Departures of AmaWaterways’ new Colombia river cruise have sold out until the end of May, Co-Owner Greg Murphy has revealed ahead of the new itinerary’s launch on 15 March.

The new Magic of Colombia itinerary will establish the company as the only river cruise operator in Colombia. Embarking in Baranquilla and finishing in Cartagena, the voyage will follow a “figure eight” route down to Magangue, El Banco and Mompox aboard new ships the 30 stateroom AmaMagdalena and the 32-stateroom AmaMelodia.

Speaking to LATTE at Virtuoso ANZ Forum 2025 in Perth today, Murphy confirmed the new offering had sold incredibly well despite minimal promotion, with early sailings quickly filling up with repeat cruisers keen to try the new destination.

“The Magdalena River, because of its history from the Pre-Colombian period and conquistador era, has all these interesting ports that developed as a result of the river traffic that started in 1850 with the paddle wheelers and then that collapsed in 1962. So now we’re re-entering that market,” he said.

AmaWaterways built the docks and worked with the government to dredge certain parts of the river and its canal system. “The local villagers are so excited,” Murphy said.

“We’ve been working on this for years, and when the docks went in, that’s when the local villagers saw that it was really happening. We know that once we get it going and we’re successful, and the government knows this, that others will enter the market which will increase infrastructure.”

Both of the new vessels have been built in Colombia. “We built them in Colombia because we want the knowledge base there to service the vessels,” Murphy said.

He predicts the new itinerary will prove popular with Australian travellers, known for their love of adventure. “Meeting with the travel advisors today, it goes really well as an add-on to the Inca Trail , a Galapagos cruise or just a pre- and post- with us in Medellin or Panama City,” he said. “So the Aussies will travel down there not just for seven nights – they’ll add on.”

While the cruise operator does not have any additional South American project at this stage, he confirmed it is always on the look-out for exciting new destinations. “We’re always looking at places,” he said.

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