Santa Marta is one of Colombia’s oldest cities, on the Caribbean coast between the sea and the Sierra Nevada mountains. Travelers use it as a base for Tayrona National Park and the Lost City trek, and hostels, guesthouses and small hotels keep cheap rooms easy to find.
Finding cheap rooms in Santa Marta is easier when you know where to look. We compare live hotel rates across the top booking sites and point you to the neighborhoods where hotels are cheap but the location is still great.
Rooms come in more shapes than hotels — in Santa Marta you can also compare apartments with kitchens, vacation rentals for families, B&Bs and budget hostels in one search.
Santa Marta is an occasional cruise port of call, and the gateway to Tayrona National Park, Minca and the Lost City trek.
The old town near the waterfront, with restaurants, hostels and boutique hotels.
A beach resort area south of the center, popular with Colombian holidaymakers.
A small fishing village and dive base just over the hill, with budget stays.
A cool mountain village with coffee farms, waterfalls and eco-lodges.
Eco-lodges and cabins near the national park entrances.
Zoom and pan the map to compare hotel prices by neighborhood; rates come live from the booking sites.
December–April is the driest period. Rates rise over Christmas, New Year and Easter week, when Colombian holidaymakers fill the coast; Tayrona has periodic closures, so check dates.
Hostels and guesthouses in the Centro Histórico and Taganga are usually the cheapest.
Yes. Buses and tours run from Santa Marta to the park entrances; the park closes for short periods some years, so check before you go.
Multi-day treks to Ciudad Perdida leave from Santa Marta with licensed tour operators.