Practical transportation guide in Minca, Colombia

Travel Guide Minca

Practical transportation guide in Minca, Colombia

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How to get to Minca? Here you will find information about all the ways to get to Minca and about transportation in Minca itself.

When planning your trip to Minca, keep in mind that you must travel via Santa Marta. Buses and cabs leave from the market in Santa Marta. Read here how to get to Santa Marta 

Santa Marta-Minca by taxi
A taxi from the city center to Minca takes about 35 minutes and costs around COP80,000/$20 (2025). You can also arrange private transportation in advance online from Santa Marta to Minca via this link.

Santa Marta-Minca by colectivo bus
Price around COP10000/$2.50 (45 minutes). Once in Minca, you can take a moto taxi to your final destination, unless you are staying in a hotel in or near Minca.

Transportation in Minca

If you walk around Minca, you will notice that the mototaxi is the most common means of transportation. The motorbike can go anywhere and the drivers are used to avoiding potholes in the roads. The moto taxis are easy to book in Minca. Motomink is the official mototaxi cooperation in Minca and offers fixed prices for different destinations in the region. We had a good experience booking 2 mototaxis to Finca la Victoria for the coffee tour, where the drivers waited for us, until the tour was over. If you want to book a ride from your hotel, your hotel can also call a mototaxi for you. Hotels usually work with regular, trusted drivers and are more expensive. Transportation by 4×4 is also possible.

Prices Motomink (one way/ updated July 2025)

  • Cascada Marinka COP15,000/$3.75/20 mins
  • Pozo azul COP12,000/$3/15-20 mins
  • Coffee and cocoa finca La Candelaria COP20,000/$5/30 mins
  • Coffee finca La Victoria COP15,000/$3.75
  • Hostel Sierra Minca COP35,000/$9/30 mins
  • Mirador Los Pinos COP30,000/$7.50/45 mins
  • Mundo Nuevo Cop20,000/$5/15 mins
  • Tierra Adentro COP25,000/$6.25/30 mins

Want to see several places in one day? Then you can also hire a driver for a half or full day and make it a sightseeing tour. Look here for more info about the tour by mototaxi that we made.

#ColombiaMyWay tip

Add Minca to roundtrip along the Caribbean coast
Minca is a nice stop between a hike in Tayrona National Park, a trek to Ciudad Perdida or an off-road trip to La Guajira. Between all this action in tropical temperatures, it’s great to spend a few days relaxing in Minca and breathe in the fresh mountain air. Minca has some nice hostels and hotels where you can completely unwind. Check the link for different itineraries including Minca.

All about Minca in Colombia: what to do and tips

Travel Guide Minca

Home 9 Category: Travel Guide Minca ( Page 2 )

About Minca, Colombia

Minca is located in the Sierra Nevada, 15 kilometers from Santa Marta. The mountain village is surrounded by tropical rainforest, waterfalls, coffee and cocoa plantations. Due to its great biodiversity, Minca has been named a biosphere reserve by UNESCO and the village is also called the “ecological capital” of Colombia. There are many fun things to do and no shortage of cozy hotels . The village itself is small, but geared to the tourist with restaurants for every taste. In short: a relaxing place to spend a few nights during a tour of the Caribbean coast  for example after a trip to Tayrona or Ciudad Perdida.

in this guide, you can find all you want to know about Minca. Tips for what to do, transportation in Minca, the best areas to stay, the tastiest restaurants and practical information about Minca, Colombia

All about Minca

How to get to Minca / transportation
Fun things to do
Hotels and hostels
Practical information
Restaurants

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Tour by motorcycle in Minca

Travel Guide Minca, Travel Stories

On the back of the motorcycle past waterfalls and coffee fincas

The first few miles on the bike went smoothly and I was relaxed. As the road got worse with deep holes, mud puddles and rocks, I got a little anxious. Chauffeur Ney manoeuvred past these “obstacles” flawlessly, so I trusted all would be okay.

Bucket list
When I went to Minca, I had several things on my wish list: I wanted to see the Marinka waterfall, do a cocoa tour and chill in “the biggest hammocks in the world” at Casa Elemento.

Mototaxi for a day
Marinka and Casa Elemento were easy to combine, but for the cocoa tour I had to be at finca La Candelaria, in the opposite direction. Not a convenient combination! Sonia, the employee of the hotel, advised me to hire a moto taxi, which could take me everywhere in one day. To be honest, I was not immediately enthusiastic about the idea of sitting on the back of a motorcycle for so long. My poor back, I thought! When Sonia said she knew a good driver and that the moto tour was very safe -and quite comfortable-, I changed my mind.

Route
Driver Ney came to pick me up and we agreed on this route:

  • Cascada de Marinka
  • Casa Elemento
  • Mirador los Pinos
  • Coffee finca la Victoria
  • Pozo Azul
  • Finca La Candelaria

This private tour with Minca Tours cost me COP120,000 / $33 and i thought this was a good price for this trip and itinerary.  Lunch, drinks, entrance fees and the cocoa tour were not included.

    When I had installed myself on the back of the bike, I felt like a small child about to embark on a big adventure -:) The first few miles on the bike went smoothly and I sat relaxed on the motor bike, when looking around. As the road got worse with deep holes, mud puddles and rocks, I got a little anxious. Driver Ney manoeuvred past these obstacles flawlessly, so I trusted it would be okay.

    Cascada de Marinka
    On the way to Cascada de Marinka, we saw quite a few tourists walking. We got there around 9 a.m. and were the first visitors. It was nice to chill for a while in the giant hammock near the restaurant. From there you have a nice view of the waterfall.

    Giant hammocks
    After this, the trip went to Casa Elemento, high in the mountains above Minca. At first my heart almost skipped a beat when I saw the precipices next to me. When I decided not to look beside me anymore but forward, things got a lot better and I really started to like riding a motorcycle.


    At Casa Elemento, I bought a wristband for COP10,000 / $2.50. This allowed me to stay as long as I wanted and included a drink. I “tested” the various hammocks and enjoyed the view. Meanwhile, Ney revealed himself as a real (private) photographer!

    Mirador los Pinos
    After Casa Elemento, we stopped at Mirador los Pinos, for a nice view of Santa Marta and the coast.

    Pozo Azul
    Pozo Azul was busy when we were there. Ney told us that this is a popular spot with locals and day tourists from Santa Marta. Because of the cold water, it was not enticing for me to swim at the falls, not getting beyond paddling!

    Coffee Finca la Victoria
    When we drove up to the coffee finca, there was a wonderful smell; the freshness of the rainforest mixed with the aroma of coffee…mmm! We looked around and had a cup of coffee with homemade cookies. A coffee tour was about to start, but I skipped it. I felt more like jumping on the back of the motor bike after the coffee and driving on to finca la Candelaria for the cacao tour. Since this was still quite a long ride, we made a stop at café Minca, for lunch.

    Finca la Candelaria
    Arriving at the entrance to la Candelaria, we had to leave the bike and walk up to the finca, through coffee and cocoa plantations.

    Chocotour
    Venezuelan refugee Saddam was my guide. He came to Colombia in 2018 and supports his family in Venezuela with his income as a guide.     We started the tour at the beginning of the plantation, where I got to see the flower of the cacao bean. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a tour of the plantation itself. After this, Saddam got to work making chocolate milk -from scratch-. He talked passionately about cocoa and showed how the beans are roasted, shelled, melted and mixed with water and milk.

    Choco mask
    While tasting the chocolate milk, I got a     facial mask made of cocoa. My skin felt soft and like new. Saddam explained that the fats of the cacao are the reason that your skin feels like a baby skin after the mask. Including choco mask, the tour took 40 minutes. Afterwards, we enjoyed sitting on the terrace, when it started to pour and thunder. 

    Slippery descent
    I enjoyed the freshness of the rain. When it had cleared up, we began the “descent” downhill. That was a bit of a challenge because everything had gotten slippery. Once back on the bike, Ney stopped a few times along the way. We had to walk some parts because it was too slippery on the road. In “stages”, we finally got back on the main road and I was dropped off at the hotel. I spent the rest of the day thinking about this amazing adventure!

     

    Written by Jeanette
    Travel date September 2019

    Information and tips (updated September 2025)

    • Casa Elemento has been taken over by another owner. After a renovation, the hostel reopened under the name Hostal Sierra Minca.
    • In 2025, a day pass with access to the hammocks of Hostal Sierra Minca  (without lunch) costs COP15.000/US$4. A day pass with access to the hammocks (including lunch) costs COP40.000/US$11.
    • Read our travel guide Minca for more info and tips about the attractions in and around Minca, our eco-hotel tip and an insiders tip for a stay in a nature reserve around Minca where rescued animals are taken care of
    • Here you can check out more tours in Minca

      We do not accept direct payments from touroperators or hotels for our reviews and we pay for our own stay and tours. Every recommendation is based solely on our own experiences and honest opinions. However, some of our links are affiliate links, which means we earn a small commission if you book through them. This commission comes at no extra cost to you and helps us maintain our website.

      Jeanette and Shelly

      Writers and Travelers, Colombia My Way