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I write this article moving to and fro in a relaxing manner from a hammock on the rooftop of La Calzada del Santo. This hotel is perfection in sunny Santa Marta.
La Calzada del Santo – Boutique, Chic
Hammocks with views of the mountains and sea are not all that the rooftop has to offer, there is also a swimming pool. Our hotel room door opens on to the roof top. It feels like we are living the life of a celebrity!
The room itself is stylish with a feature of exposed brick framing the wall above the bed. The decor is modern with a mix of native roots coming from the cushion prints. The bathroom is clean and spacious. WiFi is strong which means I can blog into the wee hours of the night (as Craig is zonked out) from the comfort of the bed.
Breakfast is a feast for the eyes and the belly. Fruit platter to start, eggs the way you like it to finish, jam and toast.
And the staff are very helpful. We’ve had issues with our bank and “el jefe” Rita, let them call us. She’s also allowing us to leave our rucksacks for three days whilst we saunter off to Tayrona National Park!
Santa Marta
Santa Marta is another place where travellers told us to skip (same as Bogota). Like Bogota, I’m glad we didn’t. It’s a cute little town where hundreds of locals flock to for their holidays. We enjoyed watching them in their best summer night gear dining on Carrera 3. This street has lots of restaurants and bars with table spilling out on the street. There are cute lights illuminating it, reminds me of Ashton Lane in Glasgow (but warm!)
Santa Marta is roasting! It was 28 degrees at 9am. Stark contrast from Bogota where it rains every day. It has a beach with plenty of tours looking to take you on their boats.
Most travellers use Santa Marta as a base to travel to Tayrona National Park, Tagana (beach town, less tourists, lots of drunk travellers), Palomino (The BBC referred to this area as a ‘vacant paradise’) and Minca (waterfalls and coffee). You can catch buses from Calle 11 / Carrera 11, you can’t miss them. If you are near the market then you are close to the buses.
Eat at the market for cheap! The restaurants know their target audience, food is expensive. A pizza and main meal of fish and vegetable with two waters came to 70, 000 COP / £18.50 on Car 3.
Today we leave for Tayrona National Park to attend Costeño Beach Surf Hostel, no WiFi for three days so we’ll fill you in after we’ve caught some waves (dude!)
Helpful Tips
- How to get to Santa Marta, Colombia
Fly from Bogota £35-£75 with LAN. We’ve fallen out with Viva Colombia for making us miss our flight. Airlines also fly from Medellin - By Bus
Approx. 17 hours from Bogota (110.000 COP) hours from Cartagena is 4 hours (28.000 COP) - Where we stayed
La Calzada del Santo
Address: Calle 16 # 2 – 43, centro historico, 470001 Santa Marta, Colombia
Contact: + 57 5 4204538
Price: £38 (standard double) to £68 (family room)
Advice: Request the ‘Domingo’ room for rooftop celeb life!
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Thank you to Rita and La Calzada del Santo for their generosity, an honest review as always
Hammocks! I’m in love with hammocks. Hammocks with a pool by the side? That’s second only to hammock with the ocean by your side. Love the look of that hotel. Good stuff, as usual guys 🙂
I would like to be back there. You just can’t beat swinging in a hammock.
Another spot to inlude for Colombia. Love the vibes at night. Looks like perfect for a movie shooting! 🙂
That lane felt almost European at night actually.
Good to know you explore a hidden gem. Exploring such place actually makes you much fuller as a travellers. Durinng my road trips, i always do some off tracking so that i can come back with MY STORIES 🙂
Yes, and your own images too! Nothing worse than having everyone that visited said country in the shot with you!
Wow, what a real splurge!
Sadly we never got to Santa Marta (we had Colombian friends to race and meet in Medellin).
I can’t believe people would tell you to skip anywhere in Colombia though!?
Every city/town has its own thing going on (plus along with Mexico, it’s probably the easiest Spanish to understand in the Americas)!
I am with you Chris, I wish we had more time to see even more places. I have a feeling we’ll be back!
I’m happy to hear you guys went with your gut instinct and not the advice of others.. it would have been a regret after you left Colombia.
We`ve ended up coming back to Santa Marta again for a night off before heading out to Minca.