Santa Marta Dec 2021

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, is un-spoilt by mass tourism and is a very friendly place. We never felt unsafe here.

Tayrona and San Andres next.

Our trip through Colombia so far

This entry was posted in Colombia, Santa Marta Dec 2021, South America

• 2021
• Colombia
• Santa Marta