Just a pit-stop
by Lodestar
In my very personal opinion there is not that much to see in St. Marta. It's just a nice Caribbean city with a beach and not that many sight-seeing things. Mostly it just serves a pit-stop for travellers on their way to Ciudad Perdida or Parque Tayrona. There are however lots of travellers there to meet up with, talk to and perhaps find a travel-companion. There are also several travellers (especially form Israel), who stay in the city for months, just going to the beach, buying cheap drugs and entertaining themselves with hot and easy "street-girls". On the whole - nothing that special, but worth avvisit if you are in the neightbourhood. And the place to go to organise a trip to Ciudad Perdida, Tayrona or get a dive-course. Probably sitting on the roof of the Miramar hostel with other travellers, drinking rum, smoking pot, swapping travelling stories and looking at the sunset.
Scuba-diving and other water-sports
by Lodestar
The area is great for scuba-diving. Amazing world underwater. And it is relativelt cheap even compared to South-America, not to mention the rest of the world. If you are there, you should definately try diving - the most amazing experience! The best place to go - a nearby village of Taganga. All the dive-shops rent equipment if you don't have your own. You can just take a small-course (2 dives with perliminary tarining for around 80 000 pesos), or if you have your licence then the price is the same for renting equipment and a boat-trip to the dive-site, or you can take a full AOWD course for around 350 000 pesos. anyways it's definately worth the cost!
Trek to Ciudad Perdida with Turcol
by MalenaN
Turcol is the only company organising treks to Ciudad Perdida (but I have heard there might be other tour companies soon). I went to Turcol’s office in Santa Marta to hear which days they would have a trek. I wanted to go in two days, but they just had a trek the day after or in four days. I decided to take the trek in four days. I went to an ATM to withdraw money and went back to Turcol to pay. For the six-day trek I paid 460 000 pesos (July 2007). In Taganga later that day I heard they now had a trek in two days (other people had signed up after I had been to the office), so I changed day as it suited my schedule better.
The trek to Ciudad Perdida is a six day trek, but many groups also do it in five days (I’m glad we didn’t). It takes three days to arrive to Ciudad Perdida and then there is one day for exploring Ciudad Perdida, and then two days for walking back. It is the forth day that many people skip. They see Ciudad Perdida in the afternoon they arrive and then leave early the morning after. But why rush when you have come all the way.
Plaza de Bolivar
by richiecdisc
If you walk down Santa's Marta waterfront promenade, you would have a hard time believing that this is South America's oldest city. In fact, you might forget that you are even in South America with a few South Florida-like high condos doting the skyline. If the garish port area was not so readily visible, it could be mistaken for a Southern California town too with the green mountains as a backdrop to waves lapping up on the sand. You will however come to a large plaza named Bolivar and right away you know you are very much in not only South America but Colombia, a country where every city seems to have such a place. Oddly enough, the statue is of Rodrigo de Bastidas, the town's founder rather than its namesake Bolivar. The section near the ocean is just concrete with a white fence and statue but heading into the town there is a fair sized park with nice trees. It's a nice place to relax and enjoy an ocean breeze in a green setting.
road trip to Taganga
by richiecdisc
Taganga is a picturesque fishing village with a perfect horseshoe shaped bay that makes for incredibly scenic sunsets. It was surely a paradise fifty years ago but since its “discovery” by gringos at large it has become shall we say a bit less authentic. It has also taken over from Santa Marta as base camp for the majority of non-Colombian tourists in the area primarily to take in the regions main sights of Tayrona National Park and La Ciudad Perdida. If taken in small doses, it still retains much of its charm but staying there must be akin to Khoa San Road in Bangkok, where you're never quite sure exactly what country you are in. If you are looking for Colombia, this is probably not your best shot at finding it but it is certainly worth a short visit to enjoy what is an obviously very pretty if crowded place.
We did not stay here as most gringos do but chose to day trip from Santa Marta. This is easy to do as frequent mini-buses ply the route for a mere 1200 COP (60 cents) and take only 15 minutes. Head to Carerra 1C or 5 in Santa Marta and look for Taganga signs on passing mini-buses. Drivers will likely seek you out as if you are a gringo, they will correctly assume you are headed that way!
For more details, check out my Taganga page.
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early morning reflection in a puddle, Santa Marta
just up the street from La Plaza de Bolivar
waiting on the man w/ arepas con heuvos
church of minca village
