San Andres Trip Report

[TBOND]

San Andres: Things to Do.

As you know San Andres is a Tourist stomping ground, most of the Hotels have pretty much the same activities .. like Snorkeling, Island Tours and boat rides to nearby cays...

I was only in San Andres for Four days so I am going to recommend the Tourist stops I experienced.

#1 Tour of the Island by Chiva bus. I really enjoyed this tour because you get to see and experience various parts of the island. You ride around the island and make stops at beaches, Coves, Morgan’s Cave, and a natural pool called “The Pox Hole” you also visit a natural phenomenon on the island called “the Blow hole” (A series of tunnels just a few feet from the sea over a rock bed… when hi tide arrives... water from the sea blows through the hole with great force creating the ultimate shower effect. ...)

Kids will love this tour: so, if you have small children with you and you want to wear them out, (& sedatives or alcohol are just not an option) so that that when you return to the Hotel room you and your lady can have private time... this is the Tour... I think you accomplish all the stops in a bout 2 to 3 hours.

#2 The Acuario: This is a cay..located next to Haynes cay.. its like swimming in a bottle of Poland spring.. It’s that clear. And the fish are either trained or very smart Because the waters are not deep and the fish hundreds of them are swimming all around you. The people who work the island give you bread to feed them I guess even fish know a good deal when they see one. I am familiar with populated ponds in Colombia but I have never experienced a beach or cove with fish that are so close to people and seemingly domesticate, this fish must be thinking hey why head out to sea when the meals are free.. =) My guess is they are trapped surrounded by the coral and cant escape... Again , this is perfect for family and children will love it.

#3 Henry Morgan the Pirate: If you hit San Andres you have to make this Tour its informative, and a break form all the water activity.. Nice change of pace. Morgan’s Cave:

#4 Johnny Cay, I like this cay but as I remember it ..the waters were pretty ruff... not great for Small children or weak swimmers… must have been the time of day but the waves were knocking me around like I was a tooth pick.
But I give it thumbs up.

#5 Semi Submarine rides:

In a word Wow... this was pretty cool the semi sub takes you on a tour of the Coral reef and it’s spectacular... when you walk in to the sub the sides are all Glass. As you tour the reef a guide gives you the history of the reef as well as info on all its aquatic inhabitants... The high light of this trip is after you view the coral reef you get to jump in the ocean and get up and personal with the envornment again the kids and adults alike will love this.

Also, if you like me and you often bring along A Camcorder ONLY TO run out of battery power just when you need to record that great shot, not to worry… The entire tour on the submarine is videod live to DVD. And for $15.00 AFTER THE TRIP, you can buy a professionally produced DVD featuring you and your family as the co stars.

# 6. Providencia: I was told by an Islander that Providencia is even more striking than San Andres and more prestine.. I did not make the trip to visit but I wanted to... if you can make the short boat ride it’s suggested.

I don’t Scuba (Jaws has left me emotionally scared) but obviously the Island was made for it... here is a pretty good scuba point of contact if your in to it. dive@bandadiveshop.com

I stayed at the Bahia Sardina Hotel and I recommend it... great service, economical and right on the beach... so you get great sweeping views of green, blue, & aqua blue water. .

Hope this was informative

TB

San Andres is the last great tropical island in the Caribbean. It's a real estate investors dream and nightmare all wrapped into one. The drug trade there as others refer to it as "The Hub" and that it is, and thats to bad because that little island could be the ‘ace in the hole’ for Uribe and all of Colombia. San Andres is highly unorganized and more corrupt than any city or island I’ve ever experienced.

[LastLion]

TBOND thanks for startingthis thread. Gringos like the new sig.. line!!!

[TBOND]

Your Welcome Lastlion: I Hope Its Helpful.

You Learn Something New Everyday .. I Never Knew It Was A Drug Stop.. But I Am Not Surprised by it either. I Loved This Island And The Vibe... I Hope to Make It Back There again. .

[GrizGator]

Just got back from 16 days in Colombia, including six days in San Andres. Thanks to TBOND for his suggestions. Here are some observations/opinions from our trip:

1) If you are expecting San Andres to be as "cheap" as most of the rest of Colombia, think again. We stayed at the Decameron Marazul (nicest of the 5 Decameron all-inclusives on the island). It was about a 2.5-3 star by American standards. We paid about $200 per night ($160 for me and my wife and another $40 for my step-daughter) - not expensive, but not cheap either. The cab ride from the airport (not far) was 17,000 COP - I could almost drive in a taxi from one end of Bogota to the other for that price. Chiva tour - $106,000 COP for 3 people (no rum and no music). I paid much, much less for a Chiva tour in Cartagena that included rum and live music. The plane tickets from Bogota to San Andres were $350/each.

2) The food at the resort was decent, better if you made a reservation at one of the restaraunts at one of the five Decarmeron resorts. But it was mostly typical Colombian. The restaraunt at the Decarmeron Acquarium (seafood) was the best that we tried.

3) The hotel was good. The pool was nice. The grounds were kept very clean and pretty. The hotel room was fine....the bathroom had been re-done and had a new toilet and shower. The bed was firm, but not quite as hard as I've had at other places. TV with cable. The hotel provided a show every night at 10:00, which was pretty good.

4) The service was typical South American/Central American/Island - slow and inefficient....but at least most of the employees were nice.

5) The pool got closed early 3 of the 6 days because someone either crapped or got sick in the pool (just an observation, as I can only remember a pool at a hotel or resort being closed one other time in all of my years of travel).

6) The chiva tour was good....as was our time on the Acuario. We did not go to the Acuario until the last day....too bad for us. I would have gone every day. Snorkeling is not world-class, but fun and the island is small, but pretty and relaxing. Everyone on the island pushes Johnny Cay, but I would not go back. The island is small and there are boats constantly coming and going dropping off more people. You have to pay for everything on the island - including paying 17,000 COP for two chairs with an umbrella. The beach drops off very quickly and the currents are bad...making you have to "work" to stay in one spot while in the ocean. We stopped at the "natural pool" on the chiva tour....should have gone back for swimming and snorkeling, but did not.

7) Weather was very hot and humid.....like Cartagena or like Florida in the summer....so I was OK with that.

8) Have to say that the ocean is beautiful....lots of beautiful color and the coral reefs ensure that the water near the shore on the island is relatively calm.

9) Six days was probably a bit too long, unless you want to dive every day.

Overall, nice, quiet vacation. You will see few, if any gringos (that can be good or not good - I was actually happy to hear English again when I returned home). Our resort was full of folks from Colombia (from Bogota primarily, from what we could gather), Argentina, Ecuador, and Panama. Just do not expect it to be cheap, by Colombian standards.

Griz

[Sailover]

I can remember my first (and last) taxi trip on San Andres. They hawked us out front of the airport of course and took us to our hotel for $12,000 which is a lot of money, even here. It didn't seem all that far, but what the hell. When we got to the room, I walked out onto the balcony and saw the tail of our airplane! It was like 4 blocks. He just took a very round about route. (well worn)

[HonkyTonk]

TBond and Griz... thanks for taking the time for a detailed report of this resort. It sounds like it's the prestige place to take a Colombian amiga/novia or wife; a slam dunk.

[TBOND]

Griz welcome back ...and I am glad you had a great time with your family! great post.

I agree the Acurio is the cay of choice for me.. though Johnny Cay gets all the hype.

Tonk you’re absolutely right this is the island to take your Amiga or significant other you can’t go wrong!

[RXD]

San Andres is the famous place for traveller. The beaches there are called the sea of seven colors. There are more than 273 species of reefs, fishes and corals, we find them in the mangroves, forest, keys and coastal areas.