Colombia's Caribbean Coast: Cartagena, Santa Marta, Minca and Tayrona

1. Day 1: Arrive in Cartagena, sunset on the walls

   Rafael Núñez International Airport (CTG) to your hotel in or beside the walled city

   • Drive about 15 min
   • Welcome dinner
   • Stay in Cartagena
   Day 1 details

   Fly into Rafael Núñez International Airport (CTG), only about 3 km from the old town, and our driver takes you to the hotel, inside or just beside the walled city. Plan to land by about 3 pm to make the late-afternoon briefing; the exact time is confirmed with your final itinerary. Cartagena is hot and humid all year, so the middle of the day is for settling in and the pool. At about 5 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a short briefing on the week ahead: the heat, the Tayrona walk, and what to pack for the cooler hills of Minca. Then we climb onto the stone city walls, built between the late 16th and 18th centuries against pirates and rival navies, and watch the sun go down over the Caribbean from the bastions on the sea side. Dinner is together tonight, a welcome meal of coastal food such as fried fish, coconut rice and patacones.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Rafael Núñez International Airport (CTG)
   • Welcome briefing with your guide
   • Sunset walk on the city walls
   • Welcome dinner

   Free time: Free until the late-afternoon briefing

2. Day 2: Cartagena: San Felipe, the walled city and Getsemaní

   Castillo San Felipe de Barajas, the walled city, then Getsemaní

   • Drive about 18 min
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Cartagena
   Day 2 details

   We start at 8 am, at opening, at the Castillo San Felipe de Barajas on the hill of San Lázaro, the largest of the Spanish forts that guarded the port, before the heat and the cruise-ship groups arrive. Its ramps, batteries and tunnels were built against attacks by land and sea, including the British siege of 1741. Then a local guide walks us into the walled city, listed by UNESCO in 1984 with the port and its fortresses: through the Clock Tower gate, across the Plaza de los Coches, past the church of San Pedro Claver and into the Palace of the Inquisition on the Plaza de Bolívar. Lunch is a sit-down Caribbean meal in the old town. The afternoon is free for the hottest hours: the hotel pool, a nap, or the Zenú Gold Museum, which is free to enter. Around 5 pm we walk through the street art and small squares of Getsemaní, tasting arepas de huevo, fresh fruit and other street food on the way.

   Included

   • Castillo San Felipe de Barajas at opening
   • The walled city with a local guide, including the Palace of the Inquisition
   • Sit-down lunch in the old town
   • Getsemaní street-art and street-food walk with tastings

   Free time: Afternoon free, and the evening after the Getsemaní walk

   Activity: About 3 hours on foot in the morning on ramps, steps and cobbles, at around 30°C. Bring a hat and water.

3. Day 3: Mangroves at La Boquilla, along the coast to Santa Marta

   Cartagena to La Boquilla, Barranquilla, then Santa Marta

   • Drive about 4 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Santa Marta
   Day 3 details

   We leave the hotel at 8 am, and twenty minutes later we are at La Boquilla, a fishing village on Cartagena's northern edge. Local fishermen paddle us in canoes through the mangrove tunnels of the Ciénaga de la Virgen lagoon, where herons and kingfishers work the shallows and crabs scuttle over the roots, a quiet hour before the day heats up. Then we follow the coast road north to Barranquilla, Colombia's main Caribbean port near the mouth of the Magdalena river and home of a Carnival listed by UNESCO as intangible heritage. Lunch is a sit-down meal by the river on the Gran Malecón. In the afternoon we cross the Magdalena and drive between the sea and the Ciénaga Grande wetlands to Santa Marta, founded in 1525, arriving in the late afternoon. The drive is about four hours in all, broken by the canoe and lunch. At dusk your guide walks you along the bay promenade to the whitewashed cathedral and the Parque de los Novios.

   Included

   • Mangrove canoe tour with local fishermen at La Boquilla
   • Sit-down lunch on the Gran Malecón in Barranquilla
   • Dusk walk in Santa Marta with your guide: the bay promenade, the cathedral and the Parque de los Novios

   Free time: Evening free in Santa Marta

   Activity: About four hours of driving in all, within our daily cap, broken by the canoe and lunch.

   

4. Day 4: Taganga, Bolívar's hacienda and up to Minca

   Santa Marta to Taganga, the Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino, then Minca

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Minca
   Day 4 details

   At 8:30 am we drive fifteen minutes over the hill to Taganga, a fishing village in a steep, dry bay where the boats come in with the morning catch. From the lookout above the bay you see the first headlands of the Tayrona coast. Back in Santa Marta, the Tairona Gold Museum in the old customs house shows the gold work of the people who built stone-terraced towns in the Sierra Nevada long before the Spanish arrived; entry is free. Late morning we visit the Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino, the hacienda where Simón Bolívar died in December 1830, with its house, memorial and shady gardens. Lunch is your choice in town. Then it is about 45 minutes up a winding road into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta to Minca, a village at about 650 m, where we stay two nights. It is greener and a few degrees cooler than the coast, and the afternoon is yours for a hammock, a coffee or the birds in the garden.

   Included

   • Taganga bay and the lookout above it
   • Tairona Gold Museum in the old customs house
   • Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino with your guide

   Optional experiences

   • A swim at Pozo Azul, a river pool about a 45-minute walk from the village

   Free time: Lunch your choice in Santa Marta; afternoon and evening free in Minca

   

5. Day 5: Minca: a coffee farm and the Marinka waterfalls

   Minca to a coffee farm in the hills, the Marinka waterfalls, then back to Minca on foot

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Minca
   Day 5 details

   We leave at 8:30 am by 4x4 up the steep dirt road above Minca, through forest where coffee grows in the shade of taller trees, to a working family coffee farm. The farmers take us through the whole process: picking the ripe red cherries, pulping, fermenting and drying the beans, roasting, and finally tasting a cup brewed from the slope we are standing on. Depending on the month, you may see the harvest itself. Lunch is a sit-down meal in the hills. In the early afternoon the 4x4 drops us at the Marinka waterfalls, two falls with cold, clear pools for a swim, and from there we walk back down to Minca, about 3.5 km on a dirt road, with views towards the sea on clear days. The rest of the afternoon and the evening are free. At dusk, listen for toucans and parrots heading to roost, and for the frogs that take over after dark.

   Included

   • 4x4 to the hills above Minca and down to the falls
   • Coffee farm tour with tasting
   • Sit-down lunch in the hills
   • The Marinka waterfalls, entry included

   Easier option: Ride the 4x4 back to Minca from the waterfalls instead of walking.

   More active option: Optional, from the lodge: a 6:30 am walk with a local birding guide on the trails around Minca, back in time for breakfast. The group day starts at 8:30 am.

   Free time: Late afternoon and evening free

   Activity: About 3.5 km downhill on a rough dirt road after the falls. Wear shoes with grip and bring swimwear.

6. Day 6: Down to the coast and an afternoon at Palomino

   Minca to our lodge near the Tayrona park, then Palomino and back

   • Drive about 3.5 h
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Tayrona
   Day 6 details

   A slow breakfast, then at 9 am we drive down out of the hills and east along the Caribbean coast road to our lodge near the El Zaino entrance of Tayrona National Park, about an hour and a half, where we stay two nights. After dropping the bags we carry on about an hour east to Palomino, a village where a clear river comes down from the Sierra Nevada and meets the sea. The beach is wide and lined with palms, but the open sea here has strong currents, so the swim is in the river mouth, where the water is calm. Lunch is your choice at one of the simple beach restaurants, then the afternoon is for the sand, a hammock, or a slow float down the river in a tube. We drive back to the lodge in the late afternoon, about an hour, in time to rest before dinner, your choice at the lodge or nearby. The day comes to about 170 km and three and a half hours in the vehicle, at our daily cap, in three short legs broken by lunch and the beach.

   Included

   • Drive from Minca to the Tayrona coast
   • Afternoon at Palomino beach and the river mouth

   Optional experiences

   • River tubing on the Palomino river, booked locally

   Free time: Afternoon on the beach at your own pace; evening free

   Activity: About 3.5 hours in the vehicle in three legs of 1 to 1.5 hours, at our daily cap. Swim only in the river mouth or where your guide says; the open sea at Palomino has strong currents.

   

7. Day 7: Tayrona: the coastal trail to Cabo San Juan

   El Zaino gate to Cañaveral, Arrecifes, La Piscina and Cabo San Juan del Guía, and back

   • Drive about 18 min
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Tayrona
   Day 7 details

   We are at the El Zaino gate of Tayrona National Park when it opens, around 8 am, with our entry tickets and park insurance bought ahead, and ride the park shuttle to Cañaveral. From there the trail follows the coast through tropical forest, over boardwalks and between granite boulders, with the sea flashing through the trees. Watch for capuchin and howler monkeys overhead. After about an hour we reach Arrecifes, a long beach where swimming is not allowed because of the currents, then La Piscina, a bay sheltered by a reef where you can swim. Cabo San Juan del Guía, about 5 km from Cañaveral, has two small coves and a thatched lookout on the rocks between them. Lunch is here, followed by time to swim and rest in the shade. We walk back the same way in the afternoon, or ride a horse for part of it, and are at the lodge by about 5 pm. Tonight is our farewell dinner together.

   Included

   • Tayrona National Park entry and insurance, with tickets bought ahead
   • The park shuttle from El Zaino to Cañaveral
   • Coastal walk with your guide: Cañaveral, Arrecifes, La Piscina and Cabo San Juan del Guía
   • Lunch at Cabo San Juan
   • Farewell dinner

   Optional experiences

   • A horse for part of the trail, paid locally

   Easier option: Turn back after a swim at La Piscina, about 3.5 km from Cañaveral, and spend the afternoon at the lodge.

   Free time: Time on the beach at Cabo San Juan after lunch

   Activity: About 10 km on foot in all, roughly 4 hours of walking on roots, boardwalk, sand and boulders in heat and humidity. Bring a small daypack, swimwear, water, sunscreen and repellent; the main bags stay at the lodge.

8. Day 8: A last morning on the coast, then home

   Our lodge near Tayrona to Simón Bolívar International Airport (SMR), Santa Marta

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Breakfast
   Day 8 details

   The last morning is unhurried. Have a slow breakfast, a final swim or a walk along the beach near the lodge, and pack for home. Around 11 am our driver takes you west along the coast road and around Santa Marta to Simón Bolívar International Airport (SMR), about 50 km and an hour and a quarter away, where your guide sees you to check-in. The runway sits right beside the sea, south of the city. Flights from Santa Marta to Canada and the United States usually connect through another Colombian airport, so confirm the routing when you book, choose a flight leaving after about 2 pm and allow time for the connection. If you would rather fly home from Cartagena, ask us when you book: the road back is about four and a half hours, so it works best with an extra night there. And if you are coming from the Colombia highlights trip, which ends in Cartagena, the two run back to back.

   Included

   • Drop-off at Simón Bolívar International Airport (SMR), Santa Marta

   Free time: Morning free at the lodge

   Activity: Book a flight leaving Santa Marta after about 2 pm.

Wildlife and weather: December to March is the dry season on Colombia's Caribbean coast: days around 30°C, little rain and the strongest trade winds of the year, which keep the beaches breezy and the sea choppy. Minca, at about 650 m, is a few degrees cooler and can still see a shower. Capuchin and howler monkeys live in Tayrona's forest, and the Sierra Nevada above Minca is known for birds found nowhere else.

• Cartagena2 nights
• Santa Marta1 night
• Minca2 nights
• Tayrona2 nights