Getting to and Around Colombia

Most of the Colombia trips we suggest start in Bogotá, and many pass through it more than once. Of all the airports in Colombia, Bogotá’s El Dorado (BOG) is the one the network is built around: most long-haul flights land there, and the domestic routes fan out from it. Medellín (MDE) and Cartagena (CTG) are the other main front doors. Once you are in, expect to fly more than the map suggests. The distances look short. The Andes make them long.

Getting There: Bogotá, Medellín and Cartagena

Bogotá’s Aeropuerto Internacional El Dorado is Colombia’s largest airport. In 2024 it handled 45.8 million passengers, more than any other airport in South America, according to Colombia’s civil aviation authority, Aerocivil.

Non-stop flights reach Bogotá from eleven US cities, and from Toronto and Montreal. From Europe, Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and London Heathrow fly direct in roughly 10 to 11 hours. Turkish Airlines comes in from Istanbul and returns via Panama City, and KLM’s Amsterdam flight continues to Cartagena and flies home from there.

El Dorado sits at 8,360 feet (2,547 m): read staying healthy in Colombia before planning a long first day, and the Colombia visa requirements for entry rules.

Medellín has two airports

José María Córdova (MDE), Colombia’s second-busiest airport, lies outside the city in Rionegro and takes the international flights, from the US and Madrid. Olaya Herrera (EOH), in Medellín itself, is the regional airport: Bogotá, Manizales, Nuquí on the Pacific. One international airport, one domestic. Check which one your ticket names, and see our Medellín tours.

Cartagena, Cali and the Panama City shortcut

Cartagena’s Rafael Núñez airport (CTG) has its own non-stops to the US, Toronto and Amsterdam. Cali (CLO) and Barranquilla (BAQ) have non-stops from Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Cali also from Madrid. And Copa flies non-stop from Panama City to Pereira (PEI), Bucaramanga (BGA), Santa Marta (SMR) and San Andrés (ADZ) as well as the bigger cities, so you can land in the coffee region or on the Caribbean coast without touching Bogotá.

From Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand

Count on a connection. From Sydney or Auckland, go through Santiago de Chile or the US; from Africa, through Europe or São Paulo; from Asia and the Middle East, through Europe or North America.

Getting Around Colombia: Why You Fly

North of the Ecuador border the Andes split into three parallel ranges, with the Magdalena and Cauca river valleys between them. Bogotá’s airport is at 8,360 feet, Cartagena’s at 7.

Our own itineraries show it. Neiva airport to San Agustín is four to five hours by road. Most flights between regions take an hour to an hour and a half. So our itineraries mostly drive within a region and fly between regions. Before a long road day, read our Colombia safety advice.

Bogotá is the hub, and flights between two regional cities often connect there: on our Highlights of Colombia tour, Armenia to Neiva means a change of planes in Bogotá.

The Flights Our Colombia Itineraries Use

Typical scheduled flight times as of October 2026. Frequencies change: treat this as a guide, not a timetable.

Manizales, the third coffee capital, has few flights, all on one small regional airline, and our coffee itineraries use Pereira or Armenia. And there is no road to Leticia: from the rest of Colombia, you fly.

How We Route a Colombia Trip

Do not assume you fly in and out of Bogotá. Our Botanical tour lands in Bogotá and leaves from Santa Marta, after a drive along the Caribbean coast from Cartagena. If your trip ends on the coast, Cartagena’s own non-stops can fly you home from there.

Use the direct regional flights above: a coast-and-coffee trip like our Gourmet tour needs no change of planes in Bogotá. Some legs are better on the ground: Villa de Leyva and Boyacá are about four hours out of Bogotá, and the Salt Cathedral at Zipaquirá is two hours away on the Bogotá tourist train.

And leave room for the weather. Our co-founder Juergen Keller, on the whole continent: “Some routes are flown only 3 times a week and easily canceled due to bad weather and bad airport infrastructure. Leave slack in your trip!” Big airports close too. One April morning in 2024, fog shut Medellín’s José María Córdova and held up 29 flights. If your domestic flight is on a separate ticket, leave a generous connection in Bogotá, and depending on your flight home, take a last night there, as our Gourmet tour suggests. See the best time to visit Colombia and Colombia’s weather by region.

How Flights Fit Your Colombia Trip

Our Colombia itineraries are priced without flights; every tour page says flights are quoted separately. International flights are not included. The domestic legs your itinerary needs are quoted with it, so the connections and nights in between fit together. Tell us where you want to start and finish, and we will design the route around that: start with a custom Colombia itinerary, browse our Colombia coffee tours, or begin with our Colombia travel guide.

Colombia Flights: Questions Travelers Ask

What are the main international airports in Colombia?

Bogotá (BOG), Medellín (MDE), Cartagena (CTG) and Cali (CLO) have flights from the US and Europe, and Barranquilla (BAQ) from the US. Pereira (PEI), Bucaramanga (BGA), Santa Marta (SMR) and San Andrés (ADZ) have international flights from Panama City.

Where should I fly into Colombia?

Bogotá for most trips: the most flights, and the domestic network starts there. Cartagena if you start on the Caribbean, Medellín if you start in Antioquia. And consider flying home from a different city.

Which US cities have non-stop flights to Colombia?

As of October 2026, Bogotá has non-stops from Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Tampa, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Washington DC, New York, Boston and Chicago. Miami and Fort Lauderdale also fly non-stop to Medellín, Cartagena, Cali and Barranquilla; New York to Medellín and Cartagena; Houston to Medellín; Atlanta to Cartagena.

How long is the flight to Colombia?

To Bogotá: from Miami about 3 h 45 m, Atlanta about 4 h 45 m, Houston about 5 hours, New York about 5 h 50 m, Boston or Chicago a little over 6 hours, Toronto or Montreal about 6 hours, Madrid about 10 h 15 m, Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt or London about 11 hours. Miami to Cartagena is just under 3 hours.

What airlines fly to Colombia?

As of October 2026: from the US, Avianca, American, United, Delta, LATAM and JetBlue; from Canada, Air Canada, Avianca and Air Transat; from Europe, Avianca, Iberia, Air Europa, Air France, KLM, Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines and World2Fly; from Panama City, Copa.

Which airlines fly within Colombia?

Avianca and LATAM fly the main routes, and on many of them the low-cost JetSMART, which says it is now the third-largest domestic airline, and Wingo. Satena and Clic (formerly EasyFly) reach smaller airports such as Nuquí and Manizales. Viva Air, which older guides still list, stopped flying in February 2023.