
Latin America in Colonial Times
by Matthew Restall
This scholarly primer considers the history of the continent from the arrival of the first Conquistadors in the 16th century to the dying embers of empire 300 years later, giving equal weight to the histories of the colonial rulers, the African slaves brought over to work in the New World and the indigenous groups whose lives and lands were forever changed by conquest.
The Andes
by Jason Wilson
Starting out in Cuzco, heart of the Inca Empire, Wilson spreads north and south along the Andes, including excerpts from South American literary giants, travelers and his own impressions.
Love in the Time of Cholera
by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Edith Grossman (Translator)
A glorious tale of great love consummated after 50 years, nine months and four days, memorably set in a dusty 19th-century town on the Caribbean coast of Colombia.
Our Lady of the Assassins
by Fernando Vallejo, Paul Hammond (Translator)
A vivid, cynical portrait of Medellin, Colombia's second largest city and the stronghold of ruthless drug lord Pablo Escobar. The narrator returns to the town after a long absence to find it beset by horrific violence and a chilling indifference to death.
Living to Tell the Tale
by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Edith Grossman (Translator)
Garcia's celebrated memoir, as captivating, warm and spirited as any of his fictional tales, covering his youth in Aracataca, memorably recast as fictional Macondo on Colombia's Caribbean coast.
Tropical Nature
by Adrian Forsyth, Ken Miyata
A lucid portrait of the tropics as seen by two uncommonly observant and thoughtful field biologists. Its 17 marvelous essays introduce the habitats, ecology, plants and animals of the Central and South American rainforest.
Culture Smart! Colombia
by Kate Cathey
A concise and practical guide to local customs, etiquette and culture.
One Hundred Years of Solitude
by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The breathtaking, life-altering, much-celebrated tale of life and love on most everyone's list of the greatest books of all time, ours included.
The Making of Modern Colombia, A Nation in Spite of Itself
by David Bushnell
A leading historian of the region, Bushnell traces the political history of Colombia from before the arrival of the Spaniards through independence and reform in the 19th century, then through to the 1980s in this thoroughly enjoyable, incisive portrait of a nation.





Important registration tip:
If you want to attend the live lecture, please do not wait until the last minute to enroll.
If you enroll after a lecture is complete, we’ll send you a recording of the event.