Things to do in San Andrés Island
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit San Andrés Island
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Driest, sunniest and calmest, with best reef visibility and Blue Wall chances, but priciest and crowded at New Year and Easter.
Drier interlude with good seas and strong kitesurf winds, family crowded in mid June to mid July school holidays.
Hotter and more humid shoulder months with rain in bursts, lower prices and fewer crowds.
Wettest stretch with roughest seas and most cay boat cancellations, go only with flexible land tolerant plans.
Dry and excellent again from mid month, with peak pricing and crowds.
What's on
- Crab Festival 1 January
Island opens the year celebrating crab gastronomy with crab dishes, dancing and live music.
- Green Moon Festival mid-September
Free island wide celebration of Afro Caribbean and Raizal music, food, lectures and dance.
- Fiestas Patronales de San Andrés around 30 November
Patron saint feast with live performances, food fairs, dancing and the Coconut Queen pageant.
Best things to do in San Andrés Island
Johnny Cay Regional Park
Tiny palm cay with white sand, iguanas and reggae beach kitchens, best on the first boat before crowds.
El Acuario
Shallow clear basin over sand and reef where you stand waist deep among fish, rays and small sharks.
Haynes Cay
Second cay in the Aquarium pair, linked to Rose Cay by a sandbar you can walk at low tide.
Playa Spratt Bight
Long soft sand main beach with a promenade, lifeguards and warm clear swimmable water.
Playa de San Luis
Quieter east coast beaches by Raizal wooden houses, with fewer vendors and better sunrises.
Rocky Cay
Small rocky cay reached by wading a buoy line through shallow water, with a wreck beyond it.
La Piscinita
Smaller west coast natural pool with ladders and calm, deep, fish filled clear water.
West View
Larger west coast natural pool with a slide, diving platform and facilities for a snorkel hour.
Where to stay in San Andrés Island
North End
first visits, short stays, walking everywhere
Main beach, boat piers, restaurants and duty free shops within a 15 minute walk.
San Luis
trips of four or more nights, repeat visitors
Raizal villages, quiet beaches and sunrise over the reef, with the island best beach restaurants.
La Loma
culture first and budget local stays
Hilltop Raizal heartland around the Baptist Church, with posadas, home cooking and island views.
West coast
sunset, divers and quiet
Thin string of small hotels and dive lodgings facing sunset and west coast dive sites.
Think twice about
- El Centro duty-free and casino core
Worst congestion, loud music into the night, touting and overpriced trap restaurants in the densest commercial blocks.
- Isolated inland unlit residential streets
No posada presence, restaurant or taxi rank nearby and a long dark walk home for a visitor.
- Airport edge main road motels
Marketed as beach hotels but minutes away by vehicle, with a tarmac and traffic setting.
Best restaurants in San Andrés Island
La Regatta
Colourful stilted restaurant over the bay serving the island most polished seafood at sunset.
Gourmet Shop Assho
Small chef led dining room blending island produce with international technique and warm hospitality.
Capitán Mandy
Family run seafood house doing whole fried fish, seafood rice and garlic shrimp properly.
Miss Celia
Traditional Raizal kitchen to order rondón, mixed seafood plates and coconut rice at lunch.
Fisherman Place
Small locally owned beachside kitchen where whole fried snapper is the point, without North End markup.
Donde Francesca
Tables on the sand for seafood lunches that become the afternoon, with live music some evenings.
Bibi's Place
Shack setting famous for whole black snapper fried crisp and coconut water straight from the nut.
The Grog
Rocky Cay beach institution for Caribbean seafood and drinks to your chair facing the wreck cay.
Outdoor things to do in San Andrés Island
Blue Wall
Signature advanced wall dive with swim throughs, turtles, rays and dense Seaflower reef coral.
One Love 7 Colors Tour
Capped semi private boat tour of Johnny Cay, the Aquarium and mangroves without the combo boat scrum.
EcoFiwi Turismo Ecológico
Clear kayak tour through mangrove tunnels with a Raizal guide, a snorkel stop and island lunch.
Hoyo Soplador
Free public blowhole on the ring road circuit, worth a brief stop rather than a long linger.
Big Pond Lagoon
Inland lagoon viewpoint stop on the ring road and horseback routes through the island interior.
Parasailing San Andrés
Short flight over the bay that shows the seven colours of the sea as a pattern below you.
Aquanautas
Seabed walk in a surface air helmet that lets non swimmers stand among reef fish.
Nautilus Semi-Submarine
Dry semi submarine alternative for seeing the reef without swimming or diving.
Best hotels in San Andrés Island
Casa Harb Hotel Boutique
Small Asian inspired boutique hotel with a quiet pool and the island most refined rooms.
Grand Sirenis San Andrés
Newest large premium resort facing the bay by Toninos Marina, with international resort standards.
Decameron Isleño
Landmark large all inclusive on prime Spratt Bight with three pools, spa and multiple restaurants.
Hotel Cocoplum Beach
Beachfront villa style hotel in gardens on Cocoplum Beach, with pool and a well regarded restaurant.
Samawi Hotel
Modern, well run city beach hotel a short walk from Spratt Bight, calmer than the big all inclusives.
Hotel Arena Blanca by Dorado
Dependable mid range hotel with pool, restaurant and friendly service in a walkable location.
Hotel El Dorado
Comfortable Colombian mid range hotel with pool and restaurant that local families rebook.
Hotel Sol Caribe
Central North End alternative that ranks highly among the island four star hotels.
Is San Andrés Island expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | COP 400,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | COP 500,000 a person |
| Splurge | COP 1,100,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Blue Wall: a few days ahead
- One Love 7 Colors Tour: a few days ahead
- EcoFiwi Turismo Ecológico: a few days ahead
- Parasailing San Andrés: a few days ahead
- Native Horses: a few days ahead
- Providencia Island: weeks ahead
- Crab Cay: a few days ahead
- Casa Harb Hotel Boutique: weeks ahead
- Flights, Providencia flights and posadas, and Casa Harb and modern North End hotels in Dec to Jan and Easter, weeks ahead.
- Small group diving, private boat charters and EcoFiwi in high season, days ahead.
- La Regatta for dinner on weekends and holidays.
Is San Andrés Island safe?
- Watch for pickpocketing in El Centro crowds and beach theft while swimming, swim in shifts or use a locker.
- Do not leave drinks unattended in big North End bars and do not buy drugs on the street.
- Do not walk isolated inland lanes or unlit beach stretches alone late at night.
- Get travel insurance with medical evacuation, on island care is basic for serious cases.
San Andrés Island travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Agree the total lobster price before it is cooked, anywhere, and walk away if no total is given.
- Agree beach tent, chair and locker unit, total and duration, and photograph the setup.
- Hoyo Soplador is free, the cost is the pushy expensive drink from stalls around the viewing area.
- Know home prices before duty free shopping, perfume and liquor save, electronics often do not.
- Do not pay for ray handling photo stops at the Aquarium.
Getting around San Andrés Island: public transport and more
- Walk the North End and rent a mula, take taxis with fares agreed first, or ride the ring road bus for the rest.
- Do not rent a car, a mula does the same job open air and North End parking is painful.
- Take the first cay boat of the day for the calmest water and smallest crowds, and carry a dry bag.
- Buy the mandatory Tourist Card at the departure gate, keep the physical copy and surrender it on departure.
Who San Andrés Island suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make San Andrés Island your trip
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