Colombia

Drug cartels, paramilitary and widespread poverty – Columbia has long had a really bad reputation! There were always big contrasts between Pacific and Caribbean, the Andes, Amazonian and Orinoco, but a lot’s changed in recent years. Particularly Columbia’s Caribbean coast, with the historic Spanish city of Cartagena and the carnival capital Barranquilla both becoming safe tourist strongholds. The other good news is that the east coast has reliable trade winds, especially during the northern winter.