Where to Stay in Santa Marta, Colombia: Best Areas and Hotels

If you haven’t decided where to stay in Santa Marta, Colombia, we’ve gathered in this post the best neighborhoods, beaches, and hotels for your stay at this destination.

Santa Marta is one of the most popular destinations in the Colombian Caribbean. A city with a lively atmosphere, great parties, beautiful beaches, uniquely stunning parks, and good cuisine.

Santa Marta is also an affordable travel destination, with plenty of budget-friendly hotel options. So, being a beautiful, inexpensive place with great nightlife, it’s a favorite among backpackers.

And of course, at the destination, you’ll also find more luxurious hotels and great restaurants. So, even if you’re not a backpacker, you can enjoy the city and discover all the beauties of this region with great comfort.

In this post, we’ve selected our top recommendations for where to stay in Santa Marta, highlighting the most beautiful, safe, and lively neighborhoods and beaches, along with the best hotels in each recommended location.

Best places to stay in Santa Marta, Colombia

Where to stay in Santa Marta?

The best places to stay in Santa Marta are El Rodadero, the Historic Downtown, Bello Horizonte, and Taganga. However, for those who are just visiting Tayrona Park, the hotels near the park are ideal for lodging.

The most vibrant part of the city is Historic Downtown, which is also the greatest choice for tourists on a tight budget or those only staying for a day in Santa Marta. El Rodadero is regarded as the safest neighborhood, offering a lovely beach and a good assortment of cozy hotels. Backpackers love Taganga because it is a beachside, affordable area. Meanwhile, the Bello Horizonte area offers a great range of hotels and resorts, along with excellent beaches.

In addition to choosing the best area, it’s important to pick the right hotel for your stay in Santa Marta. The region is quite hot, so opting for a hotel with air conditioning is recommended. If the hotel also has a pool, it will be a great bonus for coping with the hotter days.

Below, we’ll outline the pros and cons of staying in each neighborhood in Santa Marta, with tips on the best hotels and areas in each one. This way, you can choose where to stay in Santa Marta according to your budget and travel style.

1. El Rodadero: best and safest area

El Rodadero is a tourist neighborhood, safe, and with a beautiful beach, located about 5 kilometers (3.10 miles) from the Historic Downtown of Santa Marta. It’s a quiet, clean, and attractive neighborhood with a good selection of bars, restaurants, and nightlife.

El Rodadero offers hotels of various categories, including many options with sea views. There are also plenty of amazing apartments for rent in this area. It is recommended to stay closer to the beach. El Rodadero Beach is considered the most beautiful urban beach in Santa Marta. So, if you want to spend a few days at the beach, this neighborhood is the best choice.

From this area, it’s also very easy to reach the old town by rideshare, taxi, or public transportation. The bus that goes to Tayrona Park also passes through the neighborhood, making it very convenient to get to park from El Rodadero.

We consider this the best neighborhood to stay in Santa Marta because it has a beautiful and easily accessible beach, a good range of comfortable hotels with full services, and, most importantly, we found the neighborhood to be very safe.

The only downside is its distance from the old town, but taking a taxi is quite quick. So, it wasn’t a major issue for us. However, if your trip is very short, up to 2 days, staying in the center might be a better option.

Hotels we recommend in El Rodadero, Santa Marta:

• Del Mar Hotel: A simpler hotel with a good price, located just a 3-minute walk from the beach. It features large rooms, a pool, and a breakfast buffet.
• Tamaca Beach Resort: The hotel offers direct access to the beach, a varied breakfast, and sea views.

See more hotels in El Rodadero.

2. Historic Downtown: affordable area with parties

The Historic Downtown is the most popular area to stay in Santa Marta. It has a lively, festive atmosphere with many restaurants, bars, and well-attended parties, as well as charming, bustling, and colorful streets.

This is an affordable area with a wide selection of hostels. However, for those seeking more comfort, there are also some charming boutique hotels in the area.

This is still the neighborhood with the largest selection of hotels in Santa Marta, but be aware that some accommodations are located in streets and areas that are not very safe.

The best area to stay in the Historic Downtown is near Carrera 3, between Calle 20 and Calle 15. Another good spot is near Plaza Bolívar (Bolívar Square) and the waterfront area, between Calle 12 and Calle 24. These are the safest areas and where most bars, parties, and restaurants are located.

The Historic Downtown of Santa Marta is considered somewhat unsafe, so it’s better to stay in a good location. We walked around the neighborhood safely, both during the day and at night, but felt safer where tourist activity was more concentrated.

The beach in the area isn’t good for swimming, and there are few things to do beyond the bars and parties. Although we enjoyed the area, the music, and the nightlife, we felt that you could see everything in just one day. Therefore, staying in El Rodadero and taking a day trip to explore the historic downtown is a good option.

We recommend this area more for those who will be staying in the city for just one or two days, or for those on a budget trip.

Hotels we recommend in the Historic Downtown of Santa Marta:

• Hotel Boutique Don Pepe: a charming hotel with beautiful decor and spacious rooms with TV and air conditioning. The hotel is one block from Carrera 3 and Plaza Bolívar.
• Alko Hotel Cotona: a hotel with a rooftop pool and comfortable rooms, located one block from the waterfront.
• Hilton Garden: a hotel with the standard quality of the Hilton chain, complete facilities and services, and a beautiful ocean view.
• Masaya Santa Marta: a budget hotel that hosts some parties, with nice rooms, a pool, and a game room.

See more hotels in Historic Downtown.

3. Taganga: the backpackers’ favorite spot

Taganga is a small fishing village located 5 kilometers (3.10 miles) from the downtown of Santa Marta. It is the preferred destination for backpackers due to its cheap accommodations, especially hostels.

In addition to offering a laid-back lifestyle where you can wake up to the sound of the sea, the area has beaches, trails, and beautiful views with easy access to Tayrona Park and Minca, the two most popular destinations near Santa Marta.

Taganga is a rustic destination, with mostly unpaved streets and simple bars and restaurants. It’s a place for those seeking low prices and who enjoy more modest and tranquil locations.

Although it is a beautiful and affordable place to stay in Santa Marta, it is not a very safe area for tourists due to the number of robberies in recent years. So, if you choose to stay in Taganga, be cautious with your belongings and avoid hiking alone. Because of the safety concerns and the lack of quality hotels, we don’t think it’s worth staying in Taganga.

Hotel we recommend in Taganga, Santa Marta:

• Ambos Mundos Hotel Boutique: a rustic and affordable hotel located two blocks from the beach.

See more hotels in Tanganga.

4. Bello Horizonte: The region with the best hotels

A region with beautiful beaches, located near the airport, 15 kilometers (9.32 miles) from the downtown of Santa Marta. This is the area with the best selection of hotels in Santa Marta, featuring a variety of luxury accommodations and resorts.

Because it is a peaceful area with beautiful beaches and many good hotels, it is an excellent neighborhood to stay in Santa Marta, especially recommended for those traveling with family or looking for a more exclusive location. If you choose to stay in Bello Horizonte, it’s better to stay in the hotels closer to the beach.

The main advantage of staying in this neighborhood is the easy access to the beaches and the quality of the hotels. However, it is far from the downtown of Santa Marta and especially from Tayrona Park.

Hotels we recommend in Bello Horizonte:

• Zuana Beach Resort: a resort with beach views, perfect for families.
• Santa Marta Marriott Resort Playa Dormida: a beautiful resort with elegant decor, full facilities, and beach views.
• Wyndham Santa Marta Aluna Beach: a modern and elegant hotel with a private beach. An excellent choice of where to stay in Santa Marta.

See more hotels in Bello Horizonte.

5. Tayrona: The best region to visit Tayrona Park

If your goal is to visit only Tayrona Park and the beaches in that area, it’s ideal to choose a hotel located near or even inside the park. In this region, there is a good selection of hotels, many with direct beach access and great views.

For those planning to visit Tayrona Park for more than one day, the best option is to stay inside the park, as this way, you won’t need to pay a new entrance fee for each day of your visit. However, if you plan to go just for a day, you can choose a hotel on the park’s road or even in Santa Marta, in the neighborhoods recommended above. There are daily buses from Santa Marta to Tayrona Park, allowing you to visit the park on your own. Several agencies also offer tours with transfers and guided visits.

This region features several charming hotels immersed in nature, close to the beach, and with cozy cabins. So, when visiting Santa Marta, it’s worth spending at least two days in a good hotel near the park.

Hotels we recommend in Tayrona:

• Senda Koguiwa: this hotel is located 5 minutes from the park’s main entrance and offers rustic and cozy cabins, a lake, and beautiful nature views.
• Kantawa Hotel & Spa: a hotel immersed in nature with comfortable rooms and rustic decor, a beautiful pool, and a spa offering massages, Turkish baths, steam baths, and other treatments. This hotel is adults-only.
• YAY Sustainable: a hotel with a wonderful breakfast and rustic, comfortable surroundings in the middle of nature.
• Gitana del Mar Boutique: a very beautiful hotel with rustic and tropical decor. Its main attraction is the private beach and charming cabins.

See more hotels in Tayrona.

Now that you’ve checked out all our tips on where to stay in Santa Marta, just choose your preferred area and enjoy the destination’s attractions.

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