Colombia’s northern Caribbean coast is one of the most popular regions in the country for travellers—with beautiful beaches, culturally diverse cities, amazing biodiversity, and unique landscapes. The 2 hot-spots are Cartagena and the Tayrona National Park. Colombia has also some amazing surfing beaches on its Northern Caribbean Coast. This is a great destination for travellers looking for water-based activities, but also pairing it with laid-back, relaxing times and a tropical luxury.
We obsessively listened to this song while designing this trip, the video has been recorded in Tayrona, in Costeno beach precisely, you may too want to immerse yourself already in the local vibe while browsing this itinerary !
10 days should allow for the trip and the stay. Considering travel options and stops, we would suggest to combine an active stay with cultural discoveries : start by a surfing trip and jungle exploration in the Tayrona National Park, drive from Santa Maria to Cartagena and maybe consider an extension to a nearby remote tropical island.
Once in Cartagena, we can either achieve the trip, or open it to discover further Colombia, with a stay in Bogota for example, or even Medellin, a further away on the Pacific Coast. Over 2 weeks, we can plan a 3 stops discovery trip for example.
Best Time to Surf : December through March and July through September. Keep in mind that in Colombia the waves come from the South West between April and December and then, in January and February, from the North East. Waves are higher between April and December normally.
Different options, but no direct flight. The fastest one is via Bogota on Avianca, landing in Santa Marta, then back from Cartagena with a stop in Amsterdan or Miami.
Once in Santa Marta, to reach the beaches of Tayrona Park, a private car rental is the best option, for 1 hour of drive, and SUVs are available for rent at the airport. On the way back to Cartagena, 4 hours of scenic drive along the sea and via Baranquilla. the car can be droppe off in Cartagena.
As Tayrona Park is a protected natural reserve, travelling there is off-the-beaten path. Of course, there is no mass-tourism, but a controlled, sustainable local development, from hammocks on the beach to luxury boutique hotels with pool.
We have selected 3 options full of personality, that allow guests to quietly relax under the palm trees, while being a stone-throw away from the waves.
Browse the diaporama below to choose among the 3 options :
From these locations, we recommended to visit Tayrona National Park, walk through the jungle by a well marked path while discovering different beaches.
Best for swimming are "Las piscinas beach" and "Cabo San Juan del Guia" beach for example.
The surfing beaches on the Caribbean coast are much easier to get to, compared to the Pacific Coast, and offer more conveniences for travellers. Surfing beaches along the Caribbean are usually closer to city and villages and there is road access, walking access, and more amenities/accommodations. The waters also tend to be a bit calmer.
The beaches in and around Tayrona Park are the ideal spot for surf sessions, with the wild background of the tropical forest, and kilometers of sand. The mouths of the rivers converging to the sea are also beautiful places to visit in Stand Up Paddle.
Here are some of the most interesting surf spots we selected
Cartagena, perched on Colombia's Caribbean coast, is quickly becoming a must-visit, its mix of casual beachside charm and urban vitality make it a fun and fascinating place to explore. The city center and its fortifications are also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so you'll be able to soak up the history as well as the sun.
Cartagena, like so many places in Latin America, is named for a city in Spain. Therefore, Cartagena, Colombia is often called by its full name, "Cartagena de Indias," or Cartagena of the Indies. The historic center of Cartagena is within the old city walls built by the Spanish between the 16th and 18th centuries. It's called the Ciudad Amurallada -- Walled City -- and it's where the majority of hotels and restaurants are located, in addition to being extremely walkable.
The famous Clock Tower is often used to demarcate the boundary of the walled city, as it's above the main Old City Gate. If you only have a few days, you're best off staying here. Many of Cartagena's biggest attractions are quite close to each other. Start with the Clock Tower. From there, the narrow street across from the Tower is known as El Portal de los Dulces, or Sweets Street. Here, vendors -- primarily women, who tack up wooden signs bearing their names above their booths -- set up carts selling local favourites like coconut and panela (similar to brown sugar) cookies, guava jellies and dulce de leche shaped like coins, hearts or babies. Most of these come pre-wrapped, making them easy and fun souvenirs or gifts for loved ones back home, and you can usually try samples.
Even if you' don't see a show, the beautiful pastel Teatro Adolfo Mejia is usually open to explore. Built on the ruins of a church, this gorgeous building now serves as a temple to the arts -- inside, look for a huge fresco of the nine muses, painted by Colombian artist Enrique Grau, on the ceiling. Nearby, you can also see the former home of the man who is arguably Cartagena's most famous son, the late Nobel Prize-winning author Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Marquez's iconic novel "Love in the Time of Cholera" is set in a lightly fictionalised Cartagena, and there's a Marquez quote painted on the side of his onetime house. As it's still a private residence, though, you can't go inside. The mural is on the side of the building on Calle 7, next to Hotel Makondo (whose name comes from the town where Marquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude" is set).
Many of Cartagena's most beautiful buildings are churches. One of the most notable, with a dramatic stone front, is the church of San Pedro Claver. Originally a church built by Spanish Jesuits in the 1600s, it was renamed for Pedro (Peter) Claver, who was canonised in 1888. Claver was known for providing medical care and food for enslaved Africans brought to Colombia. He is now the patron saint of both Colombia and of enslaved people, and the church here has a museum dedicated to his life and works. Around the corner from the church is Cartagena's Modern Art Museum. This small but lovingly curated two-story museum focuses on work by Colombian and Latin American artists and has information in Spanish and English.
Once you are south of here, you find yourself in the colourful working-class neighbourhood of Getsemaní. Getsemaní is the place to go for street art, less expensive restaurants and vibrant community life. The narrow spit of land southeast of the walled city is Boca Grande. That's where you'll find many of the upscale hotels and all-inclusive resorts.
From Cartagena you can also spend a day or two in a fabulous tropical island easily reached by boat, such as Isla del Rosario.
WHERE TO STAY IN CARTAGENA
The city's architecture - all courtyards and arcades and balconies - mean that an intense and wonderful atmosphere is built in. All the best places to stay are several hundred years old, and the very best probably have pirates' bones bricked up in a wall somewhere. Here is a selection of our favourite elegant, tropical-colonial options :
Option 1
A top boutique hotel in the old walled city, this is also one of the newest (it opened in 2012). Three 18th-century houses have been knocked through to form one glorious space. It's worthy of its five-star rating: nothing is over-looked here, and the staff are tremendous. An L-shaped pool in the courtyard flows beneath the city's former aqueduct. Upstairs is a library with deep armchairs and an honesty bar. Rooms are big with iPads, canopied beds and marble-tiled bathrooms. The street-level restaurant is excellent: eat while watching the horse-drawn carriages rattling past.
Price: from £275 per night
Option 2
Here the design team here have not only preserved another lovely colonial building, they have reinvigorated it with bare brick walls, steel, dark wood and luminously pale fabrics. A purple-flowering almendro tree stands in the gravelled courtyard; leather sofas and dark antique trunks acknowledge Cartagena's historic vibe. The best addition is the rooftop terrace with its infinity pool, canopied day beds and fine views over the city to the sea beyond.
Price: from about £240 per night
Option 3 Casa Don Sancho
Once owned by the governor who surrendered to the French in 1697, in the street that also carries his name, this lovely place is immensely proud of its aristocratic connections. The drawing room on the first floor has fine books and music, the dining room has a splendid balcony for that after-dinner Cohiba and an outside pool is framed by pillars and Romanesque arches. The look is smart but contemporary, with a deft balance of wood, tiles and plaster, and sunny terraces of greenery.
Price: from about £140
Santa Marta, Magdalena, Colombia 
For 10 days, est.from £4500 for 1 ; £7600 for 2
