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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.
History
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.
Getting There
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.
Sant’Sebastian Hotel Boutique
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.
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
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.
