Santa Marta Getting there & around

Getting there & away

Land

Bus

The terminal is on the southeastern outskirts of the city. Frequent minibuses go there from Carrera 1C in the center.

Half-a-dozen buses run daily to Bogotá (US$41, 16 hours) and roughly the same number travel to Bucaramanga (US$28, nine hours). Buses travelling to Barranquilla (US$4, 1¾ hours) depart every 15 to 30 minutes. Some of these buses go direct to Cartagena (US$10, four hours), but if not, there are immediate connections in Barranquilla.

Half-hourly buses head off to Maicao (US$10, four hours), where you change for a colectivo (shared taxi or minibus) to Maracaibo (Venezuela). Colectivos depart regularly from about 5am to 3pm (US$10, 2½ hours) and go as far as Maracaibo's bus terminal. Note that Maicao is widely and justifiably known as a lawless town and can be unsafe - stay there as briefly as possible and don't move outside the bus terminal. Security in this area has improved in recent years, though it's still a good idea to take precautions.

There are also three buses daily from Santa Marta direct to Maracaibo (US$29, seven hours), operated by Expreso Brasilia, Expresos Amerlujo and Unitransco/Bus Ven. They arrive from Cartagena, go to Maracaibo and continue to Caracas. All passport formalities are done in Paraguachón on the border. Change money here, expect a bag search and wind your clock forward one hour when crossing from Colombia to Venezuela.

^ Back to top

Air

The airport is 16km south of the city on the Barranquilla-Bogotá road. City buses marked 'El Rodadero Aeropuerto' will take you there in 45 minutes from Carrera 1C. Avianca (421 4018; Carrera 2A No 14-47), AeroRepública (cnr Carrera 3 & Calle 17) and Aires (Carrera 3) service Santa Marta. Flights include Bogotá (US$80 to US$130 one way) and Medellín (US$80 to US$130).

^ Back to top