San Andrés is a small city founded on April 27, 1847. Characterized by having 7 Landscape Units called North End, Punta Sur, La Loma, La Rocosa, Ensenada, Canal Smith, and San Luis, and comprises a population of 61.2 thousand inhabitants.
This island of large buildings has the Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport located on Colon Avenue in the north of the island for getting to San Andrés by plane and internal transport systems such as taxi service, public transport by bus and rental of beach cars, motorcycles and scooters; unfortunately, there are no cycle paths to ride a bike around the island.
San Andrés is a tourist destination to go to in Colombia because in addition to offering essential places, it is recognized for being a paradisiacal island in the Colombian Caribbean surrounded by a coral reef that produces 7 colors in its sea, with white sand beaches, incredible natural landscapes and it is a perfect destination for practice diving, water sports, and ecotourism. As well as traditions such as the Crab Festival in August and the Coconut Carnival, the Coconut Reign, and the Green Moon Festival in November. But especially, for its cozy climate, since the weather in San Andrés during most of the year it is tropical with an average temperature of 27°C.
Now as for the beautiful places in San Andrés, they are identified as having many facets since you can do different types of tourism. For example, something very attractive in urban tourism is visiting beautiful places in San Andrés where you can take a photo without a problem. Some of the main ones are downtown San Andrés, Spratt Bight Beach, the pedestrian street, and the port of embarkation.
Another of the good plans in San Andrés to do in one day is to walk through landscapes or parks such as Johnny Cay Island, Spratt Bight Beach, Old Point Mangrove National Park, Cayo Rocoso, the Botanical Garden of San Andrés, Big Pond Lagoon, San Andrés Ecological Park. Most of these tourist sites in San Andrés require little money to get to know them.
Other attractions in San Andrés that you should visit to spend the day are the museums, some of the most important are the Island House Museum, The Persistence interactive pirate museum, and Morgan's Cave.
Also, if you are more into plans to do in San Andrés at night and you like to travel alone or go out as a couple, you should know some emblematic places in San Andrés to go at night. Some recommended ones are San Luis beach, Francisco Newball avenue, the Coco Loco nightclub, and some bars like Big Mama Bar, The Islander Bar, or Banzai Bar. But if you are one of those who prefer to travel with the family, among the beautiful places of San Andrés to go with children there is La Piscinita, the Eco Park West View, the Hoyo Soplador, and the Cayo Acuario.
Before traveling to this wonderful city and live experiencing some tourist places in San Andrés, we recommend you to know the wealth of customs of the San Andresans and some curious facts about the island. Some important ones are:
- To enter San Andrés all visitors must pay an entrance tax
- In San Andrés there are more than 40 diving sites
- The ethnic group that inhabits the island is the Raizal people. The Raizales have English and African heritage
- In San Andrés they also speak Creole or San Andresan Creole, a mixture of Spanish, English, and African dialects
- San Andrés has been a free trade port since 1953, that is, Colombian Value Added Tax is not paid
- The archipelago is the smallest department of the Republic of Colombia
- The archipelago is considered a Biosphere Reserve and its name is Seaflower (this was the name of the ship of the first English settlers)
- In San Andrés, taxis do not have a meter, so before getting in, negotiate the price first
- Here we leave you other 11 important recommendations before traveling to San Andrés
San Andrés, being one of the important cities in Colombia, is a trade center for gastronomy, so one of many essential things to do is eat in areas like the Gourmet Zone (Zona G) that is located in the Punta Hansa sector that are the favorites of foodies. You will find the best restaurants and bars for all tastes, budgets and perfect to try some of the local specialties such as conch salad, rondón, lobster, crab empanadas, fish meatballs, pumpkin rice, shredded meat ohe crab, fried mojarra, crab soup, and the crazy coconut; Some recommended restaurants are La Regatta, Peruano, Juan's rib, Mahi Mahi, Seaweed, La barcarola, Donde Francesca and M de Mar.
As for lodging, if you want to stay in one of the most exclusive and safest areas of San Andrés, we recommend San Andrés Bay on Francisco Newball avenue near Spratt Bight beach, 10 minutes from the airport, by the Boardwalk in front of Johnny cay and the San Luis area, that is where the most recommended famous hotels in San Andrés such as the Decameron Aquarium, the Decameron Isleño, Le Castel Blanc, the Casablanca Hotel, the Sunrise Hotel, the Arena Blanca Hotel, the Portobelo Plaza de las Américas Hotel, the Hotel El Dorado, Hotel Portofino and Hotel Acantilado de la Tierra.
San Andrés is without a doubt a city in Colombia with a wide range of beautiful and picturesque places both inside and around it; Well, the archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia, and Santa Catalina is also home to a lot of gastronomy and landscapes worth visiting.
So if you are looking for what to do today in San Andrés or if you want to stay more days to get to know the culture and enjoy this beautiful destination, we bring you a list with more things to see and do in San Andrés:
Escape for a day to Johnny Cay
It is a small key located in front of Playa Bahia Sardina and is famous because its beaches are considered one of the best in Colombia. At get to Johnny Cay you can rest on white sand beaches with blue umbrellas, swim in a sea of coral reefs and taste the local cuisine of San Andrés.
Walk to Haynes Cay
Also called the Cordoba Islet, it's a small island next to the Aquarium that you can walk to because its waters are no higher than your knees.
Swim in the San Andrés Aquarium
It is a small key famous for the different shades of blue that the coral reefs that surround it generate in the sea. At Get to the San Andres Aquarium you can snorkel and swim with hundreds of multicolored fish because the depth of the sea in this area is only one meter.
Enjoy the beach in Bahía Sardina or Spratt bight
You can go first to the main beach called Bahía Sardina or Spratt bight, it is in the center of San Andrés next to the hotel zone and is surrounded by a pedestrian path or boardwalk. You will find a wide beach with white sand, gentle waves, and a beautiful view of the island of Johnny Cay.
Go around the island in a golf cart
For this plan allocate a full day and we recommend that depending on your budget you rent a golf cart, a motorbike, or take a bus, but do this plan on your own. San Andrés has many beaches surrounding the island, so by going on your own you can visit them all and enjoy the time you want in each one. Because if you take it, you do it with one of the private tours, generally they don't take you to all the beaches, but they show you from the road.
There are also other places to visit in San Andrés such as the Blow Hole and the Morgan Pirate Cave. Some of the best beaches to visit around the island are:
- San Luis beach.
- The Little Pool.
- Cayo Bolivar.
- Haynes Cay.
- Charquitos Beach.
- Rocky Cay.
- Cocoplum Bay.
- Sonora Bay.
Dancing in the nightclubs of San Andrés
The party atmosphere on a paradisiacal island cannot be missing San Andrés Island, so you must allocate at least one night to visit the clubs and bars.
Start the night on the beach as there are many musicians offering serenades, reggae music parties, or vallenato partying that last 45 minutes in the middle of the beach. Then you should go to clubs like Blue Deep, Coco Loco, Hangover, Caribbean, or Extasis, which are the best known.
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