Activities in Caribbean Coast
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Night Tour
You can also go on a Night Tour aboard a chiva, a typical Colombian bus, with a band playing vallenato. Chivas depart around 20:00 from Av San Martín between Calles 4 and 5 in Bocagrande for a three- to four-hour trip, and leave you at the end of the tour in a discotheque - a good point to continue your party for the rest of the night.
Vallenato is a typical musical genre of the coast. A classical vallenato ensemble includes the accordion, guacharaca and caja. The guacharaca is a percussion instrument of indigenous origins. It consists of a sticklike wooden body with a row of cuts, and a metal fork. The sound is produced by rubbing the stick with the fork. The caja is a …
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Turcol
Santa Marta's tour market mainly revolves around Ciudad Perdida.
In pre-Columbian times, the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta on the Caribbean coast was home to various indigenous communities, of which the Tayronas were the dominant and most developed group. The Tayronas are believed to have evolved into a distinctive culture since about the 5th century AD. A millennium later, shortly before the Spaniards came, the Tayronas had developed into an outstanding civilization, based on a complex social and political organization and advanced engineering.
The Tayronas lived on the northern slopes of the Sierra Nevada where they constructed hundreds of settlements, all of a very simil…
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City Tours
City Tours, in a chiva (a colorful, traditional bus) depart daily at 14:00 from Av San Martín between Calles 4 and 5 in Bocagrande. The four-hour tour includes rides around Bocagrande, Castillo Grande and the walled city, plus visits to the Convento de la Popa and Castillo de San Felipe.
You can also take a city tour in a horse-drawn carriage, which gives a glance of Bocagrande and the walled city. The carriages depart from the corner of Av San Martín and Calle 4 in Bocagrande and go along the waterfront to the old town. After a run around the main streets of the walled city they return via either Av San Martín or the waterfront, whichever you prefer. They operate daily …
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Turcol
Turcol has the most experience and the most money, due to its monopoly since the late ’90s. It offers new mosquito nets, decent grub, purified water and its own housing on some nights of the trek. But judging from its office and employees, professionalism is not the No 1 priority. It has a second office at Calle 10C No C1-83 as well as a satellite office in front of La Casa de Felipe in Taganga.
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Sierra Tours
The German-owned Sierra Tours is professional than most and has come to be a favorite with Israelis. It offers treks in the Sierra Nevadas (Don Diego, for instance). In high season, it also has an office in Santa Marta at Calle 10C No 2-04.
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Hiking
There's some good hiking around Santa Marta, including walks in the Parque Nacional Tayrona, though if you're after some longer and more adventurous trekking, the hike to Ciudad Perdida is the region's showpiece.
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Scuba-Diving, Caribe Dive Shop
Taking advantage of the extensive coral reefs along Cartagena's coast, Cartagena has grown into an important Scuba-Diving center. Most local dive schools are in Bocagrande and El Laguito.
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Scuba-Diving, Eco Buzos
Taking advantage of the extensive coral reefs along Cartagena's coast, Cartagena has grown into an important Scuba-Diving center. Most local dive schools are in Bocagrande and El Laguito.
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Guias y Baquianos Tours
Guias y Baquianos Tours, located inside Hotel Miramar, was the original agency to offer treks to Ciudad Perdida, but was shut out from 1997 by paramilitaries.
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Atlantic Divers
Atlantic Divers is in the city center. A four-day PADI-certification course costs COP$550,000.
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Small-Group Historical Segway Tour in Cartagena
90 minutes (Departs Cartagena, Colombia)
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Cartagena City Tour
6 hours (Departs Cartagena, Colombia)
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Enjoy a guided city tour of Cartagena and explore Colombia's most-visited city! Cartagena is known for its laid-back Caribbean vibe mixed with astonishing colon…Not LP reviewed
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Rosario Islands Day Trip from Cartagena
10 hours (Departs Cartagena, Colombia)
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Totumo Volcano and Mud Baths Day Trip from Cartagena
10 hours (Departs Cartagena, Colombia)
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Small-Group Cartagena Segway Tour
60 minutes (Departs Cartagena, Colombia)
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Cartagena City Tour: History, Culture and UNESCO World Heritage Sites
4 hours (Departs Cartagena, Colombia)
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Cultura del Mar
Offers scuba, snorkeling and an interesting overnight ecotourism option to Isla del Rosario
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Nueva Lengua
Five-day minimum language courses at this casual school start at COP$413,379.
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Varies (Departs Cartagena, Colombia)
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Shared Arrival Transfer: Cartagena Airport to Hotel
Varies (Departs Cartagena, Colombia)
by Viator
To make the most of your Colombian vacation, be sure to book round-trip airport transfers and save both time and money! Get to and from your hotel comfortably…Not LP reviewed
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Magic Tours
For what it’s worth, Magic Tours was the only agency that answered our emails, and is generally considered to be the most professional and respectful of the environment. It’s a family-run business that works closely with the Kogi along the route (an interview and photos with a chief, known as the mamá, are not uncommon). The food is excellent, coffee is served with Starbucks-like frequency, and many of the guides are from the mountains (not Santa Marta).
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