Is Santa Marta Safe?
It really depends on where you are staying. I arrived at night and thought I should go out. So I was at few bars/clubs, but there was a huge fight that broke and people were running around and screaming. You can check it out on my vlog below.
But, I didn’t feel necessarily dangerous walking around at night. But I only stayed in the busy area where all the tourists were hanging around.
Don’t go to the unknown streets as it does look a bit shady, and that is a common sense in any city in the world. You can check out my vlog below what happened.
Santa Marta Colombia Hotels
Related: Everything You Need to Know Before Going to Colombia!!!! CLICK HERE
I stayed at hotel Casa Verde. I loved it because it was very secure and right next to all the restaurants and bars. The room had free waters and very cute interior. The breakfast was just some fruits which I didn’t like. However, you do not have to cross few shady roads like the Best Western Hotel (which is nicer than Hotel Casa Verde) to get to the main area. If you don’t have any plans going out at night, Best Western Hotel might be a better choice.
Why Should I Go to Santa Marta
Starting Point for La Guajira
Santa Marta is used as a starting point to get to La Guajira for most travelers. La Guajira is the northern point of Colombia and it was one of the highlight of my trip to get to Dunes of Taora.
If you are planning to get to La Guajira, you can read on my blog post about everything you need to know before getting to La Guajira here.
Santa Marta Beaches
OK.. the next day I had to go to Riohacha to go to La Guajira, so I didn’t have the time to go to all of the beaches. In matter of fact, the one beach, Tayrona Park, I was going to go was closed for renovation (They reopened now). I regret staying one night now, because all the people on the tour was raving about how nice Palomino was. Let’s go into details on these beaches.
Tayrona Park Colombia
Tayrona Park is 30 minutes away from Santa Marta. You can go for a day trip and from the entrance, it would be about 3 km. There are more details about it with pictures from the Amazing See Colombia.
Playa Palomino
It is in a town called Palomino and it absolutely needs its own blog post. Unfortunately because I had to go to La Guajira, didn’t have the time to go there. But all the people I met during the tour of La Guajira, they say it’s much better than Santa Marta.
If you are planning to do most of the things on the list, you can also stretch a little bit and do the coast to coast in Colombia. I am mentioning this because San Blas Islands was one of the most beautiful islands and I don’t want you to miss it (It is much more beautiful than Santa Marta beaches). Check out how I planned my trip in Colombia and ended up falling in love in Colombia.
Where to Eat in Santa Marta
Because I arrived so late in Santa Marta and left early afternoon, I only had one lunch in the town. Lulo Cafe was recommended by the people I danced last night with, and had to try it before I head to Riohacha. Lulo cafe already had a huge line of people waiting, and after eating their sandwich I knew why there would be. It is not a developed city with many restaurants, but rather limited places to go. So don’t expect a Michelin Cuisine 🙂
Santa Marta Colombia Nightlife
Ok. I am keep saying I had the best time at night at each town in Colombia, but in Santa Marta I felt the warmth and friendliness of the locals. I went to few bars around the neighborhood, but the best bar was La Puerta. I was there dancing with strangers till my clothe became a see through ( I know.. Gross!).
I was there standing like a shy Asian first, then people kept asking to dance with them. Normally, I would run away, but I was thinking why not in Colombia. So I started to dance with them and it was so much fun!
I was only there for a night, but I still wanted to write a blog post, because it was one of the most memorable town. Not because it had beautiful architecture or museums, but the people were so friendly and welcoming. It might have been just me so please leave us a review on how your experience was!
Planning all this can bring a small headache. Also, you do not want to miss and say later “we should gone to that place as well” mistakes. We are here to help you have to best experience traveling. Instead of you buying a fixed package, we help you create a customized itinerary with your travel style and taste.
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