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San Andrés is a Caribbean island that belongs to Colombia. It features crystal clear waters, a rich English heritage, and a distinctly Caribbean feel.
Introduction to San Andrés
San Andrés sits about 500 miles north of the mainland. While you’re on Colombian soil, you won’t feel like you’re in Colombia (except for tourists from the mainland). You’re more likely to hear reggae than reggaeton and Creole and English spoken by natives rather than Spanish.
Before the arrival of Europeans, San Andrés was frequently visited by the Miskitu people, who lived on the mainland along the coast of present-day Honduras and Nicaragua. The first settlers were English Puritans, who arrived from Barbados and England between 1627 and 1629. They brought in slaves from Jamaica in 1633.
Spain tried to occupy the island in 1635 but were quickly driven out. Pirates soon began to use it as a base, including Welsh privateer Sir Henry Morgan (c. 1635-1688) in the 1670s. England later relinquished control of San Andrés to Spain in 1787, and in 1792 it became part of the Captaincy of Guatemala.
On November 25, 1802, the inhabitants petitioned Spain to be under the control of New Granada rather than the Captaincy of Guatemala. After Colombia gained independence from Spain, it officially became part of the country on June 23, 1822.
In 1902, representatives of the US Government requested San Andrés become part of an independent Panama but the residents rejected them outright. In 2000, the archipelago of San Andrés, Providence, and St. Catherine became a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. Finally, in 2007 Nicaragua filed a formal complaint to the International Court of Justice in The Hague claiming sovereignty over the islands but the ruling went against them on December 13 of that year.
Getting to San Andrés
You can fly to Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport (ADZ) on direct flights from major cities in Colombia as well as from Panama City. Upon arrival, you present a tourist card which you’re required to purchase in order to board your flight in the first place. It costs COP$137,000 (as of February 2024). The card must be kept and returned to the authorities when you leave the island.
Getting Around San Andrés
To get to your hotel from the airport, unmarked taxis are available. They don’t run on meters, and compared to the mainland it can be quite costly to get from the airport into the main town. To further away areas, it could cost even more.
To get around, you can use public transportation for a few thousand pesos, take taxis (the costs run up very quickly), or rent a “mule”. This starts at about COP$250,000 for the day (as of February 2024). Many tourists choose the latter option, which gives you more freedom to see different parts of the island.
Where to Stay in San Andrés
There are several resorts and hotels within the San Andrés city limits, many of them all-inclusive. Unfortunately, we heard more than a few horror stories from Colombians buying packages to these resorts, including cockroach infestation, terrible food, and hotels not honoring the packages. A better option is to stay at a hotel or apartment outside the city.
Rocky Cay Bay Apartment
We chose Rocky Cay Bay Apartment. It’s a private apartment that sleeps up to seven and is just a few steps from one of the best beaches on the island at Rocky Cay Bay.
The apartment has two bedrooms, a sofa bed, a kitchen, and one bathroom. A glass sliding door opens up to a gorgeous view of the sea. Nearby, we were able to find a supermarket to purchase food and personal items we needed for our three-day stay. There are also restaurants on the beach that open for lunch.
The owner, Jacobo, was very helpful organizing tours for us. He speaks English and lived for a time in the United States. He was even able to call ahead to order lunch for us on one of the tours so we would have it ready on arrival.
The only downside was that if we wanted to eat at a restaurant for dinner or head to another part of the island, we would have to find transportation to the city on a crowded bus or pay for a taxi. Also, the beds were a bit soft and the water pressure could have been better, but the positives far outweighed the negatives. We split the cost of Rocky Cay Bay among seven people for three nights, and we would happily stay there again.
Where to Eat in San Andrés
I’ve heard the same from many Colombian friends: eating in San Andrés is expensive and the food isn’t that great. It IS expensive by Colombian standards, and in our experience, the food WASN’T that great. Of course, we only tried three different restaurants on this trip, so we hope next time the results will be different and we’ll make better choices.
Restaurante Tamara
The first restaurant we tried, Restaurante Tamara, was recommended by our hotel. It’s located at Rocky Cay Bay just a short walk from the beach.
They have a simple menu with soup as a starter and a choice of chicken or fish. I had the chicken and Marisol had the fish. For both of us, the meal was so-so, although neither of us was happy with the coconut rice. The biggest positive was the price, which is reasonable for San Andrés.
Margherita e Carbonara (Permanently Closed)
For dinner, we ate at Margherita e Carbonara, an Italian restaurant located just steps from the pedestrian promenade in the main town.
For our group of seven, not one was satisfied with the quality of the food. The meats were too greasy and the pastas were overcooked. To top it off, the sauces were a bit watery and the seafood wasn’t fresh. For the prices we paid, it was a complete disappointment.
Bibi’s Place
On our tour to Acuario, we walked over to Haynes Cay and had lunch at Bibi’s Place. The setting may have been magical, but it was another terribly overpriced disappointment.
I had lobster, which was actually decent, but was shocked when they brought the bill. Their market price was ridiculous considering the small size of the lobster and that I have never paid anywhere near as much for lobster in Colombia. It wouldn’t have been a terribly high price if you’re coming from abroad, but if you live in Colombia it’s a total ripoff.
The rest of our group had either chicken or fish. The chicken was dry and flavorless, while Marisol received just the head of a large fish. It cost COP$30,000 for the head and they told her it would cost another COP$30,000 for the rest of the body. Drinks were priced reasonably.
Tours on San Andrés
There are numerous tour agencies on the island that can take you to different attractions. You should also be able to book tours through your accommodation, but make sure the prices are fair. I’ve heard from some Colombians who have stayed at all-inclusive resorts that tours not included in their packages were sold at much higher prices than they would have found on the street.
Unfortunately, for our experience, many of the tours were unavailable due to weather conditions affecting the sea. The popular Johnny Cay was closed for our entire stay, but we were able to make it to Acuario. If the sea is too choppy to visit these attractions, you can also take an island tour stopping at important points of interest and a few beaches.
San Andrés is a popular diving destination thanks to the coral reefs surrounding the island. I’m not a diver, but it’s regarded as an excellent and reasonably priced place for scuba diving.
San Andrés Town
San Andrés Town (El Centro) is nothing to write home about and quite ugly in my opinion. It’s the major population center on the island, made up of about 20% natives and 80% mainland Colombians. It’s situated on the northern tip of the Caribbean island.
The best part about the town is the beachside promenade. Along it, you can find many of the island’s resorts, hotels, restaurants, shopping, and tour operators. For sale are gold and emeralds, leather, and other Colombian-made goods. In fact, San Andrés is famous around Colombia for its basement bargain prices. Several cities and towns in Colombia have small bargain shopping centers they call San Andresito (Little San Andrés).
The beach in town is good but not nearly the best one on the island. When we visited, it was loud, crowded, and not exactly clean. The atmosphere didn’t seem that great and we preferred Rocky Cay Bay. Offshore, it’s possible to spot Johnny Cay, one of the popular excursions that you can take.
Rocky Cay Bay
Rocky Cay Bay is probably the best beach on San Andrés. It’s about a 15 to 20 minute drive from the San Andrés Town, and with its fun beach atmosphere and quiet evenings, it’s a great place to stay during your trip. The beach is made up of powdery white sand and lined with palm trees. In the distance you can see Rocky Cay and shipwrecks, which add to the scenery.
Along the beach you can find a few places renting beach chairs, restaurants, and booths offering cocktails. Try a coco loco, which is a specialty on the island. The coco fresa is also good. Drinks are a little more expensive than on the mainland but still reasonably priced.
Rocky Cay
Rocky Cay is a small islet that sits just offshore. It’s possible to walk to it from the beach, but water shoes are recommended. They’re available for rent along with snorkeling equipment.
Warning!
Beware of tiny stinging sea lice (jellyfish larvae) when swimming at the beach. We were there after a major storm and the water was cloudier than usual, which attracted some sea lice to the area. They weren’t around much during the day but were stinging us a lot during a night swim.
Tour of Acuario
We had planned to visit both Acuario and Johnny Cay, two of the top attractions to see while on San Andrés, during our few days on the island. It’s possible to do both on a combo tour. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t cooperating.
On our first full day, both islands were closed and we wouldn’t know until the next morning if tours were possible. When we woke up on the second day, we found out Johnny Cay was still closed but tours were running to Acuario. Our host, Jacobo, was able to book us on a tour that normally includes Johnny Cay, but on that day would only visit Acuario and two other spots, Mantarrayas and Manglares. Tours cost roughly COP$105,000 per person (as of October 2024).
Acuario
We were picked up at 9am in front of our hotel at Rocky Cay Bay and taken to a small marina in San Andrés Town. There were dozens of tourists waiting their turn to board small boats that reach Acuario in less than ten minutes. When it was our turn, we hopped onto a crowded boat, put on life jackets, and were shuttled to the small island offshore.
We arrived at Acuario, also known as Rose Cay, and got off the boat. The island is bare except for a few small structures containing restaurants and snorkeling equipment for rent.
The first thing we did was find a person to guard our things, which were kept in a large bag. We were given a tag to identify the bag when we finished. It’s also possible to rent snorkeling equipment and water shoes for a reasonable fee, and to buy a waterproof cell phone protector from a local vendor if you want to take pictures underwater.
Next, we had a few hours to spend in the crystal clear waters around Acuario to go snorkeling. It was extremely crowded and hard to find space (and fish, for that matter). People were huddled together and getting excited about seeing one or two small fish at a time, but obviously moving away from the crowds it was possible to see several more.
Haynes Cay
After about an hour of snorkeling, we walked over to another island, Haynes Cay, to have lunch at Bibi’s Place. Haynes Cay is green and has much more space to move around than Acuario. It’s also a scenic place to relax or snorkel, and the shipwreck is an amazing backdrop. Apparently, the ship has been trying to reach San Andrés since 2009!
When we finished with our lunch, we walked back over to Acuario and waited for our boat, which was scheduled to leave at 3pm.
Mantarrayas
Our next stop was just a minute away at Mantarrayas. This is a protected space in which manta rays come to feed. It’s possible to jump off the boat and pet them with the help of a handler.
Manglares
Finally, we were taken on a cruise through the mangroves (manglares) at Old Point. This regional park can be further explored on your own with kayaks and boardwalk trails. In the end, we returned to the marina and took a walk through town before heading back to Rocky Cay Bay.
Our Thoughts on the Tour to Acuario
All in all, it was an enjoyable day but we all felt it would have been better if access to Acuario is restricted to a certain number of people per day. It was overcrowded, terrible for the environment, and too difficult to maneuver without running into another snorkeler. Unfortunately, money is more important than experience and the environment to the local tour operators.
In all honesty, the snorkeling isn’t that great, either. The water is fantastic but the diversity of fish is lacking. With fewer people allowed, perhaps more fish would return to the area.
