LOCAL TRANSPORTATION
1. Local Buses: Typically cost 1.400COP for a ride within the city or to/from Taganga and the school.1.500COP on holidays.
2. Taxis: Cost 4.000COP in the city, flat rate. However, we advise you to always negotiate to make sure the price will be as you expect it to be. Taxis to Rodadero and Taganga are 10.000COP.
3. From the bus terminal: Santa Marta's long distance terminal lies out of the city, the easiest way to get from there is by taxi which should not cost more than 5.000COP.
4. From the airport: Taxi are 25.000COP to get you to Santa Marta city center a bus on the other hand would be 1.400COP. Keep in mind, taxis cost more at night.
5. From Cartagena: As Cartagena's long distance bus terminal is far out of the city centre and Santa Martas bus terminal is not very close to the city centre either, as an alternative to a classic bus service we recommend you to use door-to-door shuttle service provided by Marsol --they can take you directly to your hostel in Santa Marta. Your hostel in Cartagena can probably arrange this service for you or you can contact them directly. A door-to-door bus usually costs about 45.000COP
6. Flights within Colombia: Sometimes flying in Colombia can be cheaper than taking long distance buses. Quality of flight services is generally very good. It can be cheaper to book an international flight to Bogota and then book a separate flight to Santa Marta, or alternatively Spirit Airlines, a low cost USA carrier, flies in and out of Barranquilla (seasonal) and Cartagena.
The mostly used airlines are Avianca, Aero Republica/Copa Airline, Aires, LAN and Viva Colombia. We recommend Aires, as they are the only airline in Colombia which accepts credit/debit cards from overseas when booking your flight online without any surcharge. Copa Air often offers reasonable prices and deals at times. Viva Colombia flights tend to offer the cheapest domestic flights.
Additionally, you can buy the ticket on one of many websites, like www.expedia.com , or kayak.com etc.
When in Colombia, you can easily book your flight directly at the airline offices. In Santa Marta the airline offices are mostly around Calle 16 crossing with Carrera 3.
The Santa Marta airport code is SMR.