Enter custom title (optional)
This topic is locked
Last reply was
66

Hi everyone, I'm heading to Colombia soon and have learned a lot from reading this forum, and also from Thomas's website!

My first question is about beaches and snorkeling.

I plan to spend 4-5 days on the beach in late November and am torn about whether to go to the Tayrona/Minca/Palomino area, OR to an area that has great snorkeling.

From what I've read it looks like maybe San Andres and Providencia have the best? How does it compare on the other islands? (Islas de San Bernardo, for example).

In late November, since it still might be rainy (?), is it even advisable to plan a trip based around snorkeling b/c of visibility etc?

Thanks for your help!

Edited by seattlesweetie
Report
1

I'm not sure about the timing, but I was in San Andres when the weather was bad in January and it was not fun. Supposed to be there for 5 nights, shortened to 3 instead because the boats going from San Andres to Providencia were cancelled (too much swell), we couldn't dive and it was raining so much. There's not much to do on an island paradise when it rains! We just picked a lousy week to be on San Andres, especially because it's not a cheap place to bum around in either.

Tayrona National Park has great hiking and beach so regardless of whether you actually snorkel it's not so bad. Palomino you should go tubing down the river (which ends at the beach), but I remember the swell on the shore being reaaaallllly strong and people getting caught in strong waves, and I wasn't even very keen to go in the water because of that, least to say snorkel.

Sorry if this isn't that helpful in practical info, but Colombia is still super cool and it's great that you are headed there :)

Report
2
In response to #1

Thanks for your feedback jaclynnsheah! Yes, I think I'm going to go to Palomino and Tayrona. Is it hard to get out of the ocean on time when you're doing the river tubing? (I read that you have to get out quickly). :-)

Report
3

We liked Tayrona but there was really only one beach where we saw people snorkel (La Piscina) and I think you should probably not expect too much. Most beaches are also too dangerous for swimming but there are a few where swimming is safe. We hiked all over the park and enjoyed the forest and the wildlife (but we spotted most wildlife at dawn).

Minca was great for hiking, waterfalls, swimming holes, coffee, chocolate and birds.

Report
4
In response to #3

Thanks for the info soniaberode! I definitely want to go to Minca. One problem is that in the timeframe I have to go there, I'll need to have Internet for work. If I stay in one of the fancier hotels there that supposedly have Wi-Fi, do you think it will actually work??

Report
5

Thought I'd update this by saying that I eventually did two really good snorkeling trips. One was out of Cartagena to the Islas Rosarios with Diving Planet (a great organization). The second was near Isla Mucura, where we stayed at Punto Faro resort, which is a little pricey but a really wonderful place to stay. Near there is a beautiful reef that you can go to from the resort.

Report
6

This topic has been automatically locked due to inactivity. Email community@lonelyplanet.com if you would like to add to this topic and we'll unlock it for you.

Pro tip
Lonely Planet
trusted partner