What to bring¶

Bags and packing for this Colombia spine: wedding + Salento (cobbles / hills) + short Cali + airports. Item checklist sits with the bag strategy so you don’t invent a second page later.

See also the short legacy note: Packing (points here).

Bags — recommendation for this trip¶

Don’t rely on one huge hiking backpack alone if you’re carrying a wedding suit, variable layers, and ~2 weeks of kit. It’s doable with ruthless compression, but the suit gets crushed, the pack is miserable after a redeye, and you’ll hate stairs/cobbles with 15+ kg on your back.

Preferred setup (2 pieces):

Piece	Role	Spec vibe
Main bag	Clothes, shoes, toiletries, suit (protected)	Soft duffel or soft-sided trolley ~55–70 L (checkable). Soft sides squash into bus boots / tuk-tuks better than a hard spinner.
Daypack	Daily carry	20–30 L non-huge backpack: water, layer, rain shell, phone, Translate offline, documents, one change if needed

That matches what you sketched (additional small trolley + non-big backpack) — yes, that’s enough if the trolley isn’t a giant hard-shell and the daypack stays daypack-sized.

Suit¶

Pack in the main bag: suit folder / plastic dry-cleaner bag + roll gently, or fold with tissue at shoulders; put on top so it isn’t under shoes.
Or a thin garment bag as cabin item (if airline allows a personal item + cabin bag — check Avianca outbound / United return).
Wedding shoes: shoe bag inside main bag; don’t wear hiking boots to the ceremony.

Weather (variable altitudes)¶

You don’t need a wardrobe per climate — you need layers:

Bogotá / Salento evenings: light fleece or sweater
Days / Cali: T-shirts, breathable trousers
One packable rain shell (not a heavy coat)
Keep the shell + one warm layer in the daypack every day

One backpack only? When it works¶

A single 40–50 L travel backpack can work if: no hard suit (or you wear the jacket on the plane), very tight packing, and you’re happy carrying it on every transfer. For your wedding + multi-stop plan, the two-bag setup is kinder.

Will a trolley be difficult in Colombia?¶

Context	Trolley OK?
Airports (BOG, AXM, CLO, LHR)	Yes — normal
Bogotá hotel ↔ taxi / app	Yes
Salento streets / hills / hostel stairs	Annoying — cobbles, uneven pavement; soft bag or backpack wins for walking
Coffee jeep / shared van / bus hold	Soft duffel easier than rigid spinner; wheels can snag
Cali San Antonio slopes	Short walks OK; don’t plan to roll it all day
Day trips (Cocora, Pance)	Leave trolley at the hotel — daypack only

Rule: trolley = city ↔ airport ↔ hotel. Walking towns = daypack. Soft-sided beats hard spinner for this route.

Airline bag reality (this booking)¶

Return United (FareLock hold): quote showed 1st checked bag included BOG→LHR — Flights. Confirm again when you purchase.
Outbound Avianca: check your ticket for cabin + checked allowance before you buy bags; don’t assume the same as United.
Prefer staying within 1 checked + 1 cabin/daypack to avoid fees and bus-boot chaos.

Packing list (short)¶

Layers + rain shell (altitude swings)
Wedding formal + smart-casual for Welcome — Wedding
Dance shoes / clothes you can move in
Offline Translate + phrase basics — Mindset
SIM / eSIM readiness — SIMs & mobile data
Photo: phone pole; optional GoPro; no drone — Photography & video

Decision¶

Option	Verdict
One big hiking backpack only	Possible; hard with suit — not preferred
Soft trolley/duffel + daypack	Best fit for wedding + Salento + Cali
Huge hard spinner + daypack	Works on paper; pain in Salento / hills — avoid if buying new