Colombia Itinerary, buses, solo female travellers, malaria, weather etc

Hi all,
arriving in Cartagena 26 March, then have 2 months to get to Lima to meet up with friends arriving. At this stage i'm thinking of allowing about 3 weeks for Colombia, then onto Ecuador and Peru. Does this sound reasonable?
I'll be meeting up with a Colombian friend in Cartagena to get me started, so i'll probably spend atleast a few days around the area, then to Santa Marta / Taganga / Tayrona, and maybe Cuidad Perdida if it sounds promising when i get there (safety, weather, tour running). From there i'll probably head down to Bogota, (maybe break the trip at Bucaramanga?), and spend a few days checking out the city, catching up with my friend again, visiting Zipaquira and whatever else is recommended. From there I'm thinking head to Cali (again maybe with a stopover somewhere?), then Popayan, San Agustin, and off to Ecuador. I'm no doubt missing heaps (namely zona cafetera i notice now), so all suggestions are welcome :)
I'm 22 female aussie, well travelled (usually solo), but my spanish is very basic (hope to pick it up or stop for lessons somewhere). Generally safe for me to be travelling alone? I usually stay in hostels so will hopefully meet some other tourists to share parts of the trip with.
Any particular areas that the overnight buses should be avoided?
Whats the malaria situation? I'd rather save my Malarone for later in my trip if at all possible.
And what kind of weather can i expect at this time of year?
Thanks!
Katie

i travelled solo thru colombia last may/june and had no problems meeting people in hostels etc. i loved colombia and stayed 7 weeks in the end and really had to force myself towards the border as needed to see the rest of SA!
i did a few nite buses and had no problems at all. felt safe 95% of the time i was in Colombia ... the only dodgy part was coming home late at nite to the shady characters lurking around the front door of the platypus #2 in Bogota. i felt more unsafe in Peru than i did in any of the SA countries i went to.
highlights for me were the cuidad perdida trek... did the 7 day one and was great, albeit a little tough going for the last 3 days, Parque Tayrona(go with someone you know if possible...) and Salento. the whole country is cool in my opinion, so if you're enjoying it... just stay a little longer. and yeah... having some basic spanish is ideal! have fun.

Thanks for the reply :)
Unfortunately i have to be in Lima for end of May, so i certainly couldnt manage 7 weeks in Colombia no matter how much i may decide i want to!
Where did you use night busses?
Salento may be an ideal stop for me on the way down to Cali from Bogota (or Medellin if someone convinces me), thanks for the tip there.

Any recs for hostels or tour / bus companies you used?

Hi Katiemaree,

If u r going to meet up someone in cartagena good. About traveling by bus don't worry it safe now u won't have problems. the Itinerary u are planning is good. If u need someone to show u bogota when you arrive just drop me a line. I work in Chapinorte hostel in Bogota if u need more info.
direcciongeneral@cable.co.net

Have an exellent trip. c ya in Bogota.

Hi there:
all the places you are trying to visit in Colombia are very nice, I´m just not sure if 3 weeks would be enough for that.

#4 - rather than just telling me it won't work, would you mind telling me what you think would work?
The only definates on my itinerary for Colombia are Cartagena, Bogota and San Agustin. Santa Marta / Tayrona / Taganga are close by so i wont miss much time in travelling there. Cali, Medellin and Salento i have heard good things about, so if they fit in i will put them in. And Popayan i understand i will have to stop at to transfer to San Agustin. 3 weeks is just a rough guide allowing for the fact that i have 2 months (just under 9 weeks) to get from Cartagena to Lima, if i go over it will just mean i will have to pick up the slack later on.

Night busses are a poor idea-if-and I say if-anything ever goes wrong it's on a night bus.

And why sleep through some of the most scenery on the planet?

How much time would you recommend for the north Caribbean section (Cartagena, Santa Marta and surrounds)?

I've got 2 weeks (never enough, I know!) and am debating between these four options:

1. Cartagena/Santa Marta (inc surrounds) only

2. Cartagena/Santa Marta (inc surronuds) -> San Gil -> Villa de Leyva -> Bogota

3. Cartagena/Santa Marta (inc surrounds) -> Merida, Venezuela -> Los Roques, Venezuela

4. Cartagena/Santa Marta (inc surrounds) -> Coro, Venezuela -> Los Roques, Venezuela

What would you all recommend?

About me (in case it helps in recommendations): A pretty seasoned backpacker. Will be traveling solo this time. Travel "flashpacker style" (not bottom of the barrel lodging/transport -- willing to pay a few extra dollars for more comfort and safety). I will travel on DAY buses only. I've been to all of Central America, Ecuador, Argentina, Uraguay.

Hi Katie,

How was your trip? Any advice? I may be going to Colombia for 3 weeks in December so I'd love to hear tips and itinerary recommendations...thanks!

Oceania26 - will be in Medellin for about 10 days around Christmas. Hurry-up and book your flights, cause they're not getting any cheaper!!! Just caught AA today amidst their website crashing in changing/cutting schedules. Pinned them to a $799 flight, but most all websites are pricing well above $1,000 unless you go through Spirit. (Poor agents; none of their AA systems had updated to what the website or any of the airfares sites were showing; still not sure if I arrive at MDE at 8:35 or 10:15pm - lol)

Hi JoseKevo - I was just actually searching around and I managed to find one for $800 CAD!! That includes taxes! It's from Toronto to Panama City and Bogota to Toronto. However, I just decided this weekend I'm going on a trip and I'm not totally sure it's Colombia (90%) and I have to get approval from work to take of the time.

Do you have any itinerary suggestions?

Based on keeping up with your recent Central American trek, it's going to be hard to decide and limit where not to go! Since you're starting/ending in Bogota, the trampled route heads up through Bucaramanga towards the coast and Cartagena, and then sometimes back through Medellin or straight back to Bogota. Trouble is...there are SO MANY jumping-off points to stop along the way.

If you got that price on the flight, book it while it's hot and you'll have 6 months to come up with a plan! From reading the latest reviews, the new LP Colombia guidebook or other series' recent editions aren't much better than the older ones. You'll find loads of info right here on TT in the Colombia category, and numerous active posters that can give you timely and accurate knowledge on specifics on/off the tourist trail. My month last year barely scratched the Caribbean coast but based on your apparent interest in history, Cartagena for two days in the city and another day to take the day-trip to Volcán Totuomo.

Wasn't overly impressed with Playa Blanca/Islas Rosario. Head to Parque Nacional Tayrona for beach, and a lot of the younger crowd seems to enjoy Taganga though I much preferred Santa Marta - even more so than Cartagena. And if you're a Simón Bolivar or Gabriel García Márquez fan, can definitely hook you up along the coast. (Supposedly the coast gets crowded during Christmas; might plan for that.)

If you want to stop through Medellin, would be nice to finally meet you. Medellin has a fantastic Luces de Navidad celebration to enjoy for the holidays. Will probably do some reading-up on Pablo Escobar and go skulkin' around with lite research, want to do the hang-gliding thing and take at least a day in Santa Fe de Antoquia, but otherwise just hang and chill on a real casual local level. Suerte chica; compared to México, Guatemala and Honduras, you're going to love Colombia!