10-DAY COLOMBIA MOTORCYCLE TOUR

Colombia is where our story began. We were the first tour operator in the country, and 17+ years of service to more than 4,000 happy customers have grown from those first Colombian routes into tours on five continents. When we say the roads on this itinerary are refined, we mean refined the long way: this is our home ground, the place where founder Mike and our local crew know every curve, every coffee town and every viewpoint worth stopping for.

The geography is what makes the country a motorcycle destination in the first place. At the Ecuadorian/Colombian border the majestic Andes split into three separate mountain ranges, and our 10-day route zig-zags between them on endless curves and twisties. That layout means you are almost never riding flat, straight road: you are either climbing a cordillera, descending into a river valley, or carving along the shoulder of one. The route strings together the three major cities — Bogota, Medellin and Cali — with the tiny coffee-growing villages, colonial towns and high passes in between, on some of the absolute best paved routes in all of South America.

And if the question in the back of your mind is whether it is safe to ride a motorcycle tour in Colombia, our answer is the same one we give for every destination: everything we do is based on safety first — the routes, the bikes and the partners are all chosen on that principle. Every group here is led by certified, multilingual tour leaders with expert local knowledge and training, a support vehicle follows the ride, and before departure we point every rider to proper travel protection. Nobody has more accumulated seasons on these specific roads than the operator that opened them up in the first place.

Our riders say it plainer than we can. Dave, one of the two verified riders reviewing this tour above, wrapped up his trip like this: "It's a beautiful country and the people are fantastic. It's been a great time — it's been brilliant." And Marcus, on his third MotoDreamer trip, explained exactly why he keeps coming back to ride with us — this route has "more twists and turns than pretty much all the other ones combined." Between the two of them, that is Colombia in one sentence each: warm country, endless corners.

Read our full guide to the best motorcycle roads and rides of Colombia →

We publish a terrain profile for every tour so you can match the route to your skills before you book. Colombia rates 5% off-road, 85% comfort and 100% fun — and in practice this itinerary is built as an all-paved tour. If you are a confident street rider, the route is well within reach; tours like Namibia are the ones we build specifically for experienced dirt and enduro riders, not Colombia. What the profile does demand is a love of corners, because the Andes serve them up continuously for eight riding days and roughly 1,940 km.

The rhythm of the route tells you what kind of riding to expect. Day two is a descent through twists from Bogota down to the river port town of Honda, about 180 km of losing altitude one hairpin at a time. Day three flips it: roughly 280 km from Honda up and over the flank of the Los Nevados del Ruiz volcano to reach Salento — the tour highlights include the Las Letras high mountain pass at 4,000 meters, so bring layers for the top and expect the temperature to change with every thousand meters. From Salento the route runs about 210 km to Cali, then 250 km back north through the plantations of the Cauca Valley to Montenegro, and about 260 km of twisties via Fredonia into Medellin on day six. Day seven covers around 230 km from Medellin to Doradal with a stop at the El Penol rock, day eight is the longest leg at roughly 290 km to the colonial village of Villa de Leyva, and day nine closes the loop with about 240 km back to Bogota via the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquira.

Dave's verdict on those roads — "it's been good riding, good roads" — matches the 85% comfort score. A local guide and support vehicle travel with the group the entire way, a professional multilingual tour leader rides with you, and fuel and road tolls are covered. Nine nights of accommodation in hand-picked hotels come included, and Marcus's testimonial confirms the standard: "the accommodations are first-rate." Adventure on this tour means altitude, corners and coffee — never roughing it.

Colombia rewards riders who get off the bike, and the itinerary builds that in. These are the cultural anchors of the tour, day by day:

• Bogota (days 1 and 9–10). The tour opens and closes in the capital. We transfer you in from Bogota International Airport (BOG), hold a group briefing once the last rider has arrived, and return here on day nine before departure day.
• Honda (day 2). First overnight on the road, in the historic center of this river port town — one of the tour's listed highlights.
• Salento and the Coffee Triangle (days 3–4). The coffee village of Salento is the gateway to the heart of Colombian coffee country. We visit a working coffee plantation and taste what we consider the world's best coffee where it is made, then ride into the Cocora Valley to see its famous wax palms.
• Cali (days 4–5). The first of the three major cities on the route, reached after the coffee country, before the ride through the Cauca Valley's plantations.
• Medellin (days 6–7). The exciting metropolis of Medellin is a highlight in its own right — a full-sized city night in the middle of the mountain riding.
• El Penol and Hacienda Napoles (days 7–8). On the way out of Medellin we visit the El Penol rock, and on day eight the route passes Hacienda Napoles, Pablo Escobar's former ranch — a stop that needs no introduction.
• Villa de Leyva (days 8–9). A beautiful colonial-era village with the world's largest cobblestone square and a wonderful atmosphere; many riders name it the most photogenic overnight of the tour.
• The Salt Cathedral of Zipaquira (day 9). The final riding day descends several hundred meters into an old salt mine to find the incredible underground Salt Cathedral — an engineering-meets-devotion spectacle you will not see anywhere else on earth.

Group activities and entry fees for these stops are included in the tour price, so there is no ticket-counter arithmetic along the way. And if you can extend your trip, the itinerary itself makes a suggestion for after the tour ends: consider taking a day or two to visit the beautiful city of Cartagena before bidding farewell to this captivating country.

The motorcycles. The base bike is the BMW F750GS, included in the tour price. If you prefer more displacement, two upgrades are available: the BMW R1250GS for +$799 or the flagship BMW R1300GS for +$999. All bikes are latest-model, professionally maintained machines, and a damage and theft liability reduction insurance plus mandatory third-party liability insurance are already included. A refundable security deposit on your credit card is required to take the bike out, sized according to the rental bike you choose.

The group. We keep Colombia deliberately small: minimum 5 riders, maximum 10, led by a certified multilingual tour leader with a local guide and support vehicle alongside. Riding two-up? The Add Pillion/Passenger option (+$2,999) covers your co-rider. Accommodation is in shared rooms by default, with a single-room upgrade available for +$799.

What the price covers. The tour starts at $5,499 per rider on the BMW F750GS in a shared room. That includes 9 nights of accommodation, all breakfasts, fuel and road tolls, airport transfers from and to Bogota International (BOG) on official arrival and departure days, group activities and entry fees, a pre-tour preparation guide and briefing, a MotoDreamer apparel gift, up to 25% discount on riding gear from our partners Klim, Giant Loop and Mosko Moto, and all taxes. Airfare, lunches, dinners and drinks, personal paperwork and visas, tips, and travel insurance are not included — for travel and evacuation cover with cancellation protection we point riders to Global Rescue.

Booking and payment. Hit Book Now, pick your date and pay the deposit; we accept bank transfer, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, PayPal and Bitcoin, and you can split the balance into monthly payments with no interest. Booking as a group is rewarded: when 5 riders pay, rider number 6 travels free (valid on the base tour price). Every booking is backed by our price match and departure guarantees. The next scheduled departure is December 3 to 12, 2027, and private or customized group dates are available on request.

Is a guided tour worth it versus going alone? Compare like with like. The price above covers the motorcycle, hand-picked hotels with a shared room included, and a certified multilingual tour leader on routes refined over 17+ years and 4,000 riders — costs that stack up quickly when you organize the same trip yourself, before you even solve renting a bike in Colombia. Add the guarantees, the pre-arranged entry fees and the support vehicle, and the math tends to settle itself. It is also worth knowing who you are riding with beyond the road: we plant trees to equal our carbon footprint and support local charities in the places we ride, Colombia included.

Who can join. You need to be 20 or older with at least one year of experience on a 500cc-or-bigger motorcycle, hold a valid driver's license with motorcycle endorsement, and carry a passport with at least six months' validity at tour start. That is the whole bar — this is an all-paved route, so if you ride confidently at home, Colombia is for you.

Seventeen-plus years and more than 4,000 riders have shaped how we run the country where it all started for us. Or, in Dave's closing words from his review above: "It's been a great time — it's been brilliant."