Sunny Santa Marta is a great choice when it comes to family vacations. There’s more than enough in the Colombian city to keep both kids and parents entertained, while the slower pace is perfect for spending quality time as a family.
Fresh off our recent trip to Santa Marta, here is our guide to how to travel to Santa Marta with kids.
One great thing about travel to Santa Marta is that the city has a very even climate all-year round. This means that it is a destination that can fit in with your schedule. That said, there are definite peaks that seem to largely coincide with the school holidays – December is the most popular (and driest) month to visit, while January is also busy. Tourism numbers then drop considerably, before rising again in June/July, which is summer for the northern hemisphere.
Santa Marta has a laidback, artsy vibe – it felt totally safe and we had no problems heading out as a family. Some of our favorite things to do included:
Of course - we came to Santa Marta for the beach, and it did not disappoint. Playa Blanca was our favorite beach with calm water that was perfect for the kids to swim in.
I’ve wanted to see the beautiful Tayrona National Park in person. Although long hikes are popular in the area, we didn’t think little legs would take well to them, so we organized a day trip through a local company, which was wonderful.
Another fun day trip was to the town of Minca. Honestly, we’d heard that some of the treks were challenging for children, so we went with a private guide in a 4x4 who was able to get us to the beautiful village without too much fuss (the kids loved the fun of the 4WD!)
Santa Marta was a lovely place to travel as a family. The local Colombians were extremely friendly and kind to us, and the kids loved making some new friends! It’s definitely a destination we would recommend to other families.
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