The Americano Colombia Scouting Week
Experience Your Future Life in Colombia, With The Americano
A small-group, hosted week for people seriously considering living, retiring, or spending real time in Colombia. Hosted by Matt and his team, so you're never doing it alone.
Tell Us You're InterestedYou Don't Have to Figure Colombia Out Alone
Most people who dream about living abroad never go. Not because they can't, but because doing it solo feels overwhelming. Which neighborhood is safe? Who do you trust? What if something goes wrong?
This trip removes that fear. For five nights, you have Matt and our team, and a whole community of expats and locals right beside you. You get to test-drive the life with a safety net under you the entire time. Real people who've already made the move, translating Colombia into terms that make sense to you.
The week
What You'll Actually Do
Over five nights, a small group of us goes beyond the tourist version of the city. You'll see the neighborhoods people actually live in, at different budgets. Walk through real apartments, real supermarkets, real clinics. Sit down with immigration attorneys, tax advisors, healthcare experts, and real-estate professionals who work with people like you every day. And spend your evenings with our community of expats and locals who chose this life on purpose. By the end, you won't be guessing anymore. You'll know whether this could be your life.
What's included
- Five nights at a hand-picked hotel
- Group private bus transportation for scheduled days
- Guided neighborhood scouting across the areas expats actually choose
- Real apartment viewings at different budgets
- A relocation-intelligence panel with vetted local experts
- Entry to selected cultural highlights
- A community dinner with our expat network
- Matt hosting you the entire way
The details
The shape of the trip
Group size
Kept small, around 20 guests.
5 Night Sample Pricing (excl airfare)
Shared room from $1,295/person.Depends on availability. A shared room pairs you with another solo guest, so we can only offer it when there are two travelers to match. If we cannot pair you, we will place you in a private room.
Private room from around $1,795/person.
Double room from around $2,395/couple.
Private room from around $1,795/person.
Double room from around $2,395/couple.
Cities
A few cities are in the running. Tell us where you want to go in the survey below.
Indicative only, for planning. This is not a price quote and takes no payment.
This isn't a booking yet. We're gauging interest and locking in the first city and dates. No fake countdown clocks, no pressure. Just a real trip for people who are seriously curious. Spots will be limited and offered first to our newsletter and community.
Interest survey
Tell Us You're Interested
This is not a booking, just interest. Answer a few quick questions and help us build the right trip.
✓
Thanks. You're on the list.
We'll email you when the first city and dates are locked. Spots go first to our newsletter and community.
Bogotá 6 Days / 5 Nights
Our flagship week, and the easiest to run, with the deepest expat community to plug into. Five nights based in Chapinero.
Day 1 · Arrival & Welcome
- Airport pickup with a welcome snack and water.
- A 45-minute "Welcome to Bogotá" orientation on the drive in: safety, transport, altitude, money, and what the week looks like.
- Hotel check-in and time to decompress, plus an optional short walk of the immediate neighborhood.
- 6:30 to 7:00pm hosted welcome dinner: a traditional Colombian regional tasting menu, narrated course by course from coast to mountains, with introductions. Light on alcohol given the altitude.
Day 2 · Historic & Cultural Bogotá
- La Candelaria walking tour and Plaza de Bolívar.
- Museo Botero (free).
- Local lunch in the historic center.
- Monserrate by cable car, the city-scale orientation moment.
- Evening: casual group dinner or a free evening in Zona T.
Day 3 · Central Chapinero Living Circuit
- Morning walk through Chapinero, Chapinero Alto and Rosales, the expat-landing zone, with a coffee stop and a real talk on walkability, security and rent ranges.
- Parque Virrey, Zona T and Parque 93, the upscale social and dining core.
- One or two apartment viewings at different budgets.
- The grocery cost-of-living exercise at Jumbo in Santa Ana: imported options and price comparison to home.
- Coffee or lunch with a local real-estate professional, then a group dinner in Parque 93.
Day 4 · North Circuit & a Real-Life Comparison
- Chicó, San Patricio, Santa Bárbara and Cedritos: apartment viewings, pharmacy and clinic pass-bys, a coworking space.
- A deliberate middle-class neighborhood circuit so you see realistic pricing, not just the affluent bubble.
- Lunch and an afternoon in Usaquén (the Sunday flea market is ideal).
- A lighter evening: free time or an optional small-group dinner before the finale.
Day 5 · Markets, Real Life & the Finale
- Paloquemao market in the morning: the produce, flowers and exotic-fruit hall, with a fruit tasting. The best "you are in another country and it is wonderful" moment in Bogotá.
- Midday, your choice: a "living like a local" block (TransMilenio, errands, a café), or free time and optional one-on-one expert consults.
- Evening: the Bogotá Nomads dinner as the farewell. The expert panel runs the opening 30 to 40 minutes (immigration, taxes, healthcare, real estate, banking), then the room becomes a community dinner with 80 to 100 expats and locals. The emotional peak of the trip.
Day 6 · Departure
- Breakfast, check-out, optional prearranged airport transfers, and a follow-up workbook sent electronically.
Bogotá short trip 4 Days / 3 Nights
The entry-level edition, for people who cannot take a full week off, want a lower-cost first look, or are simply testing whether Colombia belongs on their list at all. Three nights is enough to answer "is Colombia worth taking seriously?" It is an honest, fast introduction rather than a compressed version of the full week. If you want the deep version, book the 5-night Bogotá edition instead.
Day 1 · Arrival & Welcome
- Airport pickup with a welcome snack and water.
- A 45-minute "Welcome to Bogotá" orientation on the drive to Chapinero: safety, transport, altitude (2,600m, so hydration, easy on the alcohol, and pacing), money, and what the three days look like.
- Hotel check-in and time to decompress, plus an optional short walk of the immediate neighborhood.
- 6:30 to 7:00pm hosted welcome dinner: a traditional Colombian regional tasting menu, narrated course by course from coast to mountains, with introductions. Light on alcohol given the altitude.
Day 2 · Historic Bogotá & the Market
- Paloquemao market, early: the produce, flower and exotic-fruit halls at their best, with a guided fruit tasting. Front-loaded on purpose, so you fall for the place before you start evaluating it.
- La Candelaria walking tour and Plaza de Bolívar.
- Museo Botero (free).
- Local lunch in the historic center.
- Monserrate by cable car, the city-scale orientation and the photo everyone takes home.
- Evening: a casual group dinner in Zona T, the upscale social core seen at night.
Day 3 · Real Life, Real Costs & the Finale
- The scouting day starts with a morning walk through Chapinero, Chapinero Alto and Rosales, the expat-landing zone, with a coffee stop and a real talk on walkability, security and rent ranges.
- Parque Virrey, then north through Chicó and Parque 93.
- One or two apartment viewings at different budgets.
- The grocery cost-of-living exercise at Jumbo in Santa Ana: imported options and a direct price comparison to home.
- Pharmacy and clinic pass-bys, plus a middle-class neighborhood circuit on the way back, for realistic pricing rather than just the affluent north.
- Lunch in Usaquén, with time to walk the neighborhood (the Sunday flea market is ideal).
- Evening: the Bogotá Nomads dinner as the farewell. The expert panel runs the opening 30 to 40 minutes (immigration, taxes, healthcare, real estate, banking), then the room becomes a community dinner with 80 to 100 expats and locals. The emotional peak of the trip, and the reason three nights still works. A "could you actually live here?" discussion closes the night.
Day 4 · Departure
- Breakfast, check-out, optional prearranged airport transfers, and a follow-up relocation workbook sent electronically.
- Every short-trip guest also receives a credit toward a future full-length edition.
Bogotá, Chía, Villa de Leyva 8 Days / 7 Nights
The premium Bogotá edition. It answers the question most guests really have: do I want the capital, or a small town within reach of it? Villa de Leyva answers that emotionally in a way no spreadsheet can.
Days 1 to 5 · The Bogotá week
- Run exactly as the flagship Bogotá itinerary, including the Bogotá Nomads community dinner finale on Day 5. The community night stays in Bogotá, where the community is.
Day 6 · Chía & the Sabana Transition
- Morning check-out from the Bogotá hotel.
- Chía, the closest "life just outside the city" option: the residential zones and gated conjuntos, and the difference in space and price versus Chapinero. This answers "could I get more house for less money and still reach Bogotá?"
- Lunch at Andrés Carne de Res in Chía, the original, an unforgettable and genuinely absurd Colombian institution.
- Continue north through the Sabana, with an optional stop at the Zipaquirá Salt Cathedral (directly en route and spectacular).
- Arrive Villa de Leyva, check into the second hotel, and enjoy a relaxed dinner near the Plaza Mayor.
Day 7 · Villa de Leyva & Small-Town Life
- Morning walking tour: the enormous cobblestone Plaza Mayor, colonial architecture, and the pace.
- The small-town living question, honestly: property prices, what a house costs here, who the foreign residents are, and what daily life and healthcare access really look like at this distance from a major city.
- Lunch in town.
- Afternoon, your choice: nearby vineyards, the Terracota House, the Ráquira pottery village, or free time to wander.
- Farewell dinner in Villa de Leyva, smaller and more intimate than the Bogotá night, with a "could you actually live here?" closing discussion.
Day 8 · Return & Departure
- Morning transfer back to BOG (about 3.5 hours, with a generous buffer). Drop for afternoon and evening flights; early departures should book the following morning. Follow-up workbook sent electronically.
Medellín 6 Days / 5 Nights
The highest-demand destination. The job here is to move you past El Poblado and show you the region, including the Oriente towns where a lot of Americans actually end up.
Day 1 · Arrival, the Oriente & Welcome
- Airport pickup at MDE with a welcome snack.
- Because MDE sits in the Oriente, we use the transfer well: through Rionegro and Llanogrande, the country-club-and-fincas belt and a genuine option for people who want space and cooler weather.
- Descend into the Aburrá Valley and check in.
- 6:30 to 7:00pm hosted welcome dinner: a narrated Antioqueño regional tasting menu, with a small bandeja paisa course.
Day 2 · The Medellín Story
- Comuna 13, the transformation story, the escaleras eléctricas and street art, handled with respect for a real neighborhood.
- A Metrocable ride, the transport the city is famous for, plus the valley view.
- Lunch, then Pueblito Paisa or the Museo de Antioquia and Plaza Botero for cultural grounding.
- Evening: a casual dinner in Provenza, El Poblado, seeing the nightlife district honestly, downsides included.
Day 3 · Where Expats Actually Live
- El Poblado in the morning: walk it, price it, and be honest that it is the default answer and often the wrong one.
- Laureles, the counter-argument: flatter, more walkable, more Colombian, better value.
- Envigado and Sabaneta, the towns that became suburbs, where many long-term expats land.
- Apartment viewings across at least two of these zones, plus a grocery exercise and pharmacy and clinic pass-bys. Group dinner in Laureles or Envigado.
Day 4 · Guatapé & the Reset
- A full day at Guatapé and El Peñol: the rock, the reservoir, the painted zócalos.
- An optional climb of the 700-plus steps (genuinely optional).
- Lakeside lunch, then back to Medellín for a lighter evening and free time.
Day 5 · Oriente Towns & the Finale
- El Retiro, the postcard pueblo with real foreign residents, cooler climate and a different pace.
- El Carmen de Viboral, the ceramics town, walkable and charming, an easy "I could live here" moment.
- An honest middle-class stop on the return: realistic Medellín, not the highlight reel.
- Evening: farewell dinner with the expert panel up front (immigration, taxes, healthcare, real estate, banking). Medellín has the largest expat community in Colombia, and established expats join the dinner.
Day 6 · Departure
- Breakfast, check-out, optional transfers up to MDE (allow 60 to 75 minutes), and the workbook.
Bucaramanga 6 Days / 5 Nights
The "underrated Colombia" edition, and the one most aligned with people seriously weighing quality of life against cost, in a region our team knows well.
Day 1 · Arrival & Welcome
- BGA pickup with a welcome snack. The approach over the canyon is spectacular, so we mention it before landing.
- Check-in, and time to feel the climate, which does the selling here.
- 6:30 to 7:00pm hosted welcome dinner: a Santandereano tasting menu (cabro, pepitoria, arepa santandereana, and hormiga culona for the brave), the most distinctive regional cuisine in the country.
Day 2 · The City of Parks
- City orientation: the parks, the climate, and why Bucaramanga ranks near the top of Colombian quality-of-life measures.
- Cerro del Santísimo or a comparable viewpoint for the valley view.
- Floridablanca and Cañaveral, where the middle and upper-middle class actually live, at excellent value versus Bogotá or Medellín. Relaxed dinner.
Day 3 · Chicamocha & the Landscape
- Parque Nacional del Chicamocha, the canyon and the cable car across it, world-class and almost unknown to foreigners.
- Lunch at the park, then a free evening.
Day 4 · Barichara & San Gil
- Barichara, widely considered the most beautiful town in Colombia: stone streets, whitewashed walls, complete preservation, and a real foreign-resident presence.
- An optional Camino Real walk toward Guane (a short version is offered).
- Lunch in Barichara, then San Gil on the way back for the adventure-tourism context. Dinner in Bucaramanga.
Day 5 · Practical Life & the Finale
- Neighborhoods and apartment viewings across budgets: Cañaveral, Ruitoque, and a city-center option.
- Grocery exercise, pharmacy, and a clinic and hospital overview. The local medical sector is a genuine strength.
- An honest middle-class comparison area.
- Evening: farewell dinner with the expert panel up front. The expat community is small, which is itself the honest story: this is a place you integrate into Colombian life rather than join a bubble.
Day 6 · Departure
- Breakfast, check-out, transfers to BGA, and the workbook.
Barranquilla 5 Days / 4 Nights
The least touristic and most genuinely lived-in coastal city. A shorter edition works because the value here is practical: the coastal city that actually functions.
Day 1 · Arrival & Welcome
- BAQ pickup with a welcome snack, then check-in.
- 6:30 to 7:00pm hosted welcome dinner: a Costeño tasting menu (sancocho de guandú, arroz de lisa, butifarra, fresh fruit), deeply regional and unfamiliar even to guests who have been to Cartagena.
Day 2 · The City That Works
- The Malecón del Río, the riverfront redevelopment and the clearest symbol of the city's last decade.
- The Museo del Caribe and the Carnaval context; Barranquilla's cultural identity is genuinely distinct.
- The Centro Histórico and the Paseo Bolívar. Evening: dinner and live música costeña.
Day 3 · Neighborhoods & Daily Life
- Alto Prado, Villa Country and Riomar, where the professional class and foreign residents live, at notably better value than Cartagena for comparable quality.
- Apartment viewings across budgets.
- Grocery exercise, pharmacy, and a clinic and hospital overview. Barranquilla has strong medical infrastructure, a real selling point.
- An honest middle-class comparison area, then a group dinner.
Day 4 · Puerto Colombia & the Finale
- Puerto Colombia, the beach town twenty minutes out, with the old pier: a genuine "live near the water, work in the city" option.
- Lunch by the beach, then free time or optional consults.
- Evening: farewell dinner with the expert panel up front, with local expats and professionals invited.
Day 5 · Departure
- Breakfast, check-out, transfers to BAQ, and the workbook.
Cartagena 6 Days / 5 Nights
The easiest to sell and the hardest to position honestly. Everyone wants to see it; few should retire inside the walls. We lean into that tension, which is what makes the week credible.
Day 1 · Arrival & Welcome
- CTG pickup with a welcome snack and a very short transfer, then check-in.
- 6:30 to 7:00pm hosted welcome dinner: a Caribbean tasting menu on a rooftop or courtyard inside the walled city, the most atmospheric welcome dinner of any edition. Heat and humidity briefing.
Day 2 · The Walled City
- The Ciudad Amurallada walking tour: the walls, Plaza Santo Domingo, Las Bóvedas, the balconies.
- Castillo San Felipe, then lunch.
- Getsemaní, the neighborhood that gentrified in a decade, directly relevant to what you might buy into and what happens after. Sunset on the walls and dinner.
Day 3 · Islands & the Coast
- An Islas del Rosario or Barú day: beach, water, the postcard, on a private charter rather than a shared service.
- Lunch on the island, then a relaxed evening.
Day 4 · Where People Actually Live
- Bocagrande, Castillogrande and Manga, the residential high-rise reality: condo pricing, sea views, and what maintenance and administración really cost.
- Apartment viewings across at least two zones, a grocery exercise, and a pharmacy, clinic and hospital overview.
- An honest middle-class comparison area, handled factually. Group dinner.
Day 5 · The Honest Day & the Finale
- The practical conversation: heat year-round, tourism seasonality, cost of living versus the interior, and what a full-time resident's week actually looks like versus a visitor's.
- La Popa viewpoint for the city-scale orientation, then free time or optional consults.
- Evening: farewell dinner with the expert panel up front, with Cartagena expats invited. Honest closing: this may be a place to visit rather than live, and that is a legitimate finding.
Day 6 · Departure
- Breakfast, check-out, transfers to CTG, and the workbook.
Santa Marta 6 Days / 5 Nights
Beach, mountains and jungle within an hour of each other. The strongest retirement-appeal edition, and the one where "I could actually do this" hits hardest.
Day 1 · Arrival & Welcome
- SMR pickup with a welcome snack and a short transfer. Afternoon at leisure by the water.
- 6:30 to 7:00pm hosted welcome dinner: a Caribbean coastal tasting menu (ceviche, arepa de huevo, coconut rice, fresh fish, tropical fruit). Heat and humidity briefing.
Day 2 · The City & the Coast
- A Centro Histórico walking tour: Parque de los Novios, the cathedral, the malecón. Santa Marta is the oldest surviving city in Colombia.
- Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino, where Bolívar died, the historical anchor. Lunch.
- Rodadero and Bello Horizonte, where foreign residents and Colombian retirees actually buy: condo towers, beachfront pricing, what a sea view really costs. Sunset dinner on the water.
Day 3 · Tayrona & the Reason People Come
- Parque Tayrona: the beaches and the jungle-meets-Caribbean landscape, with a full hike and a shorter, vehicle-assisted option. Lunch near the park, then a relaxed evening.
Day 4 · Minca & the Mountains
- Minca, 45 minutes up into the Sierra Nevada: cooler, jungle, waterfalls, coffee and cacao farms, and a real foreign-resident community.
- A coffee or cacao farm visit and a waterfall or mirador stop. Lunch in Minca.
- The altitude-versus-coast conversation: many people arrive wanting beach and leave wanting mountains twenty minutes from beach. Back to Santa Marta for dinner.
Day 5 · Practical Life & the Finale
- The honest block: a grocery run, pharmacy, and a clinic and hospital overview. Medical infrastructure is the biggest legitimate concern about coastal retirement, so we address it directly.
- A realistic middle-class coastal area, not the beachfront brochure.
- Property viewings: a Rodadero condo, a Minca property, and something in between.
- Evening: farewell dinner with the expert panel up front, with coastal expats invited.
Day 6 · Departure
- Breakfast, check-out, transfers to SMR, and the workbook.
Cali 5 Days / 4 Nights
The most culturally distinct edition: salsa, Afro-Colombian heritage, warmth, and the lowest cost of living of the major cities. We are straightforward about the safety questions guests arrive with.
Day 1 · Arrival & Welcome
- CLO pickup with a welcome snack, then check-in.
- 6:30 to 7:00pm hosted welcome dinner: a Valluno tasting menu (sancocho de gallina, chuleta valluna, aborrajado, lulada, champús), followed by an optional beginner salsa lesson, the single best icebreaker of any edition.
Day 2 · The City & Its Culture
- San Antonio, the colonial hillside barrio and the most charming part of the city.
- Cristo Rey or Cerro de las Tres Cruces for the valley view. Lunch.
- Museo La Tertulia and the Afro-Colombian cultural context, central to understanding Cali and usually skipped.
- Evening: a hosted, structured salsa club night, framed as a cultural experience.
Day 3 · Neighborhoods & Daily Life
- Granada, El Peñón, Ciudad Jardín and Pance, where foreign residents and the professional class live. Pance in particular reads as a revelation: green, riverside, and far cheaper than equivalents in Medellín.
- Apartment viewings across budgets, a grocery exercise, and a pharmacy, clinic and hospital overview.
- An honest middle-class area, and a candid safety conversation with real data rather than reassurance or alarm. Group dinner.
Day 4 · The Valley & the Finale
- Hacienda El Paraíso or a sugarcane-valley excursion for the region's history and context.
- Optional: Lago Calima or a nearby pueblo, depending on group energy. Lunch out of the city.
- Evening: farewell dinner with the expert panel up front, with Cali expats invited.
Day 5 · Departure
- Breakfast, check-out, transfers to CLO, and the workbook.
Coffee Axis (Armenia, Salento, Filandia, Pereira, Manizales) - yes, all of them 7 Days / 6 Nights
The most beautiful edition and probably the strongest emotional seller. It is also the most spread out, so it earns the extra night and a hotel move.
Day 1 · Arrival & Welcome
- PEI pickup with a welcome snack, then a transfer to a working coffee finca hotel, which sets the tone immediately. Build in porch time; the landscape does the work.
- 6:30 to 7:00pm hosted welcome dinner at the finca: a regional tasting (trucha, patacón, sancocho, local fruit) with proper coffee service.
Day 2 · Coffee, Properly
- A real working coffee farm tour, planting through cupping, where you pick, process, roast and taste. Lunch on the farm.
- Pereira city orientation: the commercial heart of the region, where the hospitals, malls and airport are. The city that makes the villages livable.
- Grocery and clinic pass-bys in Pereira, then a relaxed dinner.
Day 3 · Armenia & Filandia
- Armenia, the other regional city: cost of living, neighborhoods, practical infrastructure.
- Filandia, the quieter, less-touristed colonial town, with the mirador and balcony architecture. Many people prefer it to Salento and never hear about it. Lunch in Filandia.
- Property viewings: a town house, a small finca, an apartment in Armenia or Pereira. Three versions of the same dream, priced. Dinner.
Day 4 · Hotel Move, Salento & Cocora
- Check out and transfer to the second property.
- Valle de Cocora and the wax palms, the single most spectacular landscape in Colombia, with a full hike and a short flat-walk option. Lunch in Salento.
- Afternoon in Salento: Calle Real, and the option to play tejo, Colombia's explosive national sport. Casual dinner.
Day 5 · Choose Your Day
- Option A: Santa Rosa de Cabal hot springs, thermal pools in a waterfall setting (bring swimwear).
- Option B: a Filandia and Quimbaya day, artisan workshops and a slower town afternoon.
- Everyone reconvenes for a group dinner.
Day 6 · Manizales & the Finale
- Manizales, the third city, dramatically sited and notably cooler and higher (2,150m), with the cathedral and the Chipre sunset viewpoint.
- The practical block: neighborhoods, hospital infrastructure, an honest middle-class comparison area, cost of living.
- Evening: farewell dinner with the expert panel up front (attorney, accountant, health insurance, real estate), with Coffee Axis expats invited.
Day 7 · Departure
- Transfer to PEI (allow up to 2 hours from Manizales), and the workbook.
The welcome dinner
Night one is a hosted welcome dinner: a small tasting menu that travels Colombia region by region, narrated course by course. A sample progression of six to seven small courses.
- Welcome bite and drink. An aguapanela or a small pour of Colombian coffee, or, for something festive, a canelazo (warm, spiced, and mildly boozy, perfect for a chilly Bogotá night), with a tiny buñuelo or almojábana. The "you made it, exhale" moment.
- Course 1, the Caribbean coast. A ceviche, a small arepa de huevo, or carimañolas. Bright, coastal, and warm: the flavor of life in Santa Marta, Cartagena, and Barranquilla.
- Course 2, the arepa and corn tradition. A small tasting of arepas done a couple of ways, a Boyacá style and a coastal style, with fresh cheese. The dish you think you know, done properly.
- Course 3, the Andean highlands and Bogotá. A small cup of ajiaco santafereño, the iconic Bogotá chicken-and-three-potato soup with guascas, capers, cream, and avocado. The dish of the city you are standing in.
- Course 4, the hearty interior. A few bites from the bandeja paisa universe (beans, chicharrón, chorizo), or a small sobrebarriga, from the Antioquia and Medellín region. A small portion, because the full version could feed the whole table.
- Course 5, something surprising from the Pacific or Amazon. A Pacific-coast fish in coconut, or an exotic-fruit palate moment (lulo, guanábana, feijoa, corozo), fruits most first-timers have never seen.
- Dessert, the coffee region and sweets. A trio: a bite of arequipe or a bocadillo con queso, alongside a proper Colombian coffee service. The meal ends on the coffee note, from the Coffee Axis.
- Optional close. A tiny pour of good Colombian rum or aguardiente for those who want it.
Sample itinerary. Exact stops, order, and inclusions are finalized once the city and dates are set. This is an interest survey, not a booking.