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Colombia  /  October 10, 2018

The Coffee Triangle with a toddler

The Coffee Triangle with a toddler

When you think about Zona Cafetera, you don’t necessarily see a vacation with kids there. Still, we had a great time exploring the Coffee Triangle with a toddler. There are plenty activities for kids or that can be adapted to be enjoyed by the whole family.

Zona cafetera with kids

Here is what we recommend, after road-tripping for more than one week through the Coffee Triangle with a toddler:

1. Quindio Botanical Garden

We decided to visit the Botanical Garden from Quindio after seeing pictures with their butterfly garden. The price seemed a bit high just for some butterflies, but we thought to give it a try anyway. And good that we did!

The butterfly garden is just the final part of the tour through a huge tropical garden. You will see here countless plant species, a bird observatory and some small museums. The botanical garden can be visited just with a guide and takes 2-3 hours, depending how much time you spend in each location. Make sure you check in advance the timing for the tours, so you don’t have to wait too much at the entrance. We had a great guide who explained us lots of things about the vegetation and ecosystem, in a great English.

The tour ends at the butterfly area, which is even more impressive than in pictures. Around 500 butterflies are flying around, sometimes landing on your hands or clothes. Eric was fascinated, even though a bit scared to have a fragile butterfly on his finger. But he mentioned visiting the butterflies many days after we took the tour, it was one of the things that impressed him the most.

Cost: 30,000 COP/person (including the guide)
Time: 2-3 hours

2. Parque Bosque Popular El Prado in Manizales

This was just a day to relax after the road trip from Medellin. We wanted to let Eric be a regular kid playing with no travel schedule for a whole day. The host from our guesthouse recommended to visit this park nearby Manizales. What we found was a huge playground that we rarely saw in any other country we visited. Perfectly arranged grass, a large sand pit and countless wooden climbers, slides and tunnels, everything that a young kid may desire. It has special sport grounds, bike trails and even a dog play area. We visited on a Saturday morning and there were lots of families around, playing with kids or just relaxing in the shades of the trees.

Manizales Parque Bosco Popular

Manizales Parque Bosco Popular

Cost: free
Time: 1-2 hours

3. Take a private tour at a small coffee farm

To be honest, we were a bit reluctant to take a coffee tour with 2.5 year old Eric. It typically takes 2-3 hours to visit a coffee farm and understand the whole process. If you have kids you know this means a lot of time for them. But we couldn’t visit Zona Cafetera without taking a coffee farm tour!

Luckily, we found just the perfect option for us. We avoided the large farms, advertised by most hotels and travel agencies. Instead, we searched for smaller farms, off the beaten path. We took a full tour at a mid-size farm near Armenia, just the three of us. Family business for 4 generations, we found here the true image of a traditional Colombian coffee farm.

Eric enjoyed walking through the property or being carried in the Isara baby carrier on the very steep slopes. I’m sure he didn’t understood much, but it was beneficial for all his senses. He was interested to feel the trees and the coffee cherries, to touch the half-dried washed coffee or to smell a fresh roast. We finalised the visit in the garden that surrounds the coffee plantation, where he could see lots of species of tropical flowers and taste fresh delicious fruits we never tried before.

Cost: 50,000-80,000 COP, depending on the tour and location
Time: 2-3 hours

4. Explore Cocora Valley on a horse

Just 15 km away from Salento, Cocora Valley is the main attraction here, besides coffee of course. A green lush valley as you enter Los Nevados mountains, Cocora is the home of the wax palm, Colombia’s national tree. This is also the tallest palm species. For us, Europeans, the typical image of palm trees is on  sandy beaches. Seeing incredible tall ones in an area similar with our mountains back home was even more charming.

There are several trails through Cocora Valley, exploring the mountains, the small river and some waterfalls. For us, the best option was a horse ride, which is very popular in the area. It was a first for me, but I absolutely loved it (except the muscle soreness I felt the next day). Eric enjoyed it too and I saw lots of older kids riding their own horse. I understood the fear from animals is something that we, adults, are creating in the minds of our kids. I hope to be able to avoid this for Eric as he grows older!

Cost: 20,000-60,000 COP/person, depending on the route
Time: 1-6 hours, depending on the route

5. BioParque Ukumari in Pereira

Not particular fans of Zoo parks, we decided to visit Ukumari to find out more about South American fauna. The BioParque is organised in two sections, the Andes and the African. Between the two there is a large plaza with several food options. It is advisable to take a break here at least to refuel with some fresh fruits, or you won’t be able to absorb so much information.

We enjoyed a lot the first part, as it featured lots of animals we’ve never seen before. It was a learning experience for us too, not just for Eric! The space for the animals is as close as possible to their natural habitat and, wherever applicable, several species share a large area. Eric enjoyed the most the birds section, with lots of colourful parrots.

Cost: 28,000 COP/person (20,000 COP for kids)
Time: 2-4 hours

Of course these are not the only options if you travel to the Coffee Triangle with kids. The whole area is like a huge natural park, with lots of bio reservations to be explored. Plus some more theme parks which should be great for kids that are a bit older than Eric.

You can find here more tips on what to do in Colombia with kids.

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Zona cafetera with a toddler

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2 comments

  • The Coffee Triangle - The Happy Kid - Family Travel
    December 25, 2019

    […] we were road tripping through the coffee axis, we stopped by several small farms to get the local, authentic feeling. We skipped the tours […]

    Reply
    • Lardet
      December 10, 2023

      Hello,
      do you have the name of the coffee farm you visited please?
      best regards

      Reply

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Căldură mare în ultimele zile, soluția a fost Căldură mare în ultimele zile, soluția a fost să evadăm din oraș ☀️🌳🥰, spre munte, natură și relaxare
Weekend de vis în care am sărbătorit prieteni d Weekend de vis în care am sărbătorit prieteni dragi 🥰
Liniștea serilor de vară afară, în natură 🥰
Voi pe unde evadați pe canicula asta?
Sunt așa frumoase serile de vară în oraș încât profităm de fiecare moment afară 🥰
Unde a zburat deja luna Iunie?!? 🫣 Chiar nu mai Unde a zburat deja luna Iunie?!? 🫣 Chiar nu mai pot ține pasul la cât de repede trece timpul… probabil ar trebui să îmi încetinesc eu ritmul și să nu mai plănuieac să fac atât de multe 🤷‍♀️.
A mai trecut un an școlar 🥹🥹🥹 Și cu fi A mai trecut un an școlar 🥹🥹🥹

Și cu fiecare an care trece sunt tot mai fericită și mai recunoascătoare pentru mediul în care se dezvoltă Eric:
❤️ Un loc ce încurajează natural curiozitatea și creativitatea copiilor, fără stres și presiune
❤️ O comunitate unde Eric merge cu drag și povestește entuziasmat despre toate activitățile de peste zi
❤️ O școală ce nu standardizează elevii și nu are ca scop încadrarea lor în niște parametri rigizi
❤️ Un grup de adulți empatici și implicați activ în a cultiva unicitatea fiecărui mic suflet pe care îl modelează 
❤️ O petrecere de final de an școlar relaxată, cu veselie și conectare, fără diplome și clasamente.

Vacanță frumoasă tuturor copiilor și părinților!

#montessoricluj #scoalamontessori #vacantamare

scoala montessori | educatie montessori | copii montessori | montessori cluj | educatie alternativa
N-aveam multe weekenduri fără program pe vara as N-aveam multe weekenduri fără program pe vara asta, dar azi am rezolvat cu planurile și pentru acestea: o să le petrec fix aici 🥰, la @wonderlandcluj, de departe cea mai mișto piscină din zonă.

#piscinecluj #lapiscina #avenitvara #ilovecluj #wonderlandcluj 

piscina cluj | wonderland cluj | piscina wonderland | weekend in cluj
Ador perioada aceasta din an, când vremea e super Ador perioada aceasta din an, când vremea e superbă iar orașul e plin de evenimente și voie bună 🥰. Și e abia începutul verii ☀️!

#sportsfestival #sportsfestivalcluj #ilovecluj #evaraiar
🌍 De ce sunt dependentă de călătorii? Pentr 🌍 De ce sunt dependentă de călătorii?

Pentru că nicio cafea nu-mi dă energie ca planurile unei noi aventuri

Pentru că nu există terapie mai bună decât o hartă și un bilet de avion

Pentru că nu există workout mai bun decât 30,000 de pași într-un oraș nou

Pentru că lumea e prea mare ca să stau într-un singur loc!

Ador emoția bagajului făcut pe ultima sută de metri, aerul de aeroport, senzația aia când roțile avionului părăsesc solul, mirosului unei camere de hotel, prânzurile unde nu înțeleg exact ce mănânc…

dar mai ales, ador sentimentul că oriunde merg, mă regăsesc încă un pic!

#traveladdiction #lifewithasuitcase #wanderlustgirl #fuginlume #traiestesicalatoreste #infinitefootsteps #traveltherapy
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