Santa Marta Sightseeing Tour

After pickup from your hotel in Santa Marta, depart by coach for La Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino, located about 20 minutes away. With your guide, tour the grounds of this 17th-century hacienda, famous as the site where Simón Bolívar died in 1830.

As you view the Altar of the Homeland and the Altar of the Fatherland, each memorializing Bolívar — called 'El Libertador' (The Liberator) — learn how the military and political revolutionary led Colombia and neighboring Latin American countries to independence from Spanish rule. See the flags of the Americas on display in the Plaza de Banderas before visiting La Quinta’s botanical gardens. Here, you’ll find ancient trees and more than 150 plant species on display, including varieties of orchid, cacti, fruit trees, mangrove and medicinal plants. You may even observe animals living in this natural habitat, such as iguanas, parrots, hawks and hummingbirds.

Re-board your coach and continue to Taganga, a town situated on the Caribbean coast about 3 miles (5 km) north of Santa Marta. Legendary for its sunsets, scuba diving and gourmet restaurants — as well as venues for dancing the rumba — this typical fishing village provides a base for the nearby Sierra and Tayrona national parks.

After a walk around town with your guide, drive to Santa Marta and view a monument to Carlos Valderrama. This 22-foot (6-meter) bronze statue, erected outside Eduardo Santos Stadium, commemorates the famous soccer champion, who played for Colombia’s national football team in the 1990s.

Finally, you’ll visit the Bay of Santa Marta to take in the gorgeous views before your guide drops you off at your hotel.