Why NOBODY visits Colombia's oldest city! (24 hours in Santa Marta)

We had dreams of exploring Tayrona National Park but we happened to plan our trip at the worst possible time! The park was closed so instead we decided to spend 24 hours in Santa Marta!
Filmed 03/06/2023 | Santa Marta, Colombia
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24 hours in Santa Marta Colombia
00:00 - Why we're in Santa Marta
01:25 - Santa Marta Malecon (Esplanade)
02:15 - Beaches in Santa Marta + Morning Coffee
03:31 - The founder of Santa Marta (Rodrigo de Bastidas)
04:09 - Bolivar park (Parque Bolivar)
05:09 - Santa Marta streets & Drink break
06:16 - Mercado Público de Santa Marta
07:39 - Menu Del Dia at Bijao
09:54 - Cevezas and the sun
#santamarta #colombia #TravelVlog
FTC disclaimer: some links in the descriptions of my videos may be affiliate links which means i receive a small commission. it is no cost to you to use the links, it is totally free.

[@JordanandEmily]

the BEST Colombia Tours and Things to Do: 🍲 Bogota Food Tour tinyurl.com/bogotafoodtour 🥾 Lost City Trek tinyurl.com/lostcitytrek 🤿 Rosario Islands Tour tinyurl.com/rosarioislandstrip 🪨 Guatape Tour tinyurl.com/guatapetours 🖌 Medellin Graffiti Tour tinyurl.com/medellintour 🎫 Pablo Escabar Tour tinyurl.com/pablotour

[@senorramirez4209]

I loved everything you did, very impressed on how inexpensive everything is. Wow can't wait to visit Colombia 🇨🇴

[@JordanandEmily]

Yay! you're going to have such a good time!

[@JohnSmith-pk8st]

The way to spend time in Santa Marta is to be in Rodadero and to use it as a hub. From there you have a downtown area with 100 restaurants from very inexpensive to moderately priced. You have a quiet section of beach and are within 7-8 minutes of nicer beaches (Cabo Tortuga, Pozos Colorado, Bello Horizonte). From Rodadero, you can also go on day tours of Playa Cristal, Playa Blanca, and Bahia Concha. You stay in Santa Marta to use it as a hub to Tayrona, Minca, Palomino, and Ciudad Perdita, and it is a 4 hour bus ride to Cartagena and a 5 hour drive to Cabo De La Vela. All of the places I have mentioned are spectacular. When you were in Palomino, you needed to go tubing down the river; which is what it is known for.

[@JordanandEmily]

Such good advice! Thank you! 😊

[@depertuz]

rodadero is pretty awful though....

[@JohnSmith-pk8st]

@@depertuz Yes, if you don't like 10km of beach within a block of where you are living; hundreds of options for delicious inexpensive food, grocery stores, drugstores, and every single amenity you could imagine at your fingertips, low crime, and a beautiful condo with full kitchen, swimming pool, reliable internet and 24 hour security for around $800 USD per month...it is awful.

[@bradylewis3826]

Hi guys, nice video. I live in Santa Marta part of the year and wanted your subscribers to know there are numerous great beaches in and around Santa Marta. The beach featured does have a very nice boardwalk but is really the main shipping port not so much the beach experience other beaches offer. If you are fortunate enough to return please do the hike to The Lost City of Colombia, you won't be disappointed.

[@JordanandEmily]

Thanks so much for your comment! we wish we could have seen more and were soooo close to doing the lost city trek but we were getting close to our alloted budget and that would have blown it out a bit. Looking back we probably should have just done it! But it's a great excuse to return to Colombia and Santa Marta!

[@ChrisBCartagena]

Nice vid! Fun little restaurants!

[@JordanandEmily]

😊 Thanks! It was a Great city to explore in the end 😀

[@estebanramirez594]

Nice video! Hope you guys can explore more of Colombia, already a fan!

[@JordanandEmily]

Us too! I think we'll be here for a while 😄

[@benburns5995]

Hi Jordan and Emily, what a bummer that you were not able to visit Tayrona National Park. What are the odds that they would start their closed time just the day you were planning to go. Looks like you had a good day exploring and the Fish Dinner looked amazing. Funny to see Macaw Birds out in the wild. Great way to end the video with that colorful Macaw cleaning it's beak on the wall. Looks like it didn't mind coming so close to your camera. Nice footage of the stray dogs of the area as well.

[@JordanandEmily]

Thanks Ben! It was a bit of a shame to miss Tayrona, We'll be back one day I hope!

[@hunter_fitch2.0]

First love your videos keep up the amazing work❤

[@JordanandEmily]

Thank you so much!! ❤❤

[@juliannedean537]

Looks like you had a fun day even though you couldn’t go to the national park. I love how there’s big beautiful parks in the middle of the city. Cute parrot and puppy dogs, especially the one that looks like Sawyer. Nice togs Jordan. Miss you both, love you, mum.xx ❤️

[@JordanandEmily]

It’s so nice! Any everyone actually is out enjoying them which is so cool Love you miss you!

[@JordanandEmily]

We want YOUR travel reccommendations for Colombia or anywhere else in the world! - add them to our global rec index here: www.jordanandemily.com.au/recommendations

[@docsnake]

Thank you for this video.🌸

[@JordanandEmily]

thanks for watching!

[@JordanandEmily]

okay, bummed we missed Tayrona National Park (good reason to come back to Colombia!?) but had an amazing time in Santa Marta AND officially obsessed with Menu Del Dia!!

[@magssm]

I’m gutted you missed it too! Colombia is on my bucket list and Tayrona is top of it. Was looking forward to seeing your perspective. Out of interest why did you skip Central America?

[@QOrtiz]

Tayrona was great when I went. Make sure you spend at least a few nights to explore each beach. Idk you y’all like walking. Playa Brava was a 3 hr. walk, then we walked back once we got there. Lol

[@JohnSmith-pk8st]

Santa Marta is a hub for all of the incredible nature and the move is to stay in Rodadero. When you go to Palomino, you have to go tubing down the river. Minca is a must as is obviously Tayrona. Cabo De La Vela is spectacular, as is Cuidad Perdita

[@depertuz]

there is a song by carlos vives called "la tierra del olvido" inspired by tayrona. basically, it means you can forget all your problems there. it is by far the most beautiful place in colombia. close to it you can also go to Quebrada Valencia (thank me later) and in tayrona, go the nudist beach (people for some reason are scared to go there so it's always empty and very close to el cabo) and hidden beach between el cabo and la piscina (ask around so you can get there... it's off the beaten path).

[@yourlocalexplorers]

hey guys, we just came across your channel and really enjoy watching your vlogs. you look such a positive and lovely couple🙌🏽 thanks for sharing your adventures 🙏🏽 greetings from The Dolomites, from your new subs Natalia&Michal 🤍

[@JordanandEmily]

Thanks so much 😊 glad you enjoy the videos! Oooooooo we want to get to the dolomits one day, it looks amazing there!

[@randymillhouse791]

Get a passion fruit batida mano, you will love it! I retire to Colombia in 3 years. ✌

[@JordanandEmily]

Wow! that's so cool! you should follow our friends on Instagram, they are expats living there at the moment and their page is filled with great info! Their instagram page is Colombia_expats

[@randymillhouse791]

@@JordanandEmily Thank you. My wife is from Bogota. After we married, she became a U.S. Citizen in 3 years. Now it's my turn to become a Colombian citizen. We LOVE COLOMBIA! Me gusta la genta, la clima, la idioma, y la solidaridad. Paz!

[@hayleyrichardson9203]

One day you'll need to do a compilation of all the times Emily randomly gets distracted. I can relate. Santa Maria looks like a really cute town and I think I'd audibly gasp if I saw a macaw in real life. What beautiful birds.

[@JordanandEmily]

😄 maybe we should start saving those clips! The Bird was insane, got treated to it being cheeky so many times, it loved sitting on this one fence!

[@Pokeaths]

💙

[@JordanandEmily]

😊

[@katorres02]

10:00 kids said "una monedita al agua" which means "throw a coin to the water" its a strange practice where they ask tourists for coins to be trhown to the ocean so they can dive in and get the coins (they keep the money of course) - then in 10:04 they said "tira el money al agua" lol

[@JordanandEmily]

Oh woah! That's really cool 😄 we definitely would have thrown some in!

[@fabianfm17]

Wow what impressive camera quality and footage keep it up

[@JordanandEmily]

Thanks for watching

[@Summerysabel]

Hello! Im related to you. In the Daly Family 😊🍃

[@JordanandEmily]

We'll need to head to Canberra and say hello some time! 😀

[@spencer2458]

Santa Marta receives hundreds of thousands of visitors every year - the title of this video is nonsense

[@JordanandEmily]

Thats craaazy

[@dlc2479]

Exactly😂 it's about to experience rapid gentrification too

[@CristobalWatsonHernandez]

"I don't know what that flavor is, but it's almost coconutty" It ought to be, it's coconut rice...

[@JordanandEmily]

😄 haha

[@user-cz4ce1jm8g]

(4:13) Santa Marta es la ciudad dé Colombia 🇨🇴 que más se paréce a Lima Perú 🇵🇪

[@JordanandEmily]

That's pretty true!

[@SEBASTIACOful]

Most of the tourist in Santa Marta go to El rodadero .

[@JordanandEmily]

Nice one! Where's that?

[@JohnSmith-pk8st]

@@JordanandEmily Rodadero is a 12 minute cab ride south of downtown Rodadero. It has a vibrant downtown area with food even less expensive than Parque De Los Novios, and nicer beaches than downtown Santa Marta. At the beach entrance at Calle 13 you can take 30 minute boat roads for day trips to Bahia Concha, Playa Blanca and Playa Crista.

[@cubanostarr]

I wish you guys had heard of Taganga while you were there. This little fishing village about a 15 min bus ride from the center offers a nice break from the intensity of the area(s) you did visit. Great beaches and tasty eats!

[@JordanandEmily]

Us too! Would have been great to visit!

[@ibrahimmourtada8868]

Nice job converting to USD. Keep it up 😉

[@JordanandEmily]

😄 Thanks, it's easy to put in so why not include it too!

[@randomstuff2650]

Where are you staying? And was it a good place?

[@JordanandEmily]

We stayed in a hostel called communidad and it was great! I think I put pricing and things in my expense reports on our website too!

[@randomstuff2650]

@@JordanandEmily OK, thanks for the info. I'll check out your website also

[@frankdelao280]

Whats the name of the last restaurant?

[@JordanandEmily]

Not sure of the last restaurant where we got the beers, but it's the only one that's on a pier by the beach!

[@frankdelao280]

@@JordanandEmily i think is Cambiante Marina /Bistró thanks guys!.

[@mstallion98]

You gave the impression that there is not much to do in Santa Marta. Santa Marta is a very popular tourist city especially among Colombians. Most stay in Rododero. It has a rich history, some of which you pointed out. As you said Simon Bolivar died there and it was his final residence. He was one the most historic figures in all of South America. Further Santa Marta is one of the oldest cities in South America and the Cathedral there is one of the oldest churches although the building has been rebuilt. You were very close to it where you were. As another mentioned there are many beaches around Santa Marta if you got out of town a little. If you wanted to see some wildlife there are places to go also even though Tayrona was closed. There is much more too. Good luck in your travels.

[@JordanandEmily]

Thanks!

[@alainbergeron4520]

You call bathers which is a swimming suit:? Funny!

[@JordanandEmily]

Hahaha we actually have a lot of names for them!

[@Klamydia30]

Como personas asi no aprenden Español? Tipicamente ingleses.

[@JordanandEmily]

Lol we are trying but it’s hard - always very impressed by people who know multiple languages!

[@user-vx8lv4ll1b]

Really?!!!!!! "i think his house is somewhere here in Santa Marta" wtf hahahah do you have any idea of who Simon Bolivar was? instead of sitting in the park you should of gone to that house cause the history is insane! At only 47 years old he had fought 472 battles lost only 6, gave freedom to 6 nations and was head of 5. Toured 3 times more then Napoleon and Christopher Colombus and double Alexander the great! His army never concurred only freed people and slaves. Also only one nation helped him Haiti. Please read more on the history of a city you might travel in a different way. Thanks for sharing your ... experience. @JordanandEmily

[@JordanandEmily]

Cheers!

[@docsnake]

Surely you don't expect people to know every single detailed history of every country when they visit. If you went to England would you know all of the facts about their heroes and their long history? Kind of rude really. Next time try explaining your history nicely, or at least politely.