Santa Marta is a city in the Magdalena Department of Colombia's Costa Norte.
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 extremely 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 used to be a fishing village and is very popular with (mostly foreign) backpackers. Taganga has many scuba-diving agencies.
There is a high and low season. High season is December through April, with its peak from mid-December to late January (due to school and university vacations). In the low season the sun burns less due to more clouds.
For better flying times or a better fare you may also want to consider flying to nearby Barranquilla. From there you can take a bus to Santa Marta. For international flights, there can be big savings when arriving in Medellin, Bogota or Cali and then taking a separate flight to Santa Marta.
Intercity bus station (Terminal de Transporte), 11.2210°, -74.1805°. <br> It's is all the way out of town on the main highway. To the city centre, take a bus that goes into the direction of Taganga, departing right on the highway (without crossing the street). The ride costs COP$2,300 (Mar 2023) and will take some 45 minutes to Carrera 5. If carrying a big backpack, you might be rejected by some colectivo drivers, just wait for the big buses.
With the taxi the trip takes around half an hour. In the bus terminal, you can get free WiFi at the tourist office.
If you want to stay in El Rodadero and come from the direction of Barranquilla, you can exit the intercity bus near El Rodadero and then take a bus or taxi to your accommodation. There is a direct city bus between the Terminal and El Rodadero, even though it takes some time as the bus goes through the centre of Santa Marta first.
For the way from Santa Marta centre to the Terminal de Transporte you can catch a bus/colectivo with the sign "UCC TRANSPORTE" at carrera 1.
Buses are available:
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. They will pick you up and drop you off at your desired location in each city. 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.
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 east to west.
Moovit covers the area for finding connections. As there are no bus stops, buses can be entered and exited anywhere. The price is COP$2,000 (Nov 2021) and is paid to the driver when entering the bus.
Unlike bigger cities in Colombia, taxis do not run on a meter. Payments start at COP$6,000 (August 2021) for a "lift" (usually a ride no more 10 minutes).
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.
You can go to the beach near the port, 11.246823°, -74.214706°. Nearby is the Playa de Bahia, 11.242123°, -74.216036°. A bit more south you find the Playa los cocos, 11.2398328°, -74.2170979°. All of them have crystal clear water. If being in El Rodadero, you can go to the Playa El Rodadero, 11.2001927°, -74.2283880°. And you can go to the beach directly at the airport. Watching airplanes arriving and departing while swimming in the sea.
Scuba diving. Nearby coral reefs provide good possibilities for scuba diving. All the scuba diving operators are at Taganga, so you'll need to go there to shop around (prices are very different from one to another). You can follow the PADI course (3-4 days), or just go for a 1-day dive (no licence required).
Jet ski. 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.
Birdwatching. Birdwatching at the El Dorado bird reserve above Minca ProAves.
Spanish School, Calle 21 3-88 Centro, elsaligia@hotmail.com. The Neotropical Spanish School at Casa Scania is a small size Spanish School focused on quality giving classes in downtown Santa Marta and Barranquilla, USD8/hour with one student per teacher, USD6 per person in small groups.Course material, hot and cold drinks included. Casa Scania Calle 21 3-88 (between Carrera 3 and 4) Central Santa Marta. For more info see homepage. USD8
Adrenaline Addicts, Carrera 21, Calle 20-36, 11.237068°, -74.190551°, +57 311 3642134. 9AM-6PM. They offer motorcycle rentals, lessons, and motorcycle tours spanning 1-7 days. Run by a pair of young Americans, new business with nice new bikes. Rentals around US$30/day, Tours under US$100/day, all inclusive, varies by tour. Run from Drop Bear Hostel. 2016-06-27
Mamancana is a private game reserve where you can do wallclimbing and canopying.
ATMs of the bank BBVA are available in the historical centre and throughout the city. At the Parque Bolívar there are three BBVA ATMs, 11.2446138°, -74.2134890°. And at the Carrera 4 / Calle 23 there are three BBVA ATMs, 11.2391616°, -74.2121996°.
In the historical center the minimarkets have a rather small amount of products. On Carrera 5/Calle 20 there is the big supermarket Exito, 11.2417434°, -74.2105621°. Also the Olimpica supermarkets have a big variety of products. Medium sized supermarkets are D1 and Ara.
Santa Marta is famous for its beach sellers. Since beaches are open 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.
Postcard stamps can be bought at the post office at Calle 22/Carrera 2 (COP$2,900 for Europe). No stamps are sold at the Deprisa post office (Carrera 3).
Carrera 5th is a big shopping promenade, with stores accompanied by street stalls and vendors. Some streets are pedestrian-friendly, such as Carrera 3 between Calle 15 and 20.
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.
Other local simple restaurants in the historical center of Santa Marta and around La Especial in El Rodadero have a main dish from COP$10,000-12,000 (August 2021). In the center of El Rodadero it's from COP12,000-15,000 (August 2021)
Because Santa Marta can get brutally hot during the summer (upwards of 35°C/95°F), 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.
Ask about Ben´s Bar on the Beach. Barrio Samario, La Puerta, and El Garage.
Hostels with dorms are available in the historical center, throughout the city and at the El Rodadero Beach. There are also accomodations in nearby Taganga, Minca or inside the Tayrona National Park. Santa Marta is quite hot, you may want to choose an accommodation with air conditioning.
Hostal Casamart, 11.1982851°, -74.2251972°. This is the hostel at the Rodadero Beach. With A/C, a pool, nice-styled bunk-beds and 5min walking to the beach. A dorm is for COP$26,000 (Nov 2021)
Hotel Nueva Granada, 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 and free breakfast. The staff is very kind and helpful. Fan/air-conditioned: single COP$50,000/65,000, double COP$85,000/100,000, triple COP$105,000/120,000, bed in 6-bed A/C dorm COP$35,000 2021-01-14
Casa Familiar. Private, mild mannered and friendly staff. Rooms are small and basic.
Like in other Colombian cities avoid traveling alone, with visible expensive electronics, esp. in public areas or at night.
There's a new walking path "Sendero Peatonal Ziruma-Rodadero" from the outskirts of the downtown area to Rodadero and the beaches there. While they cover a beautiful scenery often hard to admire by bus or car, it has long and desolate stretches and goes through some poor and unsafe barrios. There's very little police presence along the different paths. Do not use these paths alone as a tourist to get to or from Rodadero. Tourists have been mugged at gunpoint on those walkways in broad daylight. Take the cheap blue buses, or a taxi.
Matters regarding your visa or visa-free stay are handled by the immigration office in Cl. 19 #8 - 68.
Both hostels and private rooms are available ...:
Destinations for a tour or trip are:
Primary administrative division