Santa Marta Waters

Mr. Hollywood says on May 17, 2005, 13:03:

Not exactly The water is blue but not super clear. To find the great snorkeling, go to Taganga and take a boat tour up into Tayrona national Park. The diving (and snorkeling) there is quite good.

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MJuicy827 says on May 17, 2005, 13:28:

Santa Marta WOW funny you should ask about Santa Marta, I have been trying to plan a trip to go their in October. I have not been able to find much information on all inclusive hotels, except for Decameron. I am taking my father on vacation. He lives in Medellin and I am not sure if I should go straight to Santa Marta and have him fly to meet me or what? Can you tell me if you booked a package with that hotel? Or do you recommend I fly to Santa Marta and then book the hotel? I have a friend in Santa Marta and I can crash there and then have my dad fly out to meet me. Any advice is welcome!
Thanks!

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dr75200 says on May 17, 2005, 13:52:

Santa Marta HI MJuicy827. I'm probably not the greatest person to ask, as I have never been to Santa Marta. My guess is that you should make your reservation ahead of time. The other two nice hotels are the Decameron and the Irotama Golf Resort & Marina. I've stayed in the Decameron in Cartagena and loved it. But if you want true 4/5 star resorts, I think that the Irotama Golf Resort & Marina or Zuana Beach Resort would be your choice.

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Copete says on May 17, 2005, 16:20:

Zuana is a nice complex and has a cool beach (a sector called "bello horizonte"). It's rather long, so it never gets too crowded. The water isn't super clear but it's decently clean. The beach faces straight to the west, so you can see amazing sunsets. But the main activities are jet ski, beach volleyball, "gusano" (the long thing that's pulled by a boat while some 6 people ride on it), and such. For snorkeling Taganga and Tayrona Park and definitely better.
Irotama is on the same beach, quite close to Zuana

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flaleo says on May 18, 2005, 05:29:

What's involved in getting to Taganga and Tayrona Park if one is staying at Zuana? - boat/bus/taxi rides, cost, time? Thanks!

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Copete says on May 18, 2005, 12:57:

Zuana to Taganga, Tayrona In a nutshell, Zuana and Taganga/Tayrona are on opposite sides of Santa Marta. Zuana is right.off the road to Barranquilla/Cartagena (south-west). Taganga and Tayrona are on the way to La Guajira/Venezuela (north-east). But Santa Marta isn't really a large city, so the ride from Zuana to Taganga shouldn't take more than 1/2 hour by cab, maybe 45 min. is traffic is very heavy. I recommend taking a taxi to Taganga, since public transportation is much slower and you'd probably need to take 2 busses: Zuana-downtown Santa Marta, and downtown SM-Taganga. I'd be surprised if it cost you more than C$10,000 (US$4).
For Tayrona, you probably want to arrange a ride through the hotel. Those usually leave quite early (~7am) because it takes at least an hour to get to the entrance, plus an hour walking to Arrecifes, from which you can continue on to other beaches.
There are three other sectors which officially make part of Parque Tayrona, but which have different routes of access: Bahia Concha, Gayraca, and Neguange. They are are all awesome places; all located in between Taganga and Arrecifes. Ask at the hotel for transportation options, since no public transport (other than expensive cabs) would take you there.

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