Journey:

 The flight to Santa Marta went very smoothly in comparison to our previous flight. This time we flew on Colombia’s equivalent to EasyJet – Viva Colombia. Although I don’t think even EasyJet have enforced this rule yet – we had to pay to use the overhead lockers on the plane (60000 COP about $20.) But you can’t complain as the flight itself was only about $40pp. Also, our baggage arrived safely at the other end this time so that was a huge bonus. Santa Marta was about 30 minutes from the airport and cost about 30,000 COP in a taxi to get there. Although how they managed to squash the damn surfboards in the taxi I have no idea.

Accommodation:

El Hostal de Jackie. I really liked this hostel. It had a pool, kitchen area, rooftop bar (where you also got a free breakfast.) The staff were again very helpful and the hostel was well located just around the corner from the main street in Santa Marta (although Santa Marta is very small so you can’t really ever be too far away from the central area.) 

Sights:

In Santa Marta:

Within Santa Marta itself there’s a beach (but probably best avoided as there are far prettier ones located just a short bus ride away.) The central area is very picturesque with lots of charming colourful buildings. The atmosphere is very relaxed too which kind of adds to the holiday feel of this city. You can walk around the whole city centre in about half an hour or less, it’s a tiny area. In general Santa Marta is a good base to use to explore other areas nearby as there are lots of buses/taxis coming to/from here.

Tayrona National Park:

Lots of people go to Tayrona for a few nights (there are places to stay within the park itself) but we only went for a day trip which is just as easy, however perhaps a little more limited as you can’t go as far into the park.

There are buses leaving Santa Marta (just behind the central market) that drop you off directly outside the entrance to the park. The receptionist at our hostel gave us a nice map showing us the direction to the bus stop and we set off. Now because somehow we always seem to manage to run into problems, en route we (Thomas) managed to lose the map and we spent a good half an hour and a couple of confusing conversations searching for this bus stop. Once eventually we got on the bus we paid 7000 COP each and the journey took around an hour and a half. Note: once the bus drivers hit the open road there’s no stopping them, it feels a bit like you’re on some sort of theme park ride.

We got off the bus right at the entrance, however although we (Thomas) had thought we had packed a copy of our passports, it turned out they weren’t there. Fortunately, I had memorised my passport number and this was sufficient for them to let us in. It’s quite an expensive entry fee (by Colombian standards) of 44,500 COP. There are then minibuses (costing 300that bundle as many people as possible into one (so you feel a bit like you’re playing a game of sardines) before they finally take you 5km into the park to the walking trails.

There’s only one way to go so the walking track is obvious. The path stretches through the forest and we saw so much wildlife on the way; there are loads of lizards, monkeys, massive ants, and we even spotted a beautiful green iguana. The nature is beautiful and after a while you reach the coast and walk along the edge of the ocean. The first point you reach is Arrecifes (where there are places to stay if staying overnight) which is maybe an hour and a half walk from the entrance. Then you walk along the edge of the ocean a little bit further (passing lots of worrying signs warning about alligators in the area – and saying not to touch them, which I hoped would be obvious?!) We then reached a little bay where people can swim called La Piscina. This was for us our final stop as we had left a bit later than we had planned, although apparently if you go a little further you reach a nice, yet supposedly more busy, spot called Cabo San Juan.

Tayrona is definitely worth a visit. It will be expensive but I would pay it again and again to see the beauiful nature and wildlife residing there. Note: Bring lots of water, bring food, LOTS of mosquito spray (I feel like I was eaten alive), leave early as it’s less hot, and bring passports. These were pretty much all things we didn’t do but should have.

Costeño Beach:

Again this is a good and easy day trip to do from Santa Marta, or there are places to stay here too. This was a bit more straightforward for us as we now knew where the bus stop was and simply got on the same bus as the previous day and stayed on a little bit longer than Tayrona. (Although the driver forgot about us and went past our stop, so we had to get on another bus to go back to the right place.) It’s then maybe a 20 minute walk from there or you can get on the back of a motorbike for 3000 COP. (If you do the walk look out for the giant blue crabs on the side of the road, they have huge pincers.)

The obsessive surfer was a little bit sad as the waves weren’t too great when we got there, however he was able to hire a board for 30,000 COP for half a day (since there is a surf school there) and attempt to do some surfing. (I think even if the sea is completely flat he will always try to surf.) The atmosphere was very relaxed and it looked a very chilled place to stay with lots of hammocks and a beautiful golden beach with palm trees.

Food:

The food in Santa Marta was definitely more expensive than in Bogota. In Bogota you could find a meal for about 10,000 COP but in Santa Marta you were looking at more like 20,000 COP at the cheapest (which is still really not that much to be fair, only about $7) There were some lovely looking restaurants though (definitely aimed at the tourists) that were maybe a bit more expensive. There were lots of different types of food from pizzas to mexican, but we were finding it quite difficult to find any authentic Colombian food.

The food again didn’t stand out, but we did have a really good crepe (from a little French – of course – creperie called Bienvenue.)

Drinks:

There were lots of places to find a drink and people watch in Santa Marta (which we really enjoyed.) There were lots of bars doing cocktail happy hours and the beers were really cheap (maximum 5000 COP for Club Colombia or Aguila, about $1.5.) Beer was often cheaper in these places than getting water or juice.

Summary:

We really enjoyed our time in Santa Marta. It was picture postcard pretty and a really good base to explore the surrounding areas – Tayrona is a must However, there is little to do in the town itself, and also be prepared for lots of tourists (and therefore tourist prices.)