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Coveñas is a beach destination that attracts mostly Colombian tourists from Bogotá and Medellín. It’s full of several hotels with beachfront access and is located in the department of Sucre.
Introduction to Coveñas
Coveñas had its origins as a slave trading port in the 1560s. After slavery was banned in Colombia, it became a meat trading port. Oil was discovered in the area in 1971, and there’s a huge refinery nearby. Tourism also started to pick up in the 1970s, and many beachfront hotels were built. There’s no real town center because it didn’t officially become a town until 2002.
Today, it’s a popular beach destination mostly for Colombian tourists. The beaches in the town itself aren’t that nice, but you can find better ones in the area.
Getting to Coveñas
The nearest city with an airport is Montería, which is about 90 minutes south. If flying into Montería, you can hire a taxi to take you to Coveñas for a reasonable price, or take a bus.
Where to Stay in Coveñas
There are lots of options both on and off the beach.
Sant’Sebastian Hotel Boutique (Permanently Closed)
We stayed at Sant’Sebastian Hotel Boutique. It’s a small hotel located away from the beach, but that’s not an issue because the beaches aren’t that great. The hotel has a wonderful staff, a very good restaurant on site, and a swimming pool. Staff members were able to organize excursions for us at discounted prices to the San Bernardo Islands and the Ciénaga de la Caimanera.
Our room was small but comfortable. The only problem was the bathroom, which seemed to flood every time we took a shower.
The restaurant was excellent. There’s a good variety of food on the menu, but you have to order well ahead of time. A staff member runs to the store to buy the ingredients necessary to cook your meal. We learned that the hard way and had to wait over two hours for our first dinner. Anyway, we ate three meals there as well as breakfast every morning. Every meal we ate there was delicious.
Where to Eat in Coveñas
There are some decent choices for food in Coveñas. You’ll mostly find fish and seafood as well as traditional Colombian dishes.
El Parguito Feliz
For seafood, we visited El Parguito Feliz, which is a short drive from the hotel near the beach. It’s considered one of the best restaurants in town.
We both ordered the seafood stew and were disappointed. We expected our meals to use fresh ingredients but they used packaged frozen seafood. It tasted fine but being right next to the sea we expected better.
El Chile Loco (Permanently Closed)
For decent Mexican food, try El Chile Loco. It’s run by an enthusiastic chef who speaks great English.
The food isn’t 100% authentic but it tastes good. The homemade nachos and guacamole were our favorites. I had enchiladas as my main dish while Marisol had fajitas. We were both more than satisfied.
Beaches in Coveñas
Our Colombian friends talked up Coveñas as this amazing beach destination. We really didn’t understand the hype once we got there. We spent probably 15 minutes in total at the beaches.
There’s a long stretch of beaches running several kilometers from Coveñas all the way north to the town of Tolú. The beaches are on the Gulf of Morrosquillo, which is part of the Caribbean Sea. Every beach we saw was filthy. There was an appalling amount of plastic and other garbage washing up on the shore and the water was murky. Furthermore, at the only beach we actually attempted to enjoy, it seemed like there was a competition for which beach bar could play the loudest, most obnoxious music.
There are several hotels with private beachfront property in town. They seemed very dated and in serious need of upgrades and maintenance. I can only hope their beaches are much cleaner than the public ones, but I have doubts.
An alternative to the beaches in Coveñas is to take a day trip to the San Bernardo Islands, which are about 45 minutes away by boat from Tolú. The islands are part of the Rosario and San Bernardo Corals National Park. You can visit on a day trip or spend the night on one of the islands. Isla Múcura was our favorite, but Isla Tintipán is also beautiful. There’s a more exclusive resort on Isla Palma.
Marine Infantry Museum
Coveñas is the home of the Colombian Marine Infantry (Infantería de Marina Colombiana). It was founded on September 17, 1810, and traces its origins to the Colombian independence movement. Every member of the Marines is trained at the base in Coveñas.
A small section of the base has been set aside as a museum open to visitors and entry is free (as of July 2024). Visits are possible on a guided tour only. Tours last about an hour.
Outdoor Exhibits
Our visit began with a chance to climb on some retired military vehicles while waiting for our guide. There was a tank, a jeep, and an old gunboat.
Next, we walked past a bust of Francisco de Paula Santander (1792-1840), the founder of the Marine Infantry, to a triumphal arch. The arch stands in front of a reflecting pool. There’s also a scale model of one of the buildings.
Replica of the Parthenon
Across the reflecting pool is a replica of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. It’s a very basic structure and houses the first part of the museum.
Once inside, we were able to learn about the history of the Marine Infantry. Historic uniforms are on display as well as maps and interpretive panels of historic battles. We watched a short film before continuing to the main museum.
Main Museum
The main museum contains several interesting exhibits. The first shows what happens to recruits when they arrive at the training base. Next door is a scale model of the entire base.
An entire room is set up to show how soldiers live in the jungle under difficult conditions. There’s even a small hut with a machine gun and radio, and a very heavy helmet visitors could try on.
The following room contains information about important missions carried out by the Marine Infantry, including the hunt for drug trafficker Gonzalo Rodríguez Gacha (1947-1989, aka El Mexicano), an associate of Pablo Escobar (1949-1993). Several confiscated weapons and mines are on display as well. Another room is set up to show how special forces units work, with different uniforms and equipment on display.
Finally, we visited a room with a replica FARC prison camp. There are several photos of atrocities committed by FARC as well as a mannequin prisoner and guard. The guide explained how the Marine Infantry was involved in the struggle against FARC for several years.
