San Andres

[Vitrea]

I am writing this in hopes of reviving this dead thread. How come guys are not reporting about this Atlantic jewel. I am sure plenty of mongers on this forum have visited it, albeit with their 'girlfriend" . I am sure there is something interesting or fun to learn. Beaches, bars, clubs, casas. Any updates anyone?

I am going in a couple of weeks and I want to know from veterans travellers here where is the best beach or another romantic spot on the island to have sex?

And their two favorite dinner restaurants.

[LatinaLover#1]

Going back to San Andres next month with mi novia. Never got any dancing in last trip but we want to do some this trip. I was wondering if anyone can recommend the best discos on the island.

TY.

[AveMariaPues]

San Andres has some casas. I knew a couple hot Paisas who went up there to work. Seems like similar arrangement and pricing to the casas in Cartagena, girls come from the interior to work for a while assuming they can get more in a tourist's market than at home. It's there if you need it. I went three times but took a girl each time. The hotels are generally average (but comfortable with good service) or very expensive (there is some Lebanese joint that looks swanky but costs bigger money). There is basically just the main beach and the incorporated area around it. But the water is beautiful and nice to swim in also. The upshot over going to Curacao, Aruba, Sint Maarten is the price. The airfare to those places is getting cheaper but San Andres can still be had for less. The lodging is also less and so is the food. You're paying in COP what you'd be paying in dollars at those other places, generally, so one third the price at the moment. That's a pretty big advantage when what you want is beach (check), fucking (check, especially if you bring a girl) and chill (check). It's not like those other islands have a ton of stuff to do, though I admit SXM and Curacao do offer a bit more in terms of culinary options and alternative activities.

[SlamCity7777]

AirBnB is your friend!

Thank both posters. RE ABnB my girls doesn't want to cook and shit, the kid wants pool and stuff. So thinking resort.

I'll look into Casa Blanca.

Thanks and please keep the tips coming.

[Lmarcone]

AirBnB is your friend!

Hey,

So looking for a hotel recommendation for me and la novia. And la Nina. It's a family trip so clean, quiet, nice, not near airport or main road or discoteca, please. Nice pool, places to eat in or near by, and walk to the beach would be nice as some hotels seems to be a bus ride to the beach and a few said only one trip a day which I find stupid.

LMK.

[LocoGringo]

Hey,

So looking for a hotel recommendation for me and la novia. And la Nina. It's a family trip so clean, quiet, nice, not near airport or main road or discoteca, please. Nice pool, places to eat in or near by, and walk to the beach would be nice as some hotels seems to be a bus ride to the beach and a few said only one trip a day which I find stupid.

LMK.

Casablanca, across from the beach, nice accomadations, great buffet and other restaurants.

[SlamCity7777]

Hey,

So looking for a hotel recommendation for me and la novia. And la Nina. It's a family trip so clean, quiet, nice, not near airport or main road or discoteca, please. Nice pool, places to eat in or near by, and walk to the beach would be nice as some hotels seems to be a bus ride to the beach and a few said only one trip a day which I find stupid.

LMK.

[NCal2014]

Next trip to MDE will be 5 days in MDE and 3 days in San Andres. Can't wait to start planning it out. Looking on going around mid Feb.

[Vegas Jeff]

I was recently in Medellin for 2 weeks. I spent the first week with one of my Colombian fav. I ended up taking her to San Andres for 4 days and 3 nights.

Nice report both here and in the main thread. It is always nice to see posts from guys who are improving their Spanish and doing things in more and more organized ways while learning about the culture and making better connections.

Everything in San Andres is double priced as you mentioned. Big advantage to San Andres is no need for Passport, Visa, etc if traveling with a Colombian woman.

IMO San Andres is good for about 4 days, which was the length of your stay. Things to do in San Andres are as follows: scuba diving or snorkeling, visit nearby islands, helmet diving near the trampoline, rent a go cart to see the island, etc. I am probably forgetting one or two things.

Internet sucks on the island. There are small interruptions in the signal. If you need to read articles or send and email, no problem. Good luck with listening to a song on youtube with every 5 seconds the signal getting interrupted.

[Lefeu]

I was recently in Medellin for 2 weeks. I spent the first week with one of my Colombian fav. I ended up taking her to San Andres for 4 days and 3 nights. San Andres is an island that officially belongs to Colombia, but is physically located in the Caribbean, east of Nicaragua. The native folks were really nice, and spoke decent English as well as Spanish. San Andres looked to me like a 3rd world version of Hawaii, and I was pleased. The food was mostly local Caribbean, and I liked it. Their fruits were fresh and delicious.

I had purchased the airfare and the hotel from the US, using Expedia, and that was a mistake. First, December is apparently the high season and the airfare was expensive, double what it would cost outside of the high season. I also found out by accident that Expedia has close to 100% mark-up for hotels. So, lesson learned, never use a US based agency to make travel arrangement for overseas.

I was not sure what to expect from this trip. I liked the chick I was with but I had known her mostly at the Mansion, over several trips. I did an outing with her once to parque Lleras for dinner and drinks and that was it. And, of course, she was much younger than me and looked the part. Luckily things went much better than I had expected. There were some dicey moments but I survived them.

We did a tour of the island and the guide made sure to point out a casa, claiming that the chicas there were all students trying to earn some extra money. It was fairly close to the airport runway. We also tried a local drink, called Coco Loco. It tasted a little bit like a long Island ice tea.

There is not much to do in the island, except to just relax, eat, drink, and have fun with my chick. The island was a grand total of 28 kilometers long. So, it is important to enjoy the company of the chick. I tried hard to get another couple to go with us, but I could not pull it off. However, my stay went much better than I had expected. Most of the vacationers there were families or couples. I did not see too many single people there. But, I enjoyed my stay, and I would go back in a hart beat, maybe not with this chick, who was just too wild for me.

[PianoPlayer]

Just came back from 3-day trip to San Andres with novia. This is not a mongering destination but with low airfares, it is a nice beach getaway to bring a favorite chica. VivaColombia has fares as low as 170,000 pesos or $80 US roundtrip from Medellin to San Andres nonstop, if you go midweek and take no luggage, just what you can put under the seat. Even a carryon to put in the overhead bin costs extra. I paid about $200 roundtrip each to get dates I wanted. The all-inclusive Decameron chain now runs $150 to $350 daily for two people, depending on the hotel and the season. My total cost was $1200 for two people for 4 days and 3 nights, including all meals and drinks and most activities. The only extras were taxis and snorkeling tour for $30 each. We were at Decameron San Luis, which has excellent food but is far from town, requiring lots of US $10 cab rides back and forth. They even allowed us to eat and drink on the final day after checking out of the room and until we left for the airport. You can use facilities at all 6 hotels in the chain. The Decameron Aquarium has no beach but is centrally located in town and you can swim from the dock surrounded by fish. The Decameron Marazul has a nice private beach and is about halfway between San Luis and town. The Decameron Islena is the priciest and nicest, apparently. There is a beach club at Rocky Cay also accessible to all Decameron guests, worth a visit if you like white sandy beaches. These are not really luxury properties, and I would rate San Luis a three-star hotel in the US.

We did see the casa de putas others have mentioned, during an island tour. The guide even pointed it out. It is on the West coast road near the end of the airport runway, and has a playboy bunny sign on the door, you can't miss it. Cannot report prices or other info.

The native island population are Afro-Carribean, and all speak English, English Creole and Spanish. The tourists are mostly families from South America, including Colombians, Argentinians and Peruvians. Many come to enjoy the tax-free shopping. Downtown is full of liquor and perfume stores. Music is calypso and reggae, as well as the usual Latin pop stuff. The hotel had a pretty cool live reggae band. Cannot report on nightlife in town, as we did not sample.

[Tomasb]

Your right. I was there a few years ago and ended up at this Casa and bar type place outside of town and perhaps near the runway as you say. Some of the girls were pretty hot, most were from MDE (surprise!) , and I selected one from MDE for the evening and following day. She offered good GFE and we toured the island in a golf cart between sessions. Basically, there are hardly any beaches except for the center and one or two mediocre ones on the same road out of the town area. The other side of the island is pure lava stone. Also, The nightlife sucks and the whole islands lacks any excitement or buzz. The hotels suck too. 3 star at best.

This will not be terribly helpful, but in October there was a place open at the far end of the runway. Unfortunately (or fortunately) I brought a chica with me when I went there (thankfully as the island is dull and uninteresting). Anyway there is a bar at the end of the runway on the west side of the island. It is just north of the runway. I am mentioning this because I was told that the area just south of the runway (on the west side of the island) is dangerous.

The island is not that cheap nor interesting. I do not think there is any real attraction as it did not even have much of an old Caribbean feel to it.

[TheMyooo]

This will not be terribly helpful, but in October there was a place open at the far end of the runway. Unfortunately (or fortunately) I brought a chica with me when I went there (thankfully as the island is dull and uninteresting). Anyway there is a bar at the end of the runway on the west side of the island. It is just north of the runway. I am mentioning this because I was told that the area just south of the runway (on the west side of the island) is dangerous.

The island is not that cheap nor interesting. I do not think there is any real attraction as it did not even have much of an old Caribbean feel to it.

[ItbKahuna]

Any quality action to speak of?

[MikeCity]

Colombia, the best place to have sex.