Our last stop on this trip before going back to Panama, right after Medellin and Cartagena was San Andres, the largest island of the Archipelago of San Andres and Providencia in the Caribbean Sea .

As you can see on the map, even though San Andres is technically part of the Colombian territory, it is actually much closer to Nicaragua (only 80km away from the coast of Nicaragua, as opposed to 775 km from Colombia).

Colombia had gained control of the islands in 1926, but Nicaragua tried to gain back control over San Andres in recent years. In 2012, the International Court of Justice has ruled that Colombia would have complete sovereignty over the archipelago.

street art in San Andres

My goal during this visit was to compare San Andres with Bocas del Toro, Panama, where I currently live. I always keep an open mind about new places to potentially live, and since I have a great impression of Colombia and its people so far, I thought it might be worth visiting the “Bocas del Toro of Colombia”.

Here are my thoughts about San Andres:

Pros:

The weather

It’s the same weather in Bocas del Toro Panama, which means, it’s a tropical climate, with high levels of humidity and temperatures ranging between 26 and 29 degrees Celsius. It’s the perfect weather for me (personally) and it was nice to get some fresh air after the heat of Cartagena. It made me feel right at home.

Even on a stormy day like on this pic, it's nice to be outside

The landscape

Its nature is beautiful, with lots of palm trees, white sand beaches and turquoise waters. It’s a famous scuba diving spot and you’ll be able to view abundant marine life.

someone's house with funny statues in their yard

today was not so crowded thanks to the rain

The people and their hospitality

San Andres’ economy relies mainly on tourism, and customer service is excellent! Just like anywhere else in Colombia, San Andres has some of the friendliest and most helpful citizens. One evening, we lost our shopping bag at an ATM booth, and Carlos and I went to another store for a bit before even noticing it was missing. As soon as I realized I didn’t have the bag with me, we tried to mentally retrace our steps. The fun part is, everyone in the store (clients and staff included!) participated in that conversation, trying to help us remember. Once we finally did remember where we left it, Carlos ran outside to retrieve it, and of course we didn’t have any hopes to get it back. It was already dark, and anyone could have taken it. I stayed back in the store, and one of the clients said to me “tenga fé, Dios es grande”, which means, have faith, God is grand. I was just about to reply that I didn’t believe in God, when Carlos came back with the bag. He told me that 2 people came to the ATM after us, and they told each other to guard the bag for whoever forgot it there. I couldn’t believe how honest people were, and how willing they were to help tourists. I told the guy I may actually consider praying from now on LOL.

Getting around the island

In San Andres, everyone rents little golf cars and drives around the island. On your way along the coast, you can stop at the many attractions San Andres has to offer on your own terms. These include various beaches like Playa de San Luis, as well as other landmarks such as the Blow Hole (see video at the bottom), Pirate Morgan’s Cave, the Botanical Garden, and of course the many restaurants and bars in the area.

Morgan's Cave

Duty Free shopping

People come from abroad and from mainland Colombia to shop for clothing and electronics, but in my opinion you can get much better deals in other cities, so don’t go especially for that reason.

Cons

The entrance fee you need to pay at the airport to get in!

This was a huge WTF-moment for us, and probably 100% our fault for not researching properly first. I’m telling you this now, so that you can be prepared to pay the...get ready for it…$50 fee per person
All of a sudden, the small savings you’ll make at the Duty Free don’t seem worth it anymore..

It’s quite crowded

Please keep in mind that I’m drawing a comparison between my current hometown, Bocas del Toro (8,000 inhabitants) and San Andres, which has a population of 85,000. I was missing some privacy on the beaches (I know, I sounds like a spoiled brat!), but since I was thinking about whether I would like to live there, I had to take this into consideration. Most beaches, as beautiful as they are, are crowded with tourists. This brings me to my second point in the section of cons.

It’s overpriced

Once again, since we’re in a very touristy place, it is to be expected. Restaurants, taxis and hotel prices are off the charts compared to Medellin and other cities of Colombia, and the mid-range hotels are usually sold out very quickly. I recommend booking in advance to avoid potentially bad surprises. Carlos and I tried booking on the spot since we went in off season, but that was a mistake on our part and we ended up paying too much for too little as a result.

The lack of authenticity

Again, I’m comparing here, which is why I may not have the same view as someone who has never seen a Caribbean Island before. With the large number of tourists, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of superficiality. The entire center of town is filled with duty free shops, and along the coast you will find very expensive restaurants that are clearly not meant to welcome locals who probably could not afford them.
The island was missing some local authenticity and culture, probably because everything is so tourist oriented. Of course, we only spent 3 days on the island, so my view may be a bit narrow. This is, however, the first impression we had when arriving.

Conclusion

Would I move to San Andres? No I wouldn’t. Nothing I have seen so far, has impressed me enough to leave my little paradise in Bocas del Toro.

Would I recommend it to other travelers? Yes, I would, because it’s worth seeing. It’s beautiful, and you can definitely have a great time in San Andres. I just wish someone had told me about the pricing beforehand (it was kind of a bad surprise for us).

Stay tuned for my next blog about Colombia, which will include the cities of Bogota and Filandia =)

#ocd-resteem