After Caño Cristales, we headed to our next off-the-beaten track location: Providencia, a Caribbean island paradise with beautiful beaches and stunningly clear waters.
We spent four days on Providencia and absolutely loved it! We didn’t want to leave! Here’s what we got up to…
We hiked to the peak
The peak is Providencia’s main hike. It’s 330m high and offers great panoramic views over the whole island.
The main trail to the peak starts in Bottomhouse, in the south of the island. We got a mototaxi from Freshwater for 5000COP (£1 approx) each to the start point.
There is an office which we initially thought was only to register. It turned out that it was also there to ensure visitors hike with a guide. From what we gathered, having to hire a guide has only been recently introduced. It was previously free and allowed to hike independently. However, due to recent accidents, guides are now compulsory and cost 50,000COP (£12.50 approx) per person.
We were slightly annoyed with this surprise cost but decided to do it anyway. A family of nine who arrived at the same time as us weren’t happy or prepared to do so.
You might be able to skip this cost, by going really early for sunrise or later for sunset.
It took us 1hr20 to reach the peak from the office with several breaks. Our guide, Antonio, supplied us with snacks and loads of coconut! He also taught us about the medicinal functions of many of the plants we passed.
The panoramic views from the top are wonderful. Well worth the climb! Seeing the coral reef and the sea’s stunning turquoise shades of blue from above was beautiful! Going down was quicker and we made it down within the hour.
We’d read that it was also possible to start the walk in Freshwater. We asked our guide about the existence of a second trail and he replied saying it was no longer walkable, as a few years ago a hurricane damaged the trail and its remained blocked ever since.
It’s also apparently the harder of the two, with some rock clambering sections. If I were you, I’d choose the main trail. It would be really annoying to start and not be able to make it!
Cost: 50,000COP per person for the guide (£12.50 approx)
Distance: 7km one way, 14km in total
Time needed: 4hrs max. We were up and down in 2hrs45, including time spent at the top.
Cayo Cangrejo
Cayo Cangrejo is a must visit when on Providencia. It’s a tiny island in the north east and is popular for snorkelling and its crystal clear waters.
It’s also part of Providencia’s coral reef, which at 32km long is the third largest coral reef in the world after Australia’s and Belize’s.
We were originally intending to visit Cayo Cangrejo independently and combine a trip there with a visit to Morgan’s Head, a pirate shaped rock on Santa Catalina island.
When asking for a mototaxi, a man said he had a boat tour leaving soon that went around the whole island, stopping at Cayo Cangrejo and passing Morgan’s Head. He offered it to us for 50,000COP and then 40,000COP (£10 approx). Being our indecisive selves, we couldn’t decide straight away. As the group started to leave for the boat, we ran and joined last minute.
I’m very glad we did! First, it was a nice way to see the whole island, which we hadn’t done yet. Second, from a price perspective, it was a great deal and cost the same as or less if we’d done it ourselves.
To get to Cayo Cangrejo independently, you first need to get to the the Deep Blue hotel in the north east. From Deep Blue, you can rent a kayak or get a boat to reach Cayo Cangrejo. I think the boat costs around 30,000COP (£7.50 approx) return and the kayak more, around 50,000COP (£12.50 approx). There is also the 18,000COP (£5 approx) entrance fee to pay on arrival.
We had a great time at Cayo Cangrejo. We snorkelled with a turtle and saw a stingray from the boat. There were lots of fish near the dock, but otherwise not much sea life.
The insanely clear water was incredible (and so so salty!)! Floating in it was amazing (aside from the stinging eyes when salt water got in them!).
We had 2hrs30 to spend there, which at first didn’t seem enough, but was plenty.
Cayo Cangrejo opening times: 9am-4.30pm
Entrance fee: 18,000COP (£5 approx) (and if doing a tour, not included in the price.)
Tour length: 5hrs ish. We left around 10am and got back to Freshwater at 3.30pm.
Tour price: Usually 50,000COP, can be got for 40,000COP (£10 approx)
Relaxing on beaches
We went to four of Providencia’s beaches. Two of them, Fort Bay (near Morgan’s Head) and South West beach, we went to on the boat tour. Fort Bay was tiny, a beach for snorkelling and not sunbathing.
South West is the island’s longest stretch of sand and my second favourite. There are plenty of trees and palms to provide shade which we seriously needed! It was so hot and the sun so powerful!
My favourite beach was Playa Manzanillo. I loved it for its more secluded location and its beauty – white sand fringed by palm trees and turquoise waters.
We first visited after hiking the peak and returned for a second time on our last day. The sand is so white and soft. Like South West beach, it has plenty of trees and palms for shade. There are more waves here, in contrast to South West, I think due to its location.
It gets more wind than the others, I was loving the breeze, it was much needed! We enjoyed evening beers at the bars (yes I know I’m liking beer finally, South America is changing me!!).
Freshwater beach was our local beach. Smaller than South West and Manzanillo, it was a 5min walk from our accommodation. Several Cabanas bordered the beach, and late in the afternoon it would get busy with people coming out for cooler temperatures. It was a lovely place to be for sunset and we’d often enjoy a beer there.
On our last night, on the mototaxi, on the way back from Playa Manzanillo, the sunset was stunning and the sky on fire. We went for one last swim at Freshwater beach at dusk. It was amazing – the sea was still so warm, the clouds were gorgeous and as the light faded a few stars appeared. A fab way to end our stay on Providencia!
Getting around Providencia
Providencia is a small island, it only takes around 30/40mins to drive around. To get around, motorbikes and golf buggies are available to hire. A motorbike typically costs 70,000COP (£18 approx) for 24hrs and a golf buggy is 130,000COP (£30 approx).
If you don’t like the idea of renting a motorbike, fear not! Neither of us knew how to drive a motorbike, nor were confident in trying to do so, so we were happy to discover the mototaxi alternative to getting around the island.
We paid 5000COP (£1 approx) each per journey which we found to be great value and could fit both of us on one bike. Occasionally they will tell you a higher price, 7000-10,000COP per person, but we always managed to pay 5000COP.
If you want to drive around the whole island, a motorbike will give you the freedom to do so and explore at your own pace. However, for days spent at one location, I’d say a hiring a motorbike isn’t worth the money.
We got to everywhere we wanted on a mototaxi for a fraction of the hire price. Plus, riding on the back was fun!
How to get to Providencia
Providencia lies off Colombia’s northern coast. Although it’s geographically closer to Nicaragua, it is still part of Colombia.
To get to Providencia, you first need to reach San Andres. From mainland Colombia, there are several airlines (Viva Air, Wingo, LATAM) that fly the route from various cities: Bogota, Cartagena, Medellin and Cali. We flew to San Andres from Bogota with Viva Air and it cost under £50 with hold luggage included.
Good to know: Tourists going to San Andres need a return flight booked to board the plane. We did not know this and hadn’t got one. An open plan and all! Buy your return flights!!! Otherwise you’ll end up like us, frantically trying to buy a return flight at the check in desk ten minutes before bag drop closes and then dashing through the airport to make the plane which we just managed! If you got to the airport earlier, then you might have a calmer experience. Either way, I recommend booking a return flight to avoid stress at all!
Good to know: To enter San Andres you need a tourist card. It costs 112,500COP (£30 approx) and can be bought at the check in desk or at the gate before boarding. In the rush we were to make the flight, it seemed like we were throwing money at the check in person amid confusion about how much the card was. Were they saying 2500 or 12,500?!
Good to know: To enter both islands, San Andres and Providencia, they will ask you where you’re staying. For those with accommodation booked that won’t be a problem. For those, like us, who were rocking up and finding a place to stay once there, you’ll need to write down a hotel/Posada on the tourist card to get on San Andres and for Providencia be ready to give them a name when they ask. In both cases, a fellow person in the queue gave us a hotel name to say which isn’t checked. Have one ready to say to avoid surprises!
From San Andres, you have two options for reaching Providencia: by boat or plane.
By boat
The boat ferry is run by the company, Conocemos Navegando. Ferries leave San Andres at 8am on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. The journey can take 4hrs and more depending on sea conditions. One way costs 218,000COP and a return is 398,000COP (£100 approx).
Ferries back to San Andres are quicker, 3hrs, and leave Providencia at 2.30pm on the same days.
By plane
You can fly to Providencia with Satena and Searca. There are several flights daily and take around 20 minutes! Crazy quick in comparison to the ferry!
You can book flights directly with Satena on their website (although I’ve found it extremely hard to use and have never found availability) and with Decameron and San German Express for Searca.
San German Express is the cheapest of the operators, but they only take return bookings. One way flights aren’t possible!
We’d originally planned to take the boat as we weren’t sure if last minute flights would be available and at what price.
However, we ended up booking a return flight with San German for 484,000COP (£120 approx) to maximise our time on Providencia, and also since flying was way quicker and only £20 more than the boat!
We were able to book our flight for the next day which was a nice surprise. Our return flight back to San Andres meant we had to change the day of our other flight back to Cartagena which we’d hurriedly booked in Bogotá’s airport to get to San Andres in the first place.
Changing the booking involved a trip to an Internet cafe and a phone call to the airline’s call centre. The lady working in the shop helped us immensely and got us through to speaking to someone.
It was then over to me and I had a half an hour chat to modify our booking. It was taxing on both ends, low volume on the phone and the classic static background noise. I was very happy to work it out at a little extra cost!
Languages spoken: Locals speak Creole, English and Spanish, swapping easily between them. Many consider English their native tongue and have very British sounding surnames! I loved hearing them switch from language to language, it was so cool!
Final thoughts
Providencia is an absolute gem of an island. The fact that it’s way less visited and developed than its neighbour, San Andres, adds to its charm and is definitely a reason why I loved it so much!
I loved the vibe, the peacefulness, the friendliness and helpfulness of the locals, the calm pace to life, the beautiful beaches and crystal waters! And the few tourists!!! Rather than a tourist heavy holiday destination, we’d found a quiet slice of paradise! I really hope it stays that way!
If you’re considering going to San Andres, I would really think about going that little step further to Providencia. It’s 100% worth it! Providencia is without a doubt going down as one of my Colombia highlights! I’d love to go back one day!
If you are going to Providencia, I hope this blog has helped and enjoy paradise!
