Colombia · SAN ANDRéS ISLAND & THE CAYS
24 reviewed
San Andrés sits closer to Nicaragua than to the mainland and the water around it changes colour about seven times. Compared below: boat trips to Johnny Cay and the natural aquarium, the marine safari circuits, dives on the reef wall, and the golf-cart loops that let you do the island yourself, with prices, timings and exactly what each fare covers.
Hotel pickup and a beginner-friendly SCUBA session in San Andrés, with Big Mamá wildlife and an underwater statue museum.
“Manuel was our dive instructor. He did a great job explaining instructions on how to use the equipment, kept us feeling safe, and gave us an incredible under water experience. Great for beginners with no diving experience.”
Rent a San Andrés beach cart with hotel delivery and automatic mulita comfort, then roam beaches and viewpoints at your own pace.
“Riccardo was really nice upgrading us to a 4 seater. He speaks fluent English which is really helpful for me understanding the parking rules.”
Half-day boat tour from San Andrés to Rocky Cay and the Acuario for shallow-water swimming, clear skies if you are lucky, plus dock tax.
“Todos los que viajen al Archipiélago de San Andrés, Providencia y Santa Catalina, deben saber que los planes están sujetos a las condiciones climáticas que se presenten. Dicho esto, quiero compartirles la experiencia que vivimos con mi pareja. Desde un inicio, la compañía de viajes se contactó con nosotros 3 días antes de la fecha programada, para informar del guía turístico que nos estaría acompañando. Un día antes, la guía turística (Cecilia Forbes), nos escribió dándonos las indicaciones de hora y lugar para vernos. Llegamos a la hora indicada, y allá estaba esperándonos. Nos explicó que había una opción de cambio, ya que por lluvias y vientos fuertes no podríamos…”
San Andrés marine safari with mangroves, multiple island swim stops, included drinks, and a weather-permitting drone photo.
“Ricardo was great with communication about the tour. He made us feel welcomed and explained everything really well. His employees were informative and knowledgeable about everything during the tour. We definitely would recommend this tour! We had a blast and were very please with the entire experience.”
Rent a 2025 Kawasaki Mule Pro for a full-day self-drive around San Andrés, with hotel delivery, GPS routing, and practical tips.
“Incrível, a liberdade de se locomover hiper recomendo, guia extremamente simpático e gentil, nos explicou como funcionava o veículo e tudo o mais, sugiro fazer exatamente a rota indicada através do gps para momentos incríveis”
Private pontoon tour in San Andrés to mangroves, Rocky Cay shipwreck, snorkel keys, and the 7 colors sea, drinks included.
“Thanks so much to Rikki for working with us to book this excursion at the very last minute for my wife's birthday! Our private tour with Captain Carlos was nothing short of AMAZING!! Our pontoon was squeaky clean and looked almost new! It was very spacious and comfortable. From the relaxing cruise through the mangroves and the crystal clear water of "aquarium" to snorkeling at the shipwreck. It was a perfect day! Thanks so much to Rikki, Captain Carlos and the San Andres Vibes team. You definitely want to book this tour.”
Scooter rental in San Andrés with hotel delivery, a PDF guide, and 9 hours to explore beaches and sights at your pace.
“These guys are awesome. They rent scooters as well as the polarises. Really enabled my wife and I to travel around the island effectively on our trip. Brought the vehicles to our hotel for us and were very flexible and friendly. Would recommend to anyone that comes to San Andrés”
Soar 100 meters over San Andrés, the sea of seven colors below you, with a 2-hour parasailing outing from Muelle Portofino.
“Horrible experience. Wasn’t able to contact said operator. In valid e-Mail address each of the multiple times I tried to contact. Not able to contact by phone even with the use of a resort worker kind enough to try to call for us on her personal phone. So we took a taxi for 30 thousand pesos to where the map said was departure point. Couldn’t find it. Asked some locals and they directed us to central island. We walked about a mile before we could hail another taxi. By this time even if there was such a activity we by this time we had missed it so we just told…”
Private pontoon day in San Andrés: mangroves, Rose Cay snorkeling, Instagram beach photos, Haines Cay lunch, and White Watta floating bars.
“Great experience to have your own private boat with the ability to customize your itinerary and how much time you want to spend at each activity. The captain and his mate were patient, helpful and were great. Would recommend this to any group or family”
San Andrés 7-hour cays and mangroves tour: speedboat to Johnny Cay, Rose Cay snorkeling, mangroves, beach time, Mirador views, $30.
“Booked English language tour-- no one spoke english. Disorganized, no followup re bad weather, hostile boat driver, etc Zero advantage to booking online when you can go in person and find people who are helpful, etc and also willing to negotiated.”
Private San Andres Bay tour by luxury speedboat with snorkeling at Aquarium Key, shipwreck views, and sunset at White Watta.
“A Mário (dono da lancha) é um querido, super atencioso, do começo ao fim. O capitão (Luis) e o marinheiro (Leider), também foram super gentis, seguiram o roteiro que sugerimos, nos levaram a um excelente restaurante (Coco Bay), uns fofos! Adoramos!”
Speedboat to Johnny Cay for 4 hours of beach time in clear Caribbean water from San Andrés, with simple logistics and a few add-on costs.
“La actividad salió tarde y los capitanes de barco iban navegando muy rápido, dando tumbos al barco, sin importar mucho el confort de los pasajeros ni su seguridad. La tripulación exigió al capitán que aminorara la velocidad pero él comentó que no se podía. No repetiríamos la actividad con esta empresa, aunque el cayo es precioso.”
Cayo Acuario day trip from San Andrés, with a quick speedboat ride, hours of snorkeling and marine life viewing, and entrance tax included.
“Una esperienza abbastanza disgustoso Ho aspettato un’ora Non aveva informazione della riserva Un punto di prelievo dove nessuno sapeva Il tour dell’acquario bello ma con un’altra agenzia di turismo Martinez Renta auto zero consigliato”
Shared pontoon tour from Marina Toninos: 7-color bay views, mangroves, aquarium spots and El Palito for about $22.
“O passeio é em um lugar lindo com um mar realmente incrível e pudemos aproveitar muito bem! (o guia poderia falar um pouco mais alto). Porém, quase perdemos o passeio. No voucher tinha um nome de contato no local, mas chegando lá, a única pessoa que atendia pelo nome dado não sabia do que se tratava o meu voucher. O telefone de contato também não funcionou. Mandei uma msg pelo app GYG e, em seguida, recebi uma mensagem pelo whatsapp enviada pela empresa responsável, onde me deram o nome de outra pessoa na Marina ao lado da que eu estava. Corri para lá no maior apuro, pois o horário de…”
San Andrés Natural Aquarium by boat and half-day snorkel time. Glass-bottom ride to the key, 7-color water, white sand, from $23.
“Apart from the place which would be beautiful but is overcrowded and poorly managed (boats and boats unloading people) the transfer was really badly organized. We booked a departure pier and then they wrote to us to go to another-we had to pay another 5,000 cops each that was not anticipated. At the desk we found no one, on the phone no indication-after 20 minutes of searching we found an attendant who told us to wait to leave and he would call us...after 1 hour from the reservation we finally left. They unloaded us without telling us they needed coral shoes...so bought those too. At return time, which they had…”
