Top Things to do in San Andres
Top 10 Things to do in San Andres, Colombia
Discover the best top things to do in San Andres, Colombia including Playa de Spratt Bight, Cayo Bolivar, Playa de San Luis, West View, Cayo El Acuario, Rocky Cay, La Piscinita, Jardin Botanico de San Andres, Primera Iglesia Bautista, Johnny Cay.
Restaurants in San Andres
1. Playa de Spratt Bight
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 600 reviews
Reviewed By JoeGSP - Europe
Don't come to San Andres to relax. And definitely not to this beach to re-charge batteries. Altough the beach is beautiful and the ocean is impressive, the beach is overcrowded, dirty, noisy, people screaming, and full of small family- or friends groups, each of them with own music-speaker so you'll hear all types of (loud) Music in just a few meters distance. It's a shame. The island is not prepared to receive european or north-american tourists. I will not recommend San Andres to anyone, unfortunately.
2. Cayo Bolivar
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1 reviews
Reviewed By fufaita - Zaragoza, Spain
Cayo Bolívar is indeed a beautiful place to spend the day, with clear waters and coral-reef sand. I'd like to recommend it but it was just too crowded to really enjoy it.
Unfortunately, the day I went there the number of tourists was huge. As soon as we got there, we ran to lay our towels under the bushes because there is no shade (unless you pay for it) and the sun is strong. At lunch time, you had to wait for free chairs and tables (if you didn't want to eat on the floor). Finally, they ran out of all drinks except for that Colombian apple soda drink... It seems this tour has become so popular that companies take more people than really recommended.
The snorkeling tour at the cay was just following a guy who took a blowfish and forced it to blow up and then used a knife to take a small octopus from a rock. Only to show them to us! First lesson of any snorkeling and diving tour: don't touch anything!!!!! I was really disappointed by that. The only interesting thing was swimming with sharks.
The ride to and from the cay can be rather tough with high waves. There is no dock at the cay, so you'll need help to get in and out of the boat.
3. Playa de San Luis
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2 reviews
4. West View
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1 reviews
Reviewed By Carolarolyn - Bogota, Colombia
This was my favourite activity on the island! You can reach West View via public bus or taxi. There is a cover charge of 4,000 Colombian pesos, and the attendants give you a piece of bread to feed to the fish. At the little bar on the left side of the path, you can store your personal belongings. There's no fee, you simply tip the attendant what you think is reasonable. (Each person in our group tipped 5,000 pesos, and we were there for over three hours.) You can rent snorkel gear including a mask, breathing tube, and life jacket. It's 5,000 pesos for the mask and tube together, another 5,000 for the life vest. There is no time limit on how long you can use them.
There are two ladders to help you get into the water, a diving board, and a water slide. The water here is fairly deep, about 10 meters. For the more adventurous visitor, there are a couple of statues that you can check out underwater. There is also an Aqua-nauts activity where you can rent a space helmet that they gets oxygen pumped in. It sits on your shoulders and you walk along the ocean floor while the guide gets the fish to swarm around you and takes your picture. I heard that there are also rays in the water, but I didn't venture far away enough from the main site to see them. (This activity was 95,000 pesos in June 2017, too expensive for us but maybe ok for others.)
Pros:
Awesome marine life!
Very affordable!
No time limits on your stay.
A variety of things to do and see.
Cons:
Lots of crowds, so it's best to go early or late. The crowds fluctuate as tour buses bring large groups here.
Special tip:
Don't toss your bread on the surface of the water. Instead, take it underwater with you and tear it into small pieces. You can feed the little pieces to the fish and they'll even snatch bits out of your fingers if you're lucky!
Buy a water guard for your phone or camera before you go. You'll want pictures!
5. Cayo El Acuario
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2 reviews
Reviewed By 682jeffl - Las Vegas, Nevada
This was a really unique and great experience! Cayo el acuario is another short boat ride from the main island and is a spectacular site to notice. You this very tiny area just verily above water with a small building for Seating, getting refreshments, snorkeling gear and there is a large locker area. There are a few kiosk and a very small area where tourist believe they can lay down to sun bathe until the first big wave comes to soak everything that they have with them. The snorkeling area is huge and you can even walk to the next cay / tiny island next door in the water. The area is way to crowded and you really have to get a locker for 10 mil or $3.25! The rocks are very sharp so you really need some water footwear or slippers. The cost for this excursion is also very cheap 25 mil or $8! The water is also very very shallow here so children can also have a chance to view the fish and have a good time, in the process. There are no restrooms here, so try to go beforehand!
6. Rocky Cay
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1 reviews
Reviewed By Harri P - Helsinki, Finland
Rocky cay has a bit hidden entrance, but actual beach is nice, there's nice restaurant services at site and peaceful environment. actual beach is quite shallow, so not so ideal for enthusiastic swimmers. one funny activity is to walk to the island in front of the beach, but wear seashoes just in case if stepping on sharp coral or other hidden items.
7. La Piscinita
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 4 reviews
Reviewed By Jenny M - New York City, New York
I am completely underwhelmed by this experience and feel like this is just another example of TripAdvisor steering me wrong. The place is a tourist trap. The grounds are poorly taken care of. The staff are miserable. You have to pay 4,000 pesos to enter the place and it’s just a small corner of rock formation. They give you white bread to “play with the fish,” which is a completely irresponsible practice that is damaging to the ecosystem they are exploiting. Seems like prices for renting snorkels fluctuate: it was 15,000 pesos to rent with a 50,000 peso deposit! We didn’t even have to put a deposit down for the buggy we rented for the day! Anyway, the snorkels were crap. What you see underwater is kind of abismal. The coral is all dead. You’re likely to get kicked in the face by a child while trying to watch the various fish fight for a piece of gluten. The whole thing is just depressing. We left after five minutes.
8. Jardin Botanico de San Andres
Overall Ratings
4 based on 196 reviews
Reviewed By LucyCN - Sao Paulo, SP
Is a enjoyable tour where you can see differents kind of plants, flowers and birds, easy going people, easy access.
9. Primera Iglesia Bautista
Overall Ratings
3.5 based on 1 reviews
Reviewed By Annemarie E
We rented bicycles to go here. First, that was a mistake because it as an uphill climb the entire way and the bikes didn't have gears and were old/junky. When we finally reached the church we almost elected to not pay the $5,000 pesos to enter. This would have been a mistake. As part of the paid tour there is some great information provided about the church and the history of the island. We were allowed to climb the stairway to the very top of the church bell tower, which provided the most spectacular view of the island. I highly recommend going on this tour, if even to just see the pano view.
10. Johnny Cay
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 6 reviews
Reviewed By QuietR1ot - Oregon
Johnny Cay is a beautiful tourist spot best for lounging on the beach, listening to some reggae blasted on speakers near the bar and swimming in the ocean but place is extremely crowded. Boat rides to this spot are only allowed if weather permits *travel companies have to get approval form the marina first. We booked via Caribe Azu but there are multiple vendors on the boardwalk of San Andres selling trips to this spot, so its best to shop around if you're looking for a deal. If you have motion sickness try booking with a place that has one of the larger boats. Our trip was during the first week of Nov and on the day of our trip to Johnny cay we did have gray rain clouds roll in and drench the area for a bit 2x (less than 10 min both times). It's so hot and humid the rain didn't bother us NorthWesterners though there is covered Seating areas to protect you from the worst of it and they offered people umbrellas to those who wanted it. The rain showers were very brief and didn't drench the ground, as soon as it stopped the sun came back and it was if the rain never happened. The marina we boarded from has docks so getting in and out of the boats here was simple The island however has NO dock. Guests get out of the boat by hopping/jumping off the front. When we went there were some strong wave action along with multiple boats coming and going at the same time so not very safe conditions for loading/unloading people. If one is elderly or have small children with them I strongly advise to pick a clear calm day. The island was way over crowded~ meaning there wasn't enough loungers or umbrellas on the beach for everyone. Once you're on the island recommend grabbing & paying for your designated spot right away or you'll be stuck sitting on the sand with no sun protection. We walked all the way around the island and confirmed only about half is a good spot for beach fun (the spot where all the crowds were), the rest has a lot of rocks and little to no beach. Because of the strong waves you had to be very careful entering and exiting the water, we saw several people (mostly kids and a few ladies) get pushed down or knocked over. But once in the water the waves are fun to play in. The water is gorgeous and the white powder sand super soft. Ice spotted a few schools of small fish but for the best snorkeling in the area you really want to visit nearby Aquario island. We spotted a few iguanas, banana boat rides were offered for a price. There are storage lockers for a price, bathrooms, bar, small stands with souvenirs, and restaurant. Food options were limited to fried fish, fried chicken, or what looked like lobster. Meals all came with fries, a little bit of lettuce n tomato and a can of soda.
