Caribbean Colombia Express — Self-Launched

Fly into Rafael Núñez International Airport (CTG) and take a taxi or Uber (~COP 20,000–30,000 / £4–6) into the old town. Check into a hostel or guesthouse in Getsemaní — the graffiti-covered, food-and-music neighbourhood just outside the walls — and spend the evening walking the plazas and grabbing street food (arepas de huevo, grilled corn) and an ice-cold Aguila. Locals gather on the walls at Café del Mar for sunset; you don't need to pay for a table, just bring your own drinks and sit on the ramparts.

🚌Airport taxi to old town ~£4–6

🛏Hostel or guesthouse in Getsemaní (dorm £8–14, private double £22–35)

• →Sunset on the city walls
• →Getsemaní evening wander
• →Street food dinner

Do the colonial city on foot — it's compact and free to walk. Start at the Torre del Reloj, wander the Plaza de Bolívar, the Iglesia de San Pedro Claver and the narrow streets of Centro Histórico, then walk or take a local taxi to the Castillo San Felipe de Barajas (entry ~COP 27,000 / £5). Optional add-ons: the Gold Museum (~COP 7,000) and the Palace of Inquisition (~COP 30,000). For a guided context-setting walk, a small-group old-town walking tour via GetYourGuide costs roughly £15–20, but self-walking with a map works fine. Late afternoon: bus or taxi to Bocagrande or Playa Blanca-lite beach bars.

🚌Walking + local taxi to the fortress ~£3

🛏Hostel or guesthouse in Getsemaní (dorm £8–14, private double £22–35)

• →Self-guided walled city walking route
• →Castillo San Felipe de Barajas
• →Gold Museum (optional)
• →Old town walking tour via GetYourGuide (optional, ~£18)

Take a morning bus from Cartagena's Terminal de Transporte to Santa Marta (about 4 hours, ~COP 50,000–65,000 / £10–13; operators include Expreso Brasilia and Unitransco), then a shared mototaxi/colectivo up the winding road to Minca (~30–40 min, ~COP 15,000–25,000). Minca sits at 650m in the Sierra Nevada foothills: cooler air, hummingbird feeders, waterfalls. Afternoon options: hike to Pozo Azul swimming holes (free, ~40 min walk) or Marinka waterfall (small entry fee). Book a coffee farm tour directly with a local finca for tomorrow morning if you want one (~COP 40,000–60,000 / £8–12).

🚌Public bus Cartagena–Santa Marta ~£11; shared mototaxi up to Minca ~£4

🛏Minca eco-hostel, cabin or guesthouse (dorm £10–16, private £25–45)

• →Pozo Azul waterfall swim
• →Minca village wander
• →Hummingbird viewpoints

Morning free in Minca — do a small coffee farm tour and tasting directly with a finca such as those along the Río Minca road (~£8–12, book on arrival or via WhatsApp). Late morning, go back down to Santa Marta by colectivo (~£3) and take a local bus or colectivo along the coast to the Tayrona park entrances (Los Naranjos/El Zaino, ~1 hr, ~COP 10,000–15,000 / £2–3). Book an Arhuaco/Katanzama-style Indigenous community visit through a local tour operator or your guesthouse in the Minca–Tayrona area (roughly £20–30 pp including the weaving demonstration and a short talk on Arhuaco culture and cosmology) — this mirrors the G for Good community visit. Evening: hammocks and seafood at your eco-lodge outside the park.

🚌Colectivo Minca–Santa Marta ~£3; local bus/colectivo to Tayrona entrance ~£3

🛏Eco-lodge/guesthouse outside Tayrona (dorm £12–18, private £30–50)

• →Coffee farm tour and tasting in Minca
• →Indigenous Arhuaco community visit with textile weaving demonstration
• →Eco-lodge evening

Get to the El Zaino or Calabazo entrance early (park entry ~COP 24,000–30,000 / £5–6 for foreign visitors, plus mandatory insurance of a few thousand pesos). Best budget route: enter at Calabazo and hike the trail to Playa Brava and on to Pueblito Chairama (Las Piedras) ruins — around 4–5 hours round trip with jungle, dry tropical forest and howler monkeys. Alternatively enter at El Zaino, take the shared shuttle to Cañaveral and walk the boardwalk to Arrecifes, La Piscina and Cabo San Juan (the famous hammock spot) — 2–3 hours of easy-to-moderate walking. A guided hike with a local park guide costs ~£25–40 via GetYourGuide or local operators; otherwise self-walk with maps.me. Note: the park closes 1–15 Feb, 1–15 Jun and 19 Oct–2 Nov in 2026 — on those dates, substitute Taironaka Park with tubing on the Don Diego River (~£25).

🚌Colectivo to park entrance ~£2–3; optional park shuttle ~£1

🛏Eco-lodge/guesthouse outside Tayrona (dorm £12–18, private £30–50)

• →Tayrona NP hike (Calabazo–Pueblito or El Zaino–Cabo San Juan)
• →Swim at La Piscina / Cabo San Juan
• →Optional local guide (~£30)
• →Taironaka Park + Don Diego river tubing if park closed

Slow morning at the lodge, then a midday local bus or colectivo back to Santa Marta (~45 min, ~£2–3). Check into a hostel in the Centro Histórico or the more relaxed Taganga bay if you want a dive-town vibe. Do your own orientation walk: Parque de los Novios, the Cathedral, and the waterfront Malecón. Taganga is a 15-min local bus (~£1) from the centre — optional snorkelling or a Discover Scuba dive there runs about COP 150,000 / £28.

🚌Local bus/colectivo to Santa Marta ~£3; local bus to Taganga ~£1

🛏Santa Marta hostel or budget hotel (dorm £8–14, private £25–40)

• →Self-guided Centro Histórico walk
• →Malecón sunset
• →Optional snorkelling at Taganga (~£28)

A full free day. Options: the free Gold Museum (Museo del Oro Tairona) in the Casa de la Aduana; Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino, where Simón Bolívar died (~COP 23,000 / £4); a day trip to Playa Grande or Bahía Concha for swimming; or a hike to Quebrada Valencia waterfalls. Food-wise, don't miss cazuela de mariscos or a cheap menú del día (~COP 15,000–20,000 / £3–4) in the market. If visiting Playa Blanca in the park, remember it's day-trip only and cash-only. Evening: drinks around Parque de los Novios, which is where the G Adventures optional night out would land anyway.

🚌Local buses/taxis ~£3

🛏Santa Marta hostel or budget hotel (dorm £8–14, private £25–40)

• →Gold Museum Santa Marta (free)
• →Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino
• →Playa Grande or Bahía Concha beach day
• →Night out at Parque de los Novios

Depart at any time. Santa Marta's Simón Bolívar airport (SMR) is 20 minutes from the centre (~£5 taxi) with flights to Bogotá and Medellín; alternatively buses run to Cartagena (~4 hrs) or onwards to Palomino and the Guajira coast if you're extending. Remember the ~USD 33 departure tax may already be folded into your airline ticket — check before paying twice.

🚌Taxi to SMR airport ~£5, or bus to Cartagena ~£11

🛏—

• →Departure
• →Optional onward travel to Palomino / Guajira