I really have to start writing and posting these sooner – please forgive me.
Here is a recap of the wonderful time I had over the Family Day Long Weekend in San Andres, Colombia.
If you are interested in how much the trip cost, that can be found here.
Friday, February 13th
Early day today, flew from Toronto to Bogota to San Andres.
This is where I will give you a couple of tips if you had this on your route.
As a Canadian, we have a whole separate line to stand in to ‘enter’ Colombia. Do not make the same mistake as us and stand in a long ass line that will take more than an hour. Go to the line that allows certain countries to go through quicker, one of them being Canada.
Also, if your final destination is an island in Colombia, like ours was, you have to pay the entry fee by where you board your plane. For us it was right next to the gate. The cost was $61.75 CAD, when converted. They took cash and card, but you can’t board without paying that. Get that done ASAP.
We took a taxi from the airport to our AirBnB and it was only a 10-minute drive. Love that.
The booking was a two-bedroom/two-bathroom unit and it was perfect for the four of us. The larger bedroom had an ensuite washroom and both of the rooms had very good air conditioning. Literally zero complaints for the stay as the host was really nice, the place was clean and the location was superb.
If you want to see the place yourself, click here.
After a long day of traveling, we didn’t necessarily have anything planned for the evening so we just walked around the corner to a really busy street.
This is where ALL the action is and there is also a beach. Music playing everywhere, bars and restaurants. Lit.
We chose to go with a place named El Peruano for dinner. It was OK. Nothing particularly special, the ropa vieja was good though and so was the view from the restaurant. I know choosing to eat at a Peruvian place in Colombia is kind of wild, but everywhere else had long lines and we just wanted to get food in us as quickly as possible.
Saturday, February 14th
Today we woke up and took a taxi over to a Beach Club I had booked ahead of time named Capi Beach.
This place was absolutely vibes, lots of Vybz Kartel being played.
Loved that for myself.
There is no pool, and the beach had A LOT of sargassum so it was hard to get much swimming done. But we did get a lot of drinking and eating done. It began raining at one point, but that didn’t ruin the vibes for us. Super fun place with an even more fun staff.
Post-beach club, I was slightly intoxicated and it was nap time.
Following said nap, hungry again. We walked down the nearby fun street again and found a burger joint. Not sure if anything hits better while hungover than a burger. Maybe a poutine? Too Canadian.
The name of the spot was Mr. Foodie and the burgers did not disappoint. Holy they were good.
On the way back to the AirBnB we also joined in dancing with the locals on the street. If you have a good speaker, this is the place to bring it.
Sunday, February 15th
Today we got up at I think 4:30am to be at the tour for 5:30am.
Brutal.
I will be the first to say that when you book this, it seems like a great idea until you have to actually wake up and go. Very painful time to wake up on vacation.
The excursion was ‘Sunrise Tour to The San Andres Natural Aquarium‘ and it was magnificent. Yes, even with the early rising.
You head out on a boat in the complete darkness over to an island to watch the sunrise. It was equally creepy and exciting to do.
Going to do this early in the morning with barely anyone else there is truly a cheat code. We enjoyed watching the sunrise and tried a hand at crossing the crazy water-bridge too, without falling off. So much fun and so worth the waking up early. Definitely would recommend this.
Since the tour was so darn early, we wanted to get up to more shenanigans.
The best way to get around the small island was with a buggy. The design is actually perfect because it is one single road that takes you around the entire exterior. Easy driving.
We made friends with a guy on the street, made a deal, and we were off! Driving around and seeing the absolutely gorgeous views and beaches in San Andres.
Although some parts of the island had sargassum, it did not cover all of the beaches. Thankfully.
Make sure you stop and buy a fresh coconut or two as well, they are so refreshing in the heat.
During the drive we got hungry and stopped at place named Miss Janice Place.
Now this meal? THIS WAS THE DAMN MEAL. The food was freaking delicious and the price was right. The portions were huge and absolutely perfect. Loved this meal, definitely the most memorable meal of the entire trip. Do not miss a stop here.
The food stop was on the West side of the island so we continued further North and them came back down the East side of the island back to where our AirBnB was. Definitely get yourself a buggy to see all of it at your own pace.
After we returned the buggy, we grabbed some pizza for dinner and finished off our super long day finally.
Monday, February 16th
Another boat day for us today!
The tour was ‘Johnny Kay and Aquarium Natural Full Day semi-private boat‘.
First FYI about this tour – you can’t do the first part of the day, going to Johnny Cay, whilst pregnant. The couple that was traveling with us therefore was unable to do this part and we had to leave them at the shore. So yeah, might be useful information for some of you.
My boyfriend and I went onto the visit to Johnny Cay though and it was superb.
I loved Johnny Cay. Anything that involves me getting somewhere in the shade to lay down and order drinks? Fuck yeah I’m in.
We chilled for I think 90 minutes on the beach, ordering drinks and I even had a big lobster meal. These things are not included in the price of the boat trip, you have to pay for these separately. But do it! The lobster is especially worth it.
Following Johnny Cay, we went back with the boat to pick up our friends and then made our way to the middle of nowhere. I am so serious.
We docked in the middle of the ocean and that is where we got off. The water was incredible, every shade of blue imaginable and it was crystal clear. We were able to swim over to a floating bar named Sunset Paradise and get some drinks. I did not want to leave this part of the day at all. They had to draggggg me out of the bar and the water surrounding it.
The final stop for the day was the natural aquarium, which we had done the day before for the super early morning tour. Trust me, the early morning visit was so much better. In the afternoon there are way too many people and it just isn’t as fun, at least it wasn’t for me.
I was burnt to absolute shit after the day in the water without reapplying enough sunscreen. Make sure you are applying as much as humanly possible, the sun is no joke.
Our friends walked over to try and get us into the very popular La Regatta for dinner, while I bathed in tubs of aloe.
After standing in line for a while, they were able to get us in. But trust me, just get the reservations a couple months ahead for a much easier visit.
This place is the cutesy-aestheticky-Instagram place, I can see why it is popular and why everyone is trying to get their photos there. The food was good, so were the drinks but thinking about Miss Janice Place? Ehhhhh I would have rather gone back there. But a nice experience regardless.
Tuesday, February 17th
Today was our last day in San Andres, but we didn’t fly until later in the day.
We decided to get up and take a taxi over to a restaurant we had seen during our buggy ride, but it only opens 12pm to 4pm daily. Strict.
Kingston Jerk Spot. Can’t say no to anything jerk.
We got a chicken soup, jerk chicken and jerk pork. I love jerk pork, this jerk pork was very good. Make sure you go right before noon as the lineup forms quickly and there aren’t many seats.
I just put these photos because the views were incredible as we took off to go home from San Andres.
I would 10000% go back to San Andres and you should make time to go visit as well.
Personally, I would tell everyone to do the early morning natural aquarium tour, definitely do a buggy day, a full day at Johnny Cay and go to that floating bar place. Do not miss these four things.
See you on the next adventure.
- Mirna