Private Beach Excursion In Santa Marta

[Roland123]

We are visiting Santa Marta on 27th Feb 2020 and would like to book a trip to the beach for the day with a private tour operator that picks up from the ship.

 

Is the beach actually in Santa Marta worth visiting?

 

All the excursions I have found don't get back until 5pm-6pm which would be too late and they don't mention picking up from the ship.

 

Are there any tour operators at the port and is it true that the Tayrona National Park is closed in Feb?

 

Any help appreciated

[ellbon]

Not been here ever. But have checked with tours by locals 

[canadiangirltoo]

The beach in Santa Marta itself is not worth visiting.  It is near the ship but right beside the road and there are no facilities whatsoever.  There will be taxis in a parking lot just outside of the port area with locals who will be offering you tours, including to nearby beaches.  We had them take us to Taganga beach, which was about a 15-20 minute drive.  They will not take you to Tayrona Park as it is too far away, if you want to go there, you'll need to book an excursion through the ship (which is what we'll be doing when we go there again in February).  I don't know if it's doable to go to Tayrona on your own by way of a local bus...  Taganga beach is nice but don't picture it as a typical Caribbean beach with soft white sand!  The sand is darker and course, but there are lots of little eateries and bars on the beach, so it was a nice place to spend a couple of hours away from the ship 😊.

[Roland123]

Our cruise ship is offering a beach break at the Hotel Zuana in Rodadero for £59.00ea but that sounds expensive to me.

 

Anyone know the hotel or area?

[happy_travellers]

On 1/8/2020 at 7:59 AM, Roland123 said:

Our cruise ship is offering a beach break at the Hotel Zuana in Rodadero for £59.00ea but that sounds expensive to me.

 

Anyone know the hotel or area?

That is about 80.00US with lunch and use of hotel pools? Looking to do beach day in Santa Marta as this will be only beach opportunity on the cruise.  I will look up Taganga beach and see if that might be an option by taxi.

Thanks for posting this thread.

 

[Roland123]

8 hours ago, happy_travellers said:

That is about 80.00US with lunch and use of hotel pools? Looking to do beach day in Santa Marta as this will be only beach opportunity on the cruise.  I will look up Taganga beach and see if that might be an option by taxi.

Thanks for posting this thread.

 

There should be some nice beaches in Jamaica and there is a nice beach next to the cruise port in Roatan.

[happy_travellers]

Doctors Cave Beach in Jamaica is the nicest and closest to cruise terminal.  Our flight does not get into Montego Bay until after 2pm so by the time we board might be too late. We are not going to Roatan on our cruise. Cheers, Karen

 

[Turtles06]

We were in Santa Marta on a port call two weeks ago, and did a wonderful walking tour in the morning with a local guide that I booked through guruwalk.com.  Her name is Yubellis (she goes by “Yube”), and her tour is called “Walking Through the Past.”  She takes 14 people max, and we filled the tour through our Roll Call.  Pay at the end what you think the tour was worth.  Yube was delightful and I highly recommend this tour. There’s not that much to do in Santa Marta from a ship, and this was a good way to spend the time. 

[happy_travellers]

On 1/21/2020 at 3:40 PM, Turtles06 said:

We were in Santa Marta on a port call two weeks ago, and did a wonderful walking tour in the morning with a local guide that I booked through guruwalk.com.  Her name is Yubellis (she goes by “Yube”), and her tour is called “Walking Through the Past.”  She takes 14 people max, and we filled the tour through our Roll Call.  Pay at the end what you think the tour was worth.  Yube was delightful and I highly recommend this tour. There’s not that much to do in Santa Marta from a ship, and this was a good way to spend the time. 

Thank you, I booked the 9:30 tour. We dock at 9am will that be enough time to walk to meeting spot? cheers, Karen

 

[Turtles06]

Just now, happy_travellers said:

Thank you, I booked the 9:30 tour. We dock at 9am will that be enough time to walk to meeting spot? cheers, Karen

 

Great!  The ship docks in a commercial port. Everyone must take a short, free shuttle from the ship to the terminal entrance. From there, the walk to the Gold Museum meeting point was about five minutes. Do let Yube know you are on a ship and the scheduled arrival time. 
 

Enjoy! 

 

[happy_travellers]

Thank you. I did send a message telling her our ships name and arrival time. There is another couple that has also signed up.  Wandering if you went to a beach or restaurant that you can suggest for the afternoon? How long was the tour?

Again thank you for the suggestion.

 

[Turtles06]

Just now, happy_travellers said:

Thank you. I did send a message telling her our ships name and arrival time. There is another couple that has also signed up.  Wandering if you went to a beach or restaurant that you can suggest for the afternoon? How long was the tour?

Again thank you for the suggestion.

 

We spent about 2.5 hours with Yube. She pointed out some potential lunch places along the way, and we later went back and ate at one of them.  We walked around some more on our own after lunch, including along the water, and then returned to the ship. 

[happy_travellers]

Thank you. Did you feel safe walking around by yourselves?

[Turtles06]

3 hours ago, happy_travellers said:

Thank you. Did you feel safe walking around by yourselves?

 

Yes.  It seemed to be a busy little town.   Lots of people around.