• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
The Travels of BBQboy and Spanky

The Travels of BBQboy and Spanky

  • About Us
  • Blog
  • Destinations
    • EUROPE (A to M)
      • ALBANIA
      • AUSTRIA
      • BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
      • BULGARIA
      • CROATIA
      • CZECH REPUBLIC
      • FRANCE
      • GERMANY
      • GREECE
      • HUNGARY
      • ITALY
      • MOLDOVA
      • MONTENEGRO
    • EUROPE (N to Z)
      • NORTH MACEDONIA
      • POLAND
      • PORTUGAL
      • ROMANIA
      • SERBIA
      • SLOVAKIA
      • SLOVENIA
      • SPAIN
      • SWITZERLAND
      • TURKEY
      • UKRAINE
    • CAUCASUS
      • ARMENIA
      • GEORGIA
    • ASIA
      • CAMBODIA
      • HONG KONG
      • INDONESIA
      • JAPAN
      • LAOS
      • MALAYSIA
      • PHILIPPINES
      • THAILAND
      • TAIWAN
      • SINGAPORE
    • NORTH AMERICA
      • MONTREAL, QUEBEC
      • REGIONS OF QUEBEC, CANADA
      • MEXICO
        • Pueblos Magicos of Mexico
      • U.S.A
    • CENTRAL AMERICA & CARIBBEAN
      • COSTA RICA
      • CUBA
      • DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
      • GUATEMALA
      • NICARAGUA
    • SOUTH AMERICA
      • ARGENTINA
      • BRAZIL
      • CHILE
      • COLOMBIA
    • AFRICA
      • SOUTH AFRICA
      • MOROCCO
      • TUNISIA
      • ZAMBIA
      • ZIMBABWE
    • OCEANIA
      • Australia
      • New Zealand
  • Topics
    • Hikes & Adventures
    • Expat Corner
    • The Best and Worst
    • This or That
    • Looking Back…
    • Blogging & Bloggers
    • Deep Thoughts
    • rants & things that suck
    • plane & train travel
    • Airbnb
    • Travel Accessories
    • religion, morality, patriotism
  • Travel Diaries
  • Resources
  • Work with Us

s

Places to Visit near Cartagena (Colombia). And on what to See and Do in El Rodadero & Santa Marta

Places to Visit near Cartagena (Colombia).

Places to Visit near Cartagena

Two hours east of Cartagena is Santa Marta. My Lonely Planet guide had gone into quite a lot of detail on Santa Marta’s attractions. Really, in all honesty, there is really no reason to be in Santa Marta. The attractions are the towns and parks around Santa Marta: El Rodadero, Taganga, and Parque  Tayrona.

 

Places to Visit near Cartagena (Colombia). Map

 


 

 

Lissette and I used El Rodadero as our base to the area. There really isn’t much to the place, it’s basically a beach resort town. But it is clean, comfortable, has some comfortable restaurants, and it was quiet when we were here (although I hear that Colombians come here in droves during the holidays).

 

El Rodadero, Colombia. Places to visit near Cartagena

 

Getting escorted by men with machine guns seems to be a recurring thing with me in Colombia. I previously mentioned the two soldiers who had given me a tour in Cartagena. Last year when I came to El Rodadero, I had gone to the tourist information center (located on the beach) to ask directions to the bus station. There were two soldiers manning the booth and, after a little talking, they decided to take a walk with me, machine guns in hand. They brought me to the bus station. When I offered to give them a tip they had replied that they couldn’t do that, it was against the rules. This time around, with Lissette, we were walking around looking for a travel agency when we encountered a soldier. Another incredibly friendly and helpful guy, he walked us over to a travel agency. Again he didn’t want a tip. I’ll probably write about this in depth one day, but it is so great to travel places where they see little foreign tourists. People are so happy and proud that you come to their country and try so hard to make your experience pleasant. I’ve been to so many places where they don’t care, where a tourist is an easy target. Not in Colombia.

 

sunsets in El Rodadero, Colombia
 
 

 

 

We stayed in El Rodadero one night (at the Del Mar Hotel. Very nice). What surprised me was the dryness. I even saw cactus. This is a huge contrast to Cartagena.

Special trips from El Rodadero? We had a daytrip to Taganga where we hiked the hills looking at some spectacular geography. We also spent a night at the famous Eco-habs in Parque Tayrona. The geography there was totally different to that of El Rodadero or Taganga: full of lush forest and wild beaches. A beautiful place. The Geographical diversity is one of the reasons we love Colombia.

 

Have you been to either Santa Marta or El Rodadero? 

 

 


 

 

Related: Why Cartagena (Colombia) is incredible

Related: Our detailed Guide to Colombia


If you find our blog helpful, please consider using our links to book your flights, hotels, tours, and car rentals. Have a look at our Travel Resources page.

 

If you haven’t subscribed yet and want to get our posts and newsletters sent to your email, just insert your email address below

Great! Thank you for subscribing. If you don't receive a confirmation email, please check your Spam box.

Filed Under: COLOMBIA, SOUTH AMERICA

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tyler Thompkins

    September 14, 2015 at 7:27 pm

    He there guys. The pics look incredible. I flew down to Colombia last summer, my first destination was el Rodadero. Since I am not really the camping/backpacking type (way too old for that, would have jumped at the oportunity back in the 80’s though), I decided to stay at one of the many, many boutique hotels near the rodadero area (specifically http://www.hotelcasacarolina.com, in case anyone’s interested). I was first struck by the fruit down there- so much flavor and color! It’s nothing like we have up in the States.

    Reply
    • Frank (bbqboy)

      September 14, 2015 at 8:44 pm

      We’re too old for that as well Tyler. It’s been a few years since we were in the area, how did you find it? We’re sponsoring a little girl in Barranquilla and want to visit her one of these days…
      Have very good memories of the people and Colombia. And you’re right about the fruit 🙂

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Sidebar


Hi! We are Frank & Lissette from Canada. We sold our home in 2014 and have been travelling the world ever since.

About Us

 
 
 
 
 

Interested in Spain? See Mapping Spain, our new website that focuses exclusively on Spain

Follow us on Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

Copyright © 2023 · The Travels of BBQboy and Spanky · All Rights Reserved · Privacy Policy

Nerja