Luxury Colombia Voyages

Colombia's walled jewel glows at every hour, pastel balconies dripping bougainvillea inside ramparts the Spanish built to keep out pirates and the English navy alike. Wander the Old City to the Palace of the Inquisition and the fortress of San Felipe de Barajas, then lose an afternoon in Getsemani's mural-covered streets before an emerald browse and a ceviche lunch. As evening falls, horse-drawn carriages and rooftop bars take over a city that UNESCO protects and Gabriel Garcia Marquez immortalized. Vivid, musical and unmistakably Caribbean.

Reached only by small craft, this Raizal island floats in a sea the locals count in seven colours. Hike El Pico for a horizon of turquoise reef, kayak the mangroves of McBean Lagoon to Crab Cay, and snorkel the third-largest barrier reef on Earth. Lunch is black crab with breadfruit and coconut rice at a Manzanillo beach shack, reggae drifting on the trade winds. An anchorage the mega-ships will never reach.

Colombia's Caribbean outpost dazzles in that famous sea of seven colours. Snorkel the calm pool of La Piscinita among sergeant majors, feel the spray of the Hoyo Soplador blowhole, and boat to Johnny Cay for grilled fish and coco loco beneath the palms. SeaDream III's shallow draught anchors close to the powder-soft shore, and the Creole-speaking Raizal culture lends every rundown supper a genuine island soul.