The best period to visit Santa Marta goes from December to March, the season when there are less rains.
The climate in Santa Marta is tropical with a rainy season from April to November. The average temperature is 80,6 °F (27 °C).
| Route | First Bus | Last Bus | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Marta (Mag) to Cartagena (Bol) | 04:45 | 21:45 | BOOK NOW |
| Santa Marta (Mag) to Valledupar (Ces) | 06:30 | 17:31 | BOOK NOW |
| Santa Marta (Mag) to Bucaramanga (San) | 07:00 | 22:00 | BOOK NOW |
| Santa Marta (Mag) to Barranquilla (Atl) | 04:01 | 21:45 | BOOK NOW |
| Santa Marta (Mag) to Bogota (D.C) | 14:00 | 21:30 | BOOK NOW |
| Route | First Bus | Last Bus | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cartagena (Bol) to Santa Marta (Mag) | 05:00 | 22:00 | BOOK NOW |
| Valledupar (Ces) to Santa Marta (Mag) | 04:00 | 18:30 | BOOK NOW |
| Bucaramanga (San) to Santa Marta (Mag) | 04:00 | 23:59 | BOOK NOW |
| Barranquilla (Atl) to Santa Marta (Mag) | 00:15 | 23:30 | BOOK NOW |
| Bogota (D.C) to Santa Marta (Mag) | 10:01 | 23:30 | BOOK NOW |
Santa Marta, the oldest Colombian city, shines with the light of its diversity and monumental beauty, which is perceptible on the architecture of its constructions, streets, culture and history. Its location, between the Caribbean Sea and the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta is a privilege and make... the city become an endless source of activities, reason why they use the slogan "the magic of having all". Santa Marta really has all, from the warm and quiet beaches of white sand as El Rodadero, till the natural environments of rich biodiversity in the Tayrona Park and the Quebrada Valencia.
View MoreLocation: Calle 5A 4
Hours: 8:45 p.m. to 4:00 a.m.
Prices: no available information
The favourite place to spend a fun night until early morning. They propose a varied cocktails and drinks menu to share with you travel friends. You will enjoy the music with special guests, from Colombia or abroad, and events made for special dates as Halloween and Christmas.
Location: Cl. 18, 369
Hours: 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. Wednesday to Saturday
It’s a bar where you can drink beer with friends listening to rock music from the 80s and 90s. The decoration of the place is quite appealing and irreverent as rock style is, so don’t you be surprised if you see a bathtub close to your table or a bike hanging of the ceiling, it’s the most normal here.
Location: Crossing point of Calle 3 with Calle 19
Price: no available information
The name talks about the place where is located, in a flat roof (azotea in Spanish). Some people think is little, but it’s a popular place with a varied menu of drinks and cocktails for the clients, rumba and varied music or DJs invited to cheer up your night under the shining stars.
Location: Calle 19 No 4-58
Hours: 5:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. Monday to Thursday, 5:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. Friday and Saturday, 4:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. Sunday
Price: no available information
Located at the historic center of Santa Marta, it’s a place with warm atmosphere, a great service and a large offer to choose among drinks and cocktails. There are also live shows to cheer up the environment.
Location: Carrera. 3 #19-27
Hours: 12:00 p.m. to 11 p.m. Monday to Sunday
Prices: no available information
There are various rooms where you will enjoy calmly a delicious lunch served with great attention, each dish is presented in an impeccable presentation, although the price can be high. The service is great and pleasant with the clients, it’s recommended to book in advance your table, since a lot of people come to eat there.
Location: Carrera 12 # 27-09 Esquina Bavaria
Hours: 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Monday to Saturday
Prices: no available information
Some people say it’s a not to be missed restaurant during your visit to Santa Marta, due to features as the excellent location, large parts of food, the exquisite flavor, the wonderful service and the closeness of the owner, Nader, to the clients. We recommend the bandeja mixta, los quibbes and platillo Al Tarik.
Location: Calle 19 #2 - 17
Hours: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday to Saturday
Prices: from 20000 COP to 45000 COP
It’s a large restaurant where you will enjoy all kind of marine and shellfish dishes quite tasty as langostinos al cayeye o la casuela de mariscos. Some people say that it’s a little bit expensive and the service is not so good, although people say that this happens with all the restaurants of the coast.
Location: Carrera 2N Circa 19-20
Hours: 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Prices: n/d
If you wish to taste some exotic food from a neighbor country, Rocoto is one of the best places in Santa Marta to eat Peruvian food. The service is great, the food tasty and the environment quite pleasant to spend a memorable moment, you can book your table in advance to avoid worries. There is a large wine menu for special occasions.
Location: Av. del Libertador, sin número, Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino.
Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday to Sunday
Price: no available information
This magnificent museum was open in 1986 and was born as a tribute to the liberator Simon Bolivar who desired the integration of the south America countries. The museum harbors more than 200 works in various rooms that include drawing, engraving, painting, sculpture, video art and much more. It offers workshops, guided visits and classes for diverse groups.
Location: > Location: Carrera 2 Parque Simon Bolivar
Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday / 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Sundays
Price: free entrance
This construction was built in 1531, has been preserved until nowadays and protects the cultural legacy of the old settlers of Sierra Nevada. In the museum you will appreciate goldsmithing, pieces made of gold with a value more important than the economic, the cultural value; besides that, there are rooms where you can learn about the past of pre-Hispanic cultures that lived in the territory and the history of this old building.
Location: Going through the highway to Riohacha, at 20 mi (32 km) from the city at the entrance called El Zaino.
Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Price: You can see it in the website
It’s a natural park where you can spend a relaxing afternoon, getting to know the biodiversity of Colombia. Enjoy it lodging in the areas provided to that effect to the visitors as the sector Canaveral or the sector Arrecifes. If you wish to visit the place it’s recommended to be vaccinated of yellow fever and anti-tetanus injection.
Location: Cove Inca Inca in front of the beach El Rodadero
Hours: n/d
It’s an aquarium that has a large collection of marine species and it’s made of pools built in the sea, aquariums of glass and a museum. There are more than 900 animals who live in diverse rooms of the place, between vertebrates and invertebrates. It was built more than 45 years ago by the captain Francisco Ospina, a fisherman dedicated to commercial fishing of sharks; despite the time, the aquarium maintains its engagement with social and environmental responsibility to offer an adequate place for the marine fauna.
Location: Location: Santa Marta bay.
You can measure your bravery when you are in the air standing on a moving plane about to go through hundreds meters in some minutes while you descend in free fall. Travel at more than 149 mi per hour (240 km/h) with experts on air that will guarantee that you land without big damages. If you want you will have an exciting souvenir in HD video to revive the feeling again and again once you are safe at home.
La Peinada waterfall
After an adventurous trekking across the nature you will get to this colorful place surrounded of green, and you will feel the pure air going into your lungs. With a rope tied to steep walls of rock you will scale step by step while a torrent of water flows under your feet, making you feel sliding a natural water sledge.
Location: Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta
Go through the interesting and challenging geography of the place, while you experience the climate conditions which vary due to the height. You will find beautiful nature places, contemplate exotic species of flora and fauna, but always keeping in mind having comfortable and warm clothes, besides never getting dirty the environment with wastes.
It’s a rice that in the preparation has little pieces of coconut and can be served with raisins, having as a result a sweet and sour flavor. It’s usually served with a fried fish, very common in the coast.
It’s a fruit similar to the green banana that is made puree and mixed in a frying pan with hogao (tomato and white onion), served with coastal cheese to obtain an exquisite flavor, a dish that you can find in many restaurants.
A dish made of manioc that has inside ground meat, coastal cheese and crumbled chicken; all of it is fried in lot of oil.
| Festival del Mar | Ending July and begining of August | It’s a celebration that lasts several days, whose main attraction is the water sports as swimming and kayak. As part of this event, you will enjoy music shows, cultural shows, dances and a lot of fun. It includes also the Reinado Nacional e Internacional del Mar. |
| Carnaval de Mamatoco | February | Enjoy a party atmosphere in honor of San Agaton, a non-recognized saint, but all the locals participate in troupes and religious processions this date. You can admire the appealing dances and get to know the beauty queens who always cheer up the festival. |
| Fiesta del Caiman | January | This festival is celebrated in a town close to Cienaga, the locals are dressed with colorful costumes, the streets tint of joy and you can see parades of a wood statue with the shape of a caiman, with a rag doll called Tomasita in its jaws. There is an award for the most spirited participants. |