Santa Marta is a city where people stop to visit Tayrona Park . I had read in many comments and reviews that this "stopover" city was of little interest.

But I don't agree at all! This city has charm, cultural riches (the oldest city in Colombia) and above all a very marked Caribbean identity! It deserves to be known both for its atmosphere and for its ideal location between Tayrona Park and the magnificent Sierra Nevada mountains.

What to see in Santa Marta? The historic center

The historic center of Santa Marta, with its colonial houses and squares dedicated to Simon Bolivar (who died in Santa Marta in 1830), is charming and worth a visit!

From our hotel, we were able to walk around the entire historic center in one morning.

We used the map given by the hotel and visited the Cathedral, Simon Bolivar square, the Gold Museum, the park de los novios.

What to do in Santa Marta? Prepare your excursion to Tayrona Park

This is what we did in the afternoon.

I knew we could take the bus from the market to go to the Park and fend for ourselves. We therefore locate the places. We learn that the bus runs every 20 minutes and that it will drop us off at the main entrance to the Park. The price is 8 COP or approximately 000 Euros.

We learn that the entrance to the Park costs 54 COP (around 500 Euros). It will then be necessary to add the price of a minibus 16 COP (15 Euros) to save 000 km of walking at the entrance of the Park.

Back at the hotel, we'll check the information and itinerary of the visit on the Aviatur website: http://www.parquetayrona.com.co/contenidos/parque-tayrona

We will therefore take the bus at 7:00 am (park opens at 8:00 am) and remember to bring water and our passports.

What to do in Santa Marta? Prepare your excursion to the Cienaga Grande

I wanted to organize a day trip to the Cienaga Grande de Magdalena nature reserve for Monday, August 13th (two days later, since it was Saturday) . It's a huge mangrove forest populated by hundreds of birds and where 300 fishing families traditionally live in stilt houses.

I thought we'd easily find a local agency offering this excursion. But after contacting them all, we couldn't find a single reputable agency in Santa Marta .

Disappointed but still determined, I decided not to give up. So I went back online and contacted all the online agencies that served the Santa Marta region , hoping for a quick response…

Discover in the following articles our day at Tayrona Park and our magnificent excursion to the Cienaga Grande de Magdalena!