From Sept. 11 to 23, 2023, we toured the north coast of Colombia, from Barranquilla to Santa Marta. In Barranquilla we visited relatives of my traveling companion. Meanwhile, she showed me some of the sights of “her city.” After this we went hiking in Tayrona National Park, after which a good dose of relaxation was scheduled during our stay at a wellness resort near the park. After this, the round trip along the north coast continued to the mountain village of Minca and Tierra Adentro nature reserve. To conclude the trip, we stayed two nights in Santa Marta, the oldest city in Colombia.
For us, this trip proved to be a perfect combination of city and nature. Would you also like to take a trip like this? Then read about our North Coast roundtrip here and check out our insider tips for fun things to do, transportation and the nicest hotels.
DAY 1-4, BARRANQUILLA
The arrival in Barranquilla was unlike any other city I had been to before, such as Cartagena, Medellín and Bogotá. Barranquilla came across as messy and chaotic, when we drove through the suburb of Soledad to Barranquilla. It was a lively mess with bici-taxis, tuktuks and even horse and carriage, driving through the narrow streets. Barranquilla is known for its delicious food and the Barraquilleros love to do just that. So on every street corner we saw a BBQ restaurant or a toko with a few tables. The Riomar district where our (excellent) hotel GHL Hotel Collection was located, is a fairly new neighborhood, with neat, clean streets filled with trees and more expensive stores. A huge contrast to the chaotic Soledad!
The locals are super nice and have the cheerful character of the Costeños, the inhabitants of the north coast. Barranquilla has relatively few attractions and tourism is not as developed as in nearby Cartagena. We didn’t encounter a single Western tourist during our 4-night stay, even at the hotel, which was frequented mostly by Colombian tourists and businessmen.
During our stay in Barranquilla, we did many fun things with the family. For example, we took a mototaxi to Bocas de Ceniza, where the sea meets the river, we went to eat and watch Colombian soccer on the Malecón, (the Avenida del Rio), posed for a photo shoot at the monument Aleta del Tiburón and took a trip to Puerto Colombia, the city where immigrants first set foot in Colombia. Furthermore, we tasted the atmosphere of the carnival in the carnival museum , shopped in the gigashopping malls Buenavista 1 and 2 and Mall Plaza and had a bite to eat in hotel El Prado, Latin America’s first luxury hotel. Read the travel guide Barranquilla for more information and tips.
DAY 5-7 TAYRONA NATIONAL PARK
After the super fun and intensive stay in Barranquilla, it was time to say goodbye to the family and we left for the Kantawa Eco Spa hotel, near the Tayrona National Park.
We found this a super place to completely unwind. Relax in the pool, while the birds and butterflies fly back and forth and spot a squirrel during a walk in the beautiful garden.
You go to Tayrona to hike through the jungle to the various beautiful beaches, such as Playa Arrecife and the popular Cabo de San Juan beach. Along the way we saw monkeys (white-shouldered capuchin monkeys), which we were able to spot at very close range. After a hike in the Tayrona park -which involved a lot of sweating with the humidity of 79%! -, body and soul were well pampered in the pool with hydromassages, a superdeluxe Jacuzzi and a massage “by the river”.
We did not, but it is also possible to stay overnight in Tayrona National Park, including at Playa Arrecifes, Cabo de San Juan or Playa Brava.
Read the travel guide Tayrona National Park for more information and tips
DAY 8 MINCA, center
After a wonderfully relaxing stay at Kantawa Eco Spa hotel, we left for Minca. Before spending a few nights at the Reserva Natural Tierra Adentro would stay, we had booked 1 night in the village of Minca at Hotel Minca-la Casona, the only hotel in the middle of the village.
We wanted to look around the village before heading to the nature reserve. I had been to Minca once 4 years ago and I was curious to see if much had changed in that time. I noticed how many restaurants and stores had been added. Minca is booming! Despite being a small village, we really enjoyed wandering around.
In the morning we had breakfast at the hotel, which really comes highly recommended. The food is delicious, but it’s all about the many hummingbirds that descend on the trays of sugar water. With the mountains of the Sierra Nevada as a backdrop, the hotel’s terrace is great to linger on at any time of day, but in the morning the hummingbirds are most active. Before we left for Reserva Natural Tierra Adentro, we wanted to take a coffee tour do at Finca La Victoria. Motomink’s mototaxis took us to the finca and had promised to wait for us until the tour was finished. The drive through the mountains and bamboo forests was beautiful. During the coffee tour, the guide explained to us all about the interesting history of Finca La Victoria and the coffee process. After this we got back on the motorcycle for the beautiful ride through the mountains. Tip: you can also spend the night near the coffee inca, in Casas Viejas.
Read the travel guide Minca for more information and tips.
DAY 9-10 MINCA, RESERVA NATURAL TIERRA ADENTRO
Via Reserva Natural Tierra Adentro we had arranged transportation by 4×4. This solid car was absolutely no luxury, because it was a “bumpy ride” to the hotel. Driver Jesús was very experienced and maneuvered the car along boulders, potholes and through streams that flowed into the road. This ride was an adventure in itself and after we passed the Marinka waterfall, it was another short drive to the nature reserve. Once we arrived, it was an oasis of calm. We installed ourselves on the terrace with mega-hangmat and spent the rest of the afternoon just enjoying the amazing view.
A fun activity at the nature preserve is a short tour of the animal sanctuary. Hierdoor krijg je een beter beeld van de achtergrond van de dieren, die worden gered van de illegale handel, zijn aangereden of door andere dieren zijn aangevallen. Via een trap, kun je naar een klein kreekje lopen, van waar je een mooi uitzicht hebt op het bos. Vanuit het natuurreservaat is het maar 10 minuten lopen naar de waterval Cascada de Marinka. I almost didn’t recognize the place anymore, because recently all kinds of artwork had been placed at the entrance, made of colored caps. There were also several additional mega hammocks installed, so you now have a nice view of the waterfall from several spots.
From Tierra Adentro, you can also hike to Mirador Los Pinos.
Here you can read more about fun things to do in Minca.
DAY 11-12 SANTA MARTA
Santa Marta was the finale of our trip along the North Coast, before we got back on the plane to Bogotá and then back to Curaçao. This was a city of which I had hardly any expectations. Most travelers stay only one night in this city in transit to refuel from an intense trip to Ciudad Perdida or Tayrona National Park. Because of this, we heard few stories about Santa Marta from other travelers. Nevertheless, we found it a great place to stay. Our hotel Catedral Plaza was in a great location in the historic center, near Santa Marta’s Malecón. This boulevard is a nice place to watch the sunset. Carrera 3 is a very pleasant street with many restaurants and street performers in a setting of colorful murals. There is also a (free) Gold Museum in Santa Marta, but unfortunately it was closed when we were there.
Read the Santa Marta travel guide for more information and tips.
#ToColombia Tips
Tip #1
You can also start your trip in Cartagena instead of Barranquilla. Cartagena is more focused on tourists and there are more sights. If you prefer to experience a more local atmosphere, without the many travelers, Barranquilla is a great starting point for your trip. Also, if you want to shop, Barranquilla is a very good destination, which is a lot cheaper than Cartagena.
Tip #2
Transportation:
Airplane
*We traveled from Curaçao to Colombia and caught a flight first from Curaçao to Bogotá (Wingo US$150pp round trip) and the next day a domestic flight to Barranquilla (Wingo, US$45pp one way.) From Santa Marta we flew to Bogotá (Wingo, US$47pp one way) and the next day on to Curaçao.
*From Curaçao there is also a direct flight with EZ Air, but since we had the time and EZ Air’s tickets were 2x as expensive in our travel period, we felt it was worth the detour via Bogotá.
Colectivo and private transport
From Barranquilla to Tayrona / Minca we traveled by private “Duster” transport (SUV). From Minca to Santa Marta we traveled by colectivo (mini) bus.
Tip #3
Weather: we traveled in the rainy season. In itself we could do anything we wanted as long as we planned the activities in the morning, because in Tayrona and Minca it rained in the afternoon from about 3 o’clock, often accompanied by thunderstorms. This also caused the power to fail quite often. Our hotel near Tayrona National Park (Kantawa Eco Spa hotel) had a generator, so we were not bothered by this. In the morning the weather was usually beautiful. In Barranquilla and Santa Marta, we did not have a drop of rain. We understood from the locals that it had rained a lot in Barranquilla during August.
Tip #4
Check out more travel itineraries along Colombia’s north coast.
