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We had an introduction to ecotourism in Colombia during our stay at Trekker Glamping in Minca. Colombia is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world and is known to be home to low impact ecotourism and adventure travel. We didn’t know much about ecotourism or Minca when we chose to stay at Trekker Glamping and our decision to visit was made with a little bit of naivety, based solely on the fact that it ‘looked cool’. Though we were right, it was ‘cool’, our stay at Trekker Glamping was so much more.
Photos by Rachel Faulds and Nabeel Chirathodi
Our transportation from El Rodadero to Trekker Glamping was organized for us by Trekker Glamping. Our communication for this was originally through email but eventually transferred to WhatsApp. If you are planning on staying here I definitely recommend installing WhatsApp as this is the preferred communication method in Colombia. We were picked up at our hotel in El Rodadero by taxi and taken to the town of Minca. Our cab stopped at a small side road near Hotel Minca La Casona where we were met by a Trekker Glamping off road vehicle.
There was an additional charge for this service, which was definitely expected and justified since we were using a private taxi. You can take a bus from Santa Marta to Minca for 8,000 pesos ($2.42 CAD) but since we were traveling with a bike box we felt like a taxi was the best option. The taxi was significantly more expensive. I’ve added a breakdown of our cost for this experience at the end of this blog post.
Photos by Rachel Faulds and Nabeel Chirathodi
Organizing your arrival plans for your stay is essential since you can’t drive up to the Glamping location unless you have a very specific quality of off-roading vehicle and are exceptional at navigating what they describe on their website as ‘an uncovered and hostile road’. You do have the option of hiking up (please note that you would be sharing the single path with vehicles as there is no designated hiking path) from Minca but I would definitely recommend using their transportation as being a passenger on this drive was really fun and the off-roading drive was included in the price of the stay.
Once we arrived we were both handed an umbrella (it was monsoon season and Minca has a tropical climate) and brought down a path to the lobby/reception. The reception area is the large dome where meals, board games, and refreshments are. We were given a lemonade and watched a video about ecotourism and Trekker Glamping.
In the video we were given some of the backstory of how Trekker Glamping came to be and learned about the sustainability practices of the Glamping site, the development and preservation efforts that went into building this Glamping location and the story of the people who built this Glamping site by hand with no machinery.
Photos by Rachel Faulds and Nabeel Chirathodi
As a reminder, Ecotourism involves connecting conservation and communities in sustainable travel. Our stay at Trekker Glamping was an introduction into ecotourism and you can read about their pillars of sustainability on their website. The room we chose was the Luxury Suite. It was an individual pod with an ensuite washroom and a extra bed in a loft. Though there was only two of us, this pod could comfortably fit at least four people. The room was equipped with a fully stocked mini fridge, misquito netting around the main bed and a ensuite washroom. The best part of the room was the location and the view. This was highlighted by the large balcony and mesh net. We were provided with outdoor blanket and pillows to relax on the netting.
The Food
Upon check in we were notified that the meals are made to order and would take some time to prepare. So we were asked to communicate our order via WhatsApp about 30 minutes before we planned on walking up to the restaurant. This was really easy to do since we were provided with the menu which included prices and a desciption of the food.
Due to the remote location of Trekker Glamping we felt that the on-site food was our best option. You can leave the Glamping venue, but the drive down into Minca is 30+ minutes since it is a single track lane.
We were really impressed with the menu and felt that the pricing was fair. There were vegetarian friendly options and it was our experience that everything we ordered tasted incredible.
You can find the menu on the Trekker Glamping Website here.
Photos by Rachel Faulds and Nabeel Chirathodi From Left To Right: Breakfast Eggs (this was not on the menu but communicated via WhatsApp), Filet Mignon, Lentejas al Curry.
The Cost
I loved our experience at Trekker Glamping and really hope to go back but it was the most expensive part of our trip to Colombia. You can find the breakdown of what we spent and ways to spend less than we did below:
Getting to Trekker Glamping: We organized a private cab from our hotel in El Rodadero to the meeting location in Minca as well as a private cab from Minca to Simon Bolivar Internation Airport through Trekker Glamping. This was done for a total surcharge of 350,000 COP which, at the time of writing this is $104 CAD. This is very expesive for transportation in Colombia, however we felt it was the best option for us since we were travelling with a bike box. A cheaper alternative would be taking the bus from Santa Marta to Minca for 8.000 COP (or $2.42 CAD at the time of writing this). The transportation from Minca to the location of Trekker Glamping (through the 'uncovered and hostile road') was included in the cost of accomodation.
Cost of Accomodation: We visited on weekdays in mid September. Which dates you pick to travel do impact the cost. We also chose to stay in the Luxury Suite because it has an indoor private bathroom. This room was equipped with a stocked mini fridge that we also accessed at a surcharge. There was full transparency with the pricing and a list of the cost of everything in the mini fridge. For our one night stay we paid 948.000COP which, at the time of writing this is $281.77 CAD. This price did included a full breakfast the following morning and a lemonade upon arrival.
Also included in the cost was access to the pool, common areas and a fire pit at night.
There were different suites available to chose from at different rates.
Cost of Food: At the time of booking you can pay an addional fee which would cover breakfast, lunch and dinner. We chose not to add in this fee and pay for our food as we ate it.
While we were there we had two lunches, one dinner, and did some hefty damage to our mini fridge. The total cost for the meals, mini fridge snacks, a few hot beverages and a bottle of wine came to 672.000 COP or $200 CAD.
Additonal Costs: There is an option of adding in excursions or relaxation activies at an additional costs. We chose not to add in any activities and instead just enjoyed our surroundings.
Things to Know
Closest Airport: Simon Bolivar International Airport
Official Language: Spanish
Currency: Colombian Peso
Closest Canadian Embassy: Bogota (you can find information about the embassy services and on how to contact the embassy here).
Type of Climate: Tropical Monsoon. This means you have high temperatures and a lot of rainfall throughout the year.
Monsoon(wet) Season: May-October
Dry Season: December-April
I'd like to reiterate how incredible Trekker Glamping was. It was easily the best hotel experience that both Nabeel and I have ever had. We loved the location, the people and the food. Everything surpassed our expectations. That being said, it can be expensive. Definitely splurdge if your budget allows, but for us we could only afford one amazing night here. Please note due to the location and the structure that the ecolodge is built around it is not accessible friendly. If you require your trip to be more accessible there are other ecolodges around the area which operate at varying price points.
Please note that this post was written from our perspective and experiences as a interracial heterosexual couple from Canada. Your experiences may vary. Please read the Canadian travel advisory (or your own countries travel advisory) prior to travel.