5Bogotá Reviews: What Real Travelers Say About Bogotá’s #1 Local Experience Company
There are tour companies. And then there are experiences that people talk about for years. 5Bogotá, a women-founded local experience company based in Colombia’s capital, sits firmly in the second category. With a perfect 5.0 rating on TripAdvisor across 206 reviews and the ranking of #1 of 137 Classes & Workshops in Bogotá, their track record is one of the strongest in the city — and the reviews explain exactly why.
In 2016, TripAdvisor awarded 5Bogotá its Certificate of Excellence — a recognition given only to the top-performing hospitality businesses on the platform based on consistent quality, service, and traveler satisfaction. More than a decade later, that standard hasn’t slipped.
Here’s what real travelers from around the world have to say.
“It Didn’t Feel Like a Tour — It Felt Like Walking Around with a Friend”
The phrase that appears again and again in 5Bogotá’s reviews isn’t about the food, the history, or even the itinerary. It’s about how the experience feels. Time and again, travelers describe a quality that’s surprisingly rare in the tourism industry: genuine human connection.
Sophie E., who visited in January 2026 with her parents, described the food tour in downtown Bogotá as one of the best things they did during their whole trip:
“It didn’t feel like a tour where someone just repeats a script — it felt more like walking around with a friend who loves Bogotá and wants to show it to you.”
Their guide, Alvarito, took them through hot chocolate with cheese, tamal, changua, empanadas, almojábanas, pan de yuca, and a drink made with coca leaves — dishes Sophie says she would never have found on her own. What stood out most was the context: “He didn’t only talk about the food but also about the history of the area, the buildings and how the city has changed.”
This is the thread that runs through virtually every 5Bogotá review. The experience is knowledgeable without being academic, personal without being performative.
The Cooking Class: “Our Best Meal in Three Days in Bogotá”
The Bogotá Cooking Class is 5Bogotá’s signature offering — and the reviews for it are exceptional. Travelers consistently describe it not just as a fun activity, but as the culinary highlight of their entire trip to Colombia.
Floyd A., visiting from Colorado in January 2025, put it simply: “We have been in Bogotá for three days and this was our best meal.” He and his wife took the class with Esperanza, the local host, and praised the empanadas and plantains as outstanding, the dessert as unique and delicious, and the whole atmosphere as warm and genuine.
Simon B., visiting from London with his partner in April 2025, described the class in detail: it began with fruit tasting — grenadillas, uchuvas, maracuyás — followed by a traditional lulo drink, then patacones made the traditional way, then empanadas stuffed with mushrooms, spinach, and cheese, finishing with a dessert of stewed uchuvas on mozzarella. He added: “3 hours later we left both satisfied and full at the same time.”
What comes through in these reviews is the intimacy of the setting — a real apartment, a real kitchen, a real family. One reviewer from Fort Lauderdale described arriving at the apartment of Esperanza and her son Herman:
“We were instantly immersed in Colombian hospitality. We were introduced to a delicious sampling array of typical Colombian fruits: uchuva, tomate de árbol, lulo, guayaba, maracuyá, and feijoa. Her apartment has beautiful views from the balcony, which is visited by the occasional hummingbird.”
The Farmers Market & Cooking Lesson: “Absolutely Perfect”
For travelers who want to experience both the market and the kitchen in a single morning, 5Bogotá offers the Farmers Market & Cooking Lesson — a combination that reviewers describe as one of the most complete cultural experiences in Bogotá.
Fabienne D., who visited in November 2025 with friends, gave it five stars and wrote:
“The market visit was fascinating, and Alvaro took plenty of time to answer all our questions and adapt the experience to our interests. Cooking together at his home was a real highlight — very authentic, relaxed, and full of laughter. The whole experience felt warm and personal.”
The ability to adapt to the traveler’s interests — rather than running a fixed, rigid programme — is something reviewers notice repeatedly. 5Bogotá’s hosts don’t just deliver a service: they listen.
Eating with Locals: “One of the Highlights of Our Trip to Bogotá”
The Eating with Locals experience — sharing a home-cooked meal with a Bogotá family — generates some of the most emotionally resonant reviews on the entire profile.
Si Ning C., who visited in July 2024 with friends, wrote:
“Esperanza and Herman warmly invited us into their beautiful home where we were taught how to make empanadas, patacones, and lulo juice and learned about Colombian culture, heritage, and art. This was one of the highlights of our trip to Bogota and Colombia in general. We would recommend this experience to anyone and everyone!”
José S., visiting from the Netherlands in February 2024, captured exactly what makes these experiences work:
“Super fun to see how these Colombians live and how they approach life. It was so much fun and we had a great time. The food was delicious, and we enjoyed the conversations.”
And Becky H., from Boulder, Colorado, who did the Eat with a Local tour with Diana back in July 2018 — one of 5Bogotá’s longest-tenured hosts — described an evening that evolved from a meal into a genuine cross-cultural conversation:
“Diana is warm and open and we immediately felt welcome. We started out speaking English, but when she found out our 16-year-old son studied Spanish, she and the Spanish-speakers launched into a spirited conversation with him in Spanish. He kept right up! Really a fun night!”
What Loyal Repeat Travelers Say
Some of the most compelling testimony on 5Bogotá’s profile comes not from first-time visitors, but from travelers who keep coming back.
dperez123, based in Brooklyn, New York, has used 5Bogotá across four consecutive years and called the team’s work remarkable across every dimension:
“This amazing woman-owned business has always left me speechless with their penchant for detail, flexibility, creativity, and splendid services. We’ve had tours across the coffee region — Armenia, Pereira, Filandia. They’ve also provided extraordinary advice for our travels in Medellín, Cartagena, and Bogotá. My family includes teens, elderly (over 80 years old), people with mobility needs — and 5Bogotá has tailored all of our needs with patience, kindness, and versatility.”
This review points to something important: 5Bogotá is not a one-size-fits-all operation. They work with families of all ages and needs, and they do it with the kind of adaptability that most tour operators can’t match.
The same reviewer added something that speaks volumes about trust: “5Bogotá is now not just a service for our family — they are our conduit to feel and experience Colombia like a local.”
The Food Tour: A Walk Through Bogotá’s History and Flavors
For travelers who want to understand a city’s food culture on foot, 5Bogotá’s Food by Foot Tour through downtown Bogotá is consistently praised as one of the most well-rounded experiences in the city.
Rebecca W., a Bogotá resident who reviewed the experience in 2015 — one of the earliest reviews on the profile — set the tone for what dozens of travelers would say after her:
“If you want to get to know the real Bogotá and not just be herded along with other tourists, you need to check out 5Bogotá. It is a young company founded and run by several young Colombian women who are part of the country’s growing entrepreneurship scene, and are trying to spread the true beauty and nature of Colombia.”
Her tour included artisan coffee tasting, a walk through La Candelaria starting at Plaza de Bolívar, hot chocolate with cheese (“sounds crazy — don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it!”), almojábanas, tamales, agua de panela, changua, envueltos, and a fruit tasting at a produce market. All of this guided by Paula, described as knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and genuinely happy to answer every question.
What Sets 5Bogotá Apart: A Pattern Across 200+ Reviews
Reading through the full body of 5Bogotá’s TripAdvisor reviews, certain qualities appear consistently across different years, different countries of origin, and different types of experiences:
Hosts who treat guests as people, not customers. Whether it’s Esperanza inviting you into her kitchen, Alvaro adapting the market tour to your specific interests, or Alvarito explaining the layers of history behind a building you pass on a food walk — the human quality is constant.
Flexibility for all types of travelers. Families with elderly relatives and mobility needs. Solo travelers. Couples. Friend groups. Teens. The reviews document an ability to meet travelers where they are.
Going beyond the food. Every tour touches on history, culture, art, and daily Colombian life. The empanada recipe is the vehicle; Colombian identity is the destination.
A commitment to authenticity. As one early reviewer put it, 5Bogotá offers the experience that many travelers crave but rarely find: genuine local life, unfiltered by the conventions of mass tourism.
The Numbers Behind the Reputation
- 5.0 out of 5.0 — perfect score across 206 reviews on TripAdvisor
- #1 of 137 Classes & Workshops in Bogotá
- TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence — awarded in 2016
- Reviewers from the United States, United Kingdom, Netherlands, France, Colombia, and beyond
- Experiences offered in both English and Spanish
- Operated by a women-owned and founded local team
Plan Your Experience with 5Bogotá
Whether you’re drawn to the cooking class, the farmers market tour, the food walk through La Candelaria, or a home-cooked meal with a local family, 5Bogotá’s experiences are available throughout the week and can be adapted to your group’s size, interests, and pace.
Browse all 5Bogotá experiences →
To book or inquire, contact the team at:
- 📧 info@5bogota.com
- 📞 +57 313 278 5898 / +57 314 359 1343
- 🌐 5bogota.com
Or read more traveler reviews directly on 5Bogotá’s TripAdvisor profile.
All traveler quotes in this article are drawn from published reviews on 5Bogotá’s TripAdvisor profile. Reviews reflect the personal opinions of travelers and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
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