-Visiting San Andres Island On A Budget In 2020-
19 Jan 202o By James/ LOST SOULS AND PIONEERS.
Visiting San Andres Island on a budget! Well firslty you may have never heard of San Andres island of Colombia, probably because it lies nowhere near the main land. However this small island is a fantastic cross between Colombia and the Caribbean and well worth the visit for the holiday feels and stunning beaches.
Getting there
Being an Island the only practical way is to fly. You can get flights from many mainland airports.
We usually use www.skyscanner.com for booking flights.
Our flights cost around £135 ($175). This is the most costly part.
We flew from Cartagena and then back to Bucaramanga because it was the closest airport to our next destination which was San Gill. It also meant avoiding another night bus and didnt cost much more than flying to Cartagena.
Tourist permit
For visiting San Andres Island you MUST buy a tourist permit at the airport before you fly. The permit costs 112,500 Colombian Pesos ( Appx $35, £27).
Possible on a budget?
The island is not the cheapest place to visit but it can be done on a budget and I think you get a lot for your money.
The flights are the biggest cost but once you are there you can find cheap food and reasonably priced accommodation.
White Sand Beach, San Andres
Hotels
Hotels are more expensive than on the mainland but you can still find reasonable accommodation for a good price. We stayed at Hostal Olas which cost £73 for 4 nights. Although it is lightly further away from the main town it was very pleasant, clean, had a kitchen and really friendly owners.
Food
Food is more expensive than the mainland but we still managed to keep costs low. We ate at local restaurants which cost between 15k and 25k pesos. You can also pick up a cheap subway from lunch for around 8k pesos.
We also used our hostal kitchen and cooked cheap pasta meals to keep costs down.
Supermarket called super exito located here: 12.584543, -81.695771
Know before you go
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Buy your tourist card at airport before departure
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Wifi is pretty bad across the island but use it as an opportunity to disconnect
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Tap water is NOT safe to drink. We even found it to salty to drink with a lifestraw.
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The island is a duty free Zone
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Avoid weekends if possible at it seemed much quieter in the week
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The currency is Colombian peso and the island has plenty ATMS
Things to do
1) Relax at the beach
There are certainly some great beaches to relax, have a swim and demolish a few cocktails.
Playa Spratt Bight and Playa Principal are the main beaches in town. They are pretty nice but it can get crowded at weekends. San Luis beach is another beautiful spot worth visiting which tends to be a bit quitter. You can hire sun loungers on the beach and find posh restaurants to indulge at lunch.
End Of The Day At The Beach Near Town
2) Take a boat trip to Johnny Cay and Acquario islands
One of the main day trips is to Johnny Cay Island and can be combined with Acquario island. Honestly the beach on the island is incredibly beautiful and the Island is full of wild iguanas but also very very busy with tour boats and people. There are restaurants on the island but I cant help but think it would have been better as an island with absolutely nothing on it.
Nether the less it is stunning and worth visiting. You can walk around the island in about 20 minutes before getting your spot on the beach. If you do the combined tour the boat will pick you up from johnny cay around 1pm and take you to another Island called Acquario.
Acquario Island
Acquario island is just as beautiful with white sandy beaches and a couple of shacks selling drinks and food. The best thing to do on the Island is snorkel. The waters are incredibly clear and calm. You could also walk across at low tide to another island. Just don’t miss your boat back.
On your way back most boats stop at a sand bank to sea many sing rays swimming. I jumped in for a quick snorkel to get a better look. Otherwise a guy picks a ray up and walks around the boat so people can have a look. I don’t agree with this and it was sad to see to be honest.
Most of the boats leave the main pier at 9.30am. we tried to find an earlier one but had no luck.
We went on a Monday and it seemed to be so busy but perhaps midweek might be less crowded I’m not sure?
Who did we use?
We used Beathoven boat company and brought the ticket on the morning from there stand in front of the main pier. It was a nice trip and I think they all pretty much offer the same service.
Tips
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Take your own snorkel and mask
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Bring food and plenty of water
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Get a good spot on Johnny Cay island early
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Lockers are available to rent. (unsure how safe they are) Maybe bring your own lock as double security.
Cost: 33k Pesos
Johhny Cay Island
Snorkelling At Acquario Island
3) Scuba Dive
We love diving and hadn’t done it for a while so decided this was a perfect opportunity. If you are not qualified it’s a great place to learn. The visibility is brilliant and the water is warm enough to dive without a wetsuit.
We did two dives, One at morgans finger which was pretty nice with loads of fish and coral. The second dive was called blue diamond which was a sunken ship put there for the purposes of diving. This dive really was fantastic and fun.
Who did we use?
We used Banda Dive shop and would recommend them for good equipment and professional staff and good safety standards.
Cost: 205 k Pesos for 2 boat dives with full equipment including computer.
GPS:12.58293, -81.6897
Diving On The Wreck Blue Diamond
4 ) Rent a buggy to explore the island
The best way to get around the island in style is to hire a buggy. The island is pretty small and easy to drive around in a couple of hours. You can hire the buggy for part or full day. Its really fun driving around but it also allows you to see all the main spots on your own schedule. Some of the highlights to visit are listed below.
We hired the buggy from a tour shop near coco loco bar.
Cost: 140K pesos for full day hire (9am till 6pm)
GPS:12.58268, -81.68903
Us Two Razzing Around In The Buggy
5 ) West view
This is a beautiful spot on the island and the home to the Neptune statue and underwater walk using the helmets that look like fish bowls. For a small fee its worth stopping here for a bit of fun but try to arrive as early as possible because all the tour buses stop here.
It’s a nice place to swim and snorkel as well as access to a diving board and a slide into the ocean. Alternatively, head next door ( Number 6 below) for a quieter spot.
Cost: 4k peso
GPS:12.521, -81.72907
West View
6 ) La pacisna / reggae roots bar
This bar is just up the road from Westview and its actually free to enter if you buy food or drink. Out in front of the restaurant is a small cove which is perfect for swimming and snorkelling as well as its own diving board.
There are sun lounges and seating and you wont find the tour buses stopping here. If you are not worried about using the slide you can have pretty much the same experience as west view from here and even swim to the area where Neptune statue is under the water.
Cost: Free with any purchase of food or drink
GPS:12.52008, -81.72862
Diving Board Reggae Roots
7 ) San Luis beach and rocky cay
As I said before the beach at San Luis is beautiful and a little less busy than the main drag. This alone makes it well worth the visit, however you can also make a visit to the small Island called Rocky cay.
Now you will see rocky cay just off shore along with a huge ship wreck. When the tide is low enough you can walk across to the island or swim/ snorkel like I did. There is a floating rope in the water which can be pretty useful to hold onto. I took some flip flops with me for walking across the rocky island. Its also a nice spot to see some marine life.
Cost: Free
Rocky Cay
8 ) Blow Hole
Your experience of the blow hole depends on wether you get to see the blow hole in action or not. We didn’t! But regardless it doesn’t cost anything and its cool to have a look with nice ocean views.
There are a lot of people trying to sell drinks and food when you park the buggy, but don’t feel like you have to buy anything just be polite and say no thanks or grab a coconut drink if you fancy it.
Tip: Park on the road in front of the restaurants
Cost: Free
GPS: 12.48141, -81.73121
Blow Hole
9 ) Sai Sign
The I love San Andres sign is worth a stop to get a selfie on your buggy ride around the island. Its a popular sunset spot.
Alternatively you can stop at the other San Andres Sign located in town near the main beach.
Cost: Free
Gps:12.53061, -81.73548
Sunset I love SAI Sign
10) San Andres most famous road
To be honest the Island has one main road that goes around the whole island. But you may have seen the famous spot on Instagram. Its worth stopping on your way for a quick snap of the palm tree, yellow lined road.
Cost: Free
Gps: 12.48068, -81.72899
Palm Tree Road
11 ) Go Shopping
Sand Andres Island is a Duty free zone meaning no tax on the things you buy. There are a lot of top named brand shops on the island so you can get some great deals.
Cost: Depends what you buy
Extras we didn’t visit
We cannot vouch for what these places are like but you may want to check them out
Morgans Cave
This is a pirate themed tourist attraction based on a famous pirate
Laguna Big Pond
This is a lagoon as titled which has caimen crocodiles. We read that locals try to charge you to visit but at the time of writing it is completely FREE. So if you can be bothered to deal with the touting then check it out.
First Baptist church
We wanted to visit the church but didn’t get the time. We heard that the views from the top are brilliant.
If you are in the process of planning where else to visit in Colombia check out our blog about Tayrona National Park here
We are Scarlett and James from a small town in the UK and currently exploring this big world together and trying to find a cure to the travel bug we caught on our last adventure to Australia and South East Asia.
We met in our home town and after being together 1 month we set off on our first adventure. It would either work or it wouldn’t, right? And here we are today five years later and back at it again.
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