Colombian Caribbean Itinerary

There is much to do in the Colombian coast, here is a “short” 8-9 day Colombian Caribbean Itinerary which includes: Cartagena, Santa Marta and the Tayrona. You can adjust the itinerary according to how many days you can allocate to the caribbean coast. I must say I personally skipped Taganga because of time constraints but I’ve added it here since it’s a nice place to visit if you have the time. Another suggestion is to visit the town of Palomino, just north of Santa Marta in the Guajira department of Colombia; the beach here is stunning and you can also do tubing down the Palomino River! I hope you find this guide useful!

Travel day:

Arrive to Cartagena Airport. From here you can take a taxi to the city center, all you have to do is follow the taxi signs and make the queue at the ticket counter, once you arrive at the window let them know the name of the neighborhood you are going to and they will print you a receipt for how much the taxi should charge you (if you use taxis in Cartagena always ask for the price before getting in!) take this day to relax and walk around the neighborhood you’re staying at.

————–   Night in Cartagena   ————–

Day 1:

• Castillo de San Felipe – It’s best to arrive here by taxi. Make sure you go early in the morning as it is cooler at this time and there’s practically no shade inside the fortress, also wear plenty of sunscreen and bring a hat! I suggest you buy the audio guide so you can learn about the history of the place. It all depends on your pace and how much you enjoy the place but make sure to allocate around 4 hours to this place.
• Once you’re done with the visit you will most likely want to go back to the hotel for a nice shower and rest. Afterwards head to the “old town” or Centro Histórico and enjoy an evening out.

————–   Night in Cartagena   ————–

Day 2: 

• Spend the day at the Centro Histórico, believe me, it’s worth it. Get lost in the magical streets of “La Fantástica”, visit the churches, stop to eat some fresh fruit or try the “arepa de huevo”, choose one of the many outdoor terraces and sip on a Club Colombia (beer) while you people watch, etc.
• Cartagena is full of history as it is one of the oldest city’s of Colombia, so a great plan is to take a free walking tour around the historic center! For this I recommend “Free Tour Cartagena”, they have tours that leave everyday at 10 am or 4pm from Plaza Santa Teresa (you may tip the guide at the end).
• Finish the evening at one of the many delicious restaurants in the old city.

Web Site: Free Tour Cartagena

Facebook: Free Tour Cartagena

————–   Night in Cartagena   ————–

Day 3: 

Spend the day at one of the islands, visit la península de Barú or one of the Islas del Rosario. There are many travel agencies that provide the service with transportation from the hotel to the island and back to your hotel at the end of the day. You may also spend a night or more at one of the islands.

• I did a day trip to Barú with Back Packers Cartagena, they picked me up early in the morning at the hotel and we traveled by van to Barù. The package included lunch and access to the beach chairs and transportation.
• A lot of hotels also provide the service with an agency they use but more than often it is more expensive to do it through them, although you can always try and negotiate prices!

Website: Back Packers Cartagena

————–   Night in Cartagena   ————–

Day 4: 

* If you spent the night at one of the islands you can take this day to spend the afternoon or evening in Cartagena and not be rushed, and if you come back early enough you can take this day to visit the Convento de la Popa.

Other wise…

Travel to Santa Marta on day 4. The best way to get to Santa Marta is by booking a van or bus in advance. There are two good transportation companies that provide this service, Mar Sol and Berlinas. I have used Mar Sol and had a good experience with them. Just as at the lobby of your hotel/hostel if they can book how every many spots you need with Mar Sol.

• I recommend you book the van that leaves at 8am and goes directly to Santa Marta (no stop in Barranquilla), this route has less stops and is direct (travel time is around 4hours). The Marl Sol van normally picks you up at your hotel I believe for Berlina you might have to go to the bus station, but I’m not sure, check with you hotel.
• Once you arrive to Santa Marta the van won’t drop you off at your hotel but if you tell the driver where you are going they will tell you at which stop to get off. We were going to “El Rodadero” and the driver kindly let us know when we needed to get off.
• Normally you will arrive around lunch time to Santa Marta. We stayed in El Rodadero, if you do the same I suggest you have two options: either have lunch at one of the many restaurants in the area and enjoy the Rodadero beach, OR go to “Playa Blanca” and the Aquarium (very mush worth it!), these are only about a 15 min boat ride from the Rodadero beach (you can also have lunch at Playa Blanca).

Facebook: Mar Sol Transportes

Website: Berlinas

————–   Night in Santa Marta   ————–

Day 5: 

Take a day trip to Taganga – It is only 20 min from the Centro of Santa Marta.  You can either take the bus (these leave from the Centro of Santa Marta and cost around $1.400 COP per person) or take a taxi to go there. This is a small fisher village where a lot of people from abroad come to get their diving license. You can do many water sports here, diving, snorkeling, jet-skiing, etc. If you’re spending the hole day there,  head to Playa Grande which is a 15 in walk from Taganga (although you have to walk through a hill) or take a boat there for $3.000 COP per person (recommended).

————–   Night in Santa Marta   ————–

Day 6:

Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona

You HAVE to go to the Taryona if you visit Santa Marta. I suggest you spend the night there. You may do so by camping, sleeping on a hammock or at their eco-hotel. I spent the night on a hammock and I wished I would have spent more nights here! The place is very clean  and each hammock comes with a mosquito net. There are also clean bathrooms and a restaurant available for guests.

To get here you can do several things:

• If you’re only doing a day trip you can coordinate with a travel agency that do day tours. I find this one of the easiest ways because they pick you up at your hotel and take you back at the end of the day. The guide will stay with you throughout the trip, although once you reach the Cabo San Juan beach (there are several beaches/paths you can do in Tayrona but I recommend this one) you have free time to enjoy the beach and have lunch at the restaurant there.
• Take a taxi there, ask at the hotel for this service and negotiate the price.
• Take a bus there. The buses leave from the Mercado Publico of Santa Marta, take the bus that heads to “Palomino” and ask the bus driver to drop you off the entrance of the Tayrona Park (the bus ride is around $14.000 COP).
• To go back to Santa Marta from el Tayrona you can either take the bus, or take a taxi or a private car. Always negotiate prices before getting in.

————–   Night in El Tayrona   ————–

Day 7: 

Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona

• The next morning you naturally wake up with the sun and the sound of the birds. Pack your things and head to the nearest beach. There’s a little hut where a guy sales “Arepa de huevo” and next to it they sale fresh squeezed orange juice, take one of each and eat breakfast at the beach!
• Before 4pm head back to the entrance of the park to go back to Santa Marta.
• At night if you’re staying at El Rodadero, take a taxi to the center of Santa Marta have dinner there.
• After dinner hang out the “Parque de los Novios”.

————–   Night in Santa Marta   ————–

Day 8:

Last full day in Santa Marta! Enjoy the beach in the morning and in the afternoon head to visit the center of Santa Marta by day. Have lunch here, visit the cathedral, the Bastidas pier, the Parque Simón Bolívar, and just enjoy being at one of the oldest cities in South America.

You can either head to your next destination in the evening –  leave the bags at you hotel while you’re out at the city center and pre-order a taxi with your hotel to take you to the airport later that day.

OR

Spend one more night in Santa Marta and head to your next destination the following day. You then have a bit more time to explore Santa Marta and visit the, Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino, the house where Simon Bolivar lived his last days.