Going to Columbia

[GillyT]

Couple of questions ....

1. Mainland diving

Is Taganga a better place to dive out of compared to Cartagena? What kind of conditions might i expect for late March/early April? Reccomendations? Average price for 2 dives including equipment?

2. San Andreas Island

Are there cheap accomidations on the island (hostels/homestays/camping)? I really would like to get there but obviously it is going to cost a bit to go to the island and dive for a week. What is the cheapest way to do this? Maybe just book a flight, show up, and work it out on the island?

3. Islas Rosarios

How is the diving on the islands closer to Cartagena? Worth a trip?

Im an advanced diver with about 125 dives, Guam, Palau, Phillipines, Indo, Cozumel, Bay Islands, and Costa Rica. Obviously some really nice spots so I am a bit spoiled. Looking forward to getting in the water again but also not rolling around in $$$ so im not too interested in diving in "bad" conditions. I basically want to get the most bang for my buck.

Thanks
Gilly

 

[tadeotadeo]

Hi Gilly
I can’t help you on Taganga but I have dived in Rosarios and frequently visit San Andres.
Hotels a re relatively cheap on San Andres but the cheapest I have found is about $35/night at a small rundown hotel in the center of the city and a friend’s bed and breakfast on the Western side of the island. I do not know of any place to camp on the island. All the dive Ops are comparable around 120,000 to 150,000 pesos for a double dive. I never had much luck with finding cheaper accommodations, just showing up. They will take you for a fool until you prove to them you are not, then you will have to barter for a reasonable rate. I can help you getting a room or dives if you like.
The diving in Rosarios is very comparable to San Andres in my opinion but I’ve only been once and it was my first Caribbean dive destination out side the Florida Keys and I was in love with the female specimen so everything was seen thru rose colored glasses. I will say the visibility was 100+/- better than I have ever seen in San Andres. Not sure if the vis was just a stroke of luck of or is the norm. The closer you get to Cartagena the worse the vis gets.
I want to forewarn you about Buzos de Baru in Cartagena….a friend of mine, scubaboard tutifruti, had a horrible unsafe experience with them. My diving with them was not as traumatic, but it was also unsafe. We both put in complaints with PADI about his unsafe operation.
Hope this helps
Ciao
Tad

 

[mac_dive]

I stayed at Cli's place in San Andres. It was very cheap and absolutely nice place only a couple of minutes from the beach and right in the center.


Cli s Place Posada Nativa
Cli s Place is a small but very comfortable hotel in the center of San AndrñÔ, a few-minutes walk from the beach. The rooms have air conditioning, refrigerators, cable TV and clean bathrooms. The hotel is 5 minutes away from the airport by taxi. The hotel owner speaks English and Spanish. The room costs 40,000 COP/ $18 per person, per night.

Av. 20 de Julio #3-47 int 4 y 5
Tel: 0057-8-512 69 57
E-Mail: luciamhj@hotmail.com

You should also check out Isla Providencia. I think its way better than San Andres.
San Andres has already too many hotels and too much mass tourism.

Providencia is way better to relax and dive. Check out www.siriushotel.net

They have information about how to get there and describe lots of dive sites and diving conditions.

take care...

mac

 

[mjgoodman]

Sirius dive center lists 8 dives @ about $60US per dive. Are then any cheaper places?

What is the diving in Tagang like? Or off the Columbian coast? Thanks

 

[tadeotadeo]

Not sure how Sirus charges. Most dive ops on Providence charge a rate in Pasos and then use the exchange rate to figure the US dollar rate. The cheapest rate I have seen anyone charge is 125000 Pasos for a double dive, with todays exchange rate that is about 50 dollars.

 

[naga]

1. Mainland diving

Taganga is far better than Cartagena; it is a really underrated place to dive. i wrote a report on it last year. That time of the year is great too; although i believe the water is colder then, take a longy.

2. San Andreas Island

highly commercial, but diving is meant to be good; Providencia is btter, i just stayed a week there and the diving is superb. Not exceptionally cheap, but definitely worth the experience. i dove with Sirius (140,000 COP per double dive).

3. Islas Rosarios

If you are bored and with nothing else to do, then do it. The islands themselves are nice but the reef is beat-up and there is little to no marine life (due to over-fishing and pollution coming down from Cartagena).

Out of the above, i'd go for Providencia for the quality of overalll diving, but Taganga probably has better value for money. Depends on your schedule and budget.

 

[Maus]

Hello Gilly,

i was diving in Taganga in March. I did 6 dives with Poseidon Dive Center and the diving was good, a little bit chilly the water, but they have brandnew 5mm wetsuits, hats and they also give you a dive computer for your trip. We saw 4 seahorses and they have great drift dives. Dives aere as long your air lasts. Also they are the onliest in town offering Nitrox and Tec. Additional they rent some nice rooms.
Hope i could help.

Have fun there
Max

 

[rakkis]

When you search online you may want to use "colombia".

 

[mjgoodman]

What are the things to see at Taganga compared to Providencia? Thanks for the great info.

 

[efcantillo]

Gilly,
In Colombia you have both the Caribbean and the pacific to dive.
The 3 places you mention are in the Caribbean side of Colombia. I personally liked providencia first, then Taganga, San Andres and Cartagena.
San Andres and Providence are not in the main land and you will have to pay for the extra flights to get there. Providencia is a smaller island and has far fewer tourism than Taganga so it has places with less divers, and at the same time it has some great areas that are very close to a restricted reserve so the fish and life are pretty nice.
Taganga was my first Colombia dive and I loved it. There are several places to dive here that are part of a natural park (Tairona) and the reefs are in good shape.
if you are staying in Cartagena, the Islas del rosario is where they would take you. make sure you try a small group and that is not part of teh daily group that takes discovery divers. Islas del Rosario has some very pretty sights but also some very bad ones. The discovery groups usually do not get the best. My best experience there was arranging for a private group and an instructor and making sure they understood teh level of experience we had was beyond beginners.

If you want the pacific experience you have Nuqui, gorgona and malpelo. Malpelo, for those who have been (unfortunately I have not) compare it in the type of see life to Coco's island in Costa Rica. Gorgona is very nice for sharks and mantas. there is usualy thips every weekend on a non luxury live aboard and also options to stay in the island (gorgona). The island is a natural park so the offer in places to stay is not huge. The dive operators usually offer a package that includes hotel, meals, dives and transportation.
Malpelo is a farther sail and usually they offer on a week long trip that does 2 days in Gorgona nad 3 days in Malpelo with 2 days of sailing. The only option there is live aboard.

Nuqui is of the main land. You would have to fly from Medellin to there and the life is pretty good. depending on your time of the year when you go, you can catch hump back wheals on any of these three sites.

Hope this is helpfull and that you have a fantastic time in my country.

Edgar