A lingering element of unpredictability gives this South American country cachet in the travel oneupmanship stakes. Yet despite the fact it remains a rather unusual holiday destination there are some very sophisticated boutique hotels and one of its most vibrant cities, Cartagena, is on the Hay Festival world tour.

Travel writer Lisa Johnson recommends a tour of the Coffee Triangle, which includes accommodation at the Hacienda Bambusa and a coffee masterclass at the Hacienda San Alberto; and an eco tour of the remote Guajira Peninsula in the far north, ‘a surreal region of bone-dry desert and empty beaches’, with Travel Colombia Direct.

Harry Hastings, the son of Telegraph editor Max, has extended his travel concierge service, PlanBA, to cover Colombia. ‘Popayán is one of my favourite places,’ he told Condé Nast Traveller recently. ‘It’s the second-best preserved colonial city in Colombia, with hardly a tourist.’

Go for the Hay Festival Cartagena, which runs 26-29 January this year; or dip yourself in sequins and head to Shakira’s native city for Barranquilla Carnival, on 18-21 February 2012.

STAY

La Passion is a 19th-century colonial house that must be one of the most romantic hotels in all South America. It’s got big old wooden doors and original tiled floors, high ceilings and antique furniture in its eight rooms, and a pool on the roof. Doubles from 590,000 pesos (about £195).
La Passion, Cartagena, Colombia (00 57 5 664 8605; www.lapassionhotel.com)

Just outside Cartagena, Karmairi Hotel has a swimming pool overlooking the beach and just 14 rooms decorated in pared-down Indonesian style. Doubles from US$120.
Karmairi Hotel (www.karmairihotel.com)

Source: cntraveller.com

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