Colombia
Cartagena’s walled town is the obvious opener, cobbles, bougainvillea over the balconies, and seafood worth planning a day around. Bogotá sits at 2,640 metres, so bring a jumper for the evenings, and give it a morning for the Museo del Oro and the largest collection of pre-Hispanic goldwork anywhere. Medellín, a short flight from the capital, has turned itself around so completely that it is now one of the easiest cities in the region to spend a few days in.
Inland from the coast, the Coffee Triangle sits in the hills of the central Andes, where you can stay on a working finca and walk up into the Cocora Valley among wax palms sixty metres tall. Eleven or twelve days covers three of those comfortably. Multi-centre itineraries from £2,199 per person.