Cheap Airfare to Santa Marta, an Exotic but Not Pricey South American Vacation.If you are looking for a cheap airfare to Santa Mart here are a few suggestions that have made my journeys to Santa Marta go well, the trip is not complicated or difficult. A South American coastal vacation is always best, you can lay on the beach as soon as you leave the airport, it's only a two minute walk, and there are no bugs like mosquitoes or black flies to constantly harass you, so you can finally just relax. The 4 best airports for connections to Santa Marta are
Bogota is the hub for all of Colombia's domestic flights.
Casa Vargas
Additional information about traveling to Cartagena. The advantages of using Priceline. The best way to start is to use caution right from the beginning and that starts when you are ready to book your flight. Discover your best route and itinerary over the internet, if you are hunting for discount travel decide on your best airfares, but don't pay for the flight over the internet, get all of your information together and call or book through a travel agent, the booking fee may be $40.00 or $50.00 but if there is a problem your travel agent can sort things out for you. For air travel, go down to your local travel agent, this way you have the assurance of knowing that if there is a problem with the transaction you will not lose your money or have to wait for your refund, for then it is not a cheap airfare and that's what we want. Bus companies operating out of Santa Marta For Your Trip
If it's your first trip to Colombia I would suggest you fly from Fort Lauderdale or Miami, Florida to Cartagena. If you went for a cheap airfare on Spirit Airlines you are allowed one bag only, you cannot pay for a second bag, this is another disadvantage when you book discount travel, if you arrive on another airline and you have two bags you will have to pack it all into one bag and give the second suitcase away as I did. Another route is to fly direct to Bogota. An overnight in Bogota is required as you are too late for the connecting flight to Santa Marta, the overnight will add $150.00 or more to your costs for a nice hotel with good security, plus your cab fare. You will arrive late in the night and probably leave early so you have to add this price on to the cost of the cheap airfare. The city has a population of over 8,000,000 people and is quite large. One caution though, the elevation is over 8,000 feet so if you have respiratory problems avoid Bogota. Clearing customs in Bogota for the first time, especially after a long day of air travel can be both tiring and confusing. Spanish is spoken and locating a person who can speak English may take some time. Prior to leaving the aircraft see if you can find someone who knows how to get to customs, then follow her or him until you get there as it is a long walk. Following the crowd may get you lost as people tend to go off in different directions along the way and if you ask the few remaining people they probably won't speak English. At customs your baggage will be scanned and inspected, have your suitcase stub that is stapled to your ticket handy because they will check the number against your suitcase to make sure it is yours. El Dorado Airport, Bogota, Colombia I have in the past used Avianca which is a Colombian airline flying out of Miami International Airport which is about a half hour drive from the Fort Lauderdale airport called Hollywood International. Avianca is not a cheap airfare airline although you can sometimes get in on a discount travel promotion. For airfares that are close in price I would choose to fly Avianca. I can certainly feel the difference with the South American culture whch is polite and friendly. The connections between flights are the hardest parts of the journey for me, I always make sure I have plenty of time to make connections, you might call me a nervous traveller, an aircraft that shakes and rattles does not bother me but a tight connection between flights scares the heck out of me. Air travel across borders is intimidating, the immigration officers are not obligated to let you into the country, so be polite and tell the truth because they will ask you the same question in several different ways to catch you in a fib. You can be delayed if you are singled out for further inspection and questioning. With discount travel you can sometimes get a very good deal on a cheap airfare, but you have to change airlines throughout your journey, if your connections are tight and you arrive late on one airline they will not refund your money or put you on the next connecting flight, so you have moved from a cheap airfare to something very expensive but if you travel on one airline, and there is a delay, they will make their best efforts to assist you and get you on their next available flight. The $50.00 dollars that you save may not be worth it as missing one flight could make you miss all of your remaining connections. The simpler your travel plans are the less chance of problems, the cheap airfare agenda is usually a more difficult route with poorer connections, you can work around it by breaking up the legs of your journey and giving yourself lots of free time as I always have more time than money. When I make my connecting flight in Fort Lauderdale, I now like to book my flight for Cartagena the next day and overnight at a hotel, that way I can still book a cheap airfare and I can also relax along my journey not drained by the time I get to my destination. A word of caution when your holidays are over and you are preparing to return home, watch the weather, if it seems that it may rain, prepare to take the bus to Cartagena a day early and wait it out there. Santa Marta and Barranquilla will flood, when you travel through Barranquilla it could be under a foot of water, which is due to sitting at or slightly below sea level, so the water cannot drain anywhere. Save yourself some tense moments and leave Santa Marta before the storm arrives so you are not delayed and end up missing your flight and turning that cheap airfare into something more expensive than first class. Whatever way you go I know your time on the coast in Santa Marta will be like no other vacation you have ever had, with plenty of sunshine, beaches and adventure trips. Travel Notes Upate Return from Cheap Airfare to Santa Marta Travel Guide |
