Bogota Colombia Itinerary: Experience Bogota in 3 Days
TL;DR
Only have 3 days in Bogotá? Here's exactly what to see, do, and eat – without wasting time or money.
Wondering what to do in Bogota in 3 days? You're in the right place. Whether you're a culture buff, street art lover, foodie, or just trying to soak in the capital's unique vibe, a few days in Bogotá can feel overwhelming to plan. With so many museums, things to do, tours, and day trips, how do you even begin to prioritise?
We’ve spent time on the ground exploring Bogotá and, through a mix of personal experience and travel know-how, crafted the perfect Bogotá 3 day itinerary. This guide is designed for independent travellers who want to see and do a lot without going over budget.
We’re not sponsored, and we don’t recommend anything we didn’t do ourselves – this itinerary is built from real, on-the-ground experience, tours we truly enjoyed, and honest tips that’ll make your stay smoother. Let’s explore Bogotá like curious, savvy travellers.
Bogota 3 Day Itinerary
Day 1 – Free Walking Tour, Museums & Monserrate
Morning – Free Walking Tour, Botero Museum & Gold Museum
If you know anything about us, you know that we love a free walking tour to get a first overview of a new place. In Bogota, we chose Bogota's Pioneer Free Tour: Historic Center of La Candelaria by Beyond Colombia (Spoiler: we were so happy with this tour that we ended up doing two other tours with Beyond Colombia. And no, unfortunately, they do not sponsor this blog post).
During this tour, you’ll cover all of the most important sights like
- Simón Bolivar Main Square and the Primatial Cathedral of Bogotá
- Plazoleta Chorro de Quevedo
- La Concordia Market
- Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria Church
- Colón Theatre
After the free walking tour, head to one of our favourite art museums ever, the Botero Museum. This free museum is packed with art from big names like Monet, Renoir, Dali, and Picasso – as well as Botero, of course.
The Botero Museum is part of Banrepcultural along with the Miguel Urrutia Art Museum and the Museo Casa de Moneda. If you like art and have the time, we strongly recommend you have a look around!
Another favourite with travellers is the Gold Museum. As there are many gold museums around Colombia (we visited the one in Pasto as well), we think this one is rather a nice-to-have than a must-have – unless you’re super interested in gold, of course.
Afternoon – Monserrate
The thing we love second best (after free walking tours) is viewpoints, so of course, we had to check out Monserrate.
Many travellers choose to hike to the top, but Monserrate sits at over 3000 metres (10000 feet) and we were already out of breath walking around in Bogota, so we opted to take the cable car.
It was a gloomy day, so we were lucky that we didn’t have to wait long. If you’re short on time, we strongly recommend buying the tickets online.
In addition to amazing views, you can find a church devoted to El Señor Caído ("The Fallen Lord"), restaurants, and many souvenir shops.
Day 2 – Free Graffiti Walking Tour & Local Street Food Tour
Morning – Graffiti Free Walking Tour
The Graffiti Free Walking Tour by Capital Graffiti Tours was our favourite activity in Bogota. Bogotá is a graffiti capital, and the whole city is covered in street art and graffiti. It was amazing to walk through downtown Bogota and see some of the most important artworks and learn about the story behind them.
From political messages over a graffiti on the highest building in Bogota to a street art gallery – we saw it all!
Even if you’re not that much into street art, this form of expression is so intertwined with the recent history of Colombia that we absolutely recommend this tour.
Afternoon – Free Local Street Food Tour
Admittedly, two free walking tours in one day seems like a lot, but this one is mostly a sitting tour, we promise.
Again, we chose Bogota's Free Local Street Food Tour by Beyond Colombia and it did not disappoint.
The tour brings you to different street food spots where you can try several drinks and dishes at a very small price point (we shared and paid less than 5$ per person – we tried most of the things).
On our tour, we tried
- Pandebono & empanadas
- Arepas
- Hot chocolate with cheese
- Aguardiente
- Artisanal coffee
Day 3 – Zipaquirá Salt Cathedral Day Trip
Morning – Salt Cathedral
We are suckers for everything geological, so of course, we jumped at the opportunity to visit the Salt Cathedral in Zipaquirá, a church in an old salt mine. Again, we went with Beyond Colombia and were super happy.
The Salt Cathedral sits at 180 m (590 ft) below the ground. On your way down, you visit the Stations of the Cross carved in salt. The highlights are the three central naves (Birth Ship, Ship of Life, Ship of Death, and Resurrection).
In addition to the church, there are a ton of other things to explore below the Earth. There are restaurants, souvenir shops, a “water mirror”, a replica of an emerald mine, a museum, and many more interesting things.
The tour was extremely well organised. This is the exact tour we did:
Afternoon – Zipaquirá
After a yummy lunch, we went on a quick walking tour around Zipaquirá. We saw the Independence Square, the Main Square with the Diocesan Cathedral of Zipaquira, as well as some of the lovely streets.
We have written a full review about our Zipaquirá Salt Cathedral day trip:
Where We Stayed in Bogota
We stayed at Casa Dreamer Bogotá and can fully recommend it. The location in La Candelaria is super convenient. It’s close to sights and restaurants as well as tour meeting points.
Our favourite features were the sauna and the comfy lounge area with a real fireplace. There’s a restaurant on site which offers a delicious breakfast, lunch, or dinner. You can also refill your water bottle with tea or drinking water.
The rooms are extremely comfy, and the staff is lovely.
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