Santa Marta, Colombia, Dec 2021
After Valle de Cocora, we flew back to northwestern Colombia, to Santa Marta. Santa Marta is a port city on the Caribbean Sea coast, about 226kms east of Cartagena. Founded on July 29, 1525, by the Spanish conqueror Rodrigo de Bastidas, it was one of the first Spanish settlements in Colombia, its oldest surviving city, and second-oldest in South America. Simón Bolívar, the liberator of much of South America, spent his last weeks in Santa Marta, and died of tuberculosis in 1830, at the age of 47. He was buried in the cathedral of Santa Marta, but subsequently his remains were moved to Caracas, Venezuela.
We had read that Santa Marta was a smaller version of Cartagena and was an up and coming place and we wanted to bring in the year 2022 in Santa Marta to experience it. We flew from Pereira in the Coffee region of Central Colombia to Santa Marta airport via Bogota on Dec 30, 2021. From the Santa Marta airport, we took an Uber into Santa Marta to our hotel; we had booked into the AC Marriott hotel, which was walking distance to downtown, and being a small town, everything was close by within walking distance; so, no need for a car. First stop was for dinner at a beach restaurant, about 3 minutes from our hotel. The place was in a marina pier plaza built over the beach; and it was quite busy with locals, and several restaurants.
View of night time Santa Marta from our hotel room
We decided to spend the next few days exploring Santa Marta town and bring in the New Year 2022 in Santa Marta (today). The exploring had to include the local market of course 😊. Some views of Santa Marta town below
Views of the central part of old town of Santa Marta
That evening, the whole downtown area became very lively; all with locals and local tourists. Music, dancing, eating and drinking. Some scenes below from New Years eve Dec 31, 2021.
Very lively downtown in the evening
Bringing in the 2022 New Year; Happy New Year 😊
Since we were in Santa Marta for a week, we found a local laundry place in the downtown area and got the laundry done. Once again, very cheap, efficient and friendly. Over these few days, below are more scenes from Santa Marta during the day and night. It was always very lively at night everywhere.
More lively night scenes every night in Santa Marta
Entertainment at dinner restaurant on the pier
Nice soothing church music
Chiva Party busses along the malecon; people like to party here 😊
One evening, we took an Uber to Rodadero beach, which is a newer part of the area between Santa Marta and its airport to the south. This area is quite developed with high-rises, and had a restaurant called BK, that was located on a clifftop over the sea with beautiful views
Views of Rodadero beach from the BK clifftop restaurant
Overall, we were very impressed with Santa Marta; it was as we had hoped; a smaller version of Cartagena without the mass of foreign tourists. It did not have the old historic buildings and areas like in Cartagena, but it did have excellent food everywhere, very well presented, at very reasonable prices, with a good variety available. Great for the taste, smell, sight, stomach & pocketbook 😊. And it was very much a party town in the evenings; in the old town area and along the malecon; very lively with people enjoying themselves; very nice feeling without being too loud for the ears. The great street art was always a treat for the eyes. We came across very few people who spoke English, so our Spanish improved 😊. All in all, we would definitely return here compared to Cartagena; highly recommended as it has the local vibe & flavor, is colorful, vibrant, friendly, great foods, & is un-spoilt by mass tourism. We never felt unsafe here.
Tayrona and San Andres next.
Our trip through Colombia so far
Thank you Ali, very fascinated by the adventurous trips and stories Dilshad & you have shared
Happy and safe travels
Varsha
Most welcome Varsha
Thanks for the feedback. So glad you enjoyed
Wow! Beautiful pics. Very cool & nice easy go city.
Enjoy. Stay safe and protected.
Thank you very much for sharing detailed and informative journey.
Take care .
Thanks so much for the feedback. 🙏
So glad you enjoyed the trip with us 🙂
It was my pleasure to understand Santa Marta, Colombia.
It was a great trip
Thanks for sharing your time and knowledge.
Take care.
Best regards
Shamim.
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Hi! Thoroughly enjoyed your trip with you to Santa Marta!
So glad you enjoyed traveling with us 🙂
Thanks so much for the feedback.
Thank you so much for sharing!
Most welcome Sabira; hope you enjoyed it
It was great! Thank you.
So glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the feedback
Ali,
You got us yearning to travel. How long did you travel this time?
Hi Iqbal; We went to Colombia for a month.
That gives us enough time to get a flavor/vibe for the place; and of course visit different areas.
Thanks for the feedback. Please do travel somewhere exotic and let us know about it
Thank you for sharing your beautiful images of Colombia—they truly capture the vibrant spirit and diversity of the country.
Your photos of Santa Marta are truly amazing.
Asante and love to Dilshad
Thanks Muslim, so glad you enjoyed the blog
Appreciate the feedback
Glad you had a good trip and you enjoyed it
Thanks Sadru
Such beautiful videos and pictures what an amazing town.
You even found Indian food.
Thank you Mahamud; glad you enjoyed Santa marta, like we did
Absolutely loved reading this, Ali!
Santa Marta looks like a hidden gem—vibrant, full of character, and rich with local flavor.
Your storytelling and photos truly bring the experience to life.
Thanks for sharing such a colorful slice of Colombia!
Thanks so much Rozmin, for the feedback.
You made my day 🙂
I am so happy that you enjoyed this journey with us;
And your description of Santa Marta is absolutely correct; it is very colorful.
And your description is so much better than my description in the blog 🙂
Thanks again
Wow. Pretty colorful place.
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Fatima, for the feedback.
Glad you enjoyed it
Living life to the fullest 🙂
Trying hard 🙂
Thanks for the feedback
Wonderful Ali!
The food and you guys look amazing in the pictures and videos 😁
Thanks so much for the feedback Salimah.
So glad you enjoyed it.
Enjoyed your trip to Colombia, thanks for sharing brother!
BB
Glad you enjoyed; thanks for the feedback Barkat.
Wow so nice. Glad you are traveling. Hope you are all doing well as we are.
Take care and stay safe
Loving friend Yasmin
Thanks Yasmin; glad you enjoyed the blog
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