Anyone have any information on Santa Marta

[Dennis]

My wife wants to go to Santa Marta after the Christmas Holidays with her family in Cucuta.  The last time I had heard anything about Santa Marta was that it wasn't that safe for gringos.  Has anyone been there lately?  Any recommendations on places to stay or see.  My wife hasn't been there but apparently she has heard that the beaches are nice there and she wants to go to the beach for a little vacation.

[bigstew33]

I did a day trip there this last July.  I didn't have any problems as far as safety.  We rented a boat and went to white beach.  I think for $40,000 pesos for 3 people for the boat trip.  Roughly $20 US.  It's nice there.  You will encounter the people selling stuff but they are not so relentless as the vendors in Cartagena beaches.  In fact it was my third day trip there and never had a problem.  As far as hotels and restaurants I don't know anything on that. 

There are places that can set you up with day trips to some national parks that have some interesting sites.  I don't remember the name off hand but you will see people selling the trips at little stands on the street.  Crystal beach just popped in my head.  I think that is the name.  It's located at a national park.  Pretty exclusive location. 

[Dennis]

Thanks BigStew, I appreciate your information, I will mention the boat to my wife and she can start checking with Aviatur in Bogota and see what she finds.  I think I had the same experience as you when I was in Cartagena.  It was impossible to even sit at the outdoor Cafes and enjoy a coffee without the people trying to sell you everything or the shop keepers wanting you to come and look at their emeralds.  It is beautiful city with a rich history though. 

[bigstew33]

Yeah Cartagena is amp'd up 1000% for vendors.  they are ruthless.  Santa Marta is similar but they at least move on. 

[Kiltboy1]

I stayed in the decameron gallion in SM before and i really liked it. It is an all inclusive resort and the food was better then i thought would be, several bars, good shows and very very romantic. It was 100 bucks a day for 2 people, but you could not eat and drink all the food they put before you. they have this pirate ship, full scale in the middle of the pool that has to resturante in it. A seafood and a jap stekahouse. If you want a laid back, romantic vacation, i highly reccomend the decameron. As far as other parts of SM, i do not know because the woman i was with loved the place soo much, we never left for 4 days.

KB

[wildbilman]

Hi,
I've been to SM a couple of times and had a great time. Rodadero is a great area for walking around, lots of hotels within walking distance of the beach. I like the hotel Tamaca, it's right on the beach and has a great pool area. Rooms are so so and not cheap, but a great location. I've walked all over in Rodadero at night without any problems. The main part of the city is another thing, probably not many gringos there except for the beach and street market, and I imagine it's less safe.

WB

[Phillipky1]

I went to Santa Marta for about 5 days in May 2008. Flew in to Barranquilla. Asked a native Colombiana on the flight between Miami and Barranquilla if the road from Barranquilla to Santa Marta was safe and she said "yes". We took a Puerta-a-Puerta (door to door) mini-bus that was very reasonable, maybe $15-25 US per person, the drive was about an hour or a little more and why not leave the driving to a native. Definitely the way to go and they pick you up at your hotel and drop you off where you want to go (thus the name "door-to-door"). Actually my girl and I stayed at Los Rodaderos, which is the cluster of tourist hotels, shops, restaurants, banks, etc near the beach. I felt reasonably safe there even walking around at night. The beach was nice except the vendors were constantly nagging you to buy something, although it was not as bad as the vendors in Cartagena, which was my only previous trip to Colombia. Never actually went in to the city of Santa Marta proper which is just a few miles away although one day we took a taxi with the intent to go there but decided to go to the small village of Taganga (sp?) instead. Very pretty bay on the ocean there but it is real small and quiet and not much to do so we only stayed a few hours there and then returned to Los Rodaderos. Hope this helps someone.