In Medellín, visitors have a wide array of options in terms of accomodations. According to Cotelco Antioquia, there are some 4,800 rooms available, 95 percent of which are located in El Poblado, El Estadio, Laureles and downtown.

Hotel executives, however, have expressed concern over the threat that so-called “parralel accomodations’ pose to the industry, which are apartments rented out to out-of-town visitors that do not have the necessary paperwork and licenses to function as such, and protested authorities’ lack of action to control unlicensed properties.

The thought of reaching destinations like Titumate, Capurganá and Sapzurro inChocó; San Blas in Panamá and Necoclí in Antioquia on a comfortable, safe, air-conditioned catamaran gives the experience a whole new appeal. A group of local business executives spent ten years developing the concept and were finally able to get it going.

“We wanted to reinvent destinations like Capurganá in hopes of helping it blossom,” one of them explained, because tourists are currently limited to one ADA flight each day or taking a panga. The ‘Karibes’ holds 60 people and up to 20 on the deck, it will begin operating on July 15th.

Travelers will discover the magic and beauty of Valle, Quindio and Risaralda in the tour designed by Belisario Marin Montes, winner of this year’s Exemplary Colombian Award for his efforts in the field of tourism. As of September 14, when his new office opens in El Poblado, tours will leave Medellín every Wednesday.

The 490.000 peso-package includes food, transportation and hotel accommodations, as well as tickets to local attractions like Cali’s Zoo and the Sugar Cane Museum, among others.

A crowd of more than a thousand people gathered yesterday for the emotional grand opening of the Arvi Aerial Tramway, the Metro’s new line.

The ceremony was presided over by Mayor Alonso Salazar and General Manager of Medellin’s Metro, Ramiro Marquez; the Mayoral office has invested 40.000 million pesos (half in construction and the other half in the park itself). This sum in addition to contributions from other partners which total 50.500 million pesos.

The adventure begins at the Santo Domingo Station where visitors transfer to the new aerial tramway station. Once on board the car, passengers “fly” along a 4.595 meter trajectory in a 14-minute long journey. When the Aburra Valley is left behind, guests arrive at Arvi Park, where 1.761 hectares of natural reserve are open to everyone’s enjoyment through a variety of activities.

The opening of the Regatta Hotel, of the travel agency group L’alianxa, adds to 15 other projects which will increase Cartagena’s lodging capacity by 15.000 beds.

This was confirmed by Irving Perez, director of Tourist Infrastructure, who applauded the decision from the Ministry of Transportation and the Civil Aeronautics Unit to build a new airport terminal which will benefit both Cartagena and Barranquilla, a mega-project to promote growth in the Caribbean and Northern regions. 

With construction underway at the Santo Domingo Savio Station, Arví Park’s touristic ‘Metrocable’ line should be operating in 10 months, after a cost of 44, 5 billion pesos.

The new line, part of Medellín’s Metro, will stretch out for 4, 6 Km and have only 2 stations, one for transfer and another for the return. In order to begin works in Santo Domingo, it was necessary to purchase and demolish 64 homes and businesses.