How to Get From Cartagena to Santa Marta

Bus From Cartagena to Santa Marta

Cartagena’s bus station (Google Maps) is about 8 miles from Getsemani and the Walled City, and you have two options to reach it.

The easiest is to take a taxi. The standard fare is 23,000 COP and journey time is around 45 minutes, depending on traffic. Before getting in the taxi however, we recommend confirming how much the ride will cost to avoid an expensive surprise at the end. Note that many taxis in Colombia do not have meters (or do and simply refuse to use them).

It is also possible – and cheaper – to take a bus from by the India Catalina monument or Avenida Santander (look for a green and white bus with a “Terminal des Transportes” sign). The trip takes around an hour.

Once at Cartagena’s Bus Terminal, you will have no shortage of gentlemen coming direct to you to try and make sure you go on their bus or to help you buy a ticket, even if it isn’t the cheapest or the next departure. So we always recommend that you go straight to the ticket booths to buy your tickets.

There are a number of companies with services from Cartagena to Santa Marta with a few departures every hour, including Unitransco, Expreso Brasilia, Copetran, Exalpa, Berlinas, Superstar, and Unitransco. There’s no need to buy a ticket in advance (unless you’re unlucky and arrive on the peak Colombian holiday season in December – February when everyone is leaving the city and heading to the beach!) and you’ll never really have to wait more than 30 or 40 minutes for the next service to depart.

The standard price is currently 67,000 – 70,000 COP* per person, but as is quite common with buses across Colombia, it’s always worth trying to get a slight discount on the first price mentioned on any bus company. Indeed, the advertised price often drops to around 60,000 COP a few days in advance of your chosen departure time.

*The exception to this is Exalpa which for some reason often charges just 45,000 COP.

Note that you may be provided with two separate tickets once you’ve paid; one for the Cartagena – Barranquilla section, and one for the Baranquilla – Santa Marta section. Don’t worry though as it will be on the same bus and you (usually) won’t have to change buses in Barranquilla.

Unfortunately Cartagena to Santa Marta bus route is not done by the nippy little minivans more common in the south of Colombia, but in older buses that have seen better days. They always have a stop in Barranquilla bus terminal too to give the driver a break and pick…