From Wikitravel

Santa Marta is a city in the Magdalena Department of Colombia's Costa Norte.

[edit] Understand

Santa Marta an important commercial port and tourist destination. Every day, there are cargo ships coming and going and the action is very much visible. From the beach, the view of the Caribbean Sea is more or less to the west (beautiful sunsets) with a huge rock of an island jutting up out of the water to make a somewhat dramatic effect. Off to the right is the port snug behind another even bigger rock. This is a decent beach if you like beaches that are right in town with lots of people, vendors, and noise. Vendors are rather aggressive if you are on the beach.

Aside from the old center, the main attractions of Santa Marta are its two resort-like suburbs El Rodadero, to the south, and Taganga, to the north. El Rodadero has several high-end hotels and private "clubs" that cater mostly to wealthy Colombians, whereas Taganga was originally a fishing village and is very popular with (mostly foreign) backpackers. Taganga has many scuba-diving agencies.

There is a high season and low season. High season is December through April, with its peak from mid-december to late January (due to school and university vacations).

[edit] Get in

The Simón Bolívar airport (same name as the one in Caracas, Venezuela) has non-stop flights from Bogotá and Medellín. It is located along the beach, 20 min south of town, but much closer to most of the beach resorts and only 10 min from El Rodadero (main beach). If you get in from abroad check if baggage is unloaded in Bogota even if airlines promise they´ll send the baggage directly to Santa Marta.

The bus station is all the way out of town on the main highway (15,000 pesos to the beach in taxi, some charge tourists 10,000. To avoid this, you should fix the price before you get into the taxi;-). Mini-bus 1200 Pesos. Bus rides are available from:

• Cartagena (3.5 hours).
• Barranquilla (2 hours).
• Medellín (15 hours).
• Bucaramanga (8 hours).
• Bogotá (16 hours).

For more comfortable road travel across northern Colombia, a few companies offer air conditioned van services between Cartagena and Santa Marta, with stops in Barranquilla en route. Cochetur seems to be the most reputable of these. Price is 50,000 pesos per person between the main two stops and they will pick you up and drop you off at your desired location in each city. Note: you will likely share the van with 6-8 people including the driver. Tipping did not appear to be expected but a thousand or two goes a long way here.

There are also exclusive private transfers by taxireservation which don't cost a lot more if you are more than one person and if you don't want to wait until the busses have picked up or dropped off anyone else.

[edit] Get around

Streets are numbered the beach can be considered "Carrera 1" or 1st St., and the first street is usually "Carrera 1A" or 1A St. The next street after the first row of buildings is Carrera 2 or 2nd St. Calles are streets running from north to south. Unlike bigger cities in Colombia, taxis do not run on a meter. payments range from 3500 pesos for a "lift" (usually a ride no more than 10 minutes) to upwards of 20,000 pesos, depending on where you go. If you meet someone who 'knows' a taxi driver, this can be a good opportunity to negotiate a price to your next checkpoint in Colombia. Some drivers will take you as far as Barranquilla, although you have to negotiate.

[edit][add listing] See

• Museo del Oro, Calle 14 No.2-67 (on plaza Bolivar). Displays a collection of precolumbian pottery, a nice collection of gold and a scale model of Ciudad Perdida. Free entrance.  edit

• Simon Bolivar's place of death, (Take a bus for 1,000 COP or taxi for 4,000 COP). Beautiful and very interesting gardens, lots of iguanas, study the map before getting any further. The guide will tell you only about the buildings and the history of the "Libertador". Entrance 10,000 COP.  edit

[edit][add listing] Do

• The nearby coral reefs provides good possibilities for scuba diving.

• On the beaches, you can usually rent a jet ski in increments of 10 minutes. If you are not comfortable operating one, you can usually ask for a ride around. Life jackets are provided.

• Neotropical Spanish School at Casa Scania: small size Spanish School focused on quality, 8 USD/hour with one student per teacher,6 USD per person in small groups.Course material,hot and cold drinks included.Study visits to Cartagena, Tayrona etc available. Casa Scania Calle 21 3-88 (between Carrera 3 and 4) Central Santa Marta. For more info see homepage:Neotropical For reservations: elsaligia@hotmail.com

• Academia Latina, professional language school in Santa Marta (Taganga). Learn Spanish with excellent skilled teachers in a inspiring environment. Good prices for private classes! Volunteering programs available (free of charge) and family stay. Free grammar list and after school activities, like salsa lessons. See [1]

• Visit Santa Marta's most beautiful natural places by day toursSanta Marta Day Trips

• Birdwatching at the world famous El Dorado bird reserve above Minca ProAves

[edit][add listing] Buy

Santa Marta is famous for its beach sellers. someone can go to the beach 365 days a year, there are always people wandering up and down the beach selling anything. The beaches in the northern suburb El Rodadero have aggressive sellers, take this as an opportunity to haggle. Usually aim for 2000-3000 Pesos below the price asked.

[edit][add listing] Eat

There are a lot of eating options. They seem to be good at roasting and grilling chicken. They do a good job of grilling beef tough but flavorful. Seafood is plentiful and relatively inexpensive lots of shrimp and seafood cocktail vendors. Most varieties of fruit are available even what is more common to cold climates. At night street vendors sell all types of snacks pizza, hamburgers, hot dogs, French fries, shakes, kabobs, rice in milk with coco, fried stuffed doughy things, etc.. Coffee, hot chocolate, and both hot cinnamon and lemon is omni-present.

• Restaurante El Españolete. Calle 13 no 2-45

Excellent Spanish food. Specialized in paellas, tapas and grilled meat. The owner, Toni, is from Valencia, Spain, and he can cook the real paella at a very reasonable price (less than $15 per person). His wife, Alexa, is Colombian and her smothies are the best (she uses fresh passion fruit, mango, and other varieties of tropical fruits). They are both really nice and provide their customers with helpful tips to visit the best places in Santa Marta. Lunch menu is about $5. The restaurant is housed in a colonial building and it is even haunted by a ghost!

• La Tasca - Tapas Bar, Calle 18 No 2- 72. Run by a spaniard, this small and cosy restaurant offers an excellent selection of typical spanish tapas at a fair price. It is a real experience for the palate of both locals and tourists.

• Agave Azul - Sabores de Mexico, Calle 14 No 3-74 phone 431 6121. Very good Mexican food prepared by fabulous New York trained chef Michael McMurdo. With a range from burritos to steaks to seafood this very elegant food will blow your mind but not break the bank. With lunch menu for $4.00 and dinner menu from $8.00 to $13.00. Open Tuesday to Friday for lunch and dinner and Saturday for dinner only. Happy Hour Margaritas 2X1 from 5-7 everyday.

• Merkabar / Welcome Restaurant, Calle 10 No 2-11. Good combination of local and gringo food. Good breakfasts, cheap filling lunches, and their famous "sopa del mar", soup overflowing with seafood. Their fruit juices are excellent. Gilberto, one of the brothers that owns and runs Merkabar, speaks English and is friendly and helpful with tourist needs.

• Ben & Josep´s bar & restaurant Carrera 1 # 18-67. (Dutch owner) On the beach road in front of the Park Hotel. The very best steak (filet mignon)in Santa Marta. Fine dining for a reasonable price.

• Restaurante El Escorial. A good restaurant is in the middle of the block behind the beach on 11th street

• Restaurante y Pescadería Manuel - Carrera 1A # 26-167, Santa Marta. 5-4231449. Very nice seafood.

• Restaurante El Santo Calle 21 - 2a 52 Centro Histórico, Santa Marta 5-423-6170 One of the few places in SM with good tender Argentinan meat and nice wine. Argentinan and Islandic owner. Very nice and welcoming.Check them out at Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/caf%C3%A9-El-Santo/45466381115

• Tim's Gourmet Coffee Shop Cra 1A 23-57 only 50 m from the entrance of the Marina in downtown Santa Marta. You´ll get free Wifi while you´re having a Fresh coffee made by beans direct from the organic growers on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada,Western Canadian/German pasteries and European style breakfasts daily until 2PM. Crepes and Deli Sandwiches all day. Phone:(5)431 5446 Cell: 311 663 3858 E-mail timscoffee@tayronadevelopments.ca Homepage: www.timsgourmetcoffee.com Opens at 7.15 AM everyday.

Tim's Owls Den Pub open until 10pm weekdays. 2am Friday & Saturday. 2 X 1 cocktails.

Street Food:

• Excellent seafood soup from a man at the corner of 13th st. and 4th Carr (diagonally opposite the small church.. next to sunglasses vendors. You'll see huge pots of soup). Very cheap and delicious, but only in mornings. Sells out by noon.

• There is a man who has been sitting on 14th street between 3rd and 4th carrera (behind the beach) selling shrimp cocktail at a reasonable price for 23 years.

• There is another man who has been sitting on 22th street on 1st carrera (in front of the beach) selling a delicious shrimp cocktail at a reasonable price and he is very reliable and well known in the city.

[edit][add listing] Drink

Santo Domingo Calle 17 No. 3 - 70 near the cathedral. The best place to party in Santa Marta. The owners are super nice, they will personally attend. The owners are two Spanish. That women more beautiful and rumba, to good music and really nice atmosphere.I always found it a good show. Thanks Elena and Kike

Crab's Bar - a fun rock n' roll bar. The Colombian owner (who is a spitting image of Neil Young) used to own a large rock club in Bogotá, but he sold it to settle down here. Every evening he VJ's videos of all the great classic rock bands. Friendly staff, great vibe, nice décor. Calle 18 No. 3-69 (between Carr 3 & 4). www.crabsbar.com

Burukuka - A trendy nightclub on the way towards El Rodadero. Burukuka sits on top of a hill overlooking the sea, with a great terrace. It's a high-end place, so dress appropriately. Also serves food. Vía al Edificio Cascadas del Rodadero, just out of town, to the south. [2].

The drink of choice is, of course, beer. Because Santa Marta can get brutally hot during the summer (upwards of 35 C/95F), it is a good idea to constantly have a bottle of water with you. During the evenings, when it gets cooler, beer and friends is often an excellent combination. It would be good idea to take a couple of "Stubbie Coolers" (Australian vernacular for an item which keeps the beer in your bottle cooler or longer) as the heat will have you drinking warm beer by the time you are at the end of your drink.

Soft drinks can be found at nearly every restaurant - sometimes you can even pick it up in glass bottles. They are cheap: a Drink usually costs no more than 2,000 COP.

Ask about Ben´s Bar on the Beach. Barrio Samario, La Puerta, and El Garage.

[edit][add listing] Sleep

If you are looking for a place to stay, there are somewhat more expensive hotels. 10th street is less expensive. These include:

• La Brisa Loca Backpackers, Calle 14 N3-58, ☎ (57)-(318-303-3666), [3]. With a much more central location than the tenth street hostels, it is situated directly between Plaza San Francisco and Parque Bolivar. Owned by two Californian brothers and built in an 80 year-old, neo-republican mansion and restored to recover its genuine colonial Caribbean feel , this is one hostel where you won’t feel like you’re still backpacking. While bringing comfort and convenience to your stay, it also imparts history and style. The large, high ceiling manor, with its eleven dorms and suites houses up to 60 people and provides beverages for many more. With pool, full size bar, hammock room, nightly meals, wifi, free internet and much more.  edit

• Hotel Miramar, Calle 10C No 1c-70, ☎ (57-5)-(423-3276). Classic South American Backpacker´s Hotel. Rooms are quite basic and somethimes it's hot, but the staff is great, Wi-Fi very fast and free, defacto tourist information office for surrounding area (Tayrona, Lost City, etc.). Currently being improved, also has a really friendly restaurant, and offers safe boxes for backpacks when going on tours. (They also have a location in Taganga at Calle 17 No. 2-36) Dorms for 10,000 COP / double room with ensuite bath for 25,000 COP Double with shared bathroom for COP 20,000.  edit

• Candela & Chocolate Hostel, Calle 12 No 3-01, ☎ (57-5)-(421-0977) (amigos@candelaychocolate.com), [4]. Fairly new and clean hostel right on the corner with a locked security gate, ring the bell to get someone to help you. Rooms are spacious and well ventilated with lockable chests for your belongings. Free wifi. Only two blocks away from the main plaza. Dorms for 18,000 COP, including breakfast.  edit

• Hotel Nueva Granada [5] Calle 12 No 3- 17, Historic Centre of Santa Marta. Nice and small, with pool and jacuzzi, bar, comfortable and clean double and multiple rooms with air- conditioning or ventilators from 33 USD, as well as unlimited internet access and breakfast for free. The staff is very kind and helpful.

• Hotel Betoma [6] Calle 8 No 1- 58, Rodadero, Santa Marta. Cute hotel with all comforts, which has been managed by its owners for more than 40 years and it is famous for its warm and helpful staff. It offers comfortable standard roooms with air- conditioning, and suites with kitchenette and living room from 110-000 pesos per night with breakfast. All rooms have a bacony with Sea view.

• Casa Familiar, (Also on Calle 10, 1 block up from Miramar, on other side of street.). Private, mild mannered and friendly staff. Rooms are small and basic. Single for $20,000 and up. Also has dorm rooms for $15,000.  edit

• Hotel Palma Blanca, (20 Street No 1b-69, next to a calm beach in the cheerful tourist town of Rodadero in Santa Marta.), ☎ (57)310-723-7114, [7]. checkin: 3 p.m; checkout: 1 p.m. Private,comfortable, friendly and attentive staff, and a great swimming pool. All rooms have air- conditioning and wireless internet access. Rooms from 45 USD and up. Also available with alimentation.  edit

• Finca Barlovento Guesthouse [8] Right next to the Tayrona National Park in Santa Marta. This beautiful Finca located at a beach right next to the Tayrona Park is a marvellous experience for ecotourists and Nature lovers....

• Cabanas Los Angeles [9]. These cosy beach cabanas right next to the Tayrona Park are a great place for travelers who are looking for privacy and who don't want to spend too much on accommodation within the Tayrona National Park.

• El Kool Koala Backpackers, (Calle 13 No 3- 139, only 3 blocks from the beach of Taganga in Santa Marta.), ☎ 421 9196, [10]. * Hostal SolyMar, Carrera 2 No 19-06, ☎ (57-5)-(431-0208), [11]. Only 5-years-old, this is an immaculately clean hotel, which is a change from a lot of the places in Santa Marta. The immediate area is probably the best in Santa Marta, as opposed to the sketchier Calle 10 barrio. The colonial rooms are recommended, with very tall ceilings and fan for 30,000 for a private room (single). The staff is incredibly friendly.  edit  edit

• Hotel Imperial Caribe ((also known as the Hotel Villa del Mar)), Calle 17 No. 3-96 (between Carr 3 & 4), ☎ 421-1556 / 421-4556 (jhon_angarita@hotmail.com). Nice rooms, friendly staff. Singles with fan for 30,000. Doubles, Triples, A/C more. Free Wi-Fi in lobby.  edit

• Sun City (calle 18-3#28). Less crowded. This place offers comfort at low price (privates for 25'000 up, dorms 16'000). Run by a nice family that really cares. A place to get off the Gringo Trail a bit... see [12]

• Aluna Hostel calle 21 Carrera 5-72 , Santa Marta, is one of the newest hostels in Santa Marta and is the perfect place for backpackers looking for a comfortable, quiet and safe hostel. The hostel welcomes you with Irish hospitality and friendly people, just four blocks to the beach!Check out their homepage: http://www.alunahostel.com/

• Cabin Tayrona Park ((Tayrona Park accomodation)), [13]. checkin: 12 p.m; checkout: 12 p.m. Private,comfortable, friendly local staff, and within the paradisical Tayrona Park! Double and triple rooms with private or shared bathroom from 35 USD per night, restaurant service available.  edit

• Hotel Sierra's Sound (Your home in the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta (Minca hotel and restaurant)), Minca (Next to the river.), [14]. checkin: 12; checkout: 12. Air- conditioned rooms from 25 USD per person. It offers a calm and totally natural atmosphere and one of the best restaurants of Santa Marta.  edit

• Hotel Minca (Newly refurbished hotel and restaurant), Minca (Opposite the police station.), [15]. The hummingbird feeders and fruit feeders attract around 40 species of birds to the garden. Double COP 125,0000, single 80,000.  edit

[edit] Get out