Caribbean Beach Vacation In Colombia | The Best Locations To Visit

Colombia is a country that pretty much has everything that tourists can desire: tall mountains, thick jungles along the Amazon river, amazing beaches around the Caribbean sea, and interesting historical cities. In this article I made a list of the best locations for a Caribbean beach vacation in Colombia

Caribbean Beach Vacation In Colombia

San Andres Island

San Andres island is a Colombian island that is actually located very close to Nicaragua. There is currently a dispute going on between the two countries about whose island it is (it’s currently recognized as Colombian). However, San Andres island is a very safe and popular tourist destination.

Caribbean Beach Vacation In Colombia | The Best Locations To Visit

San Andres attracts tourists for its amazing white sand beaches, turquoise water, and shopping. That is right, shopping. San Andres is actually a duty free zone, so many locals come here not only for a beach vacation, but also for shopping.

To get to San Andres you can go by plane either from mainland Colombia, or Nicaragua. A flight from Bogota will take you around 2 hours.

Note:

You won’t be able to board the plane to San Andres island without a return ticket (mandatory for everyone including locals).
Before flying to San Andres island you need to pay an island entry tax. It costs 125 500 COP per person. You can do that at your gate before boarding the plane.

Providencia

Providencia island is located just 90 km away from San Andres island. It is yet another tropical paradise that you can visit in Colombia.

Providencia is actually considered to be a better choice for visiting than San Andres. The reason is that Providencia is less crowded, and more secluded. However, Providencia island is also way more expensive than San Andres.

To get to Providencia you can go from San Andres on a boat, or a plane. The round trip on a boat will cost you $110 a person, and it will take around 3 hours.

If you would rather fly to Providencia (takes 20 minutes), you need to know that there are between 2 and 5 flights a day (depending on the season). I also recommend booking your flight in advance, since the planes that fly to Providence are tiny (just 20 people), so seats are very limited. The flight will cost you around $100 a person each way.

Providencia island is famous for its amazing diving and snorkeling. I am sure you would enjoy your vacation on Providencia island, just be prepared to pay double, or triple the price for accommodation and food.

Taganga

Taganga is a small fishing village on the coast of the Caribbean sea near Santa Marta. It is not as popular as San Andres, therefore not as crowded. However Taganga is quite a famous place in certain circles. It is considered to be the best and the cheapest spot to get certified for diving in the Caribbean.

Every foreign tourist you will see in Taganga came here to get certified, or to do fun dives. No wonder that Taganga has a lot of dive centers for such a small village.

Most of the dives are done in Tayrona National park, a great place to visit even if you don’t want to go diving. In Tayrona National park you will find a few charming and mostly deserted beaches where you can relax.

To get to Tayrona park you can go by boat from Taganga (costs around 100,000 COP round trip), or by taking a public bus.

Taganga also has its own beach that is quite nice when there is no algae in the water. Along the beach there are a lot of restaurants that offer tents and chairs (40,000 COP for a tent with chairs). Many of those restaurants also offer decent seafood that you cannot miss.

Isla Baru

Isla Baru is located an hour drive from Cartagena. It used to be a peninsula that was separated by a canal and has officially become an island.

Baru island has one of the prettiest beaches on the Caribbean coast. A long beach with fine white sand, and crystal clear turquoise water that doesn’t have seaweed or algae (like in many other places) has become a very popular spot among the local tourists.

There are a few ways to visit Isla Baru: you can stay overnight, or visit it as a day trip. My advice is to come to Isla Baru for a day and leave for the night.

Although Baru island has a lot of accommodation to offer tourists, there are a few problems that you should know about.

First of all, there is no wifi on Isla Baru, and even the mobile connection is spotty.

Second – if you are planning on staying for a few days on Baru island, you need to know that there is rarely electricity between 9 AM and 5 PM.

Third – Isla Baru doesn’t have any ATMs, which is all the more sad and inconvenient because no one accepts cards here (just cash).

Therefore, I would not advise you to stay overnight on Baru island. However visiting Baru as a day trip will surely be an amazing experience (just bring cash with you). Same as in Taganga, you can rent a tent with chairs or sunbeds (50,000 COP for a set), get a delicious seafood lunch at one of the beach restaurants, and enjoy an amazing view of the beautiful Caribbean sea.