The Carribean Coast 08.10.19- 30.10.19

This part of my trip was shared with my beautiful best friend and soulmate Alice. I met Alice 3 years ago in Pai and we have formed a very special relationship since. We have travelled 3 times together including Budapest, Cambodia and now Colombia! Our first stop on this stretch of coastline was Santa Marta. Santa Marta is a hub town as most of the buses depart from here. We only stayed one night in ‘Dreamers’ hostel which I would definitely recommend as it was comfortable and had a good pool. The breakfast was also awesome and was only $12000 COP. It seemed like it would have a good vibe too as had a bar and events on for guests.

Our first stop was Minca, a stunning little town in the mountains of Colombia. It is about a 30 minute journey in a Collectivo from Santa Marta. The first hostel we stayed in was ‘El Mundo Nuevo’, in order to get there we had to get a moto taxi up a steep hill to the hostel. This was probably the most scariest moto ride I have ever been on, I had my eyes closed the entire time! The hostel was excellent for providing activities and educational tours such as sustainable farming and bird watching. They also provided family dinners and the food was all vegetarian, another win for me! We did 2 walks from this hostel, one was to the ‘Candalaria’, which is about 30 minutes with a cute little cafe at the end of it. The second walk was to the 360 view point, make sure you go in the morning or you will be caught in the rain and also the views are much better. Alice woke up early the next day to go to the bird watching tour where she said she learned how to call for toucans.

The second hostel we stayed in was called ‘Casa Loma’ and it was beautiful, one of the best of hostels I have stayed in in Colombia. There is a little hike to the hostel (about 15 minutes up some stairs) but it is so worth it!! The staff are so lovely, they give you water at the top and the views are spectacular. This hostel also has family dinner which is all vegetarian food, everyone sits together and it has such a lovely, friendly vibe. The dorms are in little shacks which makes you really feel like you are sleeping in the nature. From the hostel you can do many mini hikes to waterfalls. We walked to ‘Marinka’ waterfall, which took about 2 hours. It was super empty when we arrived as it was rainy so there was no one in the waterfall! We all swam in it, it was the first time I had ever swam in a waterfall so it was a special moment for me. The water was pretty cold but it was lovely and refreshing. There is also a restaurant and hammocks where you can enjoy a beer!

We visited the other waterfall ‘Pozo Azul’ the following day, this was a lot busier and we unfortunately got caught in torrential rain. We had to catch a moto back as we were super worried about our stuff getting wet. On a sunny day this would be beautiful to swim in. This was the only issue with Minca, the rain! I would suggest not going in October as it rains a lot. Another short walk from Casa Loma is to a small river, we did this on our last day so was a bit rushed. I think it would be beautiful to spend a whole day here. An excellent restaurant/bar to check out is lazy cat, it has excellent food and a decent happy hour. I would recommend 2-3 nights in Minca and make sure you get out on the hikes in the morning, we made the mistake of going in the afternoon and getting caught in the rain! Also when you go on the hikes bring minimal things- only what you really need (water, rain coat etc). If you have a wet bag bring it!

After Minca, we caught the collectivo back to Santa Marta and caught the public bus to Costeno Beach. This public bus became our best friend by the end of the trip, it was so cheap and took us all along the Carribean coast. The first hostel we stayed in on Costeno beach was ‘Costeno Beach Hostel’. Costeno beach is very small, all it really is a beach but its beautiful! The sea is a bit difficult to swim in as the current is strong and there is much seaweed. It is safe to swim and you can get in for a quick dip. If you like to surf then this is a great location. Our first impressions of the hostel were not the greatest, it felt like more of a hotel than a hostel, there was no real common area. The dining room is where you eat all your meals, it felt a bit like a canteen if I’m honest. The food was decent but nothing to write home about. The showers also felt a bit like a changing room and the dorm was huge- 32 beds! I think for the money this hostel makes (its has a rather pretentious vibe to it), it could give you a lot more. On our last night they were also doing construction so half the hostel was closed off. The hostel also runs on a tab system and there is no where to buy food, so you end up spending so much money. If you are on a tight backpacker budget then I would not suggest coming here as you could end up racking up a huge bill. However, having said this we ended up staying for 3 nights and had a lot of fun chilling on the beach in the day and enjoying some cocktails in the night time. There is not the most to do there so if you just want to relax on the beach for a while then this is the place for you, maybe only spend 2 nights here. We also stayed at a hostel a couple of minutes down from Costeno Beach called ‘Los Hermanos’. This had a more backpacker feel to it and they had some fun parties. Again it works on a tab system but it is cheaper than Costeno Beach.

Whilst at Costeno Beach we visited Tayrona national park. This is a must if you are visiting Colombia, it is stunning. I would definitely recommend staying a night if you can. You can leave your big bags in the hostel and take a small day pack. To get there, you can get a moto taxi from Costeno Beach which costs around $10,000 COP. The park opens at 08:00 am, if you would like to stay a night in a hammock on the mirador (view point) then I would suggest getting there for the opening time and reserving a spot. We arrived there too late, however we were still able to secure a hammock in the normal camp site (Cabo San Juan) which was fine. It takes about 2 hours to walk to Cabo San Juan and it is a beautiful walk with the most diverse trees and monkeys! Just beware that it is super hot and you will sweat lots! We arrived there at about 11:00 and had the whole day to enjoy the beach and the crystal clear water. The beauty of staying a night in the national park is that when all the ‘day trippers’ leave at about 3pm you have the beach to yourself. The same goes for the morning, you can enjoy the sunrise in peace and also go for a morning dip. There is only one restaurant on the camp site and yep you guessed it, it is pricey. Bottled water is also super expensive so invest in a life straw!! It saves money and the environment- win win!

After Tayrona we headed to El Rio hostel, a party hostel! You can again get a moto straight here and its pretty cheap. Just beware that again this hostel works on a tab system and there is nothing in the area so all your meals and drinks will be bought here. El Rio is a lot of fun if you love to party, I would say that 2 nights is enough. The volunteers are so fun and really make the atmosphere here. Everyone hangs out at the bar where they play such fun music. The drinks are a bit on the pricey side. In the day, the thing to do is tubing! It costs $30,000 COP and $10 000 for the crocs (I would definitely recommend the crocs, some people that went in flip flops ended up loosing their shoes). The tubing starts at 11:00 from the hostel. You then have to walk for about 20 minutes to the start of the River Palomino. You can buy a few beers and the hostel gives you a cool box which you carry down the river. The tubing is super safe as the guides go with you. I was saved so many times by the guides and their son! You also stop off at a jumping spot and rope swing where you can flip into the water. After tubing you can hang out in the hammocks! If you want to stay in the hammock dorm as it is cheaper then it is absolutely fine. We met so many people in this hostel, people that I am still in contact with.

After El Rio, a big group of us headed to Palomino where we stayed at ‘Dreamers’. Again another comfortable experience with a pool and superb breakfast. Palomino was fun as we knew everyone in the hostel pretty much from El Rio. If it wasn’t for this though, there isn’t much to do at all in Palomino, if you don’t have the time then skip it! For us it was raining so this perhaps tainted the experience somewhat. Some good eats are ‘La Frontera’ for pizza and ‘La Lupita’ for good falafel wraps. Our original plan was to head to the desert after Palomino but it proved to be a little too complicated so we headed back to Santa Marta (1 hour from Palomino) and then Cartagena (4-6 hours from Santa Marta).

So that is it for Colombia, what an amazing country, something for everyone. I really hope I have inspired some of you to visit this magical place!