Santa Marta
From World travel guide
Santa Marta is a city in Colombia.
Contents |
Understand
Santa Marta is both an important commercial port and tourist destination. Everyday there are cargo ships coming and going and the action is very much visible from any of the restaurants, bars, cafeterias, hotels etc. that are behind the street that parallels the beach. From the beach, the view of the Caribbean Sea is more or less to the north 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 (i.e. lots of people, vendors, noise, etc.) Speaking of vendors, they are rather aggressive if you are on the beach or in one of the many businesses across the road from the beach. This also goes for the market district to a somewhat lesser extent.
Speaking of expenses, there is a high season and low season. The fluctuation in prices can be substantial. High season is more or less December thru April.
Get in
The bus station (terminal de tranporte) is all the way out of town (south) on the main highway (3,000 pesos to the beach).
Get around
As streets progress behind the beach, they are 1, 2, 3, 4, etc, carreras and from the extreme east to west, they are 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. calles.
Little buses (microbuses, busetas) run all over for about 800 pesos.
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.
Do
- The nearby coralreefs provides good posibilties for diving. Altough diving in Taganga might be cheaper.
Buy
Eat
There are all manner 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.
- Merkabar, Calle 10 No 2-11. Good food for a nice price. The fruit juices are a meal on their own.
- Restaurante El Escorial. A good restaurant is in the middle of the block behind the beach on 11th street.
- Hotel Miramar, Calle 10C No 1C-59. Has some decent budget meals.
- 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.
Drink
Sleep
If you are looking for accommodation, there are somewhat more expensive hotels, residences (local term) on the beach and if you are looking for cheaper options, then check out the 20 or 30 hotels, residences that are located on 10th thru 13th street (calle). This is more to the east or closer to the port. Decent alternatives include:
- Hospederia Casa Familiar, Calle 10C No 2-14. Clean, cheap and friendly staff. Single C$ 15.000. Also has a dorm.
- Sun City (calle 18-3#28). At historic center, safer than 10th. This place offers a lot of comfort at low prices (privates for 20'000, dorms for less than 10'000). Run by a nice family that really cares for their guests. Great hostel.
- Nueva Grenada (12th street).
- Las Vegas (11th street).
- Hotel Miramar Calle 10C No 1C-59 (5-421-0953). Popular with backpackers because it's cheap. Rooms are a bit delapitated.
Get out
Nearby are interesting little towns.
- The first is to the east and is the little fishing village known as Taganga. Taganga has tourist accommodation. There are a lot of possibilities in diving and snorkelling in Taganga. The trip there and back (5 miles crossing over a mountain) can be enjoyed by bicycle. It´s a scenic place. Slow-paced. Or take one of the vans from carrera 1.
- The second little town is the upscale Rodero which is a couple of miles to the west. There is of course tourist accommodation also.
- In El Parque Tayrona you can unwind one or more days on some of the most beautiful beaches.
- If you are looking for some more activity the six day trek to Ciudad Perdida is a good option.
External links
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