Our next destination is Medellín, once infamous for its turbulent past, today it’s celebrated as a beacon of urban innovation and civic pride.
Medellín also offers a powerful story of transformation. We’ll explore the revitalised district of Communa 13, now a living mural of street art and resilience, guided by locals who’ve helped shape the city’s rebirth. Riding the Metrocable above the city’s hillside barrios, we see first hand how urban design has helped foster equity and connection.
At the Plaza Botero, we encounter the whimsical yet politically charged sculptures of Fernando Botero, whose work offers another lens into the Colombian experience.
We’ll then head to Antioquia and the flower growing village of Santa Elena in the mountains above Medellin. We have the privilege of visiting a silletero’s farm. The silletero’s are emblematic cultural figures believed to have descended from Basque settlers who arrived in Antioquia during the Spanish colonial period. They are known as flower growers and we learn how they create stunning floral designs painstakingly assembled by hand for the Feria de las Flores (Flower Festival) every year.
We then continue to Guatapé, a lakeside town famous for its vividly painted zócalos and the nearby El Peñol, a dramatic monolith which offers panoramic views of a surreal, island-dotted reservoir. The climb up its 740 steps is rewarded with one of the most breathtaking vistas in the country.
From the mountains, we head north to the Caribbean coast and the jewel of Colombia’s colonial heritage – Cartagena de Indias . With its ochre-hued walls, flower-draped balconies, and history steeped in conquest and resistance, Cartagena seduces from the first moment. We’ll explore the old walled city, wandering cobbled streets that once echoed with the footsteps of conquistadors, revolutionaries, and poets. Cartagena is also a place of romance – a city that comes alive as the sun dips below the sea, lanterns glow, and music drifts from open windows and plazas.
A short one boat ride off the sun drenched Caribbean peninsula lie the Rosario Islands, the perfect place to experience mangrove lagoons, hidden beaches, and coral reefs.
Our farewell dinner will be celebrated back within the storied walls of Cartagena’s Old Town, where the streets echo with the rhythmic pulse of Afro Caribbean drums.
For this who with a little bit more time we invite you to extend your journey with a 8 day river cruise into Colombia’s heartland travelling north to the Magdalena River. This storied river once plied by conquistadors, missionaries, merchants, and rebels winds through the pulse of Colombia’s interior, offering a tapestry of sights and sounds rarely encountered on the well-trodden paths of the Andes or the Caribbean coast.
Onboard the AmaMagdalena, the experience unfolds not merely as travel, but as a drifting theatre of the senses. The journey begins in Barranquilla, a vibrant port city at the mouth of the Magdalena River. A stop in Nueva Venecia (New Venice), with it stilted homes that rise mirage-like above the water, a floating village where fishermen cast nets in the shadow of colonial time.
You’ll spend days exploring and evenings relaxing as you glide to the next destination. In Mompox, tread cobbled lanes once lined with treasure hidden from pirates, where baroque churches brood under the gaze of the Sierra. There, filigree goldwork gleams like relics of a forgotten empire, and jazz wafts through moonlit courtyards.
Further upriver, in El Banco, cumbia’s birthplace calls with its polyrhythms born of bondage and joy, while in Mangague on the lower reaches of the Magdalena River head out in search of the ‘Horned Screamer’ and ‘Limpkin’, both residents of the labyrinth of wetlands and wildlife rich floodplains of the area.
To follow the Magdalena River is to trod off the beaten path and trace the spiritual spine of Colombia, to unearth forgotten epics, and to encounter a country still in the act of telling its own remarkable story. The journey ends back in Cartagena completing an experience that encapsulates Colombia’s colonial past and it syncretic cultures.
As with all Amaco Small Group Tours, ‘Landscapes of Colombia’ offers exceptional value. The all-inclusive travel program covers accommodation at some of the finest available properties in each destination, as well as all internal flights, transport, entrance fees, and guided touring. Every meal is included – from breakfast to dinner – with particular care taken to cater to special dietary requirements and to highlight regional culinary traditions.
The tour also includes a carefully structured academic program of conference sessions, adding depth and relevance for our professional participants. These sessions are accredited for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and held in unique and memorable locations throughout the tour, ensuring that your learning is as inspiring as your surroundings.
This is more than just a conference. it’s a journey into Colombia’s complex soul – a land of dramatic beauty, enduring traditions, and stories waiting to be heard. We invite you to join us in August 2026 as we explore a country that rewards curiosity, rewards conversation, and welcomes the traveller with open arms.
Expertly curated by our staff, every detail in the itineraries has been meticulously crafted to ensure… it’s not just a conference, it’s an experience!
We encourage you to register for this conference straight away or run the risk of missing out on this bucket-list educational and travel experience.
8 August 2026 @ 6:30pm
22 August 2026 @ 10:00am
22 August 2026 @ 9:00am
29 August 2026 @ 9:00am
Starts: Bogotá, Colombia
Ends: Cartagena, Colombia
Starts: Bogotá, Colombia
Ends: Cartagena, Colombia
Conference Participant: $1,295 pp
Non-Conference Participant: $995 pp
Amaco Family Price: $xxxxx14,995 pp (For previous Amaco Conference Participants)
Early Bird Price: $xxxxx14,995 pp (For bookings made on or before 31 December 2025)
Standard Price: $xxxxx15,995 pp (For bookings made on or after 1 January 2026)
Single Supplement (if travelling alone): $xxxxx4,995
Amaco Family Price: $xxxxx14,995 pp (For previous Amaco Conference Participants)
Early Bird Price: $xxxxx14,995 pp (For bookings made on or before 31 December 2025)
Standard Price: $xxxxx15,995 pp (For bookings made on or after 1 January 2026)
Single Supplement (if travelling alone): $xxxxx4,995
Amaco is not only a member of ATIA (the Australian Travel Industry Association) and CATO (Council of Australian Tour Operators), but we are also ATAS Travel Accredited. This means we have met the strictest industry standards for financial, operational, and management criteria. Only the best industry agents achieve this accreditation, meaning you can travel with us knowing that you’re in safe and capable hands.
With nearly 30 years of experience in planning and organising conferences, we understand that participants may wish to add additional travel destinations and adventures before or after the all-inclusive packages we offer.
Other conference operators might discourage you from doing this. Sometimes, it’s because of the added complexity it creates, and at different times, they’ll try to talk you out of it simply because they don’t have capable or experienced staff with the breadth and depth that the advisors we employ have.
We encourage all participants to make the most of the time away. This might mean departing earlier than the rest of the group to visit other destinations or staying on at the conference’s conclusion to undertake some additional travel.
Our travel advisors are perfectly positioned to assist you with making these arrangements. They will do all the hard work for you, seamlessly combining your personalised itinerary with the group program.
Amaco is an Accredited Education Provider for the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and the Australian College of Rural & Remote Medicine. Over the years, members of our team have also worked closely with the Australian Dental Association, the Australian Dental Council, the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, the Australian Medical Association, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia and various other specialist associations and colleges.
Each conference we run includes an education syllabus that assists GP’s, dentists, pharmacists and health professionals to improve the quality of care they provide to patients and customers while at the same time providing them the opportunity to travel to and experience new and exciting destinations.
Our conference will provide delegates with the opportunity to earn CPD hours or points based on the content and duration of sessions. As has been the case with past conferences, we will work closely with participants affiliated with other associations to ensure that they receive maximum recognition for their attendance at the conference.
The content of the education sessions will be relevant to GPs, Medical Specialists, Pharmacists, Dentists, Nurses, and other health providers. We encourage all attendees to register for the conference sessions.
The Education Committee for the Tanzania – The Pride of Africa Conference will be selected in early 2026, with final conference topics to be chosen based on feedback from our previous conference attendees and input from the RACGP, ACRRM, ADC, and other relevant stakeholders. Suitable speakers will be approached based on the topics selected.
Subject to final accreditation, the Tanzania – The Pride of Africa Conference will between 12 and 14 hours of accredited education.
ACRRM members can also expect the education program to be accredited and to earn CPD points. RACGP and ACRRM accreditation will be applied for under the triennium 2026 to 2028.
As has been the case in the past, Amaco will work with dental and pharmacy bodies and those affiliated with other associations to ensure they receive maximum recognition for attending the conference.
We welcome applications from potential presenters and encourage anyone interested to contact us for further information.
