# San Andrés: map, what to do and when to go

The largest island in Colombia, in the western Caribbean, with sand cays on the reef, snorkeling on the west coast, a free-port center and the Raizal culture, with its creole language and Baptist church.

Canonical: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/san-andres/
Language: en. Extended author commentary and itinerary notes may remain in Portuguese. Dates below belong to individual sources; this is not live availability.

## Direct answer
- **San Andrés: how do you get from the airport to the hotel?** The airport (ADZ) is in the North End, about 2 km from Spratt Bight.
- **San Andrés: what is the tarjeta de turismo, and how much does it cost?** The tarjeta de turismo costs COP 153,000 per person in 2026, and children under 7 and residents with an OCCRE card are exempt.
- **San Andrés: how many days should I stay?** I'd stay three days: Johnny Cay on the 9am boat, the island loop on the circular road and the Acuario in the morning.

## Johnny Cay and the North End
Be at Bahía Sardina beach, in the center, before 9am and take a shared boat to Johnny Cay, about 10 minutes away; the park opens at 9am.
- Johnny Cay
- Spratt Bight

## The island loop: La Loma, the west coast and the south
Rent a golf cart or arrange a taxi for the day, with the price settled beforehand.
- First Baptist Church
- Casa Museo Isleña
- Hoyo Soplador
- West View
- La Piscinita
- Rocky Cay
- Laguna Big Pond

## Johnny Cay
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/san-andres/#g-lugar-johnny-cay
Half a day or more
The largest of the cays around San Andrés, 1.5 km from the center and about 10 minutes by boat, is a regional park run by Coralina, with a white-sand beach and coconut palms. It is open from 9am to 4pm, with up to 854 visitors at a time, and closes three days every three months by court order, as well as on days of rough sea. Admission is COP 15,000, set by Coralina in Resolution 667 of 2021; Coralina sells the tickets to registered tourism companies, so ask whether the price of the boat or the tour already includes admission. Food is available on the cay itself, but you may not bring food or drink from outside, and swimming is allowed only inside the area marked by buoys.
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## El Acuario
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/san-andres/#g-lugar-el-acuario
One to two hours
Rose Cay, known as the Acuario for the fish that swim around bathers, is a sandbar about 15 minutes by boat from the center, next to Haynes Cay. Since the court ruling of August 2025 it is being reorganized: the old stalls were demolished, commerce is moving to new kiosks and the floating bridge that linked the two cays no longer exists. A Portafolio report from October 2026 describes boats with tourists docking at the remains of the bridge, but the court also ordered Haynes Cay closed three days every quarter, so confirm the day before.
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## Spratt Bight
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/san-andres/#g-lugar-spratt-bight
Up to half an hour
The urban beach of the North End, with the pedestrian promenade and the center's hotels around it. It is the beach for spare moments, next to Bahía Sardina, where the boats for the cays leave from. Since June 2026 staying in the sea between 6pm and 6am is forbidden.
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## First Baptist Church
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/san-andres/#g-lugar-first-baptist-church
Up to half an hour
The Baptist church of La Loma, built in 1847 with pine brought from Alabama, is the oldest on the island and the center of Raizal religious life. It stands on the heights of La Loma, along the central road, with a view of the sea all around. It is a church in use: respect the hours of worship.
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## Casa Museo Isleña
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/san-andres/#g-lugar-casa-museo-islena
Up to half an hour
A house set up by locals to show how people lived on the island, on the west coast road. The visit presents the traditional house and Raizal customs, and it is where they teach raga raga, the island's emblematic dance.
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## Hoyo Soplador
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/san-andres/#g-lugar-hoyo-soplador
Up to half an hour
On the southern point, a hole in the rock connected to an underground cave: when a wave comes in hard, water and air shoot out of the hole in a jet. The force depends on the sea, and on a calm day almost nothing happens. What you spend money on there is the vendors at the site.
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## West View
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/san-andres/#g-lugar-west-view
One to two hours
A natural pool in the coral rock of the west coast, without a beach, with water 3 to 10 m deep, and fish and corals near the surface. You can snorkel there without depending on a boat.
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## La Piscinita
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/san-andres/#g-lugar-la-piscinita
Up to half an hour
Another natural pool on the west coast, about 1.5 km south of West View, with calm water and fish around. For anyone who has already been to West View, the experience is very similar.
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## Rocky Cay
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/san-andres/#g-lugar-rocky-cay
Santo André, Providência e Santa Catarina · One to two hours
A small cay about 200 m from Cocoplum beach, in San Luis, reached by walking through shallow water. The hull of a shipwreck lies near it, and the beach opposite has white sand and shallow water.
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## Cueva de Morgan
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/san-andres/#g-lugar-cueva-de-morgan
Up to half an hour
A cave on the west coast connected to the sea by a submerged passage, turned into an attraction with a ticket office and a museum. The name comes from the legend that Henry Morgan hid the treasure from his raids there, a story that no document confirms.
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## Laguna Big Pond
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/san-andres/#g-lugar-laguna-big-pond
Up to half an hour
A freshwater lagoon on the heights of La Loma, surrounded by palm and mango trees, where babillas, small caimans, live. It is usually a quick stop on the island loop.
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**San Andrés: how do you get from the airport to the hotel?**
The airport (ADZ) is in the North End, about 2 km from Spratt Bight. The trip to the hotels in the center is by taxi, with the price and the currency agreed beforehand, because there are no meters.

**San Andrés: what is the tarjeta de turismo, and how much does it cost?**
The tarjeta de turismo costs COP 153,000 per person in 2026, and children under 7 and residents with an OCCRE card are exempt. It is paid before boarding, at the airline counter or on the JetSmart website, and without it you cannot enter the archipelago.

**San Andrés: how many days should I stay?**
I'd stay three days: Johnny Cay on the 9am boat, the island loop on the circular road and the Acuario in the morning. With three extra days, I'd go to Providencia, sleep there two nights and return to San Andrés a day before the flight home.

**San Andrés: how do you get to Providencia, and is it worth a day trip?**
Satena and Searca fly to Providencia in about 15 to 20 minutes, and strong wind sometimes prevents landing; in August 2024 there was also a catamaran of 2h30 to 3h. On a day trip, a cancellation costs the whole day, so stay there at least two nights.

**San Andrés: when is the best time to go?**
February to April is the dry season, with 27 to 36 mm of rain per month, and the best for boats and snorkeling, but Holy Week fills flights and hotels. May opens the rainy phase, and the hurricane season runs from June to the end of November.


## In the Nilo app
- Plan these 3 days on the map: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/app/guide/san-andres/?utm_source=llm&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=door-itinerary
- Mark your hotel on the map: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/app/map/san-andres/?utm_source=llm&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=door-stay

## Full editorial guide (Portuguese)
https://nilopelomundo.com/llm/san-andres.md